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118kW TSI engine octane

cbope

New member
Does anyone know if the 118kW TSI engine benefits from higher octane fuel, in regards to performance? In other words, will I get better performance if I run high-octane fuel in this engine?

The owner's manual states the engine is designed for regular unleaded, which is 95 octane. Premium here is 98 octane. I have routinely used 95 regular unleaded since I got the car. However, since this engine generates pretty insane amounts of boost at low rpm it seems that high-octane would be a benefit. My previous Mk5 Golf with the 1.6 FSI engine required 98 octane, and it was naturally aspirated. Agreed, the FSI has a higher static compression ratio than the TSI, but the TSI additionally has a lot of boost from the supercharger and turbo. I was really surprised when I got the car and it did not state that 98 octane was required.

This is not so much a cost issue of regular versus premium, but will the engine actually benefit from the increased octane and deliver more aggressive timing, etc, to increase performance?

PS: I'm well aware of octane's impact on engine performance as I have been a mechanic in the past, as well as having spec'd, built and blueprinted many high performance and racing engines over the years. So no need to start with the basics... (this is a piston, combustion chamber, spark plug, etc.)
 
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