What octane gas do you run?, Is higher always better ? Or just a waste of $$$ Options

[Michael N]

I was wondering what most drivers are using in their 914's. 87, 92, 100?

I have heard that in fuel injected cars running with a higher octane gas than they were designed to run at can be a waste of money since they are set up to run on a specific octane and any more is lost. I have a Passat and the manufacture states 92 octane. My truck uses 87 and the dealer said I can do damage by running 92 ( although I have no idea why).

Please set me straight on my ignorance. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)

[Jake Raby]

As I satated above a couple of times every engine is different and even the climate impacts the fuel that will make your engine run it's best..

I will say that my Pinzgauer military truck is the only vehicle I own that will run its best on 87 octane, thats because it has 7;1 CR and was made to run on anything... I have gotten 2 bad batches of fuel in one year in that vehicle (12000 miles), but have only gotten ONE bad tank in the past 109K in my 912E that runs premimum 90% of the time and at least 89 octane all the time.

Its a gamble every time you pull up to the pump, when you see as many melted pistons as I do from engine teardowns you'd understand why 20 cents a gallon is worth the expense if thats the fuel that your engine runs best on...

I build engines specifically to run on 91-93 octane, many times the added efficiency that I'm able to squeeze from the combo will gain the customer at least 2-3 MPG and thats certainly worth more than 20 cents per gallon-