I know this car takes premium fuel but the attendant at the full serve gas station put regular fuel. Is this bad for the vehicle?

 

Are you chipped or stock? If your chipped it's not a very good thing because your timing will be off, if your stock it's not a problem. If you do have a chip i would recomend putting in octane booster or somehow draining it and putting in the good stuff.

 

You should be using at least 91 octane. I don't use anything less. Too bad I can't get anything higher at the pumps here in CA though.

 

I always put regular gas in my A4 1.8TQM. I notice ZERO difference betweenrunning 87 and 93 octane. My car is completely stock and runs great.

 

On a stock car you would see much of a difference, but I know for a fact on a chipped car, there is a noticable difference between running 87 and 93 octaine fuel. I only run 93 in my car, the only time I put 87 in was when I was running on fumes and the station I was at only had 87.

 

I make sure to look they put in 93 everytime the attendent pumps my gas....not once have I put anything less in.

 

i know this is going to get alot of people fired up im sure.... but im going to throw it out there. so try not to beat me up too bad!

what in the world would the point be of wasting tons of extra money for premium gas when it makes no noticable difference in the drivablity of the car???? i drive like a ton of miles a month so for me the cost difference adds up quick, and being in school and all i really need all the money i can get.

 

That's because on a car that isn't stock, there IS a noticable difference in the way the car performs. I personallynever put anything less than 93 in my car when it was stock so I couldn't tell you if there would have been a difference. Also, it can make a difference whether the car is auto or man.

 

I haven't experimented with varying octane levels, but those who have have reported similar results to those that I experience when I experiment with fuel quality. By that I mean that when I buy Valero gas or gas at some Mom and Pop station, I get 4-5 mpg LESS than if I buy Chevron gas. So, Chevron gas costs more, but it more than makes up for the difference by delivering much better economy. The same can be said about the difference between 87 and 91 or 93 octanes.

 

Actually, for the long run of your car you should be running nothing less than 91 octane even on stock.. my long time friend who is also a audi mechanic and enthusiast even went as far as to give me a short list of gas stations that give quality fuel.. just putting in any 91+ brand isn't even recommended and he went off telling me why. i'm sure someone here with more knowledge than i have will explain why.

Anyhow, I want my car running great for as long as possible so I take care of it religiously in all aspects, except maybe the body, living in the city without a garage, parking in the street and people not knowing how to parallel park = scratches. i want my car to last well throughout college.. then eventually become my project car when i buy a new dd.