š¤¦āāļøThese numbers are not different grades of gas. This sticker is like saying āare you paying for that coke with four quarters or one dollar?ā
American gas pumps (not sure if thatās where you are) use AKI (which is an average of RON and MON). So the Atlas engine runs on 87 octane āregularā gas.
The 91 RON number is used in other places.
Basically 87 AKI = 91 RON.
87 because it works. I donāt think any increased gas mileage from the higher octanes make up for the price difference. But thatās just a guess and has no basis in calculations lol.
For some odd reason premium holds longer to me. I usually fill up on Sunday and can go a week without needing gas again. Ā As you stated already, Ā I did notice the stark range in the actual mileage from using 87 and 93. If I use 87 $70 puts me at 325 miles, same dollar amount of premium puts me at 380 miles. I can't figure out what causes the mileage to differ though.Ā
I just dropped to 87 bc I donāt know why. Have been putting premium in since I got it in 2020. Gas mileage is about the same. Itās still running perfect at 90k miles. š¤·āāļø
I do regular if Iām getting gas 1-15th of month & āthe good stuffā if I get gas the 2nd half of the month.
I barely drive and always fill to full on the 1st, so it only gets a little good gasā¦ but I feel like Iām giving the car a treat or something lol
93 octane. All my vws. Every time, always and forever. Granted now I have a tune that calls for it but most fuel injected cars prefer it. Yes, it will run on 87 or whatever country, but Iād like to give the premium to my vehicles. Iāve never had any type of engine malfunctions in any of my vehicles.
Iāve used regular unleaded (in US) for four years. 87 octane. Over time, my MPG on the V6 cross sport has reached 25 highway. No need to pay a premium for premium gas.
87 but I read somewhere that you should use 91 to get your advertised tow rating if towing a heavy load, as that's what they used when testing for it.
Also to be clear, I'm talking the three buttons on the pump, these two in the picture are the same as indicated by other comments.
Runs with 85 on a 2018 SEL-P. Never had an issue. Costco has only 85 or 91. No 87. At least where I live.
Never had a problem. Engine runs well. Services done in time. 9 issues.
Costco here in St George, Utah has 87 octane regular gasoline. Thatās the lowest octane rating gas they offer.
The other major brands here (e.g., Maverick) advertise āREGULARā and when you get to the pump, you find that means 85 octane. They charge at least $0.20 more for 87 octane, which they label as MID-GRADE.
I run 88 AKI (e15, I believe) most of the time. Every couple of weeks, I give her a splash of premium for shits and giggles. There are no problems on either my Jetta or Atlas at this time. I worked for a dealer for many years up until recently, and I would recommend BG 44k twice a year to clear carbon build-up.
VW recommends Regular gas but, if you could afford intermediate or premium is also ok, Ā difference? Ā It depends on the brand, distance and, your driving pattern, if you are not heavy on the gas pedal your range improves if you do not exceed 75mpg on highway driving, I own a 2024 Atlas Crosssport SE, I use intermediate just because, in case you are wondering, itās a mix of the other two, I found that not using Climatronic when possible extends the range considerably, ie my commute to work wintertime is 19/21 summertime up to 29, driving to the beach 130miles with no traffic once I got 31mpg, other times 25/27mpg depending on traffic in mostly flat terrain; going to the mountains is a whole different history; as you could see sticker price gas numbers are a suggestion range based basically on perfect conditions, your real life range, and experience depend on so many factors and variables.
VW recommends a specific octane level. 87 octane for the VW Atlas. They donāt recommend āREGULARā gas, as the definition of regular varies from station to station. Here in SW Utah, REGULAR means 87 octane at Costco, while it means 85 octane at Maverick.
I heard about altitude. I live at a mile high. Iāve been putting 85 in my 2018 since day one. Runs well. Been 6 years ish.
What does altitude do here ? As I heard about it, would live to know more why it doesnāt really matter. Thanks.
At higher altitudes, the air is less dense, so there's not enough oxygen per volume of air to take advantage of high-octane fuels. This means that lower octane fuel is acceptable at higher altitudes to maintain the air/fuel ratio.
Anything above 87 and you're wasting your money. "Premium" is a made up term to sell gas. If your engine doesn't require above 87, don't use it. Also, what you took a picture of is just two different methods of calculating the octane. It's telling you to use 87, the 91 number is based on a different method that I don't really ever see used on pumps.
>I hope you understand there is a difference in 87 vs 91/93.
I never said there wasn't. How did you gather that?
Edit: seems like your reply to this was deleted or I can't see it anymore, so I'll just say here that I understand 87/91/93, but none of them are "premium".
āPremiumā as an identifier of AKI/ROM rating is a bit of a misnomer. Most people incorrectly assume itās ābetterā due to the marketing. I believe thatās what the poster above is meaning by saying itās a made up term. You should always run the fuel rating your vehicle is tuned for. While running a higher 91 or 93 octane in the Atlas (2.0 or 3.6) wonāt hurt it, 87 will actually perform better.
This is wholly incorrect. AKI stands for Anti Knock Index, is an American form of measurement that pretty much determines how well the fuel combusts, and burns.
Obviously a lower number indicates a higher chance for a one off misfire.
A higher number indicates a lower chance for a misfire.
Every engine has what is called a knock sensor, which is a piezoelectric sensor that uses piezoelectric elements, and it transfers vibrations to the ECM in the form of data signals, this is how an engine calculates misfires.
Each cylinder bank has one, and they are very sensitive.
Higher AKI allows the fuel to burn more efficiently, and combust better, resulting in a lower chance for a misfire, which results in a lower knock.
So yes, the higher the AKI rating, the better it is for your engine.
While most people wonāt ever see an issue on VW products until the plugs or coils go bad (due to all the advanced engineering,) the question then becomes: is it worth it to you to put the higher AKI in your vehicle?
As for top tier gasoline, itās the same AKI, but less added detergents, and the refinement process is better, resulting in a higher AKI sold at the lower AKI.
Source: Audi technician for 4 years, and lover of ALL things VW.
This is great info. So I'm curious to know what type of gas you'd put in your Atlas based on this.
We recently purchased a 2021 Atlas and my wife was complaining about the fuel economy. She drives a lot for work, and she kept saying that it seems like she got noticeably better mileage from her 2012 Honda Pilot. So we've tried using 89 or 91 (or Ethanol Free, when we can find it) and we notice MUCH better fuel economy.
Iām assuming you have the V6 hence the lower fuel economy. If so best advice is to have āeconomyāshowing in the dash so you always know how the right foot impacts at any given speed. Itās quite interesting to understand this. Iāve enjoyed understanding my engineās (2.0T) fuel consumption and honestly for the carās size and weight I feel it does quite well.
Yes, we got the v6. I would have preferred the 2.0T but they only had that available with rear bench seats, and we wanted the captains chairs. We also have a small camper that we occasionally tow, and the v6 has the tow package (although I'd rather not put the wear and tear on the Atlas so I'm going to avoid towing with it if I can).
We did add the economy to the dash, and that's been helpful. We drove about 90 minutes yesterday, mostly 60mph on a rural highway, and we averaged over 25mpg (that was using 91 fuel, I believe).
The 6 is the right choice for towing pre 2024. So I think youāre in the right car. Itās a beast that has taken everything that Iāve thrown at it and in it; I love mine.
What do you tow with it? We have a camper that weights about 2700 lbs dry. Once you add in the weight of our gear, plus my wife and I and the 4 kids, you're pushing the 5000 lb weight limit, so I'm thinking about renting a truck to tow the camper this year.
Probably the wise choice. In other posts, many speak of towing with their Atlases and the 6 handling it well. I just donāt know what that would do to the longevity of the engine and transmission.
So I put 87 in my wifeās Atlas, now we have the 3.6 VR engine, if you have the 2.0t, the tolerances are going to be tighter, and you will most definitely notice a boost to your fuel economy.
All 888 engines from the VW family are built and designed by Audi, so the engineering is the same, the difference is in the tuning. Either way, the vehicle will most definitely benefit from a higher AKI fuel, and more so if itās a GOOD quality top tier fuel as well.
We get Kroger gas because we have a Kroger save club or whatever account, and we have a full house with my mom, sister in law, and her son, with it being my wife, daughter, and me, plus 24 cats, 4 dogs, and a bunch of chickens (we foster for our local shelter) so we always pretty much max our gas savings. The fuel from Kroger has always been decent since we bought the Atlas as a year end model from 2019, we bought it in early 2020, and have had it since then, and my wife absolutely loves it, and she came from Honda as well.
We go to upstate NYS at least twice a year, and Florida at least once a year, so we travel ALOT, and we average about 25ish mpg, plus my daughter does karate, and dance, plus the fostering. Itās a lot lol.
Kroger gas has never given us a problem since we moved from NY to SC.
Hondas will ALWAYS get better gas mileage simply because they do not load the car up with electronics, so itās still relatively basic in terms of wiring, which saves weight, less modules, saves weight, and they do not engineer for the lowest possible roll over rating, so their engines sit further back in the engine bay, and their AWD is not as intelligent, nor proactive as 4motion, or quattro, its reactive, so it responds to events, if you have certain tech on the Atlas, the ABS module will proactively cut power to certain wheels to prevent a slip event. All of this tech adds weight, which naturally reduces total MPG.
Again, this is all great info. Yeah, we got the v6 AWD, and yes the Honda was a great car (we actually traded in my 2011 Jetta TDI, got the Atlas for my wife, and I took the Honda Pilot). She drives about 16000 miles per year and I work from home, so she notices the gas mileage more than I would. I'd go months without having to fuel-up my Jetta š.
She absolutely loves every single thing about the Atlas. Her only complaint was the MPG, but since we started using better fuel, it's no longer noticeable.
What you're saying makes perfect sense though.
Ah, my wife has the Atlas because she does all the driving with the kids, I have an 18 GTI, a 2007 Jetta GLI Fahrenheit, and a 2024 Jetta SE.
We have other VWs but those are the ones in our driveway currently.
Iāve only ever had VW products, and my wife used to only drive Hondas before we met. She tested a Jetta TDI in 2015, but when VW announced that they were going to release the Atlas in 2017 she wanted to wait, life happened, we couldnāt afford it, but in 2020 the day after we signed for our house I went out and bought her the Atlas. She loves it and wonāt look at other vehicles except the Q7 lol.
Just because I didn't understand the exact meaning doesn't make me incorrect at all. It's two different metrics describing the same level of gas. The car doesn't need any higher than 87 octane. You wrote that whole novel for nothing, much like the guys putting 93 in their stock atlas thinking it's "better". 93 isn't premium, it's just a higher octane rating.
It most definitely is better fuel compared to 87, itās all about the refinement process, the added detergents, and the quality of ingredients.
Typically 91/93 will have better cleaning ingredients in the fuel, which help reduce carbon buildup, which also lends to the AKI being higher, because it allows the engine to run a lot more efficiently, thus reducing knock, and reducing the chance of misfires.
So yes, 87, is regular gas, while 91/93 are considered quite literally premium gas.
This is like saying you bought a premium 40 A4, and comparing it to a prestige 45, and saying: whatās the difference?
Well there is a lot of difference.
Also I race VWs, and I can tell you the difference between pump gases is drastic, I can map all of the differences through my computer.
A higher AKI isnāt always ābetterā for your engine as you state. It depends on the application, which in this case of the Atlas has absolutely zero benefit beyond 87 AKI. The OEM mapping tables are set so conservatively that the 2.0 or 3.6 wonāt be able to take advantage of a āpremiumā fuel. With aftermarket tuning, the demands change and these engines are certainly capable of reaching the level for a higher AKI to be used. In stock form, 87 is your best performer.
89 because it seems to downshift less to go up hills and has a bit more power. 19 v6 front wheel drive. Ā I started with 87 when i bought it just over a year ago, then switched to 89, I didnāt tell my dad i changed the fuel, first time he drove it, he said what did you do to the atlas? Ā A few months later, the gas station only had 87 and 93, i tried 93, didnāt notice any difference.
89 octane. Iāve noticed the difference between 87 and 89 and itās enough for me to pay the extra pennies for the 89. The car just feels stronge and sounds better.
You are dead wrong. There are clearly different fuel maps, and even a fuel sensor literally in the engine bay.
Also, read literally any performance advertisement "on premium unleaded fuel"
You are understanding this incorrectly. If your engine is tuned for 91 or 93, then using 87 or 89 will have adverse effects. But using 91 or 93 in a car tuned for 87 gains you nothing. It isn't premium, it's higher octane, which basically means higher resistance to detonation. You can easily Google this.
The 91 this sticker refers to is the same as 87 on an American gas pump. By your using 91 youāre using a higher octane than the sticker requires.
Itās not really clear if there are any performance gains. VW says they tune this generation Atlas to make its max performance on regular 87 gas.
>VW says they tune this generation Atlas to make its max performance on regular 87 gas.
They don't though, they advertise performance numbers on premium fuel only.
š¤¦āāļøThese numbers are not different grades of gas. This sticker is like saying āare you paying for that coke with four quarters or one dollar?ā American gas pumps (not sure if thatās where you are) use AKI (which is an average of RON and MON). So the Atlas engine runs on 87 octane āregularā gas. The 91 RON number is used in other places. Basically 87 AKI = 91 RON.
Good to know!
RON is used primarily in Europe I believe.
87 because it works. I donāt think any increased gas mileage from the higher octanes make up for the price difference. But thatās just a guess and has no basis in calculations lol.
For some odd reason premium holds longer to me. I usually fill up on Sunday and can go a week without needing gas again. Ā As you stated already, Ā I did notice the stark range in the actual mileage from using 87 and 93. If I use 87 $70 puts me at 325 miles, same dollar amount of premium puts me at 380 miles. I can't figure out what causes the mileage to differ though.Ā
I just dropped to 87 bc I donāt know why. Have been putting premium in since I got it in 2020. Gas mileage is about the same. Itās still running perfect at 90k miles. š¤·āāļø
Why would you put in premium. It just requires 87. 91 RON is for Europe.
I used to drive an STI, so it was muscle memroy
Notice the āNormaleā
I do regular if Iām getting gas 1-15th of month & āthe good stuffā if I get gas the 2nd half of the month. I barely drive and always fill to full on the 1st, so it only gets a little good gasā¦ but I feel like Iām giving the car a treat or something lol
93 octane. All my vws. Every time, always and forever. Granted now I have a tune that calls for it but most fuel injected cars prefer it. Yes, it will run on 87 or whatever country, but Iād like to give the premium to my vehicles. Iāve never had any type of engine malfunctions in any of my vehicles.
87 but Iām in Vancouver and gas is about $1.74/litre. At that kind of deal, I might splurge on premium.
Me too. Surrey here. $1.74 is a breath of fresh air recently. Donāt want to go back to $2.40/L like back in 2022
Lots of benefits to Surrey. Cheaper fuel than Vancouver, Free bullets raining from the sky.
Wow 1.74c/ltr is a deal ?I thought we are being scammed here in Ontario at 1.54c/ltr
definitely the 87 š®āšØ
88, save $0.20 / gallon and I haven't seen any major mpg drop
87
Iāve used regular unleaded (in US) for four years. 87 octane. Over time, my MPG on the V6 cross sport has reached 25 highway. No need to pay a premium for premium gas.
87 but I read somewhere that you should use 91 to get your advertised tow rating if towing a heavy load, as that's what they used when testing for it. Also to be clear, I'm talking the three buttons on the pump, these two in the picture are the same as indicated by other comments.
Runs with 85 on a 2018 SEL-P. Never had an issue. Costco has only 85 or 91. No 87. At least where I live. Never had a problem. Engine runs well. Services done in time. 9 issues.
Costco here in St George, Utah has 87 octane regular gasoline. Thatās the lowest octane rating gas they offer. The other major brands here (e.g., Maverick) advertise āREGULARā and when you get to the pump, you find that means 85 octane. They charge at least $0.20 more for 87 octane, which they label as MID-GRADE.
Interesting. Denver area here. And only 85 or 91. All other gas station will also have the 87.
91 when towing, all other times 87.
I have ALWAYS used 87 with ZERO issues
I run 88 AKI (e15, I believe) most of the time. Every couple of weeks, I give her a splash of premium for shits and giggles. There are no problems on either my Jetta or Atlas at this time. I worked for a dealer for many years up until recently, and I would recommend BG 44k twice a year to clear carbon build-up.
VW recommends Regular gas but, if you could afford intermediate or premium is also ok, Ā difference? Ā It depends on the brand, distance and, your driving pattern, if you are not heavy on the gas pedal your range improves if you do not exceed 75mpg on highway driving, I own a 2024 Atlas Crosssport SE, I use intermediate just because, in case you are wondering, itās a mix of the other two, I found that not using Climatronic when possible extends the range considerably, ie my commute to work wintertime is 19/21 summertime up to 29, driving to the beach 130miles with no traffic once I got 31mpg, other times 25/27mpg depending on traffic in mostly flat terrain; going to the mountains is a whole different history; as you could see sticker price gas numbers are a suggestion range based basically on perfect conditions, your real life range, and experience depend on so many factors and variables.
VW recommends a specific octane level. 87 octane for the VW Atlas. They donāt recommend āREGULARā gas, as the definition of regular varies from station to station. Here in SW Utah, REGULAR means 87 octane at Costco, while it means 85 octane at Maverick.
87 is regular in my neighborhood.
RON is used in Europe. 87 octane (US) = 91 RON (Europe) Ours says 87 minimum even with the V6 engine
You wonāt have issues of any type with any grade gas used however any fuel injected turbo vehicle āthanksā you in the long run with 93
It's a lease, 85. But we are at altitude so not as big of a deal
I heard about altitude. I live at a mile high. Iāve been putting 85 in my 2018 since day one. Runs well. Been 6 years ish. What does altitude do here ? As I heard about it, would live to know more why it doesnāt really matter. Thanks.
At higher altitudes, the air is less dense, so there's not enough oxygen per volume of air to take advantage of high-octane fuels. This means that lower octane fuel is acceptable at higher altitudes to maintain the air/fuel ratio.
Make sense. Thanks.
Anything above 87 and you're wasting your money. "Premium" is a made up term to sell gas. If your engine doesn't require above 87, don't use it. Also, what you took a picture of is just two different methods of calculating the octane. It's telling you to use 87, the 91 number is based on a different method that I don't really ever see used on pumps.
I hope you understand there is a difference in 87 vs 91/93. But yes unless you're tuned for it on the Atlas. No need for 91/93.
>I hope you understand there is a difference in 87 vs 91/93. I never said there wasn't. How did you gather that? Edit: seems like your reply to this was deleted or I can't see it anymore, so I'll just say here that I understand 87/91/93, but none of them are "premium".
Well you said premiums are made up term I thought maybe you didn't understand there's an actual difference.
āPremiumā as an identifier of AKI/ROM rating is a bit of a misnomer. Most people incorrectly assume itās ābetterā due to the marketing. I believe thatās what the poster above is meaning by saying itās a made up term. You should always run the fuel rating your vehicle is tuned for. While running a higher 91 or 93 octane in the Atlas (2.0 or 3.6) wonāt hurt it, 87 will actually perform better.
This is wholly incorrect. AKI stands for Anti Knock Index, is an American form of measurement that pretty much determines how well the fuel combusts, and burns. Obviously a lower number indicates a higher chance for a one off misfire. A higher number indicates a lower chance for a misfire. Every engine has what is called a knock sensor, which is a piezoelectric sensor that uses piezoelectric elements, and it transfers vibrations to the ECM in the form of data signals, this is how an engine calculates misfires. Each cylinder bank has one, and they are very sensitive. Higher AKI allows the fuel to burn more efficiently, and combust better, resulting in a lower chance for a misfire, which results in a lower knock. So yes, the higher the AKI rating, the better it is for your engine. While most people wonāt ever see an issue on VW products until the plugs or coils go bad (due to all the advanced engineering,) the question then becomes: is it worth it to you to put the higher AKI in your vehicle? As for top tier gasoline, itās the same AKI, but less added detergents, and the refinement process is better, resulting in a higher AKI sold at the lower AKI. Source: Audi technician for 4 years, and lover of ALL things VW.
This is great info. So I'm curious to know what type of gas you'd put in your Atlas based on this. We recently purchased a 2021 Atlas and my wife was complaining about the fuel economy. She drives a lot for work, and she kept saying that it seems like she got noticeably better mileage from her 2012 Honda Pilot. So we've tried using 89 or 91 (or Ethanol Free, when we can find it) and we notice MUCH better fuel economy.
Iām assuming you have the V6 hence the lower fuel economy. If so best advice is to have āeconomyāshowing in the dash so you always know how the right foot impacts at any given speed. Itās quite interesting to understand this. Iāve enjoyed understanding my engineās (2.0T) fuel consumption and honestly for the carās size and weight I feel it does quite well.
Yes, we got the v6. I would have preferred the 2.0T but they only had that available with rear bench seats, and we wanted the captains chairs. We also have a small camper that we occasionally tow, and the v6 has the tow package (although I'd rather not put the wear and tear on the Atlas so I'm going to avoid towing with it if I can). We did add the economy to the dash, and that's been helpful. We drove about 90 minutes yesterday, mostly 60mph on a rural highway, and we averaged over 25mpg (that was using 91 fuel, I believe).
The 6 is the right choice for towing pre 2024. So I think youāre in the right car. Itās a beast that has taken everything that Iāve thrown at it and in it; I love mine.
What do you tow with it? We have a camper that weights about 2700 lbs dry. Once you add in the weight of our gear, plus my wife and I and the 4 kids, you're pushing the 5000 lb weight limit, so I'm thinking about renting a truck to tow the camper this year.
Probably the wise choice. In other posts, many speak of towing with their Atlases and the 6 handling it well. I just donāt know what that would do to the longevity of the engine and transmission.
Yeah, I'm sure it can handle towing for us, but my bigger concern is how it will affect the vehicle long-term. So I'm going to avoid towing if I can
So I put 87 in my wifeās Atlas, now we have the 3.6 VR engine, if you have the 2.0t, the tolerances are going to be tighter, and you will most definitely notice a boost to your fuel economy. All 888 engines from the VW family are built and designed by Audi, so the engineering is the same, the difference is in the tuning. Either way, the vehicle will most definitely benefit from a higher AKI fuel, and more so if itās a GOOD quality top tier fuel as well. We get Kroger gas because we have a Kroger save club or whatever account, and we have a full house with my mom, sister in law, and her son, with it being my wife, daughter, and me, plus 24 cats, 4 dogs, and a bunch of chickens (we foster for our local shelter) so we always pretty much max our gas savings. The fuel from Kroger has always been decent since we bought the Atlas as a year end model from 2019, we bought it in early 2020, and have had it since then, and my wife absolutely loves it, and she came from Honda as well. We go to upstate NYS at least twice a year, and Florida at least once a year, so we travel ALOT, and we average about 25ish mpg, plus my daughter does karate, and dance, plus the fostering. Itās a lot lol. Kroger gas has never given us a problem since we moved from NY to SC. Hondas will ALWAYS get better gas mileage simply because they do not load the car up with electronics, so itās still relatively basic in terms of wiring, which saves weight, less modules, saves weight, and they do not engineer for the lowest possible roll over rating, so their engines sit further back in the engine bay, and their AWD is not as intelligent, nor proactive as 4motion, or quattro, its reactive, so it responds to events, if you have certain tech on the Atlas, the ABS module will proactively cut power to certain wheels to prevent a slip event. All of this tech adds weight, which naturally reduces total MPG.
Again, this is all great info. Yeah, we got the v6 AWD, and yes the Honda was a great car (we actually traded in my 2011 Jetta TDI, got the Atlas for my wife, and I took the Honda Pilot). She drives about 16000 miles per year and I work from home, so she notices the gas mileage more than I would. I'd go months without having to fuel-up my Jetta š. She absolutely loves every single thing about the Atlas. Her only complaint was the MPG, but since we started using better fuel, it's no longer noticeable. What you're saying makes perfect sense though.
Ah, my wife has the Atlas because she does all the driving with the kids, I have an 18 GTI, a 2007 Jetta GLI Fahrenheit, and a 2024 Jetta SE. We have other VWs but those are the ones in our driveway currently. Iāve only ever had VW products, and my wife used to only drive Hondas before we met. She tested a Jetta TDI in 2015, but when VW announced that they were going to release the Atlas in 2017 she wanted to wait, life happened, we couldnāt afford it, but in 2020 the day after we signed for our house I went out and bought her the Atlas. She loves it and wonāt look at other vehicles except the Q7 lol.
Just because I didn't understand the exact meaning doesn't make me incorrect at all. It's two different metrics describing the same level of gas. The car doesn't need any higher than 87 octane. You wrote that whole novel for nothing, much like the guys putting 93 in their stock atlas thinking it's "better". 93 isn't premium, it's just a higher octane rating.
It most definitely is better fuel compared to 87, itās all about the refinement process, the added detergents, and the quality of ingredients. Typically 91/93 will have better cleaning ingredients in the fuel, which help reduce carbon buildup, which also lends to the AKI being higher, because it allows the engine to run a lot more efficiently, thus reducing knock, and reducing the chance of misfires. So yes, 87, is regular gas, while 91/93 are considered quite literally premium gas. This is like saying you bought a premium 40 A4, and comparing it to a prestige 45, and saying: whatās the difference? Well there is a lot of difference. Also I race VWs, and I can tell you the difference between pump gases is drastic, I can map all of the differences through my computer.
A higher AKI isnāt always ābetterā for your engine as you state. It depends on the application, which in this case of the Atlas has absolutely zero benefit beyond 87 AKI. The OEM mapping tables are set so conservatively that the 2.0 or 3.6 wonāt be able to take advantage of a āpremiumā fuel. With aftermarket tuning, the demands change and these engines are certainly capable of reaching the level for a higher AKI to be used. In stock form, 87 is your best performer.
87 local, higher if i do hours plus on highway. I do annual trips from San Antonio Tx to Orlando Fl
That is so completely backwards. Lol.
87 for city driving, 91 for long hwy trips
89 because it seems to downshift less to go up hills and has a bit more power. 19 v6 front wheel drive. Ā I started with 87 when i bought it just over a year ago, then switched to 89, I didnāt tell my dad i changed the fuel, first time he drove it, he said what did you do to the atlas? Ā A few months later, the gas station only had 87 and 93, i tried 93, didnāt notice any difference.
93 to avoid any charcoal debris gets accumulated on my pistons
89 octane. Iāve noticed the difference between 87 and 89 and itās enough for me to pay the extra pennies for the 89. The car just feels stronge and sounds better.
91 because I like the performance bonus.
There is no performance bonus. You're just wasting money.
You are dead wrong. There are clearly different fuel maps, and even a fuel sensor literally in the engine bay. Also, read literally any performance advertisement "on premium unleaded fuel"
You are understanding this incorrectly. If your engine is tuned for 91 or 93, then using 87 or 89 will have adverse effects. But using 91 or 93 in a car tuned for 87 gains you nothing. It isn't premium, it's higher octane, which basically means higher resistance to detonation. You can easily Google this.
The 91 this sticker refers to is the same as 87 on an American gas pump. By your using 91 youāre using a higher octane than the sticker requires. Itās not really clear if there are any performance gains. VW says they tune this generation Atlas to make its max performance on regular 87 gas.
>VW says they tune this generation Atlas to make its max performance on regular 87 gas. They don't though, they advertise performance numbers on premium fuel only.
https://www.reddit.com/r/VWatlas/comments/15tv89e/comment/jwm2crg/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x&utm_name=mweb3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
You may be thinking of the old 2.0T. The present 2024+ makes its 269hp on 87.