Petrol recommendation for 1.4 16V

[Mateusz Loskot]

Hi,

NOTE: Made mistake in the topic, should read "Petrol recommendation for 1.4 16V" (Thanks to Matt)

I have tried to find in the archives any useful info about what fuel is recommended/best for my car but I can't see any such topics.

So, I decided to ask.

I've just got Fabia 1.4 16v 100bhp from 2000. Given the current UK market, could anyone suggest what petrol I should use?

Which one would serve as best quality and which one would be cheaper offering decent quality.

Any insights appreciated.

[Ad Lav]

I stick with shell, granted i'm a diesel but fuel is always good. If not BP is a close second.

[MoggyTech]

An 11 year old car is going to be down on original power anyway, so regular unleaded will be fine.

[bettysan]

I've got the 16v 1.4 model and 97/98 octane is recommended for it. It certainly runs better on that than on the low octane supermarket stuff. MPG is better as well, so it doen't actually cost me more in the long run to buy the better petrol.

[XLBaconDoubleCheese]

They never sold a 1.6 fabia. 1.4 16v yes, 2.0 8v yes, but no 1.6 16v

Matt

[MoggyTech]

OP sig says 1.4 so I went with that.

[fabdavrav]

Hi, had mine since feb 2001, and yes they (1.4 16v 74kW) are made to get the full 100bhp on "premium" unleaded, as when I got the car Shell Vpower (then Optimax) wasn't around up here, and I asked the dealer and they said that it wou;d run quite happily on "normal" 95 octane unleaded, but with a small reduction in power! Dealer/Skoda would not specify the amount of reduction so assume 10% less! Have run car on Shell Vpower (Optimax) for years now and as the engine is a high reving unit with most of the torque and power high up in the rev range it requires a good clean combustion, so YES run it on Vpower only!!! I waited until the tank was almost empty then filled it to the brim, then ran car until empty before filling up again. Do this about 3 times as you are "washing" the tank into the fuel filter (look on Shells web site, Vpower has got a very good detergent package added to promote clean combustion. Then change the fuel filter. Then you should gentley start exploring the pull and top end! Finally I suggest a Green cotton long life replacement air panel filter, and then a set of replacement NGK iridium tipped spark plus!! Like I've done (I build my own CIA system but alot of work!!!) Then enjoy one of the best small capacity naturally asperated engines that VW produced!!

[TriggerFish]

Then enjoy one of the best small capacity naturally asperated engines that VW produced!!

Just watch for the piston rings!

That said, I did love mine despite them failing. Made a good noise too IMO.

I also found Vpower etc to give a better running engine on my GTi. (Same bottom end, just a bigger displacement and a different head.) That said, with current prices I'll take whatevers cheapest as it's perfectly adequate on that anyway.

Edited 11 March, 2011 by TriggerFish

[chrisw880]

Just watch for the piston rings!

+1

I got rid of my last Fabia because of this and I was facing an £800 bill to fix

[TriggerFish]

Same here.

Edited 11 March, 2011 by TriggerFish

[Tech1e]

Worst case if the rings are worn and starts blowing oil into the inlet manifold just fit a catch can to stop it creating further issues.

[fabdavrav]

Piston rings let go???!!! Oh hell! Mind you I bought mine brand new in 2001 and have looked after it, Mobil 1 oil every year and oem filter, and I let it drain from hot for 2hrs!! I do know that these engines can "cook" themselves because of the big plastic cover/air filter housing (aluminium engine components transfer heat VW had same problem in original version of this engine used in first 1.4 16v Polo model!!) Cured this by removing offending plastic and made own CIA system which has run sucessfully for 5yrs now!

[Mateusz Loskot]

They never sold a 1.6 fabia. 1.4 16v yes, 2.0 8v yes, but no 1.6 16v

Good catch. You are right, of course.

I made mistake. I meant 1.4 16v.

Thanks!

[Mateusz Loskot]

so YES run it on Vpower only!!! I waited until the tank was almost empty then filled it to the brim, then ran car until empty before filling up again. Do this about 3 times as you are "washing" the tank into the fuel filter

Thanks for the hints.

Just watch for the piston rings!

It's always good to know about weaknesses of car.

This is my first car, I hope to learn a lot. I know the learning curve is steep and may cost a lot sometimes (or often), but I'm not expecting miracles for sure. As a newbie, I highly appreciate all details helping to understand.

Just found a few completing words on the fuel/pistons issue

Fabia/VW 1.4 16v Piston Ring Problem

Edited 11 March, 2011 by Mateusz Loskot

[chrisw880]

Piston rings let go???!!! Oh hell! Mind you I bought mine brand new in 2001 and have looked after it, Mobil 1 oil every year and oem filter, and I let it drain from hot for 2hrs!! I do know that these engines can "cook" themselves because of the big plastic cover/air filter housing (aluminium engine components transfer heat VW had same problem in original version of this engine used in first 1.4 16v Polo model!!) Cured this by removing offending plastic and made own CIA system which has run sucessfully for 5yrs now!

As long as you have used the recommended fuel and serviced the car on time you should be fine.

Mine only went because it was bought 2nd hand with no service history and I only found out about the recommended fuel when I bought my current Fabia

[anewman]

Premium unleaded burns quicker than super unleaded, which can potentially cause pre-ignition (pinking) which forces the piston back down before it has fully risen. I wonder if this is the main cause of the 1.4 16v piston ring issue. Are there any 1.4 16v's that have been purely run alone on super unleaded and had the piston rings fail?

If I had a 1.4 16v I would run it on nothing other than super unleaded. Being only 5p more than premium at most places, it represents excellent value for money in terms of the percentage cost above premium given the recent hikes in prices.

[chrisw880]

Premium unleaded burns quicker than super unleaded, which can potentially cause pre-ignition (pinking) which forces the piston back down before it has fully risen. I wonder if this is the main cause of the 1.4 16v piston ring issue. Are there any 1.4 16v's that have been purely run alone on super unleaded and had the piston rings fail?

If I had a 1.4 16v I would run it on nothing other than super unleaded. Being only 5p more than premium at most places, it represents excellent value for money in terms of the percentage cost above premium given the recent hikes in prices.

This could be true as when I filled up with super unleaded the EML went off, but the minute I put the standard stuff back in the EML came back one.

[fabdavrav]

:swear: Spent last night doing research on "Piston Ring" failures (used above posted link to Honest John) also looked in copies of VW driver, and Car Mechanics mags that I get, as I was starting to have heart palpitations !!! And I thought that some how I'd missed a fault!! But as I suspected main causes are as follows:

OIL; not enough, wrong type (not best quality), not changed frequently enough, oil not throughly drained at change (engine flush & filter change not done)

PETROL; wrong or low grade.

ENGINE; revved to high when cold, not allowed to cool after hot run (heat soak), over heating (cooling system fault, or the big plastic air filter housing trapping heat!!)

Thankfully I've always looked after my cars, with nothing but the best!and I owned this one from new!! I bet now it will throw a ring!!! !!

These engines 1.4 16v 74Kw AUB & BBZ are brill!, but require looking after due to high specification! Alluminium alloy cylinder block, head, camshaft carrier, sump, gearbox casing. So be carefull not to F**k the sump, and you can't remove the crankshaft or bearings from the block as the bearings are matched to the block!!!

Edited 12 March, 2011 by fabdavrav

[Guest BigJase88]

i have the 1.6 16v AVY engine...

in a lupo, quite fun actually

[Mateusz Loskot]

:swear: Spent last night doing research on "Piston Ring" failures

Simply put: great work and big kudos for sharing it!

Unfortunately, servicing history of my car is not complete.

Although, I bought my Fabia 2nd hand but from dealer where it had been serviced before I got it.

I have been told no servicing is required until next MOT.

Hopefully, I deal with honest dealer (no reason to be suspicious so far).

Nevertheless, I'm going to check what I can check myself frequently, do basic maintenance and react on any problems as soon as possible.

[fabdavrav]

Get a Haynes manual, as v.good for giving a general strip down guide, with basic fault finding in back pages,and keep asking us the questions, I think thats what BRISKODA is for !!!

[David 8]

Edited title for you

[sepulchrave]

I'm convinced this is all a red herring, my experience with high performance engines over the years tells me that the vast majority of these engines have problems with bore glazing due to being treated too gently early in life.

This leads to increased oil consumption through blowby which would likely not be noticed until the oil light came on.

By this time the top end has suffered some oil starvation resulting in premature cam follower wear and resultant valve guide wear and thus stem seal failure which would only exacerbate the oil consumption issues further. So the vicious cycle would continue with oil consumption gradually getting worse.

I would imagine that a good ol' fashioned 'glaze buster' hone and a new set of rings would refresh the bottom end, and a set of followers, valve guides and stem seals would refresh the head.

In order to run it properly observe the following:

Fill with ordinary cheap 15W40 type mineral oil.

Disable ignition, crank engine until oil pressure light is extinguished.

Enable ignition, start and idle until fully warm.

Stop, check all fluid levels etc.

Restart, drive to petrol station and fill with 98/99 premium unleaded.

Go for a drive in the countryside, spanking it mercilessly up and down the gearbox forcing those new rings to expand and contact with the varying cylinder pressures.

Repeat until you've used that tankful up.

Change oil and filter using proper final synthetic fill.

Voila, no oil consumption and maximum performance and engine life.

Anyone who tells you otherwise is probably an 'intuitive engineer' (hint: that's not a compliment )