just checking. my buddy hates having to put good gas in his vdub. can you get by with 87 octane in saabs?

The 2.0 T requires regular unleaded. I think the 2.8 needs premium because of the Turbo, but not really sure.

the 2.0T is turbo? I can't even find on Saab's website where it says whether it needs it or not. The VW turbo needs either 91 or 93 octane which is pricey and defeats the purpose of going to a 4 cyl turbo vs a nice relaxed 6 cylinder.

the 2.0T is turbo? I can't even find on Saab's website where it says whether it needs it or not. The VW turbo needs either 91 or 93 octane which is pricey and defeats the purpose of going to a 4 cyl turbo vs a nice relaxed 6 cylinder.

I know according to the manual, the 1.8T only requires regular but recommends premium. Meaning you can save the $2 each fill up, but you'll get less power. I've run it on 89 and can't really tell a difference.

There aren't many engines that absolutely require premium - I can only think of the LS7, which doesn't retard enough spark to eliminate knocking.

http://www.nextautos.com/running-on-regula...remium-gasoline

Edited July 14, 200816 yr by empowah

a rep at a dealer emailed me back and says on the fuel filler flap it says 87 is fine for the 4 and 6.

i've seen numbers all over the map for true fuel economy for say, a 9-3 four cylinder/man. a lot of user posts on sites i see saying it will consistently net 28 mpg or a little more and stories of high thirties on the highway.

if that is true with regualr gas, then its an efficient car. my buddy with his turbo premium fed passat only gets maybe 1/2 more mpg than my 500 gets with its v6.

Edited July 15, 200816 yr by regfootball

I have a 9-5 Aero and 87 works fine. 93 isn't that much of a premium though, so I usually just use premium.