So I love my car. I own a 2012 MINI Countryman Cooper. Used to be a leased car & I'm the first buyer since its lease owner. I'm at about 25K Miles & I couldn't be happier with it. So soon we're going on a road trip. We live in California so we'll be driving from the Central Valley to Los Angeles. That's about a 3 hour drive & passing through the famous Grapevine Pass, going up and down hills so my concern is; will my 121 horse power MINI be able to handle it? We all know that that engine lacks power, & I really enjoy having my air conditioning on so that robs even more power & the engine will be carrying our weight. I'm a bit heavy so add 300 pounds & my passages who is about 130 pounds. I've taken my car to the California west coast. About 2 hours of driving. Even went up and down a hill that was a 7% steep for trucks. That was interesting, reaching that I was going 60 & once going down I was at 85 instantly. Now one of the reason I have a concern. Returning, going up that same hill, under sport mode my car wouldn't speed up. I believe my foot was to the floor and I was going 45-50 mph. That sucked and it was scary so it's pretty much why I'm concerned for my car. If I experienced that with the shorter trip, imaging a longer one. Anyone have any recommendations or ideas? I kinda don't want this trip to end up costing more than it should of if you know what I mean 😉. Oh also it freaks me out to drive my car more than 4000RPM in fear of engine damage haha so yeah I'm weird but what ever. Happy Driving everyone & thanks for reading 👍🏻

 

Hey RICH,

From your description, it sounds like you don't rag on your car at all, driving ever so gently on a normal basis. Thus, I wouldn't be too worried about pushing it hard for this trip. It sounds like you just gotta give those hills some gas and get through'em! Additionally, I actually recommend you to perform some full throttle pulls. In the automotive service industry, we see time and time again, "grandma's car" with gunked up valves and heads, because they are 15 years old with 20,000 miles and never been full-throttled! These cars suffer from severe carbon buildup from being driven extremely conservatively, in short, under 10 mile increments. The Direct Injection N18 Engine lends itself to carbon buildup, further exacerbating the issue.

Thus, in summary, pedal to the metal my friend!

Drive Safe & Drive Often. Rubber Side Down. Over & Out.

 

To add to what Juan was saying, also make sure you're at least using 89octane if not 91. I have an S and used 89 in it once...never again. My car drank it like cool-aid...the 91 it drinks like a damn good beer! HA!

My recommendations...

Fill it with real premium fuel (if you don't already e.g. Chevron/Shell/76)
Add Injector Cleaner (I prefer Lucas Oil injector cleaner)
Drop in a K&N air filter (never hurts to get a better air flow to the engine)

I too am from the Central Valley and make both of those trips pretty consistently (LA/SLO). The Grape Vine has never been an issue, and certainly not the 41. Sure, on the climb you will experience a down shift and an increase in RPM, that's the nature of the climb. With only 25K, you'll be fine. If you're really concerned, take it to a mechanic you really trust and have them give it a once over before you head out.

I know you love your A/C, but for the climb, and if it's not too hot, shut it off and roll down the windows. You'll get that power back. Plus, the climb isn't that long.

Motor On!