Recently read an article on USA Today and then this months Road & Track on it. I started doing it but because I learned it from Top Gear show when dude drove a 5 series beyond the MPG BMW stated. Saves me money but it all goes to hell when the roads get twisty, I mash on the pedal. Here are a few gas saving tips:

1) Inflate your tires to the highest psi reccomended by tire manufacturer not MINI
2) Accelerate smoothly and coast to lights and stop signs
3) Use cruise control religiously
4) Keep windows rolled up
5) Do not use A/C, limit its use if needed use lowest setting
6) Most important short shift gears early before supercharger kicks in (-3000rpm) if you got automatic pay more attention to #2
7) Drive the speed limit on HWYs and Interstates (practice lane dicipline, jabs to throttle to change lanes wastes petrol)
8) Use good petrol ie; Shell and Chevron/Texaco (I go online and find cheapest petrol- I use Shell V 93 at $4.11 gal.)

There is a number 9 as well that I had some questions about.
9) Using single weight oil ie: 30wt instead of the factory reccomeded 5/30 (lighter oil)

I know this is also an old racers tip to increase HP, but not sure if safe for MCS? Any thoughts?

 

Recently I have done a lot to save money. I am looking for a used Cooper religously the past few weeks. I currently own a Nissan 350Z touring (all the options) and with 19" 3 piece wheels, 285/35/19 rear tires, use my AC set at 74 degrees. The car is rated to 24 MPG on the hwy.

I have gone from using premium at Chevron to using 87 at Arco. Pumped up my tires, don't get on it, try and draft a bit, coast when I am going down hill, still drive 70-80 MPG on HWY (but I don't bother trying to get around people any more), and if I am going to be at a red light for more than 45 sec, I turn off the car. 20% city/80% hwy, 2 tanks ago I got 26.8 MPG average, last tank I got 27.2, I am right at 28.0 on this tank (but that will go down now that it is the weekend). IIRC they changed the standards so even though my car was rated at 24 MPG hwy a few years ago, I bet it is closer to 23 MPG rating now. Car has 46k miles on it and is more on the "heavy" side with the wheels/tires, subwoofer, power everything, etc....

Like you listed, I haven't even gone that extreme (some people turn the car off and roll, NO A/C or radio even when it is hot, take out all kinds of stuff...seats, mirrors, etc....to save wt and improve aero).

I am hoping to get a MCS as a 3rd car and get close to 40 MPG.

 

I have found that if I drive like an old lady and follow all of the advice above my MINI will gain 3mpg (increase from 25 to 28) in the combined around town and highway driving that I do (much more around town). In rough numbers, that saves me about a gallon of gas per week, or about $4.50, or about $234 a year at current gas prices.

I am by no means wealthy, cannot afford to be throwing money around and look for ways to save ...but this isn't one that works for me because it comes at the sacrifice of FUN.

I'll clip coupons, keep the house a bit warmer in the summer, a bit cooler in the winter, will skip buying new clothes for another year, etc., ...but not motor in my MINI ...pure sacrilege. Nope ...can't do it.

 

I have to agree that while becoming a hypermiler can save you some $ the only way to really save MPG is to change your driving habits - as in choosing not do drive or changing the circumstances under which they drive.

For example - saving 3 MPG is good but carpooling or using public transportation is better - that saves 20+ MPG.

I am sure that most hypermilers are people who have to commute to work and such. I am shocked in this day and age of cheap remote connectivity that people are not able to "work from home" more often than they are now. Granted it takes a lot of discipline on the employee and trust on the employer but as long as nobody takes advantage of the situation its a win-win for everyone.

Anyhow - rodH - you'd be better off getting just an MC if you want good gas mileage. You'd have to drive the MCS so sparingly that you'd have effectively wasted the investment in the "S"-ness of the MCS. Obviously its your choice but I'd sit down and really think about why you want an MCS over an MC. If you drive an MCS "properly" you'll never see 40 mpg.

I also agree with reelsmith - Its worth $250 a year to me to enjoy the drive. I'd rather choose not to drive as often and save my money that way (250 = 62 gallons = just under 5 tanks of gas at 4 bucks a tank). At least then when I DO drive I can enjoy it.

Finally - I'd recommend against using lighter weight oil. The oil specifications are in place for a reason - are you willing to potentially harm your engine just to save part of a mile per gallon? I'm sure someone who knows more than I do will have a definitive answer but I'm willing to bet that this is not a great idea.

 

All good points. I am a Physical Therapist, so it is tough to work from home, BUT I do work 4 10 hr days, so that helps. I like the trend of large corp and gov going to 4 tens and in some cases encouraging work from home, but it needs to get better.

I also agree that what is th point in having a FUN car if you can't "get on it". I hope no one took my post as such, if there is some guy driving like an idiot in and out of traffic and he pulls up to me at a stop light, lets just say I am not going to "ignore him", but at the same time I don't feel the need to race the little old lady in her Buick off the line. I still drive and have fun, I also still drive in the fast lane, I am just more selective now.

Here is the deal with the S vs NON-S. I am getting an early model, it looks like the S has a 6 spd while the non-S is a 5, reports are that the non-S gets 37 MPG hwy and the S 34 MPG. Certainly not a large enough difference. I like the looks of the S MUCH MUCH more, and if I were to buy a non-S and put nicer wheels/tires on it, etc....I am at the price of an S anyway. Plus I wont lie, performance and looks do mean something to me. Considering the Civic Si is rated around 30 mpg and the MCS about 34 or 35, it is still a "fuel efficient" car. And if I can get 27 out of my Z, I am pretty sure I can get 35+ out of an MCS.

 

you forgot drafting>>

 

rodH - A fair assessment for sure! I forgot that you were coming out of a Z while I was ranting :-).

I, too, prefer the subtle differences the S brings to the table. I suppose that if you shoot for the stars at 40 mpg and you get there on occasion you can motor on in the twisties guilt-free!

I agree that I like the trend of 4-tens. Unfortunately I'm a full-time work at home so I end up working waaaaayyyyyy more than 40 hours a week if I don't pay close attention. Its hard to escape "The Man" when he lives in your home (no I'm not self-employed, I am a corporate drone for lack of a better adjective this week). But that is a different problem altogether :-)

Good luck in your search - I have seen a number of R50/52/53s for sale lately but they sure don't stick around for long when appropriately priced.

 

I have also read that:

1. Buying gas shortly after the station gets its delivery and the tanks are full gets you better gas because as the tanks empty condensation develops inside the tanks and water gets added to the gas.

2. Buying gas early in the morning gets you more gas because as the tanks heat up during the day the gas expands and you get less gas for your money.

I have no proof of either of these. Comments?

Dean.

 

That's actually an excellent point. I don't "NASCAR" draft, but I stay back 1-2 seconds behind larger vehicles that are moving at a good pace. On my wife's 07 Hyundai Santa Fe, that will give me 3-4 mpg more on the highway as opposed to pushing all the air myself. I don't have an OBC on my MCS, but I've seen my average increase from 26-29 by doing that along with a few other tips that were already mentioned.

 

just two:

1. i would be cautious about tire pressures. the Dunlop Z1s I am running have a manufacturer's peak inflation recommendation of 51 lbs. at 51lbs however the tires have significantly less grip that they do in the normal range, unless the car is VERY heavily loaded. normal handling balance for my setup is 35f, 39r on the street. in competition the pressures are 39f, 48r and the reason for 48r is to reduce grip deliberately - thereby increasing rotation and providing a significant amount of oversteer on corner entry with a closed throttle. that reduction in rear grip helps on a dry autocross course, but it's sudden death on the street.

2. i would not depart from the manufacturer's recommendation for oil grade - oil technology has changed a great deal over the years...

cheers,

charlie

 

The aggravation with tires is if you run them at max pressure, the centers bow out a little, reduce grip as mentioned earlier, and wear faster in the middle. So I usually back it down to about 4-5 psi shy of max. Also, measure psi when the tires are at operating temp.

I'd have to take issue on using cc. Certainly if you're tired use it, but I find I can get better mpgs in most cars when I manually use the throttle as much as possible. I've noticed that there seems to be more load on an engine in cruise going downhill that if I just took my foot off the throttle. Hypermilers also shift into neutral when ever possible, but I rarely use that extreme.

Ordering a car without sunroof, retrofitting lightweight wheels (and not going the +1 or +2 route on increased wheel size), using normal tires instead of runflats, replacing the spare if you have justacoop with a can of fixaflat, and ultimately a rear seat delete, and a driver diet can reduce the mass of the car and save a few mpgs as well.

Here's an extreme example:

 

Just as a reference... in my 2006 JCW MCS I managed 6.7 L/100km (35mpg) on a recent all-day inter-city roadtrip (just over 800km driven). Just "drove smoothly" and kept my cruising speed around 110kph (68mph) which is 8-10kph slower than I would otherwise run that stretch. This was with AC on as well as it was a very hot day. I was certainly impressed, especially given this is a JCW - and especially given the Competition Edition cars have no cruise control! I would imagine 37mpg would be achievable with use of cruise.

But I agree with Reelsmith... seeing what is achievable is neat-o, but should not overly compromise the fun of sporting driving.

 

I think it was on 60 Minutes or some show that did a piece on hyper-milers. The guy featured gets 100 MPG on his Honda Insight, which to me is a butt ugly car.

So yeah, I could become obsessed and do all those things, drive a car that gets lots of looks [because it's so darn ugly] and get great MPG.

But for me one can get too obsessed and carried away with this, hypermiling. I like driving my MINI and shooting down the freeway enjoying the ride is paramount over getting caught up on gaining 2 to 5 extra miles per gallon and getting upset each time I don't achieve that. [And IMHO no way a MINI could consistently get 35+ miles per gallon, unless one is doing only freeway driving, staying in the slow lane and putt putting along at 55 to 60 mph.]

All I do is make sure the tires are properly inflated, use my cruise control a lot, keep it at about 68 to 70 mph, and don't gun the engine a lot to pass.

Besides, in my town, San Francisco, the hills would kill any chance at doing that hypermiling thing [albeit when I see a red light up ahead, on the downhill, I start to slow down with the brakes. But coasting to a stop is not too safe when on a downhill grade, as I won't have any control of the car.

Coincidentally on the subject, today I filled up the MINI [a 2006 non-S] after driving it for about 10 days [combo City and commuting to classes that I teach, 70 miles round trip, 2X a week]. Most of the time the AC was on due to the hot weather. And driving to and from the freeways eats a lot of fuel. I have the San Francisco hills and lots of stop and go traffic [traffic lights at every intersection.]

I got 29.8 MPG. I am very pleased with that as my 4Runner [vehicle before the MINI] got about 18 mpg.

If I headed to L. A. on Interstate 5 [I 5] I am sure I could have attained 33 to 35 MPG, but that's an ideal. The City driving kills it for me.

Get a MINI and enjoy the 30++ mpg. And like some members posted, add up the savings one gets if squeezing an extra three to five mpg. Is it really worth $100 to $200 a year for all the labor, stress and frustration?

 

Nope, I mentioned it at 8:53 am:

"try and draft a bit...."

 

Yes Drafting was there as well as gassing up on coldest part of day and after station refills.

note I do lower pressures around 34psi range and then adjust for midnight mountain runs,spirited sunday drives, auto-x, track days, but monday through friday 48 to 51 psi.

So isn't 5/30 just a blend of 5wt and 30wt-the 5wt for freezing start ups. But since its summer no worries right? Or in CA no worries all year long. Let me know what ya'll think??

 

Hey howsoonisnow1985 do you know what I think?

I think your going to miss out on one hell of a run today

 

Both actually aren't true. I read recently (not sure where) that the difference in cold gas is so negligible as to not make a difference. Not sure about the water in the tank but getting gas from a station that just had the tanks filled is more likely to introduce sediment that was stirred up.

 

I love the cold gas theory
Unless you are in the middle of a hot dessert and the gas station happens to have above ground tanks
you're not likely to see any difference in fuel volume brought on by heating and cooling.
If you don't believe me then go get some gas around 5am then again around 2pm and take a temperature
reading both times and tell me you saw any real difference.

 

In my R56 cooper I regularly get 40+ MPG. My most recent fill up was 9.1 gallons for 410 miles. One person here (velvet Foot) has actually gotten over 50 mpg.

Using cruise control on the highway will actually decrease you mileage not increase it, that is if you can maintain your speed. I usually keep my tire pressure about 5 lbs. over the Mini recommended. Every 5 mph increase above 60 will decrease your mileage by 10%. The narrower your tires are, the better mpg you will get.

As far as the hyper mileage video goes I would never turn my engine off while driving, that is dangerous. What if a dog or a child ran out in front of the car, how would you react without power steering. Anyone doing that should be driving a Prius or shot. As far as taking corners at intersections without braking, I thought that was standard mini procedure. I also don't draft vehicles on the highway. Keeping the nose of my car chip free is more important to me than a couple of mpgs.

Actually every tankful of gas I try to save some and have some fun also. I bought this car for fun, it just so happens this car gets good mileage also.

 

I'm getting around 35mpg with my 03 MC, my commute is about 50/50 highway/street about 8 miles both ways. I don't drive hard on the streets
, but I do on the short run on the interstate, if your not going 10 over, you get run off the road. It has to be real hot before I turn on the A/C, usually around 95F. I have read, not sure where, that the windows up/down argument does not make much difference, and in cars like my Cooper, the A/C really robs HP, so you need to get on the throttle more to over come it, thus wasting fuel. I always try and be smooth on the throttle, but I seldom short shift, don't want that ECU to learn that driving habit I remember years ago a study by either BMW, or Mercedes that said you would get better MPG in city driving if you got to the speed limit quicker rather than slowly, as cruising is when you get the best MPG.

Mark

 

I have done hypermiling, but I tend to naturally stop and go back to driving it hard within a day

I have found a few things from that list that just don't go over that well on the R56 justacooper.

2) Accelerate smoothly and coast to lights and stop signs

I have found that whenever this new engine accelerates, it uses a lot of gas. So I have found it better to just accelerate hard and get up to the cruising speed as fast as possible. I managed 47mpg doing it this way in the city (but if you can only stay in cruising speed for a few seconds, then mpg will start to go way down). The R56 engine can get over 50 mpg cruising at around 50 in 5th or 60 in 6th. And by all means cruise as much as possible because the mpg goes to 99 when you are off the throttle :D

5) Do not use A/C, limit its use if needed use lowest setting

If you are using the A/C, you might as well blast it because the compressor puts the same load on the engine at full blast as low blast. What I have found best to do if I really need the A/C is to click the recirculating air button, then when I am at cruising speed I turn on the A/C at full blast. At this the instant mpg shows roughly 50mpg and I can see my overall still going up after being past 40mpg (and yes mine is set for US gallons not imperial). Then when coming to a stop, I turn the A/C and leave it off all the way through acceleration. The cold air will stay in long enough with the recirculation to keep me good until cruising again.


Normally tho I just can't drive like that all the time and quickly go back to the fun I enjoy, which still gets me 37 mpg, but at least I know I can get 42, and possible squeeze out 47 in the city

 

I refuse to wave to anyone that I see "hypermiling" a Mini.IMO you have just dragged the last bit of attitude out of the car and turned it into a sad piece of transport.What's next after hypermiling reaches across the board acceptance?--Reporting those driving "too aggressively"?"Officer!I just saw that man over there driving his car like it should be driven!"-I can just see it now."EPA orders dealerships to report gas consumptioon to Feds,film at 11"

 

I'm a bit confused about this high/low A/C setting on a MINI, at least a 1st gen one. I have 1 setting, on, well 2, off. Now I know that if the fan setting is on high, that there would be more draw from the alternator, which would put more load on the engine, but I don't think it would reveal itself as a significant drop in MPG. When you switch on the recirc switch, it may sound like like it is working harder, but that is just the fan noise, not the A/C compressor.

Mark

 

Some of these "ideas" may save gas but are causing wear on other parts faster so wheres the savings? Also drafting is extremely dangerous.

 

Non sequitir and impossible, especially nowadays.

Everything else works well. Had a great draft behind an 18 wheeler going 70 mph yesterday, meanwhile all types of trucks and SUVs were speeding by me, some pretty obnoxiously (like speeding up right up to my rear bumper before passing me ) -- !^&**%$ idiots.