Premium Fuel
Get a Honda Fit or Toyota Yaris they are a small ecconobox and somewhat kinda sorta but not really cute in its own odd particular way. But they take the cheapest 87 octane gas in town.
4th Gear
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 509
Likes: 0
From: Southeast PA
All most EVERY European designed car runs on Premium or Diesel. They do not sell regular gas in Europe (so my Brit friends tell me!). In the winter I have gone down to 89 Octane "on occasion" .... but in Summer it's only 91 Octane for me!
Bob
Bob
Neutral
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 9
Likes: 0
From: Hawaii
Premium or regular???
Does anybody remember that comercial??
"You can pay me now, or you can pay me later"
I have a 2009 JCW Clubman. I only use the good stuff. I seafoam and change the oil myself every 6 months.
A extra $3 - $5 (Hawaii) for gas every fill up now is better then a possible $3000 - $5000 later.
"You can pay me now, or you can pay me later"
I have a 2009 JCW Clubman. I only use the good stuff. I seafoam and change the oil myself every 6 months.
A extra $3 - $5 (Hawaii) for gas every fill up now is better then a possible $3000 - $5000 later.
Neutral
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 2
Likes: 0
I have a 2009 S and I only use 87 octane regular gasoline, but it's high quality brand name gas, typically BP. With 19k on the odo, I have not experienced any challenges. Two dealers have quoted the owner's manual that 91 octane is recommended, but octane at least 87 is REQUIRED. So, I select what is required. Cheers!
4th Gear
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 483
Likes: 2
From: Miami, FL
I have a 2009 S and I only use 87 octane regular gasoline, but it's high quality brand name gas, typically BP. With 19k on the odo, I have not experienced any challenges. Two dealers have quoted the owner's manual that 91 octane is recommended, but octane at least 87 is REQUIRED. So, I select what is required. Cheers!
I have a non-S and the owner's manual also states that 91 is suggested but 87 will work just fine. I've tried tanks of both and in all honesty I couldn't tell one bit of difference. Gas mileage was the same, throttle response was the same, no knocking or pinging or any strange noises, etc..etc...
Then again, I'm in Florida where all of the roads are pretty much completely flat. Maybe if I drove in mountains I might see a difference.
2nd Gear
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 116
Likes: 0
From: Fort Worth, Texas
I find it incomprehensible that this topic still pops up. The car is designed to use premium fuel. It will perform as advertised and get good gas mileage. We're talking about 2-3 dollars per fill up for the premium fuel, what's the big deal?
I'm not trying to be rude. I understand that the media tells people not to pay extra for premium fuel, that it won't make much difference, and for the vast majority of people, that's true. Cars that are designed for use with 87 octane will not benefit from paying for premium, whereas cars that are designed for premium will pay some sort of penalty for not using it, weather it be losing performance or mpg or both.
Just buy the premium and know that your car is running right
.
I'm not trying to be rude. I understand that the media tells people not to pay extra for premium fuel, that it won't make much difference, and for the vast majority of people, that's true. Cars that are designed for use with 87 octane will not benefit from paying for premium, whereas cars that are designed for premium will pay some sort of penalty for not using it, weather it be losing performance or mpg or both.
Just buy the premium and know that your car is running right
.
4th Gear
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 493
Likes: 0
From: Charlotte, NC
Owners manual does'nt just say recommanded, it says HIGHLY recommanded. If the maintenance folks at the power plant I work at ever failed to follow a mfgs HIGHLY recomended maintenance advice they would be fired.
2nd Gear
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 116
Likes: 0
From: Fort Worth, Texas
I fly airliners for a living. We do what the manufacturer says!
6th Gear
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 3,260
Likes: 87
From: Pacific NW
They run just fine on regular gas, it doesn't hurt anything except power output because the computer retards the ignition.
But really, for the price of a happy meal, why not put premium in it, when filling it up, like the manufacturer recommends?
Dave
But really, for the price of a happy meal, why not put premium in it, when filling it up, like the manufacturer recommends?
Dave
2nd Gear
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 90
Likes: 0
From: Boulder Colorado
I just bought my 06 mcs. i had read on the car talk site that the car computer will adjust the pressure to adjust for the lower octane (as others have said) so for my first tank i bought regular octane gas.
Then i went for a drive in the mountains (i already live at 5200' where you loose about 20% of your horsepower due to the altitude) and the service engine light went on. I checked the code and the knock sensor had registered my stingyness.
I bought some octane enhancer engine luby stuff to keep Max happy for the rest of the tank. (now i wonder if i should keep buying cheaper gas to use up the octane enhancer engine luby stuff. and what is engine luby stuff?)
Then i went for a drive in the mountains (i already live at 5200' where you loose about 20% of your horsepower due to the altitude) and the service engine light went on. I checked the code and the knock sensor had registered my stingyness.
I bought some octane enhancer engine luby stuff to keep Max happy for the rest of the tank. (now i wonder if i should keep buying cheaper gas to use up the octane enhancer engine luby stuff. and what is engine luby stuff?)
2nd Gear
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 90
Likes: 0
From: Boulder Colorado
Embav8er
if it makes you feel better we both got sunburned. my husband's was bad enough that he left work early because he was too tired to push on.
i told him about the sunscreen in the glove box
(i'm just too uncoordinated to put it on properly)
if it makes you feel better we both got sunburned. my husband's was bad enough that he left work early because he was too tired to push on.
i told him about the sunscreen in the glove box
(i'm just too uncoordinated to put it on properly)
5th Gear
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 651
Likes: 9
From: Chicago
The simple answer to your question is that your Mini will be more fun to drive. It will accelerate faster, be more responsive, and you will have more power for passing.
Also, BTW the 20 cent spread between regular and premium (at least here in the Chicago area) is not what causes $50 (or so) fill-ups -- it's the $4.00 "base" price per gallon you pay no matter what.
Also, BTW the 20 cent spread between regular and premium (at least here in the Chicago area) is not what causes $50 (or so) fill-ups -- it's the $4.00 "base" price per gallon you pay no matter what.
5th Gear
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 637
Likes: 0
The gas to use depends on the car. I drive 100+ miles a day on the autobahn. My car has over 64k miles and this is what I found. American 91 octane gas gets me about 60 miles to the tank further than American 95 octant. 91 Octane in MY MCS is more responsive than the higher 95 octane. It took me over 40k miles to figure this out.. I wish I had researched the topic 2+ years ago...
The 95 octane is not needed for MY car. Manufactures recommend running the lowest recommended octane that you car can run without the engine knocking and/or pinging. Running higher octane than the lowest recommended octane is simply a waste.
The 95 octane is not needed for MY car. Manufactures recommend running the lowest recommended octane that you car can run without the engine knocking and/or pinging. Running higher octane than the lowest recommended octane is simply a waste.
4th Gear
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 563
Likes: 1
From: Dallas, TX
Ditto. I used 87 for about 1 year and then decided to switch back to 93. I have a 2011 loaner from the dealership today and I think whoever filled it up last put 87 in it. It is definitely not as quick initially as mine is and technically it has more horsepower so I'm really noticing the difference.
3rd Gear
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 204
Likes: 0
From: Evergreen, CO
My MCS pings here and there running 91 octane at 5000-7000' of elevation, especially on Shell gas. Yes, use what the manufacturer recommends. There is a net difference of $3 between a tank of regular and premium. Not trying to be a jerk here, but if $3 on a tank of gas costing $50-60 is THAT big of a deal, I would suggest not buying a new car then. I can't figure out why people make such a big deal about "premium". Its not like regular costs 50% what premium does... more like 95%. 
3rd Gear
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 266
Likes: 4
From: New Brunswick, Canada
I can't speak for all the brands of gas in the US, but here in Canada our .87 contains ethanol, but .91 doesn't...(I know at least some of the US brands are set up the same way). That alone is a good reason to be running .91 or higher, because I guarantee you're losing gas mileage if you're running ethanol.
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