I have some people telling me to go Premium all the time, and others who tell me to alternate between Mid and Premium. What do you guys usually stick to?

Sharon

 

100% 93octane, for almost 27,000 miles so far. I drive HARD with some wide open throttle and high RPMs every tank - so I might actually be getting some benefit from the higher knock-resistance. Folks who drive more conservatively would probably do fine with 89octane much of the time...

 

All the time.

 

Always Premium. I do drive conservatively but don't seem any reason to depart from the manufacturer's recommendation. At over $3 per gallon, 10 cents more a gallon seems insignificant.

I have heard that for some MCs in cold climates that there may be some advantage to a lower mid octane fuel during the winter.

 

Cooper?
or
Cooper S?

Does it get cold where you live?

 

Premium, always.

 

ALWAYS premium.

Since I use my credit card with every fill-up, (to get reward points), I therefore don't even look at the total I spend every time. That helps make it much less painful!

But seriously, I figure there are many good reasons that MINI specifies the use of 91 octane or higher fuel in their cars. They're the manufacturer, so I must assume they know what's best for my car.

My car is too important to me to skimp on octane, so I only use premium.

 

Always use premium. For the few cents per tank that it cost its more than worth it to me and to my MINI. Only the best!

 

Chevron 94 everytime .......... so far.

 

Shell VPower all of the time.

 

Nothing but.

 

Since day one. Haven't yet found a reason to deviate from the ops manual. Besides the delta in cost is insignificant.

 

yea we always use premium on both minis. same thing everyone else says the price difference is about 10 cents here so its not going to kill me and id rather stick to what we should put in it. but it doesnt get cold here so it may be different for you.

 

Shell V-Power 93 octane all the time. Really, it's about 1 dollar difference per fill up. I can handle an extra buck since it's the recommended grade.

 

...all the time. Chevron or Shell...

 

Shell V Power...every time...all the time.....

 

I use 87... The manual recommends 91 but says 87 is OK also. I never get any knocking, and according to the manual, "This has no effect on the engine life."

 

all the time, if you look at it it's not that much more. plus i read that it does better on gas mileage with the premium. if this is true then if you use anything less than premium you end up paying more for gas since you will be filling up sooner. i've been getting my gas at walmart's gas station and i haven't had any problems plus i get 3 cents per gallon off using their gas card.

 

91 Shell everytime (max we can get in AZ). I never had the guts to use 87.

 

Maybe a better question is: Has anyone tried running a lower grade gasoline and checked their mileage to see how it compares with premium?

The engine has a knock sensor which will retard the ignition timing to protect against pre-detonation. However, this lowers efficiency and power, which may affect mileage, depending upon how often it occurs. How often it occurs depends on your driving demands, air temperature & pressure.

The manufacturer specifies premium because it covers them under all conditions. You should only run the minimum octane which works for you, otherwise, you're wasting money and energy.

 

91 octane in CA too,,, the highest we can get.

 

$0.10 difference/gal x 12 gal/fill x 1 fill/370 miles x 10000 miles/ year
=$32 difference /year.

Is that right??

 

Our choices in this area are 87-89-93. 93 always. Having had one fuel-related problem from one retailer, I also restrict my purchases to Top Tier suppliers. In this area, that's Shell only.

 

We always use the highest grade available...always!

 

FWIW, I found my '03 starts and runs better in this really cold weather if I use regular. Have any of you 2 gen cars experienced this?

No difference in the mileage that I can tell, it always sucks this time of year! I'm only getting 23 - 24 mpg and most of my driving is hiway. I usually get around 28 -30........

I'm going to get it dyno tuned by Jan next month, so I'll get premium back in it a couple of weeks before to get it back up to max power..........