Jees, I got a lecture from some guy who asked me what kind of gas the mini takes. I told him premium, and he asks me what brand I use. I told him Amoco Ultimate at BP. I'm plenty old enough that I should have seen this coming-- slowly he turns, then he looks at me like Moe in the Three Stooges routine about Niagra Falls.... for those who have seen this.

Well fifteen minutes later, he has finished about how bad BP is, how it gums up engines, was likely a cause in the last outbreak of smallpox, and the reason for the fall of the Roman Empire.... he said Sunoco was the only premium gas to buy, yada, yada... his wife fell asleep in their car.

Before I joined her, (going to sleep, that is) I told this guy that I thought he was a gasoholic, and I thought there was an imediate opening for treatment if he called the Henry Ford Clinic immediately, and he should also join GA (Gas Anon)--

Seriously, do others have a favorite brand of gas? In case there are some zealots in our group, please limit responses to under two pages. Just a brand and a few sentences will be fine for me. Also I hope no one ventures into mixed gas (like 1part BP/ 2parts Sunoco)-- I don't wanna go there-- I'm never gonna answer any questions about which gas in my mini again-- I will say it's all in bold print in the owners manual....

 

My own favorite brand is whichever station I am driving by when my tank reads E! My second favorite brand is whoever has pay at the pump! (how did we ever live in a world in which we actually had to walk in and pay!!??)

 

>>My second favorite brand is whoever has pay at the pump! (how did we ever live in a world in which we actually had to walk in and pay!!??)

I can remember when the attendant actually came out to you, pumped the gas, cleaned the windshield, took your money and handed you your change.

 

>>My own favorite brand is whichever station I am driving by when my tank reads E! My second favorite brand is whoever has pay at the pump! (how did we ever live in a world in which we actually had to walk in and pay!!??)

Is there no rating of gasoline brands? Can you really just go with convenience and price? No wonder Amoco sends me a Christmas card....

 

Personaly I use SUNOCO Ultra, just because the 94 octane, I hate Octan boosters and aditives to the gas for various reasons I won't get in to, but a higer octane gas in OUR coopers, will make some improvement (specially on the S).
Basically gas is gas, and you shoulnt worry about brands, but some uses different aditives on it, if you really love your MINI use at least 93 octane gas... and avoide boosters and aditives.

 

a

 

Cheers!
Clover

 

Cars use gas. Good gas makes a massive difference in performance and keeping the engine clean. I used to be pretty sarcastic until I bought my previous car and saw a huge difference with different gasolines.

1) Octanes make a difference. In Europe Shell makes a 99+ Octane gas (called Vpower Racing) which actually also alters my Minis engine sound. Muuuch smoother.
2) Additives make a difference. BP super plus (over here in Europe - reportedly 97-98 octanes) I believe is the best for a clean engine over a long period.
3) Quality control makes a difference. If you put low quality (possibly even tampered with at the gas station) gasoline it chokes the engine.

Basically modern cars have enough intelligence to alter the mixture depending on the gas their getting. More octanes= better. Always. With my previous car, I kept all expenses meticulously and figured that it cost me about the same overall, since better gas also decreases consumptio.

 

I can't belive you all fell for that gas scam. I just use filtered tap water it works fine!
:smile:

Disclamer. Don't try tis at home.

 

I used to think gas was gas, but then in the late 80's I bought a motorcycle. A Honda Interceptor 500. Great bike BTW. I used to fill up were ever, then I started noticing when I filled up with PetroCan my bike ran like crap. I thought it must be the station I bought it from but it wasen't. Sunoco on the otherhand cleaned out the carbs after the PetroCan gas and the bike ran much better. Since then all my vehicles have ran Sunoco and if I can't find that Esso premium does in a pinch, but never since have I used PetroCan. Just my $0.02.

 

I have always used Amoco Ultimate, as I have several gas-freak friends who have always said that it was the highest quality gas available... But now I am wondering too if the quality of it has (or will soon) degrade now that Amoco = BP.
Is it silly to believe that if the station sign still says "Amoco" that it is Amoco gas and not BP?

Most car-people will also tell you that the brands with cleansers (Chevron) should NOT be used in newer cars, or infrequently at most.

 

Two questions...

1) Will anyone admit to using less than 93 octane (e.g., 91, or the mid-range gas available at most US stations)in their MINI, and if so, what was the result?

and

2) Aren't octane ratings different in Europe than in the US (and what about Canada?)? Thus, "99 Octane" gas in Europe may be something very different than what it would imply in the US if the scales were the same?

BTW, Union 76 makes a special racing gas (close to 99 octane)...but this isn't to be confused with all regular Union 76 gas. I believe that the racing gas is available at tracks and at a few stations close to tracks.

 

I use only Shell (can take some looking here in Columbus) or (where available, but it's not here in Columbus, OH) Chevron.

BP in my opinion is one of the worst I've encountered, at least it was out in Washington State which I moved from. The additives and formulation of BP in Seattle were awful - to the point I would notice my '96 BMW 328is retarding ignition due to pinging. It was awful, awful gas and avoided by all the local car clubs (BMWCCA, PCA, FCA, etc.). My wife even noticed pinging on premium BP gas in her '96 Chevy Cavalier so I wasn't imagining it.

I stick only with one brand of gas and use premium in everthing but the Saturn (the Saturn gets mid grade 91).

-dq

 

I'm a firm believer in the CO's (Aamco, Sunoco, Texaco).....highest octane they have.....

 

drstevej,

here's my 2 cents on gasoline and brands.

gasoline is rated as to octane number. hence the requirement by MINI. for a certain level of octane. essentially octane numbers are produced by testing the gasolines ability to reduce knock. the reason that's important to your mini is that knock is bad. knock beats up your engine from the inside. there are many articles on the web about octane ratings and how they are derived.

the mfg. tests engines to see which octane rating works best and the rating that they are referring to is the R+M/2, which is a formula for averaging the two most accepted ways of calculating octane rating. that's the formula you want see on the side of the pump. if you don't see that formula stated next to the octane rating go somewhere else. some guys will tell you that such and such station has 98 octane or some thing. and they probably do, but you will usually find that the rating is based on the RON method of testing which will always give you a higher octane number than the MON method or, the R+M/2 method. (R+M/2 stands for RON testing method plus MON testing method divided by 2, or an average of the two.)

next and i'm sure this will generate comments, but here's goes. most major brands are equivilent in quality. what i mean is major brands purchased at major brands' stations. yes there are differences in additives that are proprietary to a brand but generally one is as good as another. the major differences in gas you purchase at the pump is this: most gasoline is shipped via pipeline at some point. and most brands rent space in the pipe. in other words exxon gasoline travels down/thru the pipe next to mobile gas. premium travels next to regular etc. what's important for you and me is that the pipeline company uses WATER as a divider between the different brands and types. they way the gasoline companies deal with this is that they have the pipeline company put gas in the line this way:

(water)
(gas they sell under a different name, like Bob's Discount gas)
(name brand that goes to a retailer other than them, like a 7-11)
(name brand gas - unleaded)
(name brand gas - premium)
(name brand gas - unleaded)
(name brand that goes to a retailer other than them, like a 7-11)
(gas they sell under a different name, like Bob's Discount gas)
(water)

so that the lower qualities of gas are closer to the water and therefore more susceptible to contamination.

the bottom line is buy your gas at a major brand station, preferably one that is busy and newer. (newer underground tanks have less seepage of water into the gas.) and one that advertises the R+M/2 octane rating.

caveats; although major brand stations are more careful of the fuel quality there can be clunkers.

hope this makes sense.

p.s. steve, how's the seat, is the "adjustment" still working for you?

 

Never buy gas at a station where the Tanker is parked... Filling stirs up the contaminents!!! (then you'll need a new fuel filter!)

 

jsun, I will admit to having tried one tank of 91 octane (Sunoco) and one tank of 89 (some major brand, but I don't remember which). Usually, I use 93. I didn't notice a difference between 93 and 91, but then again, I burned the whole tank basically on one stretch of highway driving with little traffic, so the engine wasn't doing much but pulling straight ahead at a steady rate. I did notice a difference with the 89. I felt like the engine simply didn't perform as well. I won't do it again.

As for brand, I generally go with any major brand that is conveniently located when I need gas, but I have been curious about whether one brand is genuinely much better than others.

Does anyone know if any major brand in the US burns substantially more cleanly than the others?

 

CharlesVillager,
Chevron seems to be the cleanest burning gas out there. Most car manufacturers use Chevron when doing their emission testing (which says a lot). The Techron additive supposely guarantees clean valves, and you can by the Techron additive as well (Costco sells it). Porsche recommends the Techron additive every 2 or 3 tankfulls (at least when I owned my 911). Union 76 is probably a close second. The gas discount stations in the SF Bay Area buy gas on the open market, which usually has been stored a bit longer but can be just about any "brand", including Chevron. I know that Union 76 has already stopped using MTBE throughout California. Just a personal preference, but when I had a Ford Explorer, I would any brand in it. For my 911, BMW, or MINI, I only use Chevron with Techron or Union 76.

 

I basically stay with the Major brands, Mobil/Exxon, Texaco and Shell. All high octane. I stay away from the Costco, 7 Eleven, Citgo and I don't know if ARCO is still around. They had the worst gas. They added water to the gas. My brother hated it when people brought in their cars and he knew when they went to ARCO. He'd tell people to stop going there so they would stop coming in to the dealership to complain.

Anyway, high octane gas from a known source is good.

 

>>Jees, I got a lecture from some guy who asked me what kind of gas the mini takes. I told him premium, and he asks me what brand I use. I told him Amoco Ultimate at BP.
>>
___________________________________________

From what I understand, BP WAS on the crappy side but they bought over Amoco and are using Amoco gas which is a very high grade and highly recommended.

 

>>I have always used Amoco Ultimate, as I have several gas-freak friends who have always said that it was the highest quality gas available... But now I am wondering too if the quality of it has (or will soon) degrade now that Amoco = BP.
>>Is it silly to believe that if the station sign still says "Amoco" that it is Amoco gas and not BP?
__________________________________________________ __________________

BP uses Amoco gasolines now. I would recommend them.

 

>>CharlesVillager,
>>Chevron seems to be the cleanest burning gas out there.
>>>>>>>>>>>>&g t;>>>>>>>


The only problem is I haven't seen a Chevron in NJ since the 70's!!!!!!!

 

And I don't know that I've ever seen a Union 76 in Maryland. And I can't think of any Chevrons anywhere in my immediate area.....but thanks for the advice anyway! :smile:

 

A guy a bought a used car from once (boy, that sounds like the start to some joke) used to clean gas tanks for a living. I learned a lot in a short period of time:
1. All gasoline is very similar in make-up
2. Gasoline additives do add to the pump cost of gasoline
3. Many gas distributors (gas stations) will get different brand fuel from the same refinery. For instance in Martinez CA is a shell oil refinery that makes gas for Shell, Chevron, and Arco.
4. The quality of gas that you put in your car is in direct correlation with how often the service station cleans their tanks. MOST DO NOT CLEAN THEIR TANKS RECCOMMENDED BY THEIR PARENT COMPANY.

 

Back in late 1990 or early 1991 Consumer Reports did an article comparing different brands of gas. Basically, the article said if you have a car with a carborator it doesn't matter what kind of gas you use - buy the cheapest. However, with a fuel injection system the additives make a big difference in keeping deposits from gumming up the system. BMW had done a test running different brands of gas for 100,000 (miles or km I can't remember), then measuring the deposits. There were several brands that passed the test (below a certain threshold).

I found a FAQ where someone else typed up the list:

http://www.geocities.com/bmw535i86/t...1.html#RTFToC2

I believe Conoco is missing from the list. I'm pretty sure it had passed the test at the time also.

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find any updated information, so who knows if the results are still valid.