is the manufacture rating on the non S 91?

i guess it depends on the driver as well. i would think that the average non S owner would drive a lot less aggressive then the S owner. therefore would only require 89 since they arent pushing the car as much. and detenation wouldnt then be an issue.

 

Just got back from a drive through about 10 states, including the length of Mississippi and Missouri. About 2600 round trip. Not a problem, and there were some great highway drives through Mississippi, to my surprise....

The Liberator really took us through with ease, we got several curious questions at the stations, and not a single issue with gas availability- but watch out for that station in Blytheville, MO, you know the one with the run-over hose? We spent 20 minutes there watching the premium trickle into the tank! And I deliberately pulled up to that pump so as not to take up space!

Remember, Blytheville!!!

 

See rustyboy's post re: octane. It's not necessarily how you drive it, but also the ambient conditions you are driving in that dictate needs.
Oh, and btw, had a non-s since they hit these shores, and I for one drive the livin' snot out of it. Always have, always will. And I consider myself pretty average...

 

Yes, the MINI Factory rating on both MINI's is 91 MINIMUM. The issue isn't driving aggressively, it's heat. Engines run hot, even more so with the 100-120 degree intake temps most people are seeing.

Heat causes detonation, regardless of driving style. You can ping just as easily at 3500 RPM's as you do at redline. In fact it's more common to see detonation at lower RPM's as there's more timing adjustment going on there.

 

now if you drive the snot out of your mini your not average

 

ok, i thought it would be affected more if you were heavy into the throttle which in return would develop more heat.
so i guess the main issue in this case would be low octain = low performance because of the timeing setting back to avoid detonation.

 

Performance is only one consideration. Detonation causes timing retard, which can lower gas milage, cause damage to the engine, etc.

I cracked a piston from bad gas (Silent detonation). The engine retarded timing, but it wasn't enough to stop the detonation. Eventually it failed.

This was driving on the freeway about 300 miles back from Vegas, Chevron gas (Premium), with 75-80 degree outside temps. Other people that filled up at the same station had issues, including 2 other engine failures.

I don't want to start a whole debate (Plenty of other threads that I've chimed in on if you're interested in reading). Suffice to say the 3.75 a week it costs me to use premium is cheap enough insurance that I don't care to cost cut there...

 

how many have actually blown up engines tho? And since when is a 1k trip a "long" road trip.
You could probably put in the lowest octane mom and pop gas you find and still be fine. We aren't talking long term here, its 2000 miles round trip.
I'd steer away from any "additives" since you don't know whats in them. Just put in the highest octane you find and you'll be fine. As will the car.

Live on the edge, see the world and save a few $$ on gas.

 

im not debating you, just asking info is all.
the engine failed from a single tank of gas? was there anyway to prove that it happened from that station?
i have a 79 f150 4x4 that was having detonation issues also. ended up breaking the crank. sucks being stranded on the side of the road for sure.

oh and i also only use premium. if the manufacturer who made the car tells me to use it as a min. ill listen, although i ignore there maintenance intervals. i think there a little to lengthy inbetween.

 

No no, I know you're not arguing, just stating that these discussions usually go that direction quickly.

According to the octane analysis I had done from the gas it was below the advertised octane (By quite a bit). Unfortunately I had filled up again on the way home (Diluting the gas bad gas with good gas) at another station, so there's no way for me to prove conclusively that it came from that station...

The scary part is that the end octane result (pretty low) was likely "Bumped up" from the 91 that I filled up with in Barstow on the way home. So I drove for 150+ miles with extremely low octane gas.

 

It's definitely not the norm, and the octane was below 87 anyway. I was just saying, given the fact that all 91 probably isn't 91 anyway (Mine wasn't). I see no reason to chance it further by putting 87 in, especially to save $100-$150 a year.

I agree, running a tank of 87 mixed with a few gallons of 91 isn't going to hurt anything. Especially if it's only a tank or two. And it's a LOT better for your engine than mixing Ferosene/MMT with your gas...

 

I live in a small town in Arkansas and we were going to be getting premium soon, but I think they have cancelled it due to the high price that no one will pay. Bubba's does have a pump marked premium, it's spiked with moonshine, and I've heard it can really add some zip, at least to a pick-up truck.

Ya'll come on down now, ya' heah.

 

I just got back from a pretty long trip with our 04 and had no problem finding premium in some remote spots in the Black Hills and MN. I also averaged 79.2 mph from Rapid City, SD to Tomah, WI and still got close to 34 mpg at those speeds with hills. I was very impressed(we haven't had it long), and had a lot of fun driving the mountain roads.

 

2505 miles, Texas to Colorado plus mountain and city driving during the week. The worst I found was Shell V-Power 90 octane. We stick to Shell and at home V-Power is 93 octane. No problems, even with a 17 hour driving day in the high 90s.

 

You can always use acetone to raise your octane. 1oz for every 5 gallons.

 

i just run regular gas in my non s mini..

never a problem .. no knocks or pings.. ever

 

just a little FYI.
Octain boost only raises the octain by .3 points max. So if you ran 89 octain then installed octain boost you will have 89.3 octain running through your car that is "designed" from the manufacturer for a 91 rating.
this is a performance based engine with around a 10:1 compression for the non S and about 8:1 for the S.
running anything other then 91 will cause harm to your engine over time.
Why else would it be in the owners manual? BMW has nothing to gain by making you use 91 (or higher) octain.
Only a fool (IMO) would use regular unleaded in this car. You are asking for trouble down the road. for the $2-$3 savings per fill up, vrs. the $8K bill to replace the motor isnt worth it.
simply put. it is designed for 91 or better, just use it. If you don't want to pay the extra change for the super, then by a preius