Hold on, I just had some retard at a shop (not a chain) put regular oil in my MINI. How long should I wait before changing it? Does the MINI run exceptionally hot (something the synthetic would better tolerate)? Should I go for 2k or 3k?

 

Why would you call this person a retard? Everyone makes a mistake once in a while.

If it was my MINI I'd drive it back & have the oil & filter changed. This time have them put the proper oil in. The fact that the wrong oil was put in there will harm nothing over the short haul, but do get the right stuff in there.

 

Ok, so calling them a retard was a bit harsh, but their response prompted it. I was confused as to why they would put the regular stuff in a MINI. I mean if they didn't check to see if it should be regular or synthetic, how do I know they bothered to check the weight of the oil? I do know that they didn't reset the service indicator. Makes me not want to take my MINI back there. I mean the information the tech needed was right next to the hole he was filling with oil. Their policy is to only ask about synthetic if the customer requested it on a previous visit.

 

Well seems to me there were several mistakes made here. Some by the shop & some by you. Never assume that the shop knows what they are doing. Always make sure you have an understanding of what work & how it will be done. Yes even as something as simple as an oil change. If you are not comfortable going back to them, don't. Eat the cost of another oil change & figure it's a lesson learned.

 

Bah... I will be going back to get them to reset the service indicator milage. I don't have the budget to do that myself.
However, if I change the oil myself in a few thousand miles it seems it will cost me about the same as it would have to have them use synthetic in the first place. Mostly I was just being lazy about disposing of the used oil...

Oh well, oil change in 3k it is.

 

pinging is noise the valve makes hitting the valve seat !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ouch!

 

No, pinging is the noise made by the fuel/air mixture burning too quickly. The only way for a valve to hit the valve seat too hard is when something breaks or becomes very mis-adjusted in a valve train.

 

I don't know about gas, I'm a musician. I didn't go to MIT but I know of a couple guys that did and here's what they have to say about regular vs premium;

http://www.cartalk.com/content/featu...estions.html#4

Mark

 

Cool, another fan of Click and Clack!

 

Also there is the feeling of being richer and being able to spend more money on gas (even if it is just a pitance).

But now the question becomes this: Is spirited driving considered a situation where premium gas would be preferred?

Of course this also refers to the main topic: The difference between regular motor oil, synthetic, and premium synthetic :p Only instead of performance its mean time between oil changes.

 

Since the engine is designed with premium in mind, then regardless how you drive, premium is what should go into your tank. It makes a difference in how the engine runs, with the anti-knock sensor kicking in less with the higher rated fuel.

Also, you'll want to stick with synthetic oil. Again, the engine is designed with this stuff in mind, so why risk damaging your engine just to save a couple of dollars per quart? Just as an example, this engine has hydraulic lifters, which require the proper flow of oil to work. I don't know enough else about this engine to offer any other examples, but it seems silly to me to risk damaging a $30,000 car just to save $3 per quart of oil.

 

My, my, there are a few misconceptions going on around here.

MINIs will not be 'hurt' by regular fuel. They just wont perform as well and wont get as high mileage as when using at least 91, which is what is called for. This only due to the cars' knock sensor.

High performance driving is somewhat irrelevant because if you want to do 'high performance' driving, use 91 or better other wise you are crippling (somewhat) your car's maximum perfomance.

The notion that premium is always better is an old myth that may never die. Premium is better only if it is required by the car for either maximum performance (as in cars with knock sensors), or to prevent detonation (as in cars without knock sensors). These two overlap somewhat, as well.

I know tons of people that put 'the good stuff' in their run-of-the-mill sedans because it's 'the good stuff,' never mind that it's completely unnecessary. But it's called 'premium,' or 'super,' so it must be better.

In fact, premium in cars that dont need it is not only more expensive and unnecessary, but the fuel has less energy per (larger) molecule (to burn more slowly and resist detonation), and therefore makes said car run less efficiently than with regular. So let's see, more money for reduced performance. You do the math.

 

>>>... but the fuel has less energy per (larger) molecule (to burn more slowly and resist detonation), and therefore makes said car run less efficiently than with regular<<

Actually, since the Mini's engine is designed to use the higher octane fuel, the premium fuel allows the engine to generate higher combustion chamber pressures before detonation begins, given the same volumn of fuel. Greater combustion pressure means more power output, so while high octane may have slightly less heat, more of that heat can be used to produce power with high octane gas than low octane, which is the definition of better efficiency.

 

I wasnt talking about MINIs or other cars (engines) that are designed for premium. I was talking about cars (engines) that are designed for regular. I thought it was pretty clear. If not, I apologize.

 

Don't worry about it too much. You're certainly correct about losing some heat energy when alcohol is used as a anti-knock booster.