Thanks to those who gave input to my questions on Sirius and "break-in period" on previous posts. My new MCS awaits me as I write this...I've just got to arrange transport to the far-off (but MSRP only) dealer & rescue it.


Today's question. What MPG does an MCS get. I've heard it's poor, like 23-24 MPG. Or is that due to agressive driving. What can you pull if you are trying to get good mileage?

How about Octane. What happens on regular? 91 Octane is pushing $3.00 a gallon in my area.

 

I always use 93 octane gas, standard for premium in my area. I can get up to 27mpg in town, but I usually don't, getting about 23-24 instead. :smile: On a long drive on interstates and state highways with cruise control on, I got 32mpg, but really, that's so boring.

I just rolled over 2300 miles earlier today, so my mileage will probably improve a little more, not that I care too much.

 

I just flipped 2200 miles, and my milage has been steadily increasing, I'd say about .1 ever 100 miles for the last 1000 miles. I'm in the low 23's right now, for city, VERY aggressive driving, with the JCW intake and a 15%. I saw a slight bump up for highway at least, right after getting the 15%.

I am extremely happy with those numbers, as the identical driving on my GTP gets barely 14MPG.

I fill up at whatever station is convenient at the time, not paying attention to what the exact octane is, just getting 'premium (91+).

I did one trip to work at a 'normal' pace, and did get 28 MPG city that way, but it's not how I choose to drive.

I get 32+ using cruise control with the windows down, doing 75-80. I don't get to use cruise control much due to traffic on the highway, and usually average 28-30 driving aggresively, usualy doing 80-85.

I do about 90% city driving, and my average of the last 500 miles or so is 23 something, climbing right now.

 

'05 MCS
RedLine 5W-30 at 3,000 miles (otherwise stock)
6,500 miles currently

65% city
35% highway

I drive it like you would drive a MINI.

Last tank returned 25.75mpg and it's slowly getting higher.

I get MUCH better fuel economy by paying the dime and getting 93-Octane. I saw about a 4.5mpg difference between 89 and 93. It was almost 60 more miles between fill-ups by going back to 93 Octane. I did the 89 for 2 tankfuls because I couldn't believe what my calculator was telling me.

 

I'm pushing 11K on my '05 MCS and I consistently get 27-28 mpg using 93. I drive 100 miles a day on the highway at 75-80, so I fill up about every three days. I wish gas prices were as consistent as my mileage...I paid $2.10 Wednesday now it's back up to $2.50!!

 

Wow, I must have a really heavy foot

MCSc, for almost 6 months, 90% city drive, mostly 5-10 mile trips on freeway and city roads.

I use 93 exclusively and am currently on a down slump to 21.9. Have never gotten above 22.9 for average. If I watch the instant MPG I can get consistent high 20s and 30s while on the road, but always seems to average out low.

Does this mean I'm staying in low gears too much while driving?

 

If you don't shift to the lowest gear possible, then of course! As soon as I'm up to speed, I go to 6th - I usually floor 1st and 2nd to get to speed, then hit 6th to the next light.

 

I've had the car 1 week. Driving strictly according to break in specs. Honest. First fillup 28-29 mpg. My on board computer indicates about the same. I'm still grinning.
hugh

 

The S is tuned to run only on 91 or greater octane. Don't put anything less than 91 in it. Ever.

 

That's b/c it's MADE to run on 93, NOT 89.

 

I wish I could put 91 or higher, I'm stuck using 90 octane and I get consistent 24.5 mpg. You think adding those octane boosters and fuel injector cleaners help much?

I live in the UK and definately will not pay $6.00/gallon for gas off base for >90 octane...

 

I'm just guessing but I seriously doubt that your MINi can tell the difference between 90 and 91 octane gas.

 

early 03 mcs:

-wussy break in per manual: stock exhuast, 91 octane, 50% city/50% highway = 23-24 mpg calculated from mileage and fill, not computer

-2000 miles and up: supertrapp, 93 octane, low to semi spirited street driving, -100 lb, no track days or autocross, 50% city/50% highway = exact same 23-24 mpg calculated from mileage and fill, not computer

 

well, i've read up on this a bit and the main difference in higher octane gas is that it can take more compression before it combusts. so, you need higher octane in engines that rely on higher compression for power (read: supercharged or turbocharged). from what i've read, using lower octane gas in a car that requires high octane will cause knocking because the gas may combust on its own before the spark plug ignites it. modern engines will acually tune themselves down automatically to prevent damage to the engine, but you'll get worse performance.

overall though, they say that higher octane gas doesn't really do much to your MPG's but if you should be using higher octane fuel your engine won't perform as efficiently. so, in a car that doesn't need high octane gas, you shouldn't get any better milage or performance out of a higher grade fuel.

 

I use 93 on my 05 CVT MCC, but just for refrence 1 seriver manager told me I can use 89 (mid grade) and its fine on the non S's and my selling dealer told me I can use regular (she might be on something) but I've yet to try regular.

Howard

 

In Europe the octane level is caculated a different way. I am not sure it the fuel on base uses the USA caculation or the same caculation as the rest of the UK.

 

Best milage I ever got: 36mpg (indicated) from the Oregon border to home in the bay area on one tank of gas. It was freeway all the way at a fairly steady 70mph.

I always fill up with whatever octane premium is available. I never bother to calculate my milage, but my computer usually gave me an average of around 27. That's about 50/50 city/freeway. 80-90% reasonable driving in traffic, and 10-20% aggressive driving when conditions permit. That was my experience with my recently traded '03 MCS. I haven't started paying attention to milage on the '05 yet. (It should be well broken in in a couple of weeks, and I'll start checking it out.)

 

IF your car does not require the higher octane you are wasting your money getting the Premium grade.

 

First off, the MCS was not engineered or marketed as a "Fuel Miser" vehicle. That role is currently being fulfilled by the standard Cooper model. If high fuel mileage is your priority, then a 5-speed Cooper is the one to get.

The MCS' mission is to be a fun to drive performance car. Performance wins everytime over high fuel economy. That said, the MCS is still much more economical than many other cars equipped with larger 4 cyl engines, V6's or V8's. Yet, the 1.6L Supercharged engine in the '05 MCS feels like a larger V6 when accelerating, you are in for a treat!

My '05 MCS currently has 670 miles and the average fuel consumption (Driving the car under the strict break in set of rules...never shifting past 3K RPM, etc, etc) is delivering around 22-24MPG in city driving with the AC on.

I used to have a 2004 MCS with the old 6-speed gearbox (Different ratios) and fuel mileage in that car settled down not until after 5K miles. I was getting a consistent 24MPG in the city and I managed to get all the way up to 34MPG @ 70MPH in the highway.

The new '05 MCS due to the revised gearing ratios, added torque and HP and revised ECU software uses a little more gas than the '02-'04 MCS with the taller gearing ratios. In the highway, driving at the speed limit, maybe you won't pull off more than 32-33MPG.

You experience may vary, but this is to give you a general concesus on the fuel mileage expectations of the MCS.

It never ceases to amuse me people that come in here crying about the high fuel consumption of the MCS. They forget they are driving a performance car for starters. They also forget that all those cool engine mods (Pulleys, etc) decrease fuel economy for the sake of more power and driving environment factors (Traffic for example, roads, etc) and driving habits play a big role on the fuel mileage of your MCS.

 

The ECU computer in your MINI automatically recognizes the different gas octanes and adjusts engine timing accordingly to minimize knocking caused by the use of fuels lower than 91 octane.


It is OK to use regular 87 or 89 in your MCS from time to time or only on emergencies, but don't make it a habit. You just bought a new $20K+ auto, so why then go cheap on the gas? That is false economy and makes no sense. If the manufacturer recommends fuels no lower than 91 octane, then stick to that recommendation. Those extra .15 or .20 per gallon of 91-93 octane are just insurance to protect your investment.

I know some will disagree with me on this instance, but I prefer to err on the side of caution.

 

A couple weeks back I wasn't paying attention for whatever reason and dumped 87 octane in my MCS. I always reset the trip odometer with a new fillup to track MPG, and my MPG on 87 was noticeably worse. By about 2 mpg, to be exact. I was surprised because I had stayed off the pedal quite a bit since I was worried about pinging while running the lower grade fuel. No pinging, since the ECU probably adjusted for it, but man did the MPG suck with the "cheaper" gas!

 

If your MINI dealer is located between Ohio and California you might be able to get a spot on the early-May transporter arranged by Chief Charlie (NAM poster). I believe there is room for more. At present the transporter is set to touch down near San Jose. It should be announced on NAM and could become a local MINI event.

 

No it does NOT 'sense octane' . What it senses is the predetonation (knock) and pulls back timing to save the engine, thus killing power as well.

 

This is a frequent topic of discussion here and other boards. The difference between regular and premium is less than a penny a mile, actualy about $0.007 if you get average mileage. If you drive for 100K miles, your total gas cost will be less than $1000 more with premium than regular. That's maybe $10-$20 a month and minute compared with other maintenance and operating costs - less than you paid for leather or one of the packages.

Gas is actually still cheaper now than it was in 1981 if you consider inflation. Regular has to reach $3.08 avearge nationwide to equal March 1981 prices after adjusting for inflation.

The MINI is designed for 91 octane and using lower results in less power and reduced mileage so it is a false economy to use anything less than 91.

Simple answer - use 91 octane or better.

See more of my rants on this topic here:

http://www.carnutgarage.com/fuel/Fuel_Index.html