Howdy,

I notice that the recommended fuel for the MINI (both Cooper and S?) is Premium. I saw also that the fuel economy will vary with the octane used. I'm accustomed to using 87 (in our Honda) and the 89 (in the F-150 to keep it from pinging like crazy). The bite for 90 octane is anywhere from $1.60 up around here and I can't see it getting any lower in the near term. Has anyone experimented with various grades (and perhaps brands) of fuel and monitored the gas mileage for them? I'm more interested in the MC than the MCS ('cuz that's the one that's being built for me).

Thanks in advance,

Mark of Pemburnia

 

Welcome mpemburn!

There are lots of threads on this subject on MCO. Start here for one of the more recent discussions.

Bottom line is that you should use the fuel the car is designed for. For the MINI (S and Cooper), that's 91 octane or better (93). Lower octane and you'll get pinging, reduced power, and what you suspect -- lower mileage. It's unclear as to whether the lower mileage would come from less efficient combustion or the fact that you'll be flogging the car harder to eek more power out of it.

Park the F-150 for the duration (I hear our president has a plan for getting gas prices down again ) and put the premium in the MINI.

 

Hey there,
Although I dislike the higher price for 91, I love the feeling that the car is getting what it expects. I bought The Cooper as well. Good luck..
Jim

 

Well Okey-dokey then! I guess sometimes my impulse to thrift leads me in the "pound foolish" direction. Thanks for the guidance. (Admit it to yourself, Mark, there has to be a good reason for buying the best instead of the cheapest!)

 

Premium is $2.29/gallon at my nearest station. I sure wish I had the $1.60 bite!

 

>>Premium is $2.29/gallon at my nearest station. I sure wish I had the $1.60 bite!


I hope you get lunch with that gas....$2.29 a gallon, I thought I was getting riped of paying $1.81 last week.

 

>>>>Premium is $2.29/gallon at my nearest station. I sure wish I had the $1.60 bite!
>>
>>
>> I hope you get lunch with that gas....$2.29 a gallon, I thought I was getting riped of paying $1.81 last week.

I saw $2.79/gallon for the highest grade of premium last week in CT at a Sunoco station right at the end of an interstate off ramp. At least it was full service Fortunately, I found 93 octane at a dollar cheaper at a Mobile station just down the road from there.

 

I understand why the Cooper S was designed to run on higher octane fuel, but why the normally aspirated engine of the Cooper? My Honda Civic ahd the same sized motor (1.6 l), made more horsepower (127 vs. 115) and ran on 87 octane fuel. Seems like poor engineering to me...

 

Astro, it isn't poor engineering, it is sophisticated technology. What kind of gas mileage does your Honda get and how much does it weigh?

I get anywhere from 28-41 mpg using 93 octane @ $1.62 on my last fill-up!

 

High compression ration = high octane............

 

I paid $5.00 a gallon for 100 octane on
Sunday!!!!!!

 

>>Astro, it isn't poor engineering, it is sophisticated technology. What kind of gas mileage does your Honda get and how much does it weigh?
>>
>>I get anywhere from 28-41 mpg using 93 octane @ $1.62 on my last fill-up!

According to Edmunds, the Civic weighed 2,460 pounds. It was a '97 coupe EX. I got about 28-32 mpg around town and about 35 doing 80 on the freeway.
My point is that the engine in that car burned regular fuel and made more peak power than the mini's engine of the same size and type which requires premium. It would be interesting to see a torque curve comparison of the two powerplants. According to Edmunds, the MINI has a torque peak of 110 lbs at 4500 rpm whereas the Civic's peak is 107 at 5500 rpm. Perhaps the MINI's engine requires premium because it was tuned to have a fatter torque curve?

 

>>Premium is $2.29/gallon at my nearest station. I sure wish I had the $1.60 bite!

If you think that's bad it's $1.30 a litre here (in the UK), i.e. $6 a gallon