R56 Best Gas for MINI
5th Gear
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 754
Likes: 1
From: Bucks County PA
Sub,
I agree fully on an S. Premium should be used to obtain max performance. However I disagee on a non S. The recommended is 89 but you can use 87 (which I am a tad bit leery of) I will test the waters when we finally take delivery and if I see a difference even between brands, which I am not sure that there is especially in the northeast. I will stick to it.
I agree fully on an S. Premium should be used to obtain max performance. However I disagee on a non S. The recommended is 89 but you can use 87 (which I am a tad bit leery of) I will test the waters when we finally take delivery and if I see a difference even between brands, which I am not sure that there is especially in the northeast. I will stick to it.
4th Gear
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 561
Likes: 23
From: Expat Aussie in Navarre, FL
Reviving an old thread....interesting article that's 4 years old:
http://www.khou.com/news/Records-sho...-70233502.html
http://www.khou.com/news/Records-sho...-70233502.html
6th Gear
Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 1,567
Likes: 57
From: Scottsdale, AZ
The manual says 89 octane minimum, 91 recommended.
My wife and I recently completed a cross country trip to the east coast and back in her '12 MCS (5,500 miles round trip). Bought fuel in a lot of different states, calculated the MPG at every fill up (I don't trust the computer, it was always high by a mile or two). Here in AZ, can only get 91 with 10% ethanol. In a lot of states 93 was the norm. Made a bit of difference in MPG, the big factor was ethanol. When I was able to get ethanol free gas, mileage went up 2-3 MPG. Makes me wonder why we are forced to use ethanol? Is my understanding it takes more than a gallon of gas to make one gallon of ethanol. Most of my fill ups were either Shell or Chevron, I like to stick with top tier.
Lastly, I was amazed at the difference in prices in different parts of the country. I paid anywhere between $4.10 to $3.50 per gallon.
My wife and I recently completed a cross country trip to the east coast and back in her '12 MCS (5,500 miles round trip). Bought fuel in a lot of different states, calculated the MPG at every fill up (I don't trust the computer, it was always high by a mile or two). Here in AZ, can only get 91 with 10% ethanol. In a lot of states 93 was the norm. Made a bit of difference in MPG, the big factor was ethanol. When I was able to get ethanol free gas, mileage went up 2-3 MPG. Makes me wonder why we are forced to use ethanol? Is my understanding it takes more than a gallon of gas to make one gallon of ethanol. Most of my fill ups were either Shell or Chevron, I like to stick with top tier.
Lastly, I was amazed at the difference in prices in different parts of the country. I paid anywhere between $4.10 to $3.50 per gallon.
1st Gear
Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 47
Likes: 0
The excuse is for emissions standards, but the truth IIRC is corn subsidies.
4th Gear
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 561
Likes: 23
From: Expat Aussie in Navarre, FL
Sorry, but what exactly, is the point of that website?
2nd Gear
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 147
Likes: 1
From: On the edge
My personal gasoline data
Here are the data from my 2010 R56 justa Hardtop. Car is garaged in southern Missouri. Data is from the first 34 tanks of gasoline between August 2010 and December 2011. I generally drive until the warning icon appears (two segments left on the gauge), so a "tank" is usually about 400-450 miles. I stop fueling when the pump shuts off.
Total average MPG is 36.3 (14,020 miles / 386.2 gallons).
Worst tank = 31.2 mpg; best tank = 41.8 mpg, so the 36.3 avg is plus or minus about 5 mpg.
By Brand
(for n=x, x is the number of tanks of that brand)
(aki - anti knock index or 'octane')
Casey's "Super" (10% ethanol) - 89 aki; n=5; (2108/58.66)= 35.94 mpg
Shell V-Power Premium - 91 aki; n=4; (1644/45.14)= 36.42 mpg
Conoco Premium - 91 aki; n=3; (1440/35.3)= 40.79 mpg
Phillips 66 Regular - 87 aki; n=3; (1192/34.72)= 34.33 mpg
Phillips 66 Premium - 91 aki; n=11; (4,603/130.25)= 35.34 mpg
QuickTrip Premium - 91 aki; n=2; (894/22.85)= 39.12 mpg
Sinclair Premium - 91 aki; n=4; (1695/45.04)= 37.63 mpg
NOTES:
- All MPH values are calculated from odometer miles divided by gallons (not from the car's 'computer')
- All are TopTier brands except Casey's and Sinclair
- Often I was able to run two or more tanks in a row of the same gas, but otherwise a couple of gallons of the previous tank was mixed in with the 10-12 gallons of new gas.
- Most tanks were a mix of local and highway miles, although 'highway' driving for me is much more likely to be a secondary road than Interstate. Nine of the 34 tanks were from a road trip - with roof rack and cargo box on top. Both my best and worst tanks were from that trip.
- My driving style alternates between moderate and manic.
- I can't really say I noticed much difference in performance.
Total average MPG is 36.3 (14,020 miles / 386.2 gallons).
Worst tank = 31.2 mpg; best tank = 41.8 mpg, so the 36.3 avg is plus or minus about 5 mpg.
By Brand
(for n=x, x is the number of tanks of that brand)
(aki - anti knock index or 'octane')
Casey's "Super" (10% ethanol) - 89 aki; n=5; (2108/58.66)= 35.94 mpg
Shell V-Power Premium - 91 aki; n=4; (1644/45.14)= 36.42 mpg
Conoco Premium - 91 aki; n=3; (1440/35.3)= 40.79 mpg
Phillips 66 Regular - 87 aki; n=3; (1192/34.72)= 34.33 mpg
Phillips 66 Premium - 91 aki; n=11; (4,603/130.25)= 35.34 mpg
QuickTrip Premium - 91 aki; n=2; (894/22.85)= 39.12 mpg
Sinclair Premium - 91 aki; n=4; (1695/45.04)= 37.63 mpg
NOTES:
- All MPH values are calculated from odometer miles divided by gallons (not from the car's 'computer')
- All are TopTier brands except Casey's and Sinclair
- Often I was able to run two or more tanks in a row of the same gas, but otherwise a couple of gallons of the previous tank was mixed in with the 10-12 gallons of new gas.
- Most tanks were a mix of local and highway miles, although 'highway' driving for me is much more likely to be a secondary road than Interstate. Nine of the 34 tanks were from a road trip - with roof rack and cargo box on top. Both my best and worst tanks were from that trip.
- My driving style alternates between moderate and manic.
- I can't really say I noticed much difference in performance.
Neutral
Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 5
Likes: 0
Actually that tire rotation gadget is not a bad idea. For the older guys out there that may not be such a bad idea especially if you rotate your own tires. I used to rotate my own but since I went to non run flat tires the Tire shop that sold them to me does free tire rotations. It's still my responsibility to get the car in at the proper rotation points. I keep the data in an iPhone APP that tracks fuel economy and maintenance and it reminds me when to do certain maintenance.
(Don't forget to backup your IPhone. LOL)
(Don't forget to backup your IPhone. LOL)
4th Gear
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 353
Likes: 1
The "pure" stuff is really pricey here in the TN area - is it worth it?
5th Gear
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 1,053
Likes: 5
From: Bx, NY
Sorry to awaken this thread but has anyone used a octane booster?
Looking into this one just to see how 104 octane feels.
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/me...commendedparts
Looking into this one just to see how 104 octane feels.
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/me...commendedparts
What happened with the Costco gas? Was it one tank, or did you normally fill up with it? It's supposed to be top tier gas and exceed all of the detergent specs of the EPA requirements.
6th Gear
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 3,260
Likes: 87
From: Pacific NW
Sorry to awaken this thread but has anyone used a octane booster?
Looking into this one just to see how 104 octane feels.
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/me...commendedparts
Looking into this one just to see how 104 octane feels.
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/me...commendedparts
If you google "Home made octane booster" you' get some good information about adding xylene to your gas along with tables about how much to add per gallon for the desired octane.
