The good news is that my MINI has been riding fine with primarily Exxon Mobil 93 Octane. The SA just happen to be telling me a bunch of info and the gas discussion was just one thing that popped out. he actually indicated that a gas station paid to have one guy's MINI fixed because of higher percentage Octane. I asked how did they get the gas station to pay ? For hwat it's worth - he indicated that the MINI's owner had a gas receipt having just purchased the gas recently and when his engine was evaluated, the gas ws tested.

Who knows what to believe . My car has been riding fine before this whole Octane discussion with the SA and no reason why it won't continue to run fine. I am considering going back to the MINI Website...anddon't they have that Answer man their fielding questions ? maybe i should pose this one and ask him what should I follow, the MINI Cooper Manual or my SA ?

 

OK I expect to get beat up over this but here goes. I run Premium 93 Octane in my 2009 MCS Cabrio. However the day I picked it up the gas issue came up. My dealership on several occasions has stated the premium fuel is a recommendation and the engine is smart enough to compensate if you wanted to use regular. Now they did say you should not swap back and forth between 93 and 87 but if you chose to use 87 that was not a problem. To my knowledge my dealership has not pulled any of the other BS that seems to be running rampant. I'm just glad my dealership has good management with a little common sense.

 

So much confusion. Just picked up my Mini in Wiesbaden, Germany, a week back, and was promptly told by the dealership to fill up with Benzin (87 Octane, Super = 91 Octane). Read the owner's manual in english, and german (mother is from Germany), and it said to stick with Super. Should I move up to Super plus with a 93 Octane rating? If no answer, I'll stick with Super. Just trying to head the issue off before an actual problem presents itself.

 

Which octane rating system are you quoting? The Euro system is different than US by 2 or 3 points.

http://www.btinternet.com/~madmole/Reference/RONMONPON.html

http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=259770

.

 

Germarican seems to be translating RON to AKI for us since Benzin is usually marked 91 RON.

 

I got my mini when we were stationed in Wiesbaden as well.. picked it up in Mainz.. right near Mainz Kastel..
They didn't tell me anything about which gasoline to use.. I have always run the mid grade with no issues.. hopefully this helps!!!

 

throw in some higher octain gas and let 'er rip! I think you'll be surprised at the results. Here in CA, we get 91 octain as the highest. I put in a tank of 97 at a race track. What surprised me the most was that my freeway gas mileage went up to about 40 mpg!

Anyway, I've done logging and if you drive hard the higher octain will pay off in both performance and gas mileage.

Matt

 

Well, lilruffcat, Nathan from Wiesbaden sales had no idea about anything on the car. Ended up using my IPhone in front of him to answer car questions.
I believe firmly in taking care of my baby so it takes care of me. Figure 95 RON (90.5 to 91 Octane US) should do the trick. Would love to get into cooling the turbo area, but that is probably another thread.

Thanks for the quick replies. Just frustrated that dealerships, sales reps, and the web site differ in information. It doesn't take away from the enthusiasm I have for this awesome little car. Just of the opinion that when selling a BMW, which should be considered a level above Toyota or Honda, that one should have to deal with personnel that know less than the customer.

 

I have read through this forum and am just wondering if the carbon build-up and engine crud are the same things? I have been told that I use bad gas, BP 93 octane, and was not explained anything about top tier gas, but Mini in trying to solve my car problems, was contacted to try and help my dealer figure it out, and they said that I use to high an octane of gas, so they said to use 91. The dealer put in 89 gas, and I still had the same problem. How is this fair that I should be using 91 gas and the dealer is allowed to put 89 in the car? They did also say that the car would be smart enough if I put a lowed grade gas in the car. On a further note, last December (08) they found carbon buildup in my manifold and told me that was causing my engine problems and that I was using bad gas. After they cleaned it and my problem continued, my manifold got replaced. If at this time they found bad gas causing problems, why would they not look into where else the build up could be found and cause future damage/problems. This year (Jan-March 2010), I have been told that bad gas was the cause of my problem, even though I took the car in a total of 6 times, and only 2 of the times was it gas related. What about the fuel pump or the timing chain, or the engine faults, or the fuel injectors? I cannot believe for a moment that bad gas has been the cause of any of my problems, supported by the fact that it was never said that the dealer is performing these cleanings even though I should be paying for them, and that neither of these two periods of time was the bad gas the cause of the problem when they are instead finding mechanical problems. Bad gas is bs imo.

 

I don't see how bad gas can be related to build-up in the intake manifold in an engine with direct injection. Gas never enters the intake manifold. Or, where you talking about the exhaust manifold?

The timing chain tensioner problem has to do with oil not applying enough pressure on the tensioner. It has nothing to do with bad gas.

The fuel pump problems can be affected by bad gas. Too much ethanol can cause the pump to fail.

 

Top tier gas is not available in my area (very rural) so I add several ounces of Lucas Fuel Treatment at every fill-up...engine runs fine. Anyone else use Lucas?

 

Correct. Top Tier gas, is still highly recommended, however on the N14 Direct Injection motor (on all your Cooper S and JCW) the intake valves do not see any gasoline. I am sure just about everyone in this thread already realizes this from it being repeated 100 times over. Your gunk/intake clog/carbon build-up prior to the cylinder itself, all caused by the PCV system and the oil contaminants that are found in the picture above. I urge you to ask your SA to explain how 'bad gas' is causing this problem, they might conclude that bad gas is causing MORE oil contaminent to be sent out the PCV, or that because of bad gas, none of the PCV gases that reach the cylinder are being burned up... then I can see some reasoning, however the leading cause of this problem is the PCV.

 

So bad gas could ruin the fuel pump, but many other people are having them fail even though they use high grade gasoline. And no, the dealer specifically stated the intake manifold, its on my service invoices. I also thought it odd, but none of the service invoices ever mention anything about bad gas being the source of the problem on my car. The dealer has no idea what is wrong with my car, it starts runs fine for a minute or two, then the rpms drop and fluxuate from about 300-600 rpms pretty quickly, it either stalls, or it goes normal. This only happens on days where it is below freezing outside. I have driven the car to a stop light and had the same problem, if I restart the problem sometimes continues, sometimes does not. Everytime I have taken the car in, the dealer cannot do anything until they see the problem. Within about a week each time, they have seen the problem and are at a loss for explaining what is happening. Now I am being told that it is my bad gas causing and my problem is resolved. Even though every person there said they have no idea what could be causing the problem, only because after they cleaned out the engine, the problem continued, so how can they now go back and say that that is the cause of my problem. I have a video and will try to upload it in the near future.

 

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...t-chatter.html ?