I just bought a Cooper S and LOVE it! Do I have to put premium fuel and synthetic mini oil in it or can I use regular oil as used in oil change places?

 

Do you love your car enough to take care of it right? Minimum 91 octane and use synthetic. I use Moble 1

 

First off, Welcome to NAM :smile:

The MINI's owners manual is a useful resource for basic operating questions. Please take the time to read through it and it'll only help in the long-run

Yes, you NEED premium fuel. The boost from the supercharger requires it. Better to pay a bit more now than have a heeeeuuge bill when you blow a hole in your piston later with lower octane.

Yes, the MINI uses synthetic oil. This means no cheapie 5-minute oil change places unless they use proper full-synthetic oil (not "blend&quot AND have the correct MINI oil-filter. Thankfully, the MINI (with the pure-syn oil) only needs oil changed every 10-15k miles, so having it done at a proper independant shop isn't going to break the long-term bank.

Hope that helps, Motor-On,
Ryan

 

Heck, depending on what you drove before you got your MINI, you might still pay less for gas a week filling the MINI with premium than you did putting regular in your old car...

As for non-synthetic I wouldn't risk it... No telling what your dealer might do when they do your scheduled oil change and discover non-synthetic oil in there...

 

>>I just bought a Cooper S and LOVE it! Do I have to put premium fuel and synthetic mini oil in it or can I use regular oil as used in oil change places?

Welcome to the tribe. Premium Fuel and Synthetic Oil are part of the price of admission. The MCS is a hi-po little beastie that requires 1) 91 or higher octane to aviod pre-detonations and 2) that all the close tolerances in its internal mechanics receive the best lubrication possible - hence synthetic oil. I also recommend changing oil and filter more frequently than the manual, like every 5,000 or so miles at most. It's easy and not expensive (+/- $30) once you buy the needed socket and wrench.

 

I'm hoping that you didn't buy it from a MINI dealer...otherwise you should have been provided with this most basic of info at delivery!

Remember re. the oil changes that your car has free maintenance (that's oil changes) for the first 36,000 miles. That'll get you at least 2 changes. If you want more during that period, those you will either have to pay for or do yourself.

Welcome to NAM!