No, E85 is 15% gasoline, 85% ethanol.

 

The problem with getting the wrong blend is in the assumption that when you buy gasoline you are getting no ethanol. In fact gasoline may legally contain up to 10% ethanol without being so labeled. Pretty stupid but I suppose it came from the ag lobby since "gasohol" had a bad rep when it originally came out. I believe that inability of engine control systems to deal with too much ethanol in the fuel (as opposed to the other difficulties like corrosion in the fuel system) is compounded is the base fuel has mtbe (hardly the biggest problem associated with mtbe, however). So there are some risks in blending.

 

Hmmm. I am not sure what you are trying to say in your post above. Ethanol as used in gasoline alternatives (E-85 and the like) is produced as a renewable fuel that in the case of Brazil, enabled them to wean themselves from a petroleum habit. As an oxygenate in a gasoline blend, ethanol is used as a replacement for MTBE (Methyl Tert Butyl Ether). MTBE loves water and as a result of its use as an oxygenate in gasoline, has created a problem with contamination of ground water. You can argue about whether the requirement to use ethanol as a replacement for MTBE is the product of a conspiracy of people like ADM forever; the fact remains that ethanol is the only currently viable replacement for MTBE.

Also, if memory serves, gasohol was based on a methanol blend. The problems with gasohol were due to its affinity for water - car fuel systems don't seem to like much water in their gasoline.

 

You are correct Don't know where my head was

 

When I bought my mini it kinda jolted as it would start out and just kinda skipped some beats. I read posts on here for two mos before joining and thank God for you ppl because the first tank i put in of premium my mini ran so smoooooth.....
Id NEVER use anything else.

 

Depending on where you live (and whether you have access to 93 octane pump gas), you MINI will run even smoother....

 

MANY years ago, I lived on the east coast where they had Sunoco Custom blended gas...I think up to 100 octane! (had an Olds 4-4-2)

I live in Reno Nevada and always run Chevron 91 octane in my MCS (and the 81 porsche before it, and Audi A4 Turbo after that (on that Audi, you really knew when you got a load of "bad" gas!)).

I run a can of Chevron Techron fuel system cleaner about every 5000 mi since the gas we are getting is real garbage! I still like that stuff!

The cost of 91 octane is only 10 cents more a gal and the mini holds 13 gals...geez, my Mini is worth at least that.

As many have said...SUPERCHARGED/TURBOCHARGED...need better gas!

I would like to put a tank of HIGHER octane gas in it but have never seen anything higher than 91 here...ANYONE KNOW OF A PLACE?
TIA
JEFF

 

Try this URL:

http://www.rockettbrand.com/dealers/dealers.htm#nevada

 

Thank You but they are not in Reno/Sparks area (Nothing is)! Guess I could get some next time I am In calif to visit my dealer and then burn most of it on the way home!

 

Or, if you have a NATO style gas can, you could take some 100 octane To Go.... It only takes a little (~2 gallons) added to a tankful to get you to 93 octane.

 

TOP TIER Detergent Gasoline in MINI Vehicles

INFORMATION
Deposit-control additives have been required by the EPA in all gasoline from 1995; however, since the introduction of the lowest additive concentration (LAC) most gasoline manufacturers have actually reduced the concentration level of detergent additives by up to 50%.

Low content of cleaning additives results in an excessive accumulation of deposits on fuel injectors, the intake valves, the exhaust manifold or inside the combustion chamber. Due to deposits build-up, customers may experience various drivability problems (e.g. cold start problems, rough idle), increased emissions with Service Engine Soon light illumination, reduced engine performance and poor fuel economy.

In order to increase the level of detergent additives in gasoline, the TOP TIER Detergent Gasoline requirements were approved by four automotive companies (BMW, GM, Honda and Toyota).

Usage of the TOP TIER Detergent Gasoline will help keep engines cleaner, and will reduce deposits-related concerns.

A number of gasoline retailers have already met the TOP TIER Detergent Gasoline requirements and are offering this product in all octane grades in all of their respective marketing areas. The current TOP TIER Gasoline retailers are: Chevron®; Texaco®; QuickTrip®; ConocoPhillips®; 76®; Shell®; Entec Stations®; MFA Oil Company®; Kwik Trip®/Kwik Star®; The Somerset Refinery, Inc.®; Aloha Petroleum®; Jiffy Mart®; Mahalo®; Trip-Par Oil Company®. All gasoline outlets carrying the brand of the approved retailer must conform to TOP TIER requirements on products advertised as such.

RECOMMENDATION
MINI recommends using TOP TIER Detergent Gasoline of minimum octane rating of AKI 91 and with alcohol content of less then 10% by volume (or any other oxygenates with up to 2.8% of oxygen by weight). Only the exclusive usage of TOP TIER Gasoline provides the full benefit of reducing deposits build-up. MINI customers may find more information related to TOP TIER Gasoline on the official website www.toptiergas.com.

If the TOP TIER Detergent Gasoline is unavailable, we recommend BMW Group FUEL SYSTEM CLEANER PLUS be added to the gas tank. For optimum cleaning and deposits control, add a 20 fl. oz. bottle every 3,000 miles when refueling.

BMW Group FLUEL SYSTEM CLEANER PLUS.
PN 82 14 0 413 341,
1 bottle, 20 fl. oz.

WARRANTY INFORMATION
Because carbon deposit build-up is related to fuel quality, it cannot be considered as a defect in vehicle's materials or workmanship. Consequently, usage of BMW Group Fuel System Cleaner Plus is not covered under the terms of the MINI New Vehicle Limited Warranty or maintenance plan.

 

Deposit-control additives have been required by the EPA in all gasoline from 1995; however, since the introduction of the lowest additive concentration (LAC) most gasoline manufacturers have actually reduced the concentration level of detergent additives by up to 50%.

Low content of cleaning additives results in an excessive accumulation of deposits on fuel injectors, the intake valves, the exhaust manifold or inside the combustion chamber. Due to deposits build-up, customers may experience various drivability problems (e.g. cold start problems, rough idle), increased emissions with Service Engine Soon light illumination, reduced engine performance and poor fuel economy.

In order to increase the level of detergent additives in gasoline, the TOP TIER Detergent Gasoline requirements were approved by four automotive companies (BMW, GM, Honda and Toyota).

Usage of the TOP TIER Detergent Gasoline will help keep engines cleaner, and will reduce deposits-related concerns.

A number of gasoline retailers have already met the TOP TIER Detergent Gasoline requirements and are offering this product in all octane grades in all of their respective marketing areas. The current TOP TIER Gasoline retailers are: Chevron®; Texaco®; QuickTrip®; ConocoPhillips®; 76®; Shell®; Entec Stations®; MFA Oil Company®; Kwik Trip®/Kwik Star®; The Somerset Refinery, Inc.®; Aloha Petroleum®; Jiffy Mart®; Mahalo®; Trip-Par Oil Company®. All gasoline outlets carrying the brand of the approved retailer must conform to TOP TIER requirements on products advertised as such.


MINI recommends using TOP TIER Detergent Gasoline of minimum octane rating of AKI 91 and with alcohol content of less then 10% by volume (or any other oxygenates with up to 2.8% of oxygen by weight). Only the exclusive usage of TOP TIER Gasoline provides the full benefit of reducing deposits build-up. MINI customers may find more information related to TOP TIER Gasoline on the official website www.toptiergas.com.

 

That's exactly why I use Redline SP-1 with every fill-up.

 

This is what happens when the govn doesnt watch how these companies mix there fuel. Ever since Katrina, the govn hasnt been doing this and you all see the cause of it.

 

my father is a chemist in the ink industry. He uses some exxon products that are distillates. He always told me how gasoline in general is a random collection of waste products at most pumps. You really can see that going from gas station to gas station how the stuff is so inconsistent!

93 vpower FTW?
mixed with 3 gallons of Cam2 100 octane. yeeeeaaah.

 

Shell is def the best gas company out here right now.

Where you getting Cam2 from around here??? The guy in Wyandanch shut down shop. On the weekends if im goin out to play....Ill get my tank almost to empty adn put 5-8gals of Cam2 in an go have some fun.

 

How do you come to that conclusion? I would imagine that the folks at Chevron would have a different opinion about your claim.

 

No matter where you buy you gas from you are likely not be getting said brand gas. More likely you are getting Brenner Oil gasoline produced to or not to Shell specifications. At least that is what truck I see at our Shell station all the time. Could also be Marathon, Blarney Castle, Valero, or a bunch of other refinery names you have never heard of.

Gasoline is a fungible product.

 

True up to a point. Most retailers sell "their brand" of gasoline. I doubt that Shell's additive package is a copy of Chevron's techron additive package. Depending on the agreement with the distributor, the retailer may be able to offer non-branded gas.

 

If one buys Vpower 93 from a shell station pump, is it vpower 93 from shell? Be hard to imagine that it wouldnt be. No one would buy shell ever again if it was true that they sold random crap gas.

Long Islanders: Call this dude:
A-1 Racing Specialties, Inc.
Fred Bobb
1-800-783-2262

He will ask for your town. He is sunoco's local distributor of the racing fuels. Then he explains where to get sunoco 100 octane it is pricey on long island as everyone seems to stop selling it. Once gas prices go down they might again is my guess. Right now they can rip off the regular customer so why bother with fancy gas that moves slower is my guess.

 

There is no way to prove what gas you are getting. There is no crap gas, all gasoline meets federal standards for specific gravity, octane, sulfur content, water content, etc...

Really think about where does your gas comes from. A refinery, and most of the refineries are not owned by the majors (ie shell, exxon, bp). Instead most of the refineries are Valero, Marathon, Brenner Oil, Blarney Castle, etc. So your gas comes from the refinery by a pipeline, tankers, or fuel barge, to a regional tank farm. At which point additives may be added and designated to various large ground tanks from which the fuel will be distributed by tanker truck to various stations. Now where in the mix of those millions of gallons a day floating around does the specific additives go in to go to the specific stations...who knows? We are talking about 30 million gallons a day being consumed in the US.

The feds do mandate a certain amount of detergent additives in all gasoline. Generally if you read on the various gas companies websites they list they have double or triple the federal mandated detergent additives, and that is what makes their stuff 'special'.

Otherwise gasoline is gasoline + detergent additives. Unless it is 100 octane or greater specialty fuel.

One day I watched the same truck supply fuel to a local independent, and then deliver across the street to Shell. So am I getting 93 Vpower from Billy Bob's Local Independent station, or is The Shell station getting generic gas?

Either way I save about $.15 a gal buying it from Billy Bob's place.



Ever tried the Miller Lite and Milwaukee's Best Lite beer challenge? Same beer, two different cans, two prices. Best Lite has no marketing campaign, may not be as fresh, and is much less $$$.

 

There are no Chevron stations out here or id def use em, thats why i said Shell....BMW/MINI has tested pleanty of different gasoline companies and found that Shell and Chevron was the best out of everyone....There are other companies on the list but i never heard nor seen these companies out here ( NY ) .

Chevron actually makes the fuel cleaner BMW/MINI sells.

 

True, and thats why BMW/MINI did the testing on all these different gases on the market and found to much sulfer content in most which is ruining our fuel systems and giving bad gas milage,hesitation,hard starts,incorrect gas gauge readings and so on. They found using this additive will help with all the problems stated above.

 

Vpower states that it has a certain quantity of detergents in it vs others. It would be false advertising if it did not have them. It also would be really easy for someone to test this and find that it is false. What are the chances that it is not vpower from shell or at least the same standard of vpower made by someone else? To say that crapco gaseteria has same kind of gas as a major company is incorrect. I dont need any advice in that. On long island, the no name brand gas companies use the most wretched crap I have ever witnessed compared to top tier ones or regular branded companies.

 

Its odd though....I use mostly any name brand station on the island and never had a problems with my car that I see with my customers that come into my dealer.