Hi

i took my 2005 MCC in to a different dealer today (my closer dealer was giving me the "mini HQ is working on a fix for your problems, we'll get back to you) BS answer to the following problems:
chain-sounding shocks
poor starting
terrible shudder in rear windows
poor sunroof performance
and a few others.
I'm pleased to say that this dealer is ordering me parts for new windows, new sunroof motors, and said they tightened up the exhaust and shocks (We'll see when i get it back!)

as for the starter problem ( the car started taking extra cranks to start all of a sudden...) they said my octane was too high. I put in 93 cos that's common, they said i should be putting in 91.

this sounds all-sorts-of-stupid to me. any takers?

thanks!

 

BULL ***** there is TINY differences in fuel quality of the two octances of 93 and 91. the dealer better be smoking the jamaican stuff!

 

if you were running ethanol straight.... they might have a point...

-Josh

 

I've heard other MINI owners say that switching to a lower octane every once in a while (like every 4th tank) has helped a variety of starting problems. It doesn't makes sense to me, but quite a few people have tried it and said it works.

 

velVeT is right! It makes no sense but seems to help. Whenever I start to have a problem I'll change grades. When I find a brand of gas/petrol that preformes better I will stay with it, this seems to help also.

 

Yes there is such a thing as too high octane but if you are buying any octane at a US pump you cannot buy anything higher than 93 and 93 is certainly not too high. If the problem you are having is a result of 93 being too high than thats not the problem and your dealer needs to get that fixed. Switching to a lower octane on occasion is not a solution and only puts off the problem temporarily. I ran 93 octane since I bought my car new in 2002 and never had a single problem. I recently moved to England where the high test is 98 octane and wow what a difference the higher octane makes my car fly!

 

The book calls for 91 but there is no 91 anywhere that I have ever seen here in the northeast. 87 yes. 89, 93 and 94 Sunoco and other higher racing fuels. But no 91.

I know the argument from a technical and emotional standpoint but our manuals say that our Minis take 91 or better. When Mini changes the specifications then the issue will be different. I have to believe that they actually thought this through and didn't pick a number out of a hat. That means that for our current cars, the way I see it, since there is no 91, 89 is unacceptable and 93 is our next option.

Rich

 

I always run the 93 octane in the cooper... but in massachusetts at least, sunoco is the place to get 91 octane as they carry only 87, 89,91 and 93... unfortunately they stopped carrying 94 around boston... We need to run 91 or higher in our volvo, and always get the 91... why pay for the higher octance in the family wagon in my opinion....

 

Just down Route 25 from where MGear used to live there is a station that has a pump with 110 octane racing fuel. I am tempted to mix some in with my next fill-up. Has anyone tried racing fuel or at least a mix and received good results?

 

The US and England use different measuring systems. 93 in the US is comparable to 98 in England. Your flying car must be attributable to some other cause.

 

When I was in law school I had a TR-4 convertible that enjoyed the Amoco leaded 95 octane gas at the nearest station. That gas was some good sh*t, but that is getting close to ancient history. I wonder whether the current octane additives are worth the cost and effort. I do use them occaisionally when preparing for a road trip and anticipating some spitied driving, but I can't be certain of their supposed benefits. I typically use 93 octane Citgo, Shell, or Mobil and keep my Unichip on the performance map and all works well.

 

Actually there is 91 here in Boston. Only place I saw it was at Sunoco. They don't have 93, Ultra 94 anymore. Sunoco now has 87, 89, 91, 93.
The price difference between 93 and 91 is usually 2 cents so I went for 93.

 

The octane subject has been beaten to death, but I haven't read anything about the different formulations/blends/additives that vary from state to state, and even within some states from city to rural areas.

I remember when NJ would switch from summer to winter formulation. I would experience an mpg improvement. Or was it winter to summer? Sorry, senior moment here, but there was a difference!
hs

 

Very interesting. I would think very few cars require Ultra 94 so I hope the Sunoco grades they have in Boston now make their way down to Jersey. I use mostly Sonoco anyway.

Even at a 1 cent difference I'd use the 91 but will not use 89 as for the few times I am at WOT I wouldn't want the knock sensor to set the timing back and throttle the ride.

Rich

 

I was getting 29+ mpg with my first two fillups in my mcsc. Then I went to sams club and filled up half of the tank with 87 octaine, and half of the tank with 93 octane (hoping to achieve some sort of balance at about 91). Well, I only got 22 mpg, and the car was not as smooth as before. Refilled at Nice-n-Easy with 91 octaine, and it seems to be back to its old performance. We'll see what the MPG is when I burn through this tank. I thought you could make your own octaine by mixing lower and higher grade fuels, but maybe it doesn't mix?

My dealer said to use 89 octaine in winter because the gas is more volitle, but to use 91 in summer. With the gas companies doing special reformulations, who the hell knows what to do?

 

Yes you can mix grades, but don't. Buy the highest grade pumpgas you can find, because detonation is bad. Oh, & yes there is such a thing as too much octane, but not at a service station.

 

Don't do it as it most likely is leaded and will destroy the Cat.
About the best you will find unleaded is 100.
Please PM me with the location of this station ...

 

They specify 91 because you cannot get anything higher than that in some parts of the country. My MCS has had a steady diet of 93 since the first time I filled the tank (except once when I put in 89 by mistake) and it runs fine all the time. Even when I put in the 89, although I did drive it easy on that tank and filled it with 93 when I got 1/2 empty.

You can create your own 91 by mixing 87 and 93, but it's just not worth the trouble to me and the money saved is insignificant - about a dollar a tank.