Hi all! I'm anxiously awaiting the arrival of my very first Mini - a Laser Blue S Clubman. Production should be completed this Wednesday, then I'll just have about a month or so to wait for her to get across the pond!

In the meantime, I've been doing a lot of reading and browsing (and driving my husband crazy with Mini Madness). I've read that Premium Grade Gasoline is recommended but the other grades can be used without damaging the car. But I thought I'd ask you, the Mini experts, what does everyone else use? Pros/Cons/Experiences welcome! Any differences between city/highway driving?

Thanks!

 

Premium is recommended and that's what I use. The difference in price in a tank full is only like $3. If you think you can afford that then don't skimp with the cheaper stuff.

 

There's a *huge* discussion about this here: https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ad.php?t=50189

After reading it, I know I'll be driving out of my way to put the best fuel in Miz Godiva when she arrives!

 

Congrats on your Clubman! You're going to love it!

I've had my Clubman for a little over a week now, and have averaged ~32MPG over about 210 miles (yeah, I've been treating her very gently...). However, I don't know if the dealer put in premium fuel - I kind of doubt it. I just topped off the tank with premium last night, so I'll be curious to see if my mileage changes at all while the premium mixes with the regular.

Although the manual indicates you can get by with as low as 87 octane gas, I can't see the point in it. That grade of fuel will cause the engine to operate at less than peak efficiency - lower MPG and performance.

 

I just test drove a Clubman S... it was fantastic. It handles much better than I expected. The engine will adjust to your fuel, however, it will compensate for lower quality fuel by detuning itself. I would use only fuels from top quality companies, like Shell, Texaco, etc and only 93 octane or above. Good luck, and enjoy your MINI!

 

Thanks all for the info...it helps! That definitely was quite a discussion in the 2005 thread...thanks for digging that up LadyGodiva ;-).

I can definitely spring for the extra $3 a tank or so. I was just trying to figure out if it actually made a difference - I've never had a car that warranted such special treatment before. Since it apparently does make a difference, then of course it will be only the best for my Mini (I'm still debating on a name...I'm inclined to give it a male name but my husband, and pretty much everyone else, tells me that cars are always female...I got around it for the last two cars by using a non-gender specific name for the first one and naming the second one after a drag queen from a song lol).

 

Premium - as suggested by the manual, etc. We did put one tank of regular in just to see the difference...I can say that we won't do it again - there is a big difference in the way it runs....

Donna

 

The actual cost is very small between mid-grade and premium compared to all the other ownership costs. Do whatever makes you feel good, but I would recommend just running premium.

10k miles a year/30mpg=333 gal per year x $.15 per gal = $50! That is what it will cost extra to run premium compared to mid grade.

$.15 is my SWAG for the difference in price between prem and mid.
If is is $.20 it would be $66 a year ($16).

 

I always put in the highest octane as possible, which is 98 to 100

 

I'm hoping you're talking about 98-100 RON and not 98-100 AKI. (pumps in most parts of the world are labeled with the RON octane rating, while pumps in the U.S. are marked with the AKI octane rating).

98-100 AKI is serious overkill for a stock engine (not to mention being hard to find and expensive).

 

Yes, RON of course I live in Europe.

 

Thanks for the numbers, fishey...being an accountant, I speak numbers fluently ;-). It's just the gasoline grade language that I'm trying to learn!

I just now wandered into the 1st Gear Forum and saw that a lot of my other questions were answered there...so I guess I should say sorry for the bother asking a repetitious question. But it was still very nice to meet you all!

 

Me civil engineering person, many numbers.

Also gas factoid: Mid-grade gas is a mix of standard (87octance) gas and premium (92/93 octane) gas at the station to give.....91 octane! There are actually only two tanks in the ground with two grades.

 

Ah, civil engineers...I work with some of those! Good folks. They don't always speak accounting, and I certainly don't speak engineer, but somehow we get along.

Now, the gas factoid -- that's an average, and I certainly understand that. Very interesting to know there are only two tanks in the ground...see, there are all these things that I never considered!

 

Really? well I'll be dipped, ya learn somethin' new every day!

 

ClubDal,

Congrats on joining the MINI Community and your new Clubman! I hope you get it soon =) It's such a torturous wait.

You need to put in 91-octane minimum. This goes for probably any and every modern car with a turbo.

It will run on lower octane, but not well and you'll lower your engines efficiency enough to lose more than you save at the pump. It probably also would shorten the life of the engine in the long run.

Quite a few people were horrified, due to rising gas prices, when I told them I need to put premium fuel in my car. Here's my response:

91 octane is $0.25 more per gallon than 87 octane.

I use about 40 Gallons per Month so my extra cost is:

$0.25 x 40 Gallons = $10 per month or $120 per year.

I'm getting 18 MORE MPG in the MINI than my last car, a Subaru Impreza STI, which averaged 18 MPG on 91, . So lets say gas was $3.50 a gallon when I changed cars.

Subaru 960 Gallons per year = $3360
MINI 480 Gallons per year = $1680

The extra cost for premium fuel is easier to swallow when I look at it this way . Even if my last car ran on 87-octane, I'd still be saving $1440 a year.

 

I did all of the share and compare the first month I got my S. Premium is all my baby gets now and equates to about a 430 mile range, I was only getting about 350 out of regular. I'm normally easy on the pedal and want people to stare as they go by . BUT just got to kick her in the BUTT every once and awhile when some snotty rice rocket revs beside me . Love my MINI.

 

There are quite a few male names given to MINIs. I was thinking of giving mine the name of a female character in a movie who drove a red/white MCS. However, my MCS doesn't seem at all feminine, so it just didn't seem right.

I can't see the point of using lower octane gas. After the reduction in efficiency, I don't think there would be much of saving.

Also, I'd strongly recommend staying with a high quality brand. I believe some lower quality brands will put more ethanol to raise the octane. The MINI does not do well with anything over 10%. There have been some reports in the 2nd Gen Coupe forum of damage done by a tank of "bad" gas.

 

Thanks, FugitiveAI! I'm so thrilled its ridiculous.

The extra 20 cents a gallon certainly doesn't bother me...I just didn't want to pay an extra 20 cents for no reason. And since it's quite apparent that it's not for no reason -- there's a LOT of payoff from your tale and from others -- then I will definitely go for the gold! (or silver, or whatever the heck color it is at the pump...the top stuff!)

I drive a Toyota Matrix now so my gas mileage isn't bad, but the Mini will DEFINITELY be better. And a ton more fun to drive ;-).

 

See....that's what I'm looking for...learning from other people's trial & errors! ;-) I like your easy on the pedal style...that'll be me. But it will be nice to have the gumption when I want or need it!

 

I'm still searching for the perfect name...I'm sure I'll come across it! Thanks for the warning regarding the high quality fuels...I'll be sure to read up on that as well.

 

Just Knowing that it's there when you need it. NOT like these little boy racers in their rice rockets that have to rev their engines when they drive by me, I just smile and wave with the top down. My MINI is not only cuter, shorter, and better built, at 6k RPM there is still room to SCREAM!

 

How bout 89?