My wife recently purchased a used Mini Cooper and she has 2 maintenance concerns which I would like input from experienced Mini owners about.

About her car: 2008, 27K miles, non-turbo, automatic, stock (will not mod), purchased from a Mini dealer

1. Does her car need premium fuel? She said the owner's manual recommends it, so she's been getting it. She drives the car for normal commuting. She doesn't use the paddle shifters/manual mode. She does not use the Sport button. I don't think she needs it, but I don't know how sensitive Minis are to 87 octane (here in California there's 87, 89, and 91 octane).

2. Do the rotors needs to be replaced when the pads are replaced? The finance guy said the rotors cannot be resurfaced and must be replaced when pads are replaced. That sounded strange to me, but I've never owned a Mini/BMW.

Any other advice/recommendations for owning a Mini is appreciated. thanks.

Pic of her car

 

Yes all MINIS need hightest gas.

Yes rotors need to be replaced and not resurfaced.The rotors are cheap enough that resurfacing them will cost more in labor vs replacing them.

Change the oil between 3k to 5 k.

get clear bra because minis are prone to stone chips.

 

MINI's stand that the rotors cannot be surfaced is pretty widely known and accepted.

The fuel and oil change intervals are highly debated. For first generation cars, no question - Premium fuel only, regardless of S or non. For 2nd gen (assuming yours is not a cabrio), it's widely accepted that the naturally aspirated models do just fine on regular. The fact that the owners manual recommends it leaves room for interpretation. I'm not going to give my thoughts here, as I don't own a 2nd gen. But I invite you to research threads already debating the subject, and make an informed decision. Same goes for oil changes, although I will tel you that I personally adhere to longer intervals. I just sold a VW with over 190k on it that has had 10 to 15k intervals it's entire life. NO sludging, and motor runs fine, good compression, and it probably consumes less oil than a brand new MINI.

 

Deleted by poster

 

2008 cabrio is still first generation (Chrysler motor).

 

Yes after 2nd coffee I remembered that.Would have kept my JCW if it had a chrysler motor!Gotta love a detroit engineered iron block!Mini should have used the srt4 engine in the r56!

 

I hear you about the coffee!
Actually, as my own coffee kicks in, I want to restate what might not have been clear in my first response: I'm NOT disputing your advice in any way. But I know (from past threads on subject) that other opinions will surface. It's ok, it's the internet. I personally find it interesting that MINI would "suggest" an octane if it wasn't required. In the end, it adds up to probably $200/year difference or less. So it's not worth even debating. What frustrates me, is that in my area, 91 octane is hard to find, so I'm using 93. Now my R50 actually gets poorer mileage on 93 versus 89. But if I want to abide by the required 91 minimum, it's either that, or go way out of my way to find 91. And I'll probably be hanged for this, but I choose my fuel by convenience, not by what should be best for my car, or even price (although price is definitely considered). My car exists to serve me, not the other way around.

 

cooler climate and higher elevation requires less octane.Sea level and hot requires high test.

 

A couple of things...

Will you hurt the engine by using lower octane gas? Probably not, but you might not be able to get all the performance that the engine is capable of. The engine management system uses knock sensors to to detect... well, engine knock. When knock is detected, the ECU pulls ignition timing, and also can adjust fueling. Both of those actions will hurt performance. So will it run? yes, will it have full performance? maybe?

For less than $3 a tank why not...


On to the brakes... BMW engineers the brake rotors to be a consumable item. They isn't a lot of extra material built in, like some rotors. When you get worn, (have a noticeable lip) and it's time for new pads, there isn't enough material to turn the rotor and still be above minimum thickness spec. So, you just replace them.

Can they be turned? Yes. But there are lots of things in like that you can do, but really shouldn't...lol

BMW/MINI does the same thing with flywheels, but they are usually ok for use with 2 clutches before you need to replace them. (dual mass flywheels shouldn't be machined either)

 

Chrysler motors? I thought they were French sourced Renaults.

 

My dealer says that fuel is +/- 2. That makes 89 a potential 91. He says it is alright to run 87 octane but you may hear some pinging. He also said that in the summer when you run the air conditioning a higher octane is preferrable as the condenser draws. Bottom line according to the dealer...all fuels work. My observation though is that there a performance difference in running my 2008 base with 93 octane. Also I get better gas mileage running 93 octane.

 

R56 is sourced from Peugeot

 

I was speaking about earlier cars. With the first generation, MINI states that premium fuel MUST be used. With the second generation, they RECOMMEND premium fuel for the NA motor (at least the owners manual I saw, which was for a 2007). I normally wouldn't bring first gen info into a second gen question, but I believe it's a source of confusion on this matter, some saying it's mandatory, and some recommending it. Anyway, MINI officially states that the first generation engines are a joint effort between MINI, and Daimler-Chrysler. Those in the know will say it's a smaller displacement Neon engine, manufactured in Brasil.

 

They only need to be replaced if they're less than the minimum thickness. (The minimum is shown on the rotor itself.) If they're thick enough and not warped you can put new pads on without doing anything to the rotors.