High octane fuel on mini cooper?

Callum- well, well, well, yes you certainly did miss something. When you decided to purchase this car, you should have done your homework. You would have discovered that this car has a high compression engine. Besides, we're talking 10 cents per gallon more at the pump. If you couldn't have afforded this, you should not have purchased this car. And , further, you could damage your engine etc, see this thread, http://community.cartalk.com/discussion/2234612/mini-cooper- gas

By the way, whenever the owners manual recommends something, it's required.

I'm not sure how to reply on this so I will put my reply in the answer box: It reccomends premium yes but premium in the US is low to mid 90's, that's just standard in the UK so I wondered if if was necessary. I also wondered if higher grade fuel would make the care faster. I should think there are diminishing returns on higher grade fuel performance wise as you move up though the 90's. Also, thank you for responding Mark I appricate your advice. Callum

Thank you Callum-, by the way, if I've been helpful here, please mark one of my answers best answer. Here's the proof of the premium fuel required for you, see this link. Edmund's is highly regarded, and there's been other discussions on the Internet about this subject. If you don't have the proper fuel, it could cause engine pinging, damage, loss of performance. I'm sure that you don't want this over 10 cents per gallon? http://www.edmunds.com/mini/cooper/2009/features-specs/

I don't know where or when you guys live, but I would love to find premium fuel at a $.10 price premium! As a Cooper S driver for the past 10 years, I've found that the oil company have realized that people shop regular gas prices, not premium prices, and they are gouging accordingly. Years ago it was maybe $.10 extra for mid- grade, and another $.10 extra for premium. Lately, at least here in the Chicago area, that has grown to around $.40 per step, and I'm paying $.80 per gallon extra (around 1/3 more) for premium fuel! As much as I love the supercharger, it's just not worth it, and my next car will not require premium fuel.

For decades the difference has always been 10 cents a step up but recently they have started charging more.

I got the p0326 error code when running low octane = pinging = bad Bumped the octane up, error code gone, no ping. 2006 mini s

Just bought a mini. I am ok using premium gas and can afford it but the price difference at our gas stations is .60 a gallon--that is outrageous!

GasBuddy can help find better deals, but Premium - Regular difference is at least $0.20 in NJ, and usually much higher

Alright. Here's the best answer. If you put regular gas in a high compression car that requires premium, the anti-knock circuits will retard the timing, giving you less performance. So you may push the accelerator harder to get the same performance, at the cost of lower gas mileage. But if you're planning a long trip at highway speed, you can use regular and will get essentially the same gas mileage.

I wish it was only a .10 difference ! per grade .... at least here in Texas its about 1/3 more per grade from regular. That's why I got rid of my VW and now drive a Subaru. I'm getting 30 MPG in city on regular ! 2018 Forester.

it is redulce to pay 23 cents more for fuel i can see maybe 10 our 12 but not so much difference in price

Found this online for you... yes, it's a small price to pay, even 23 cents per gallon..... Look, you're getting decent MPG....why are you complaining...and sorry to bring this up.. BUT, you had to know it took premium fuel when you purchased this car... Can Pinging damage an engine? This is a car engine that has a ping. ... If left uncorrected it can ruin the motor. Caused by either a lean fuel condition, carbon deposits in the combustion chamber, over advanced ignition timing, wrong spark plugs, or overheating.Sep 22, 2012

YOU'RE NO PAYING ATTENTION! Here's the best answer. If you put regular gas in a high compression car that requires premium, the anti-knock circuits will retard the timing, giving you less performance. So you may push the accelerator harder to get the same performance, at the cost of lower gas mileage. But if you're planning a long trip at highway speed, you can use regular and will get essentially the same gas mileage. Plus, for any given gas company, the detergents used in their premium gas are the same as their regular gas. The only difference is the octane. No difference in quality

ican see 10or 12 cents differece in price bir 23 is unpleuble has ant o e ever tectied the gas its selfife to determend what is the the tanks

Markw1952, why do you have to answer questions like a self righteous prick? Someone needed an informed answer and you wanted to make them feel stupid and swing your dick around. If you can't answer a question like a decent human being, then you shouldn't answer at all but for someone like you, I know it will be tough

Mini recommendation for North America market as Mini Cooper or Cooper S (both turbo) is 89 octane or 91. Almost, no different. In Europe, Mini Cooper and S got a few more HP and use 93-95.

Igor. Thank you for beung the first person to actually answer the main part of his question. I am sure Callum appreciates is as well. Only took two years to get it.....

I would ageee Edward!

You car engine employs forced induction which pushes in more air so that you can have more power when mixed with fuel and spark. high compression and forced induction engines do require higher octane fuel for long-term viability. Octane measures the ease of detonation the higher the number the harder to make da boomba! lower octane fuels when under high compression and or forced induction can prematurely go boom creating knock. BV is of course correct when your ECU sees significant knock it will retard timing to limit it and that will cost you power. run your car like that for years and you will coat the inside with gunk. The opposite is also true run a car designed for 87 on 93 for long periods of time and you coat the insides with carbon waste money and screw yourself from an energy stand point gas is gas neither 87 or 93 per unit volume provide any more or less power. The difference is the energy required to liberate the fuel energy!!! Your engine is designed for high compression forced induction 93 octane fuel.

your answers may be more correct then not...BUT TURBO MOTORS ARE NOT HIGH COMPRESSION THERE LOWER.........

Turbo motors often begin with lower compression, however, as soon as boost comes on, by definition, so does the compression... that is, compression goes up, often by a significant amount. Hope that helps JP

Markw1952 your responses are so condescending, and so unnecessary. How is this helpful? "well, well, well, yes you certainly did miss something. When you decided to purchase this car, you should have done your homework." Thanks for a good response Igor.

You did miss SOMETHING obvious. How to spell SOMETHING!!!!

I attached a photo of my 2010 mini's manual description. Manual says that cooper s minimum requirement is 89 octane and regular cooper minimum requirement is 87 octane. It is recommended to do the higher octane for better preformence and operation, if you can afford it go premium. If not try 89 and 87 accordingly.

If your using 91 octane can you switch to 87 or 89 and what that do to the engine?

The car is a high compression engine. A higher octane fuel is needed because counter intuitively a higher octane fuel requires a higher compression to ignite compared to a lower octane. The high compression of the sport model mini's can cause the fuel to burn at times outside of when there is the spark. (This is known as engine knock and can be damaging to the engine.) 91 to 89 the fuels are both at a high enough octane that this should not occur, 87 is low enough it can happen more often. If you switch from 91 to 89 it should be ok because those are both within spec to run in the engine with minimal knock. If you switch to 87 you increase your chances of engine knock.

Thank you Tanner!

I recently bought a 2010 Cooper. Didn't know about the higher octane fuel. On my way home from the dealer filled the tank with 87 octane. Ran down to about a half tank until check engine light came on. Filled with93 and light eventually went off. No problems since.

Haha thank you GuruYVCJF. I was about to post myself what an absolute dick Markw1952 was. What an unnecessarily condescending asshat. Should be shot in the street.

I usually run 91 Octaine in my Cooper S a d has always run great, I put shell V Power 93 octaine in it about 4 months ago iand it knocked and engine light came on, when I put 91 back in it ran fine again, Today I had no choice but to choose 87 or put Shell V Power 93 in again, I put the 93 in again and same thing, it’s knocking and the check engine light is on, coincidence?? can this be too high of an Octaine?

So the higher octane means it is more difficult for the fuel to burn, with a typical gas cycle this means this would only be when your spark fires. Knock happens when the fuel ignites prematurely from the pressure. I do get the timing of when you had issue just happened to be at the same time as the fuel change but a issue with engine knock would not come from a too high octane level. Beyond that, I cannot speak towards the electronics in the mini itself, I can only speak from a fuel understanding. Hopefully that helps.

The octane rating system in the Europe and North America are completely different. Do not compare them. It's like comparing Celcius vs Faranheit. Europe ratings are in RON. North America is in AKI. 94 Octane in North America is the same as 99 Octane in Europe (or Japan). You also do not NEED premium fuel in your Mini, especially in the winter months where pre detonation is unlikely. Your car's ECU will detect the knocking and retard the timing and adjust the air fuel mixture automatically. This applies to most BMW engines as of 2006, and all current engines. BMW's are sold and can be popular in many countries which do not have access to premium fuel, the engines are designed to accommodate these circumstances. However with regular fuel your performance and fuel economy will be affected. If it's very hot weather then Premium fuel will net you savings in fuel economy.

I appreciate your input. I was unaware of the difference between European (RON) and United States (MKI) fuel octain ratings. My question then is what type rating is used in the manual for the car when purchased in the united states. I included a picture of the manual from my 2010 mini (s) is the manual changed between the different countries? It is a shame that the type of octain scale (Ron,Mon or AKI) used was not mentioned in the user manual for the vehicle. If anyone has a more in-depth operation manual for the Mini a picture that includes the octane units would be greatly appreciated.

Elevation plays a small role in what octane you car can use as well. The higher the elevation the lower octane is needed. For every 1000ft of elevation your octane requirements drop by 0.5. So at sea level, if your car requires 91 it only needs 89 at 4000ft above sea level. Not a huge difference but thought I would add to the conversation for the people who live where the air is thin :)

GuruYVCJF, thank you for your response to MarkW.1952! There was no need for him to be condescending. He could have easily have provided helpful information without being a jerk.

Thank you Tanner for the photo of your user manual. I purchased mine used and there was no user's manual included, only a case which told us how to utilize voice command and other less important information. Again, thank you!

Mike is a stuck up idiot. You do not have to know what is under the bonnet of a car to buy and enjoy it. The mini cooper s is a small fast car with great looks and handling. You must not buy a car unless you know it has a high compression engine shows what a small willy he has. Very Sad.

Lower octane fuel actually has more energy content. So, if you car runs well on lower octane fuel you will get better MPG, as well as the dollar savings in fuel.

Mark I think that you tried to be ironic, I got it and I like it. People seems to loose when gets the true, and if it hurts somebody is just because it is right.