Mini Cooper

[sailcalifornia]

Anyone on here have a mini? I have been looking at one for a long time and with gas prices....

I would be getting a S model, anyone have any maintenance issues, clutch, ect??? I have looked on some Mini forums and they just rave about the car, not much practical or negative stuff on there.

Thanks as always.

[rmb socal]

Wish we never sold ours. S Model was great. Think BMW pricing when it comes to maintance thou, and tires are really expensive, no spare so you have to use run flats. At least on the year we had. Great, great car thou. Really fun to drive.

[tkblazer]

i believe you have to run 91 octane with the S model so keep that in mind

[Keith B]

The new S is a turbo and gets alot better mpg than the old Supercharged version.

[.8down]

91 octane for the S in both Turbo and SC I assume, Ive owned two turbo'd cars and both needed the extra fire water.

[Banana Up]

I used to have one. A non S but still i loved that thing to death. Wish i would have never sold it. I had my transmission replaced but it was under warranty. The S models had much stronger tranny's any way.


Just make sure you get likes like i did!

[Shannon]

I wish we could get a mini, but all the crap we bring down to O.C. with us would never fit. Now they have the 'extended' version mini which looks kinda cool.

[Fired Yo Momma]

Originally Posted by Shannon

I wish we could get a mini, but all the crap we bring down to O.C. with us would never fit. Now they have the 'extended' version mini which looks kinda cool.

Mini has a extended version of its "Mini Cooper" its called the Clubman

[0gravity]

Originally Posted by .8down

91 octane for the S in both Turbo and SC I assume, Ive owned two turbo'd cars and both needed the extra fire water.

Click & Clack, the NPR car guys say high test gas is baloney. That it doesn't make a difference, that it's just pricier for no added or necessary benefit. So what's the deal? I don't know myself, but i do tend to trust what those guys say.

[sailcalifornia]

Originally Posted by 0gravity

Click & Clack, the NPR car guys say high test gas is baloney. That it doesn't make a difference, that it's just pricier for now added or necessary benefit. So what's the deal? I don't know myself, but i do tend to trust what those guys say.

I listen to those guys all the time, i totally live by what they say.

Thanks

[AKmoney]

Originally Posted by 0gravity

Click & Clack, the NPR car guys say high test gas is baloney. That it doesn't make a difference, that it's just pricier for now added or necessary benefit. So what's the deal? I don't know myself, but i do tend to trust what those guys say.

Bogus. If it says use 91 octane on the gas cap, use 91 octane. If you don't, the engine will ping, the computer will pull all the ignition timing out and it'll be way down on power.

[.8down]

From all the debates on Audi forums, I do recall many claiming that it doesn't matter, and those that claim it does. Many report a "knocking" sound from their engines when they put in a lower grade and actually I remember some saying at 100 octane(race fuel) it did too. While still others claim that todays engine's are so smart the ECU will readjust its timing to a different grade gas. Gas companies claim that extra Octane burns hotter so it burns cleaner, not leaving residue in your engine, injectors and all that, but a good cleaner should solve that issue, its up to you what you want to do, I don't have any facts to back up any claims made by anyone, so it's all opinions.

[kbteachme]

The new Mini Clubman is pretty cool.

[tkblazer]

Originally Posted by AKmoney

Bogus. If it says use 91 octane on the gas cap, use 91 octane. If you don't, the engine will ping, the computer will pull all the ignition timing out and it'll be way down on power.

nothing like a little engine detonation to start off the day

[Keith B]

Erm...yes it matters alot. If you have a car designed to use 91 its because of the compression ratio it uses - either statically or dynamically in the case of forced induction engines. Using 87 in an engine designed for 91 only will damage your engine.
As a side note if you have an engine designed to run on 87 and you run 91 you will get marginally better gas mileage if the engine runs a good closed loop control.

[freekengo]

Originally Posted by AKmoney

Bogus. If it says use 91 octane on the gas cap, use 91 octane. If you don't, the engine will ping, the computer will pull all the ignition timing out and it'll be way down on power.

I also agree. Not using high octane fuel in a force inducted car can result in major engine damage. Believe me, I've had some customers find out the hardway. They put 91octane pump gas in when I told them to run 110octane as a minimum. BOOM! Toasted engine!

Now on the other hand, if your engine only requires 87octane fuel, you would gain absolutely nothing by putting in higher octane fuel.

[AKmoney]

Originally Posted by .8down

From all the debates on Audi forums, I do recall many claiming that it doesn't matter, and those that claim it does. Many report a "knocking" sound from their engines when they put in a lower grade and actually I remember some saying at 100 octane(race fuel) it did too. While still others claim that todays engine's are so smart the ECU will readjust its timing to a different grade gas. Gas companies claim that extra Octane burns hotter so it burns cleaner, not leaving residue in your engine, injectors and all that, but a good cleaner should solve that issue, its up to you what you want to do, I don't have any facts to back up any claims made by anyone, so it's all opinions.

It's definitely not opinions. Some cars are tuned to run on higher octane. This includes almost anything with a turbo. The last car I had required premium gas. One time I took it in for service on an empty tank and they filled the tank up. I could tell right away they put regular gas in it. It pinged like a mofo and it was WAY down on power. The ECU will adjust after it hears the pinging via the knock sensor, but it will always attempt to add ignition timing back in. The result is constant pinging and lower power.

When regular gas is $4.60 and premium is $4.80, that's less than a 5% cost increase. Put in the good juice and sleep soundly knowing that when you need to flog it, you will get maximum go!! But only do this if the car's owner's manual and/or gas cap says so. Otherwise yes, anything higher than 87 octane is a waste.

[Shu]

The diesel version in Europe get 65+mpg....if they can do it there why not here?????

[autoduel]

From what I understand, higher octane fuel has a lower flash point and less likely to pre-ignite under higher compression engines and boosted engines.
Yes, computers will pull the ignition timing for those equipped with a knock sensor. But you will feel reduced power under load and in hot weather. The computer will "learn" to compensate, but only after it starts pinging. With the higher gas prices, the difference in price between the grades is less and less. $0.20 more per gallon in a 15 gallon tank is only $3.00 Why risk it to try to save $3 on a $69 gass fill up?

[slowSSer]

Originally Posted by 0gravity

Click & Clack, the NPR car guys say high test gas is baloney. That it doesn't make a difference, that it's just pricier for now added or necessary benefit. So what's the deal? I don't know myself, but i do tend to trust what those guys say.

with the price of gas, I've been running regular gas in my WRX with little/no issues for several months.

I've only had a few tiny amounts of "pinging" at high RPMs.

then again, the car does run much smoother with 91, for what it's worth.