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Old Dec 3rd, 2002, 01:29 AM   #6
stryder
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Quote:
Originally posted by BillK


The octane rating deals with the amount of anti-knock compounds in the gasoline. If you use a gasoline with insufficient anti-knock compounds, you will over time damage your engine and you will hear "pinging" as you drive, particularly during acceleration and up hills. This does not mean everyone should use Super, it means you should use the grade recommended by the manufacturer. of course, for the MINI, that IS Super.

As I stated above, there are other threads on this subject, and if you read them you will see some of the problems others are having because they are not using the right gasoline.

Essentially correct, however the MINI (both of them) have anti-knock sensors, so you'll actually cause your engine to run weaker (lower compression) automatically before you damage it because of too low octane. (In theory at least).

With regards to the original post:
Calculate the cost of super vs. regular, its at most $.20/gallon. Say you drive ~10K miles/year, which is 250/week, or about 10 gallons (assuming good milage) That's an extra $2/week on gas, or $110 a year. You just bought a car that cost over $20k. The least you could do for the poor thing is give it the gas it needs. Saving money buy decreasing the performance of your car and potentially damaging it would make sense if it was thousands of dollars. Its not.

Magic 8-ball was correct. All be in awe of Magic 8 ball.
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