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Dave Elliott · Jan 25th, 2008, 05:25 AM

Hi All,

I know there are heaps of threads relating to fuel, but mainly it's with regards economy.

I just thought I'd share some recent experiences I've had with regards two fuels available here in Perth, Australia.

Since buying my 2002 MCS just over a year ago, I've always filled up with BP Ultimate (98 octane). I get roughly 550km from a tank of this fuel. Point to note is that since buying it, I have had the "cold start" problem (where it only starts after the second turn of the key) and it also sometimes exhibits a slight "yoyo" effect or surging.

Occasionally my wife drives the car and on a couple of occasions she has filled up with Shell Premium (95 octane). When I get back into the MINI after the fill with Shell Premium it seemed different; more responsive and also easier to start. The first time this happened I thought I was imagining it; however after the second time I think there is a definite difference.

In other words, I think my MCS runs better on Shell Premium than BP Ultimate. As I said, it's easier to start ("Cold start" issue almost non existent), it' seems to have got more low end torque, probably a result of it not surging (yo-yo-ing) as much. Only downside is that I don't get as much out of a tank (only just over 500kms).

I know that the manual recommends 95 octane fuels, however I would expect that the ECU should be able to adjust the engine management so that the supercharger can run at a higher boost. Perhaps this is not the case and I've been wasting my money. What is probably worse is the additives in the Ultimate seem to be giving the MINI the "cold start" and "yoyo" symptoms.

I think I'll stick to Shell Premium for a while.

Can anyone else relate to my experiences? What do others run their early MCSs on (note that mine is still bog standard).

Cheers,

Dave

Jan 25th, 2008, 05:25 AM	#1
Dave Elliott MINI2 Regular Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Fremantle Local Time: 02:49 PM Posts: 129 Offline	Fuel octane for standard MCS (O2 R53) Hi All, I know there are heaps of threads relating to fuel, but mainly it's with regards economy. I just thought I'd share some recent experiences I've had with regards two fuels available here in Perth, Australia. Since buying my 2002 MCS just over a year ago, I've always filled up with BP Ultimate (98 octane). I get roughly 550km from a tank of this fuel. Point to note is that since buying it, I have had the "cold start" problem (where it only starts after the second turn of the key) and it also sometimes exhibits a slight "yoyo" effect or surging. Occasionally my wife drives the car and on a couple of occasions she has filled up with Shell Premium (95 octane). When I get back into the MINI after the fill with Shell Premium it seemed different; more responsive and also easier to start. The first time this happened I thought I was imagining it; however after the second time I think there is a definite difference. In other words, I think my MCS runs better on Shell Premium than BP Ultimate. As I said, it's easier to start ("Cold start" issue almost non existent), it' seems to have got more low end torque, probably a result of it not surging (yo-yo-ing) as much. Only downside is that I don't get as much out of a tank (only just over 500kms). I know that the manual recommends 95 octane fuels, however I would expect that the ECU should be able to adjust the engine management so that the supercharger can run at a higher boost. Perhaps this is not the case and I've been wasting my money. What is probably worse is the additives in the Ultimate seem to be giving the MINI the "cold start" and "yoyo" symptoms. I think I'll stick to Shell Premium for a while. Can anyone else relate to my experiences? What do others run their early MCSs on (note that mine is still bog standard). Cheers, Dave