The New E-10 gas .. problems..

[GadgetGav]

Quote: Originally Posted by jwardell

Remember: Different states...different fuel concoctions.

Why..?? You lot need to figure out if you're one country or 50 loosely affiliated ones..!

[GBMINI]

Filled up with Mobil 89 tonight ... total change; We'll see what happens in the morning.

Oh, and when I started tonight, it behaved like cold start in the morning. AND it stalled while I was waiting to pull out from the office driveway. The worst GBMINI#3 has been since this gas issue began.

[MetalMiniMayhem]

strange..

you said "total change" meaning total change in gas or total change in the way it's acting?.. Mine was a total change as well, except it was a good thing (minus the cold starting fiascos), but it runs like a beast during driving now (which it wasn't.. it was wanting to stall in several of the power curves.. almost like it wanted to "limp", but didn't quite get to that point)

remember: I didn't come up with this "solution".. it was the good folks at "866-ASK-MINI".. (just to cover my butt.. )

[GBMINI]

total change in gas - different brand and different octane.

I might claim that it was more "perky" driving home from the gas station, but that was only a couple miles ... so the morning start & drive to work will be the big test.

[MetalMiniMayhem]

ahhh.. gotcha..

yeah, I'm interested to know if GBMINI #3's "perkiness" was a quirk or not.. keep me posted..

[dakini]

Quote: Originally Posted by jwardell

Remember: Different states...different fuel concoctions.

maybe, maybe not. i understand that different states have different allowances, but is one company really going to supply ten different 93 octane gasses depending on if it's pennsylvania or maryland?

i just drove 2000 miles cross the US, and didn't notice any difference in fuel or performance after any of my gas stops, but then again I stopped at BP every time.

[jwardell]

Refineries make hundreds of different fuel mixtures. Every state has different requirements, and of course within that there are several brands that further have requirements. (Learned from a great modern marvels or similar show on discovery all about oil)

BP is one of the few that makes their own fuel and aside from meeting individual state requirements is probably the most consistant, so I'm not surprised you had a good experience. I am surprised you managed to find that many BPs though!

One thing I do know is Mobile is nothing special. They're not part of the same clean alliances that the other brands like shell are. Yet they charge the highest prices, and people continue to line up there even with a cheaper station with potentially better fuel right next door!

For the most part I go to the cheapest place I can find. Around here they're all no-names and all full serve. As much as I hate full serve, I like it better than paying 25 cents more a gallon at the mobil down the street! In fact I did notice a pattern last year that I consistantly got worse milage off mobil.

[GBMINI]

So far ... GBMINI#3 likes the change in diet
It started almost perfectly this morning; there was maybe 1/4s of slight rough starting, and then smooth. Probably less than that.

Running well, no idle issues, and still seems "perky". But maybe it's just the driver

[JeffM]

Sad to report that my poor starting has returned a couple of hundred miles after the new DME flash. Looks like the reset helped, but the underlying issue is still there. Maybe I'll try some 89 while I'm on the road this weekend (taking off for some time in lower NH and VT driving).

[MetalMiniMayhem]

Ian, same here.. the rough starts don't seem to last nearly as long now... so if it's a good thing then, I'll retract that statement about remembering that it was 866-ASK-MINI's suggestion and take credit for it myself..! (not really, it was ASK MINI... don't want people getting confused.. they suggested it.. I'm just taking credit for passing it on.. )

[chillimini]

cold start problem started a few weeks ago

after sitting still overnight, starting the first time always putters and dies. Second time
always works and then all is good.

Using 93 only but from different stations (HESS was the last one i think. and yesterday at Karli's in Cambridge - no name full service cheap-ish one)

what's the word on just the cold starts ? Also the E-10 thing ? or just the grade ? or software ? MetalMINIMayhem mentions cold starts are still there with a drop in octane but GBMINI's blog says they went away - but that was before the E-10 story.. hmm.

2006 MC, CVT.

[GBMINI]

ChilliMINI, recommend you try a lower gas - by definition it will ignite more easily, and so the car should find itself more successful at cold start.

My use of Sunoco 91 for the last year has eliminated cold start issues and been perfect - until the last Sunoco fill-up, when a "partial" cold start issue surfaced.
I'm trying a tank of 89 to see how that goes.


There's an old and somewhat logical "MINI engine feeding" theory that says you should switch between 89 & 93 so the car never gets "too set in its ways", and is more ready to cope with a suddenly different gas formulation.

[MINNOW]

Quote: Originally Posted by beken

In Canada, I quite often use Mohawk or Husky mid-grade (E-10 94 Octane).

I am trying a tank of Husky 94 octane now, they refer to it as Super Premium.
So far it's fine, may try a few more tanks to evaluate.
Always used Shell V-power 91 octane and the only complaint has been after a cold start (even in warm weather) overnight, or parked all day at work, the car will bog and want to stall on take-off, and will settle down after 2 - 3 blocks of driving. It's kind of annoying, but does resolve quickly.

[GBMINI]

Yes - just to clarify ...
"cold start" is when the engine is cold, not the air temperature. The working temp of many engine parts is way above anything the air will get to!

[GadgetGav]

Mine still stalls on the first start, even if I wait with the key in the second position, but with the 87 gas it seems to run better once it's started. Seems less likely to stall when backing out of the garage than it used to on VPower.