[HarryHBMCC]

I'd been trying some 91 octane gas lately from Shell and Petro Canada and while the gas milage is better, it is definitely less powerful. I put 35L of Esso 92 in my MINI Cooper last night and oh, what a difference!

Traffic was blessedly light this morning so I had a fun drive in to work, taking some short cuts and the fun usual corners. At one of my favorite hairpins my light was red but there is a turn-off yield lane and the traffic coming the other way was just getting out of the blocks so I kept on going, put the hammer down to the point where the performance Goodyear Eagles were just starting to slide a bit (no ASC+T light like some days though) and flew on through. The first car coming the other way was a Jaguar XK Convertable (no idea if it was the base 290BHP or the supercharged 370BHP model) and he was hot on my tail, perhaps at first unhappy that I hadn't yielded at the turn. He was fairly well back in my rear view mirror the whole time, even though there is a huge passing zone. Doing 140km/h or so we both passed a police car travelling the other way but they can't clock you that way so I wasn't worried. The JK driver was courteous, not right on my tail, keeping up for the most part but I don't believe I held him up at all or he would have tried to pass. Not bad considering that the slowest JK is faster than an MCS (according to Jaguar published figures at least).

The JK handles pretty well too, I must say, double wishbones in front and wishbone and driveshaft in the rear. The MINI Cooper definitely has the looks and price/performance (JK starts at $100K CND here) on it though

Can't wait for the drive home, 4 months of ownership and the car still gives me smiles and a high heart rate when open roads allow it

Harry

[arabinow]

Harry go to Sunoco

try the 94 octane premium!!
I put it in the other day.. but my car is still breakin in!

Adam

[HarryHBMCC]

I haven't tried 93 or 94 in a while but when I last did it felt like it had no more power than 92 but with worse gas mileage; I don't know whether it is due to the 10% ethanol content or what could be the cause. Perhaps I'll try it again some time but for now I'm quite happy with the Esso 92.

Harry

[supercuper]

Is it okay to try different types of fuel, will it effect the engine. I'm using regular at the moment. Is this good stuff or should I use premium.

Happy Motoring...

[HarryHBMCC]

Trying different companies is OK, but it is supposed to run on premium 91 octane at least. I don't think it'll be damaged by running regular 87 octane but it may not perform as well, especially near the top end. 91 is the lowest I've run.

Harry

[arabinow]

I DOnt understand why people dont read the owners manual!

Certain engine require higher octane fuel!

THE MINI is one of the cars that do!

Premium gas recommended 91 OCtane

the car has a knock sensor in the engine. If you run a lower than 91 octane fuel it will sense the timing of the burning and change the characteristics of the engine.

Your best bet is to keep up at the 91 octane!

Adam