What Fuel

[Tam1314]

Have just been on Total Mini forum and it seems that folk use both 95 and 99 ron fuel in their S's

Opinions please ;)

[KenL]

I always put standard fuel in my S. It ran fine on it but there may be a slight performance advantage using better fuel. Might well take the ecu a while to get used to it though.

For me though, fuel is expensive enough so I stick to the standard stuff.

[Gismo]

Have found in the past that i got better fuel economy with the 99 ron which paid for itself in the price range against the 95, i think that the 99 ron is better suited to modified motors.

[stoney]

I use 99 in the Gp ;)

[MINI William]

I use either V Power or Tesco 99 in the JCW :yes nod:

[Colin]

v power for me ;)

[ELFMAN]

I'm a V-power (ELF)man! :thumbs up: But I'll use other 'high octane' brands when VP isn't available. I think it's been proved beyond reasonable doubt by now that 'performance' engines produce their best results on good fuel, so there's no point in having a motor which runs better on Single Malt and putting Vimto in it! :smilewinkgrin:

[stoney]

I'm a V-power (ELF)man! :thumbs up: But I'll use other 'high octane' brands when VP isn't available. I think it's been proved beyond reasonable doubt by now that 'performance' engines produce their best results on good fuel, so there's no point in having a motor which runs better on Single Malt and putting Vimto in it! :smilewinkgrin:

^^^^^^^^ this ;)

[AndyP & Lenore]

Tesco Momentum 99 for us.

A.:thumbs up:

[Alex from NM]

Standard 95RON for me. Tried 98RON fuels but no discernible difference to performance or MPG and changed back a couple of months ago when there were rumours of the fuel strike and the price went crazy. Might switch back but really not sure its worth it.

[Tam1314]

Ok, so l picked up my car on the 6th June, the garage had filled it up for me. I got a little under 400 miles before l needed to refuel, well it was down to the second last segment and was saying l had 45 miles left.
I stopped at the shell garage in Bucksburn on way to work on Monday and put £20 of regular unleaded in. It originally showed as having 197 miles left before next fill up but by the time l got to work, around 4 miles away it was down to 185 miles left.
As of this morning l have done around another 40 miles and its down to 142 so seems to have levelled off a wee bit.

My next refuel will be with "champagne" :D to see how that goes.

[ELFMAN]

Don't expect miracles though - you won't be chasing down GTRs with Tesco 99! It also might take a few 'cycles' for the 'brain' to adjust to the higher octane fuel, so you might not notice an immediate difference. It's all a bit subjective, and there may not be a huge 'seat of the pants' feel that the car is obviously running better, but the evidence collected over the years by various reliable sources 'proves' that performance/tuned engines will produce better power and torque on the (more) expensive stuff. I know the 'Works' bumf recommends 98 octane. All I know is that the best fuel will allow the engine to perform to its maximum potential, whereas the 95 octane will be holding it back just that wee bit - and I've spent enough to get it to perform without trying to save a few quid at the pumps. It's like cooking a great meal without that vital pinch of seasoning!

As far as consumption goes - the car should get better MPG on the good stuff as it should burn better - but thats only if you're driving with economy in mind, if it runs better, you might drive harder! If economy's the main thing - sell the S and buy a D!

[N16SHP]

I used to just plonk in the regular stuff until one day when I went to get fuel they only had Tesco Momentum so I decided to try it and refueled with it about 3 or 4 times to try and let the ECU get used to it and couldn't really see a difference. However, when I went to fill up a few months later and they only had regular that's when I noticed the difference. I suspect some of it is a mental thing but the car felt a bit more lumpy and the acceleration wasn't quite as smooth as it usually was. Also on cold start up the car just didn't drive right and felt really sluggish. Wouldn't go back to regular fuel now. I'm not a big V-Power user but certainly use Tesco Momentum and Sainsbury's Super Unleaded.

[Fartin Martin]

I've used everything..and always went bak to v-power. Plus if you use enough you get good points and money off vouchers in return. I did like sainburys super unleaded but found it didn't last quite as long but loved how loud the bangs where.

[Tam1314]

Thanks for the replies guys. I'm hugely impressed with the acceleration of my car and have really had to be very careful with some of my overtaking as he just takes off.
I'm just a typical Scot tho, trying to save a few pennies on the daily commute so I can blow them at the weekends. LoL

[Tam1314]

Not had any bangs yet tho :-(

[ELFMAN]

I thought it was just me until I read the same thing in 'Evo' magazine! But your opinions back the theory up.

If I select my 'Non-Pedantic Mode', the 'Sport' steering is actually fine, whether tootling around or pressing on - I've always had it on when I've had my 'best drives', due to the engine's response, but I've obviously never been able to try the 'responsive' engine with the 'lighter' steering... I (obviously) think the Sport steering is better on non-runflats, but then that's true of the whole car.

[Burple]

I've always had it on when I've had my 'best drives', due to the engine's response, but I've obviously never been able to try the 'responsive' engine with the 'lighter' steering...

Interesting... I've always thought the same, until last eyar coming back from Fort William on the Thistle Run.. Roads were pretty quiet, we chose the A86 along Loch Laggan, A9 then Moulin Moor roads back.. I had a wee experiment, with Sport mode off, but also ALL traction control off. The car actually felt a lot more involved without the immediate surge of Sport mode (obviously that got turned on for some overtaking :thumbs up::cool::D). It did feel really good blasting thought the gears and cruising at the speed limit on the twisty bits :thumbs up:
So now, if I want to have a bit of fun, but not at the expense of too much Go-go juice.. that's what i do now:thumbs up:

I'm normally using the standard boggo fule for now and getting an average of about 41mpg out of the JCW on the daily tootle to work. Incidentally I tried a couple of fill ups with some Super unleaded from Tesco, and did the same drive in the same style for 2 weeks, and only got 38mpg! Hoping that was only cos the car hadn't got used to the better fuel...

[T5LLC]

The JCW has had vPower from new however with shell shut near my work I settled for tesco99 so time will tell but to be honest I always used vPower in my Cooper S so never gave tesco99 a chance...

With regards to Sport mode I used it pretty much all the time with my Cooper S.. With the JCW I didn't notice much of a difference till over 1000mile mark and now starting to enjoy it but rarely use it purely because with the S I preferred the stiffer steering and that doesn't really happen with the JCW which is upsetting :( I had both Cooper S and JCW at the same time so was able to compare easier and reverted to Cooper S in Sport over taking the JCW till it went a month after getting the JCW lol

[stoney]

Well I found tesco stuff very good and mine has not got a sport button as its a proper mini(R53) :lol: ;)

[T5LLC]

Well I found tesco stuff very good and mine has not got a sport button as its a proper mini(R53) :lol: ;)

Proper Mini.. Pfft it's as much a proper Mini as mines :lol: :P

[stoney]

Proper Mini.. Pfft it's as much a proper Mini as mines :lol: :P

:shut up::thud:

[Alex from NM]

town = sport off
anywhere else = sport on

:thumbs up:

[ELFMAN]

town = sport off anywhere else = sport on
:thumbs up:

This makes sense, but I can never be bothered switching back and forth, so it's 'Sport' all the time.
With my old R53 JCW I always used to switch off the Traction Control in town - in case there was any 'Traffic Light Action'... Sad but true!

[ELFMAN]

Well I found tesco stuff very good and mine has not got a sport button as its a proper mini(R53) :lol: ;)

Love the GP Stoney, but as an 'R56-er' I have to give you a :moonie: :smilewinkgrin: Ya big Stirrer! :hand:
(he's never been the same since he started 'Working Out' at that Gym... must be the steroids)

[Tam1314]

Well l put the sport button on yesterday for the trip to work and l hadn't got to the bottom of the Fintray Road in Blackburn before the first bang arrived.
Once l got into Aberdeen l heard quite a few more and sat in the carpark at the ARI for a few minutes listening to them :D

Something l am really happy about is that for the first time in over 20 years l am excited about getting into the car and just driving.

[ELFMAN]

Something l am really happy about is that for the first time in over 20 years l am excited about getting into the car and just driving.

Early Christmas present? - put a Milltek Downpipe on it! :thumbs up: Made my car even nicer to listen to! :yes nod: Gave it a nice bit of 'edge' too (not the U2 guitarist...)

[Mon the fish]

On a stock tune, additives will be a waste of time, as is 98/99 octane for the most part

[Tam1314]

Ok Folks, I have now used £40 of standard fuel since l got him and have covered 284 miles with 21 miles left.
Time to try V-Power :D

[Mon the fish]

Mind and clear the ECU adaptions before filling up

[ELFMAN]

Mind and clear the ECU adaptions before filling up

OK Mon, fill me in... :scratch:

I know the ECU 'adapts' over a period of time to your particular driving style - but how do you 'clear' it, and is the system similar between the R56 and R53?

[Mon the fish]

No idea about the R56, but for the R53 as follows:

1) With the key in the off position press and hold the speedo reset button, turn the key to position one and the screen will say test and a number.

2) Go through the list by pressing the reset button upto test 19 and then wait.

3) The display should then say"log i-off" then "log i-on" over and over again....when "log i- off" appears again press the reset button ....and now you are in the system software.

4) Scroll upto 21.0 Software reset. When reset appears press the button again and you will get a beep and you're speedo needle may vibrate a little (this is normal).

5) Turn ignition off then back on to position 2 for 10 secs then start your car and hey presto its done.

[Tam1314]

Hmmm, lm not sure what the off position is with the push button start, have tried messing about with it but its just not happening for me.

Too late anyway ;) as l have already put fuel in.

[ELFMAN]

Cheers Mon :thumbs up:
But you'll really have to go to 'R56 Night School' and 'Turbo Up' dude! :smilewinkgrin:

[Mon the fish]

Hmmm, lm not sure what the off position is with the push button start, have tried messing about with it but its just not happening for me.

Too late anyway ;) as l have already put fuel in.

The above instructions are for R53 only

[Fartin Martin]

Proper Mini.. Pfft it's as much a proper Mini as mines :lol: :P

R53 is deffo a proper mini :p and you know it doll!

[Tam1314]

So £100 of V Power later and l got 780 miles, roughly 75 litres of fuel