Am I the only one or has everyone's gas mileage gone down ever since the cold has arrived? Is it just the cold weather or could it be the winter gas mixture or both? My mileage has gone from 31.5 to about 29 just in the past 2 weeks. I have about 3200 miles on my 08 mcs. Any suggestions?
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"Of all the things I've lost, I miss my mind the most"
I kinda gave up on the gas milage thing. It seems I ll start out and drive real slow and cautious and try to get good fuel milage then all of a sudden I remember why i bought a mini and put the pedal to the metal then the G forces slap my head against the window while a take a 15mph curve at 60 mph grap 4th gear and my fuel milage is gone. It must be the gokart in me. Happy Thanksgiving dude , seeya CJ
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Willow:::bee, 2008 Mini Cooper"S"Clubman,LazerBlue,premiumpack,chrome interior,side mirrors,chrome exterior,dual sunroofs,checkerd dash,clothseats
Pearl, 2010 Mini Cooper ,Oxygen Blue ,leather interior,heated seats,dual sunroofs
Have you Checked your tire pressure?? Coldness makes things contract, and that makes your pressure go down....also if you recently switched your tires (possibly to winter) you could have more Rolling drag than your summers and that could be the reason.
whats your driving like? Lots of cold starts? Lots of Short drives? If you you do have lots of cold starts due to short drives, that may be part of the reason since your engine isn't warmed up while its operating. When's the last time you Nulled your OBC gas milage? If you haven't nulled it; remember, its taking an average from when you first bought the car till now and could be giving you an 'incorrect average'
Happy Thanksgiving to you too!
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Venno
DS w/DS '06MCS-17%/Alta CAI/Detroit Bypass Valve/Alta Air Diverter/Schroth Rcng Hrnss/CF Uber Scoop/Alta 19mm Sway Bar/Irlnd Cmbr Plt/Team Dynamics ProRace 1 17" Anthracite Rims with Jerzee Plts and a Gray-Scale Czech roof flag
I kinda gave up on the gas milage thing. It seems I ll start out and drive real slow and cautious and try to get good fuel milage then all of a sudden I remember why i bought a mini and put the pedal to the metal then the G forces slap my head against the window while a take a 15mph curve at 60 mph grap 4th gear and my fuel milage is gone. It must be the gokart in me. Happy Thanksgiving dude , seeya CJ
Well, I'm not quite as blatent as CJ here, but I love his explanation of why mileage might not come out on top!
I don't have an S, but I did experience a bit of a mileage slump a while back--I had a couple tanks that, well...tanked (my worst was 36.5 mpg). I've gotten a couple over 40 mpg if it's mostly highway. I average in 37-38 range it seems. I calculate all my mileage by hand--that's math even I can handle (most of the time).
Mileage this winter has been great. Mainly because winter blasted in last week and has pretty well shut the MINI in. No kiddin', we've gotten about 5 ft. of snow already (picture is from Sunday and we've gotten another foot since then)! It's crazy! The gravel driveway didn't even have time to freeze; the grass is stiff soft below the snow. My snowblower has thrown more rocks than snow so far...
Anyway, TINMAN, we missed you at Letchworth. Try your mileage helping us deliver toys to the Pirate Toy Fund on 12/20. We can all take a stab at calculating your mileage. Maybe you forgot to carry a one or something...
I know this is an old post, but let me chime in. Cold air is denser then warm air. The cars computer is programmed with this knowledge & will increase the fuel mixture in colder weather. You should also factor in the fact that you are probably idling the car more, to keep warm.
On another mileage related note, fuels with ethanol in them will lower MPG. Try looking for brands that don't have the 10% ethanol in them. I use Kwikfill. It doesn't have ethanol, & I have their gas card, so I get a 5 cent/gal discount on my monthly statement.
What grade fuel is everyone running in their MINI's?
Greg @ Towne said 89. So we have been running 'M' with 89 & averaged 36.5 MPG for the first 2 months. 'M' is a non S with the automatic tranny. Looking closer @ the manual, after another sales rep said 91, it does say that 91 is highly recommended. I guess with the variable timing, MPG, & performance could increase when using 91 octane. Kwikfill's super is 93 octane.
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'09 Sparkling Silver Clubman- "M" Premium Package, Piano black int, Black Jack side & rearview mirrors
I was getting reservation gas and 81 octane. Engine seemed to be getting sluggish so I switched to non reservation gas at 81 octane. This change alone made a huge difference. I then realised 93 octane only cost a dollar or two more per tank so I gave it a try. After several tank fulls I have my peppy engine back and will never downgrade my gas again. This was just my experience so others may vary. Although this change did little to impact my mpg I do notice a large performance increase.
On another note my mpg has gone back up after the winter months.
I use 93 octane, with as little to no ethanol in it whenever I can. My mileage has increased to pre-winter numbers reported above with the summer tires and whatever else is in the mix.
I just filled up this morning on the way to work and I got 31.0 mpg on the last tank. I have an "S" and all of my driving was in town. So I can't complain. My last vehicle got 16 mpg on a good day with a tailwind. I'm happy with 31. I use Sunoco 93 only.
-- Edited by TINMAN on Thursday 4th of June 2009 08:04:53 AM
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"Of all the things I've lost, I miss my mind the most"
My wife and I took a ride to Daytona Ohio for a grad party. All thruway driving so the cruise was set on 73 and we got 35.2 on the way down and 36.4 on the way back. It must be down hill coming back. I cant complain. Seeya CJ
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Willow:::bee, 2008 Mini Cooper"S"Clubman,LazerBlue,premiumpack,chrome interior,side mirrors,chrome exterior,dual sunroofs,checkerd dash,clothseats
Pearl, 2010 Mini Cooper ,Oxygen Blue ,leather interior,heated seats,dual sunroofs
Actually, if you consider that the great lakes drain from west to east, then the general elevation would rise as you go west. By no means am I complaining about the mileage. 36 mpg in a disguised sports car, compared to 22 mpg of a ho hum PT Cruiser? Way cool.
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'09 Sparkling Silver Clubman- "M" Premium Package, Piano black int, Black Jack side & rearview mirrors
Presumably the shift from winter to summer blend gas helps MINIs too My friend's Prius has gone from 43 to 50mpg plus there are supposed to be few emissions.
I was @ Towne a few days ago. I guess there has been a rash of fuel system repairs lately, so they brought in some engineers from HQ. They went to several fuel stations in the area to take samples. Some samples showed 30% ethanol. For flex fuel vehicles, thats fine, but for others, thats bad. I am sure those national brands that advertised that they have winter blends that prevent ice in the fuel lines, probably just increased the ethanol ratio. That's a bonus for them, because more ethanol means lower MPG, so people will be filling up more often.
-- Edited by jrbond007 on Friday 5th of June 2009 07:03:35 AM
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'09 Sparkling Silver Clubman- "M" Premium Package, Piano black int, Black Jack side & rearview mirrors
Just to be clear, when I say summer blend I mean the EPA mandated low VOC blend that US refineries switch to in the spring to reduce vapor pressure which indirectly reduces smog. It has about 2% more energy by volume so your milage goes up.
