3rd Gen F56 Cooper S Most liked posts in thread: Zmax Gas treatment question?

^^^ And.... Preferably a gasolene makeup without ethanol in the mix.. I like my corn roasted with butter... And my water with ice cubes.... Both of which have no place running through my engine...

 

Good quality high test in my tank.

A bottle of Chevron Techron at each oil change.

A cup o coffee in my cup-holder.

 

Not needed, waist of money.

Just buy 93 or 92 high octane and change your oil often.

 

My dad is a retired president and COO of one of the largest oil companies in the world. He is also a chemical engineer. He also loves cars, and bought himself a badass supercharged Audi for his 80th birthday. I am a car enthusiast and I have asked him many times about gasolines and additives, and he has consistently told me that, unless your car has been heavily modified, pump gas is all you need.

If you are running a factory stock MINI, and buy a name brand premium gasoline, adding anything to it is a waste of money. You will NOT gain anything, no matter what someone tries to sell you, by pouring the most expensive additives into your tank. A quality premium gasoline is all you need.

CD

 

If you live close to work, those short drives may not let your engine reach the correct operating temperature with enough time to allow the heat to burn off the water vapor inside the crankcase. This is the main reason that I go with the 3-5K oil changes cycle...
In the colder winter months, it's even harder to reach the correct operating temperature and the moisture problem is greater..... But in my case, the MINI is hibernating in my garage with a fresh oil change dreaming about Spring....

A quick and easy check to see if your engine is getting hot enough in those short drives to work is to check under the valve cover cap, looking for "mayonnaise"...... Which is emulsified oil / water condensing on the cooler surfaces such as the valve cover..... :frown2:



This can also be an indicator of a leaking head gasket letting coolant mix with the oil....

 

Welcome, thanks for joining Motoring Alliance, the FUN and Friendly MINI Community.

Good looking MINI you have there. Like that Blue.

 

One other thing.

These are a new generation of engines from BMW. If something was to go wrong it is possible they may point to your fuel with an additive and leave you hanging in the wind.

Funny how much they will spend to not have to give anything to a customer.

 

When I've done an oil change, and reset the interval, I use that to determine my next changes. When, on start up, the display reads 10000 miles (5000 miles since reset), it's time for an oil change. And so on, until zero is reached. I always use OE, Mahle or Mann filters (whichever I can get a bulk deal on), and always good oil ( Mobil 1).

 

First oil change at 5K, excellent idea!

I would have dropped the factory oil at about 4K, but 5K is ok. Of course MINI wants you to wait until it says change is due.

Always safe to change your oil and check your oil levels at reasonable intervals, new MINI, old MINI etc. etc.

 

Ummmm Nathan.... David.0's MINI is red....

 

Welcome, great pictures and nice MINI. As for additives, if you are stuck with ethanol 91 octane, what can an additive hurt.

Some of us are not blessed with a premium 92 or 93 octane name brand.

Just stay with a good brand of additive. If nothing else, it might keep your valves cleaner.

 

Welcome!

I have not been a believer in gasoline additives, but recently I found a gas station that carries 92 octane, no ethanol fuel. Most major brands of gas put a detergent in their gas to keep fuel injectors clean. They don't advertise whether or not they have a detergent additive, so I put a splash of Techron in the MINI's tank before I fill up.

I looked at the Zmax site, it sounds like snake oil to me.

 

Plenty of great advice and info here on Motoring Alliance !! Enjoy your new ride !!

 

^ would be interesting to see whether or not a dealer would be willing to put in writing that the problem was directly attributable to a specific fuel additive.

 

There are a few decent things one can put in their fuel, at least that's my thought. ZMax isn't one of them. I'm thinking a brand new MINI is not going to need anything other than good gas & an Italian tune up for a few years.

 

I don't like ethanol in my gasoline, but I live in a big city, and ethanol is required as an oxygenator, now that MTBE is gone (for good reasons). I'd rather not burn ethanol in my gasoline, but as long as you follow the MINI oil change schedule, and use full-synthetic oil, you should be fine. My MINI has 98,000 miles on it, and should go for many more miles.

The government, the API and the NPRA have actually worked pretty well with each other to provide us with really good gasoline.

By the way, IMHO, if you are using a quality synthetic oil, and a quality oil filter, you should easily get 10K miles between oil changes. I've seen numerous test results that back that up. But, if people feel better changing every 3K or 5K miles, and don't mind spending the money, by all means go for it.

CD

 

Love a nice thick milkshake, just not in my engine. :frown2:

As far as oil change intervals go. You may be OK with the MINI recommended interval. Changing your oil earlier 5,000-7,500 will not hurt a thing & may help your car live longer. Cars & engines cost a lot of money, I change my oil for about $40. There are many opinions on this, it is a never ending topic. Just my .02.