2008 Mini - Manual 6-speed transmission

[sailorboy]

For any of you out there with a 2008 Mini (non S) with a 6 speed manual transmission, what kind of rpm's are you pulling at 80 mph and 75 mph? My 06 with a 5-speed is turning 4000 at 80 which I feel is high for sustained driving, but maybe these engines could go at that all day long at those revolutions. These are great cars, but I don't need to preach to the choir!
Thank you!

[tdm156]

I find that our 08 runs at alot lower RPM at highway speeds. Your right about the 5 speed 06 running at about 4k where our 08 is probably running about 32-3300 with the 6 speed auto. Couldnt tell you about the 08 6speed manual. This things really do like to run at a higher RPM though and seem to be able to go on and on forever.

[rrcaniglia]

I can confirm tdm156's rpm estimate. Also, a buddy whose an engineer told me these engines love rpm and that I should be careful about lugging it by trying to accelerate too fast under 2k.

[checkercoop]

Originally Posted by rrcaniglia

I can confirm tdm156's rpm estimate. Also, a buddy whose an engineer told me these engines love rpm and that I should be careful about lugging it by trying to accelerate too fast under 2k.

Yeah thats what I'm worried about is I think I've lugged mine a ton

but now I do drive at a bit higher rpm than normal just to keep it safe

Did he say how bad it is for longterm?

[sailorboy]

Thank you guys. At 3300 RPMs the engine has a nice sweet spot and the fuel consumption is better. I too feel that it is good to run the RPMs up once in a while. After spending the last 20 years driving automatics I've finally gotten used to the stick shift again. My last stick shift was a 40K pound 5-speed fire engine. Both the Mini and the fire engine are fun to drive. One has to be careful to keep up the RPMs on the fire engine too as you can bend the valve stems if you try to accelerate from low RPMs.

TDM156, do you like your 16" inch wheels? What size tire did you put on them? Thanks again.!

[rrcaniglia]

Originally Posted by checkercoop

Did he say how bad it is for longterm?

He indicated that while it isn't good for a car--has something to do with too much fuel doing something hydrostatic or other--unless your calling forth ugly gutteral sounds associated with unwilling acceleration under heavy throttle, it would take a lot of it to make a difference.

I've lugged my old '56 Chevy like that and it is so ugly a place, I doubt you would stay there long enough to hurt her.

[tdm156]

I have 16" wheels on both of our MC's....my 06 still has the stock runflats 195/55/16 and I am so ready to ditch them and our 08 has the Conti's on it as its a daily driver and they seem to be doing ok so far. I do plan to stick with the 16's on both at this time too. Being able to keep a little rubber on the sidewalls to me is a good thing.

[2xMini]

Sailorboy, another data point for you. My wife's 07 with the 6sp (same as 08 btw) runs at slightly above 3000rpm at 80mph (16" tires). I have an 05 cabrio with the 5speed, and it does close to 4000rpm at 80mph (15" tires). For the past 3 weeks, the cabrio's been in the shop and the dealer was very nice to me and lent me an 07 S with the 6 speed. I noticed that it had the same rpm's as my wife's car, so the trannies must be the same or very similar. I also checked, and the 5th gear in the S yielded the same rpm's as the 5th in the cabrio (around 4000rpm at 80mph). Also, in my daily driving (80%highway, 20% city) it managed 29mpg, while the cabrio only managed 28mpg. I did a little experiment and drove the S one day in 5th gear on the highway, and compared to driving in 6th gear. The results were very surprising actually, the mileage difference was about 2mpg higher in 6th! And that's with cruise control on in both cases. So my conclusion is that 6th gear definitely helps, not just with longevity, but a big boost in mileage as well.

Daniel

[sailorboy]

Thanks Daniel. That's the information what I was looking for. I think a 6-speed with 16" inch tires is probably a good combination for long hyw. driving. Enjoy the ride!!

[checkercoop]

Originally Posted by rrcaniglia

He indicated that while it isn't good for a car--has something to do with too much fuel doing something hydrostatic or other--unless your calling forth ugly gutteral sounds associated with unwilling acceleration under heavy throttle, it would take a lot of it to make a difference.

I've lugged my old '56 Chevy like that and it is so ugly a place, I doubt you would stay there long enough to hurt her.

thank you

[VelvetFoot]

I have an 08 MC with 6 speed. It indicates 50 mph at 2000 rpm. You can ratio it from there to yield 3200 at 80, just remember that it's not the real mph-it's optimisitic by 3 or so mph, but not sure if it would be the same at 80.

[sailorboy]

Thanks for your response. I wish Mini had put 6-speeds in all ther 06 models not just the S models. On a side note I get good gas MPG driving at 3200 RPMs. Peter

[wimsaab]

My cooper R56 maunal, do 75mph at 3000rpm, 80rpm do around 3300rpm and do 100mph at 4000rpm...

[checkercoop]

Originally Posted by wimsaab

My cooper R56 maunal, do 75mph at 3000rpm, 80rpm do around 3300rpm and do 100mph at 4000rpm...

yes and it really rides smooth at 4000 rpm

[sailorboy]

Ok Guys, I'm getting a 6-speed. I'm convinced. One would wonder why they even bothered with a 5-speed, perhaps the hills of Europe?
Thanks, Peter