Has anyone considered getting a higher (or is it lower) geared 6th gear? What did you find out?

Frankly I don't see a whole lot of difference between 5th and 6th on the MCS.

 

At 3,500 rpm you get 70 mph in 5th and 85 mph in 6th. This is about the same speed change that you have in each gear. Seems just fine to me.

I would like a slightly lower ratio in all gears to sacrifice a little speed for better acceleration.

 

I had thought about that....then I thought where can you go faster that what my MCS will do now.

Also, is the speed limiter on RPM or on MPH? If you put a Really Tall gear in it would it still cut off at 135 MPH?

Earl

 

If the MINI is like most later model BMWs then there is both a top speed limiter and an RPM limiter.

I know about the RPM limit by experience and doubt that I'll ever explore the speed limiter.

 

My MCS has a 6th gear? I never get passed 5th. You guys are pulling my leg - there's really a 6th gear?

 

>>I had thought about that....then I thought where can you go faster that what my MCS will do now.
>>
>>Also, is the speed limiter on RPM or on MPH? If you put a Really Tall gear in it would it still cut off at 135 MPH?
>>
>>Earl

Earl, um, do you really need to go higher than 135mph? I suppose if I lived in Nevada, maybe. :smile: At 135+mph, road can run out real fast!

 

When I was looking at this post on the Pulse I was thinking it was going to be in the Site Feedback forum asking for 6th gear to be raised to 2500 posts.

 

Gears 4 and 6 are actually the same gear, using different final drives. Changing one would change the other by the same percentage.

 

My thought was more for a cruising gear, not another gear to floor it and get more speed. :smile: At 75MPH I see about 750RPM difference between 5th and 6th. At 75MPH, in 6th gear, RPMs are running about 3100. I would have expected less actually.

 

I think 6th is fine. I mean you can't really use it (in stock form) until close to 80 mph anyway. And considering that most highways have speed limits in the 55-65mph range it would certainly seem silly for a manufacturer to put in an even larger 6th. Now obviously many of us do cruise at 75-80mph+, but still without a pulley the current 6th gear is useless.

 

Don't know about anyone else, but I am hitting 6th gear at 60+ MPH. Usually around 65. Any lower than 60 and it starts to sputter some and I have to shift down to 5th. And right now I am completely stock.

 

>>Don't know about anyone else, but I am hitting 6th gear at 60+ MPH. Usually around 65. Any lower than 60 and it starts to sputter some and I have to shift down to 5th. And right now I am completely stock.

Don't know about others here, but my MCS with -15% pulley will cruise along happily in 6th gear anywhere above 45. It’s not the same as highway cruising, but there's enough torque increase in the lower rpm’s that the engine doesn't seem to labor at all. This aspect of having a pullied MCS has been very satisfying.

 

I'm not saying that I don't go higher when I feel like a spirited drive, but normally I am shifting into 6th at 65. I'll go down to about 60 or so before I shift down to 5th, and only if I need the extra punch.

 

I'm confused, Pebblecrusher. You state that 5th and 6th seem the same to you - hardly any difference RPM-wise. To me that sounds like you want a much larger 6th gear that you won't need to shift into until much higher speeds. Then you say you shift into 6th around 60mph and complain about the engine struggling if you go any slower. This sounds like you want a shorter 5th and 6th gear. So I'm not sure what you want here. So which is it? Do you want shorter gears all around so that at 60mph you can put it in 6th and be at 3k RPMs so you have some power? Please clarify if you would. Thanks.

Also keep in mind you don't have to shift into 6th at all if you find you don't have enough power at the speed you're cruising at.

 

Almost right. I'll typically shift into 6th at about 65, but during traffic I'll go down to 60 before I shift back down to 5th. That's when the engine won't produce power in 6th.

I'm not the most engine smart person, and sometimes getting across what I mean is tough. :smile: I was expecting less RPMs in 6th gear than I am seeing (about 3100 RPMs at 75 MPH in 6th). 6th is a cruising gear, not a gear made for a lot of power. I was expecting the engine to work less at high speeds (70+) while in this gear.

That make more sense? Like I said, sometimes saying what I mean is tough because of my lack of knowledge.

 

Yes, gotcha. But if sixth gear had you at say 2500 RPMs at 75, then you REALLY wouldn't be able to use it much, right? If you feel you have to downshift out of 6th when you slow to near 60, if the RPMs were lower you'd have to downshift at 70 or maybe even higher so it wouldn't struggle. I'm not sure if you'd like it any better.

Remember this is a tiny (1.6L) 4-cylinder we're talking about here. 3K RPMs for an engine this small is NOT working hard relatively speaking. 3k RPMs or so is a good cruising RPM. :smile:

 

I was once told that the best mod for a MINI would be 2 more cylinders. :smile: Never had a 6 cylinder car myself. The last was a 2.0 liter 4 cylinder. I see what you're saying and think I understand now.

 

I fail to understand why there is so much discussion about 6th gear versus speed and rpm!

If you’re driving on a fairly level roadway at a steady speed there is absolutely no reason to not select a gear that gives you 2,000 to 2,500 rpm. This gives 26 to 33 in 3rd, 33 to 41 in 4th, 39 to 49 in 5th, and 48 to 60 in 6th. If you need more spirited acceleration it’s pretty easy to downshift a gear (or even two gears). It doesn’t take much experience driving a manual tranny to learn the feel and sound that tells you that you need to downshift for more torque.

On the SoCal freeways (when the traffic is flowing smoothly) I’m always in 6th - - 2,500 rpm = 60 mph and 3,500 rpm = 85 - - normal freeway speeds.

For more spirited driving I use a gear that keeps the revs around 3,500. For even more spirited driving (like in the twisties) 4,000 to 4,500 rpms keeps you in a better torque range.

Hint for new stick shift drivers . . . . stop focusing on the tach to tell you how and when to shift. If you need to downshift the engine sound and response will let you know, and the engine chip will keep you from over revving the engine (except for downshifts). Go out and drive the twisties with a dish towel over the tach and the speedometer - - learn to get in touch with the things that your wonderful little toy is telling you!