I have an 05 S and think the ratios are great... except first is a bit short, particularly if you've got some mods. I always chuckle when I hear someone bragging about spinning through the gears . I never saw much point in that and have to believe it would be a PITA to drive when you're breaking loose so often. I've already fallen in love with the AWD on my previous Audi. But I digress...

Does anyone have experience having gears custom made? How much $ would I be looking at? I assume quite a bit since it would be a one-off...

I had considered the possibility of swapping in the taller 04 first gear, but I doubt the gears would be compatible. Also, after doing the math, it looks like the end result would only be about 6% taller since a good part of the difference in gearing from 04 -> 05 comes from changes to the final drive. I don't think 6% would be worth it... I'm looking for more like 10%-15%.

Thoughts? I'm not sure if I'm truly serious about doing this, but right now I'm having fun entertaining the idea.

 

Is your goal to change the gap from 1st to 2nd, or would you indeed be happy changing the final drive ratio? If the later you might be able to do so much more easily for a small change by changing tire size?

 

SpiderX, I believe, is looking for an 05/06 gears for his 03 gears. You might want to PM him.

Read https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ht=helix+gears
Helix swapped some gears for one MINI.

 

Defiantly not good on the drive train. I agree, once you get the basic mods it's hard to get traction. I'm hoping once I get rid of the run-flats and some good tires that will help. I was informed by local PD that spinning the tires in between gears is considered reckless driving. Good luck with your tranny, keep us informed! -- Johan

 

What I am looking for out of the 05/06 box is second gear......it is enough to make a big dif out of corners.....for everyday driving I really like my 02 better.....1 gear in the "new tranny is a waste.....I'll be happy to swap

 

I just want to move up first gear. I like the rest of the ratios as they are.

 

Full swap? Not gonna happen... As for the individual gears, are they even interchangeable?

 

You have to remember that the mcs box is a three layshaft design (not 2) and there is a combination of gears that make up the final ratio for each gear. You cannot just change first without changing another ratio as well. Same with the final drive. You cannot make an overall % change to the final drive like a traditional box. You'll need to understand how the ratios work and then do the math to find the best combination that gets you the gear spacing and overal final drive your looking for.

 

No.....I'm shocked...... ........ first is a bit useless IMO but I like the rest of it....good luck

 

To calculate actual gear ratio in a normal gearbox, you multiply the ratio of the gear by the ratio of the final drive. The mcs box has two final drives, but that doesn't change the calculation. Are you saying there's some mechanical reason concerning how the gears interface with each other that makes it impossible to make a single gear taller? Please elaborate...

 

As Spider knows (we've been PM'ing), I'm on the brink of getting an '05/06 tranny. Heck, I guess 002 knows also .

I'm a bit concerned about the usefulness of first gear. I suppose a Quaife can only help so much with that...

One thing I've done to help is going with a smaller rolling diameter tire. The stock 16's are 24.4". The MINI's offerings have a range, with an average of about 24", if I remember correctly. I'm now running with 23.3" (Yoko AVSES100 205/45-16), or about 4.5% less. I made this change when I switched to 10.75 lb wheels (Volk CE28N 16x7). The feeling was VERY noteworthy, but how much was the weight loss, and how much was the lessened rolling diameter, I don't know...

 

Yes, but not 2 output shafts. If you change the diameter of one gear, you have to change the diametr of another gear so that the first one still meshes with something. Because of the 3 shaft design, this will then alter 2 gears at the output shaft. In order to keep a decent gap between the gearing ratios, the designers had to change the shaft centerline offsets when they redesigned from the '02/'04 to the '05 trans.

Having upgraded to an '05 trans, I agree that it is a bit difficult to control wheel slip in first, even with the LSD. However, compared with the clutch slippage needed to launch on the '02 trans as well as the engine dropping out of the power range after a 7000 rpm shift into 2nd, the newer trans is heads and shoulders above the old one. Besides, only having 5 useable gears on the track is far better than the 3 I used to have when I was racing. I don't think first gear was ever intended to be used for anything other than launching. In fact, it hasn't been until recently that car manufacturers have been including synchros on 1st gear. Try dropping into 1st on your Classic MINI without double clutching.

 

there is no doubt for competive driving the 05/06 gearing is the way to go......

 

Yes. It is difficult to explain, but I'll try to find a way to later.

ihoboy, There are two output shafts and each has a gear attatched to the differential crown wheel.

Basically there is a combination of gears AND one of two output shaft gears that make up the final ratio.

 

Agreed. Since this is the first FWD I've had in 30 years, I keep thinking the diff is an integral part of the tranny. But, the 2 units are indeed discreet and separate.