Hi All,

I have a quick question on operating the automatic transmission in manual mode. Typically, when I drive the car hard, I tend to just leave my foot in the same position on the accelerator and tip the stick back and forth to cycle through the gears...

However, I know that with a conventional manual gear box you're supposed to let up slightly on the gas between shifts so that the clutch hooks up smoothly with the next gear.

Should I be doing this with my automatic MCS as well? It seems to shift so quick that this could be unecessary, but I don't want to "slip" the clutches in my transmission or cause damage.

If it makes any difference - I have the standard Steptronic 6spd auto in my car (not the sport version w/ launch control).

Thanks,

-Ryan

 

Pretty much how I do it as well.

 

nope, don't lift your foot. the transmission will shift in the same manner as if you weren't doing it manually. It just gets the signal of when to do so from you instead of the computer.

 

On my R55, I lift, Shift, then blip the throttle on downshifts. When upshifting, I don't lift.

That being said, on the 3rd gen, with the regular auto, I don't lift on the downshift or upshift. With the sport auto, I'd say drive it like a DCT.

 

Same way I shift my gen '14 - just do it.
I used to blip on downshifts on '09 and '12, but that doesn't work smoothly on the '14.

One thing I've been doing is to let the car upshift by itself when I'm pushing hard. Got tired of it double shifting, i.e. shifting up just after I shifted when nearing the redline. Took some nerve to try it first time

Peeve: It downshifts by itself too if the speed is low -it will downshift just after I downshift. Can you say over rev
-Mike

 

At the end of the day, it is still a conventional automatic transmission. There is no need to lift your foot up while you manually make it shift gears.

 

FWIW, I move mine from (D)rive to the M/S position each time I drive the car.

Moving the shift level to the manual position (M/S) w/o moving it forward or back once moved there, dash displays S1 (not M1), the car shifts automatically with much more aggressive shift points.

Under heavy acceleration, the car really winds out and if gas is released, the the car remains in whatever gear it was in during acceleration and brakes the engine like a manual transmission. Operates very reminiscent of a manual in this mode.

For me it's the best of both worlds.

 

this is the first i've heard of blipping the throttle with an automatic... i can't imagine how that would work smoothly???

 

So you have it in sport mode / manual mode, holding gear or cursing with no throttle then tapping it to blip ? Manual emulation

 

In the past I used to drag race (NHRA) a 550 HP car with an automatic trans, reverse valve body, trans brake, and an air shifter Hurst Quarter Stik. All you did was stage the car and release the button on the trans brake and it would launch wheels up to 10.8 @ 128 mph 1/4 mile times. I presently play with a modded JCW with an auto, JB tuner,and Sprint Booster and all I do is put it in drive,select sport mode, then stand on the loud pedal. The car does the rest and it does it extremely well. You can't do better. How fast is my daily driver? Faster than your brother in law's Mustang GT. I'll be at NE Dragway wednesday nite in april '16 for street nights-no times/heads up-bring cash.

ISAMIN

 

Thanks for all feedback guys. I'll be sure to just mash the pedal and enjoy the power going forward! I love it when answers to questions are this simple

 

Lol - that's telling it.

Merry Christmas.

Charlie

 

So I was at the mini dealer last weekend and the MA said it's not good to let the transmission shift itself in the S position (shift lever to the left but not manual mode). He says it shifts for you as a safety feature but that you shouldn't rely on it all the time. I've driven it like that a few times but now I'm wondering if I overstrained my transmission or motor. Any insight? My car runs great btw. 17k miles on the odometer.

 

Perhaps stupid question, but why are you moving the shifter over and not shifting? If you want Sport mode and don't want to do the shifting, turn the nub and bezel around the gear selector towards "Sport" and it will tell you on your tach you are in Sport Mode. As for damaging the transmission, you aren't doing any more damage than simply doing redline sprints. If it's an SUV, optimal shift point is 4800rpm. It's where the power and torque curve on your engine intersect.

 

Its been a while now but I believe I was told ( on my second date appointment) that if I wanted more aggressive shifting I could leave it in sport auto and it would hold the gear longer than just in standard sport. It changes the way the car shifts. It doesn't redline but gives you more performance than keeping the lever in its regular position.

 

Ditto. There are three shift modes, also confirmed in owners manual.
1. Standard or Drive
2. Sport Program M/S (S on Display) The shifting points and shifting times are altered.
3. Manual M/S - Manual Override. M on display. move selector forward or back, if you readline, it will auto-shift. Unless DSC is activated, so be careful.

S is the same as putting the car in sport mode, except the steering and sport mode burble isn't affected (Sound)

But freakin mash the peddle and let the auto do its thing, unless there is some cornering where you know you want to push the RPMs when you hit the apex, leave it alone and go. ;-)

This can all be found in the Owners Manual in the section with "Kickdown" so search for that.

Look at the specifications for the Manual and Auto Trans, for pure 0-60, the Auto wins, because it is technically able to shift faster than a driver.

 

Thank you for that! So if I want to punch it off the line, I'd set the driving mode to sport and then shift the lever to the left and let it do its thing? Similar to how you'd use launch control but without engaging that option.

 

From what I understand, or have read elsewhere, setting the driving mode selector to sport, automatically changes the transmission to Sport M/S mode, but I don't have any info on that ... In addition, it stiffens the steering and does something to the engine tuning. It also injects a mist of gas when you let off the gas to get the exhaust to pop, but I've never heard it in the car, only outside a car.

 

From my driving experiences putting drive mode into sport does not change the transmission from D to S mode. You still have to do that part manually.

 

Agreed. Shifting the lever to the left has not changed the throttle response or steering for me. The driving mode in sport will only do that.

 

Good to know. I'm taking the long way home to night to give it a go.

 

My F54 may be a bit different, but pretty much follows what you guys are saying. I have no idea why your MA (Lucila) says it will damage the tranny running it in sport mode (i.e.- shifter over to the left), that is just silly. Moving my driving selector to 'sport' mode isn't quite the same as moving the shifter into 'sport' mode.

Driving sport mode only does open up the shifting a bit and rev higher before shifting, yet will still upshift fully when taking it easy and keep your revs low like when in Mid mode. Downshifting is a little more pronounced due to downshifting a bit earlier and holding that gear a bit longer when there is steering input (i.e.- going around a corner).

Shifter sport mode only not only opens up the shifting, but also holds a lower gear at whatever speed you are steady-state cruising at. If you would normally be in 4th, it will hold 3rd and I won't seem to shift into 8th even at 80+ mph. I uses this the most on my daily commutes for short bursts off lights and such, as I find it easier to pop the shifter back and forth rather than bumping the ring.

Combining the driving and shifter sport modes wakes up an 'angry' personality to my car that isn't there in either singular mode. Everything seems to ramp up on intensity and quickness. This carries over to the driving and sport/manual mode as well. If I need the 'extra' boost off the line I will use full sport mode.

One other thing with the modes. If you set driving sport, mid or green modes, the stopped idle is ~600 rpm in drive, but with shifter sport mode enabled in any driving mode, the idle pushes up to ~1000 rpm on mine. Kind of weird, but I am getting used to it. Must be some sort of reasoning behind it...other than burning extra fuel when stopped. I guess it gets rid of the idle bump when you release the brake and start to roll, which is somewhat like when using the auto start/stop function and the engine restarts as you start to ease up on the brake pedal.

 

So......how was it?

 

He did admit he was new to Mini, so that may have something to do with it. I just thought I'd double check with you guys. He wasn't the MA that sold me my car. I was actually dragging my sister and brother in law into looking at the new countryman. Even though they were highly impressed with the mini, they're opting for the Subaru Forester. 😴 Lol. It's the more practical kid mobile.

 

I honestly didn't notice a difference. I'm going to find a road where I can do some "science" and will allow me to push it more.