My wife drives a Mitsu Outlander which has the paddle shifters. We have a camp in ADK and the paddles easily allow you to stay in the engine sweet spot for both hills and twisties. Very nice indeed.

Of course the Dragon's Tail is another spot to use the paddles, as you really want to keep both hands on the wheel. I made that run in my 3.0 911 this past fall. More torque in a car that weighs 2400 lbs. Never got a whole lot of speed to use the brakes but the clutch was constantly in use.

Enjoy the clip...


Since I have the 69 to let my ya yas out. I'm leaning toward the NA for better road comfort and economy.

 

Joetti, good point about the paddles on the Dragon. Mine is on the shifter, however. Thanks for the clip, I loved it! I know the posted speed limit is 30, how much speed is actually safe there?!? Has me a little concerned as I plan to thoroughly respect the Dragon....heard some nightmarish stories...

 

Truthfully, I never saw how fast we were going because its one blind turn after another tight turn and i believe the key to driving that road is to be smooth using the gas and gears to keep the chassis stable.

People get in trouble by accelerating too long and then jumping on the brakes. With all the weight forward & then trying to turn, the car just plows off the road. Bikers have it worse because they lean over so far in the turns and can catch a peg or chassis which puts them on their side.

 

Understood, thanks!

 

Add another to the member roll...

This zippy 'Justa-Auto' got 49.3 mpg on a 40 mile city/freeway outing, yesterday.

Cheers...

 

Thats great. Best tank yesterday 35.4 on combined driving, Justa-Auto here too.

 

Wow! How did you accomplish that? The best I've gotten was 38.4mpg on my Justa-Auto. Most of the time I get around 30-33mpg.

 

2007+ automatic owners, we need your help!
We want to put together a DIY on how to change the transmission fluid. The 2002-2006 owners have this nailed down.

No, there is NO such thing as lifetime fluid. Yes, you HAVE to change it sooner or later.
We need to identify if the Base Mini/Clubman/Countryman and their S counterparts share the same 6-speed Aisin-Warner Transmission.
The R53 uses the TF60-SN and it SEEMS so do all the new models that use the 6-speed auto but we need to confirm. Here is the relevant thread in the R53 section, along with a DIY I wrote up and attached as a PDF.
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...change-14.html

Thank you and let's keep up on maintenance for happy motoring!

 

I'd like to know how to go about a trans. fluid change as well.
I don't believe in a forever fluid.

 

I plan on doing mine very soon on my 2008. When I do, I will do a photo shoot of the process. I'll work on getting the fluid shortly.

 

Down hill?

We just drove down to SLO a couple weeks ago.Cruise set at 65,flat ground.
I could watch the fuel mileage display go from 24-50 MPG.I guess it was just calculating.Probly more like mid thirties.
I'm sure it would have been better traveling at 55.

 

2011 Countryman Auto with paddleshifters .Sweet

 

Welcome to the new members. Auto's are awesome. IMNSHO we can have as much fun as the stick guys with no effort.

 

Has anyone had any issues with their car downshifting hard (like it skips a gear or slips?) when coming to a stop?

It seems to only happen after the car sits for a good couple of hours - Like overnight, or when leaving work if I don't go out for lunch. And it only happens after getting up to a certain speed/gear. It won't happen at the end of my driveway but once I get out onto a road and can get above 40/50 then it will happen the first time i stop. Sometimes a second time, but usually just once. Very rarely does it happen once the car is warmed up, but it has. It also seems to happen more when the weather is chilly. It may have started happening after getting my car reprogrammed last fall, but I'm not 100% sure.

It's a 2010 R56 justa. 39,000 miles

I need to get my dad to drive it and see it happen since he'll have a better idea of how to describe it to the dealer. Wondering if this sounds normal? Common issue? Major issue? Taking it to the dealer is is kinda a pain, so I'm trying to get a better idea of what to expect before taking it in.'

Also, if I take it in for a warranty issue, but they decide there is no issue... will they charge me for looking at it?

 

Are you sure you aren't in sport mode when this happens? That sounds correct if you answer yes.
Mine downshifts normal (not in sport mode) but on occasions I think it
feels a little more sensitive in downshifting. Could be due to slope of road
you are on. Just throwing out a few things. When it does it are you
going very slow?
Can't answer the warranty thing, mine's out.

 

Not in sport mode. (Maybe I'll try sport mode tomorrow AM and see if it does it's any different.)
Road is pretty flat where it almost always happens on the way to work in the AM. I'm usually going anywhere between 35-50 then slowing to a full stop at a stop sign. It slips (or whatever it's doing) right when I stop. The last shift from 2nd to 1st i guess.

 

I'm not versed that well into possible happenings but reading your first post you mentioned having it reprogrammed last fall.
Since the throttle is working off the computer, the computer I would assume to telling the transmission to downshift at a given speed. It is
possible they messed something up in the programming. I'm just not 100%
sure.
You could call the dealership and explain what it's doing and also mention the reprogram you had done. They may have run into this before which
won't cost you anything to ask.
When it downshifts, it's not giving a loud clunk is it? Is it more like it's
downshifting too early?

 

I think I know what you're talking about. Sometimes when slowing down it will drop into first and it can be forceful at times. It feels almost like a jerk when it drops to first. Is that what you mean?

 

I want to call it a shudder maybe. It's weird.

Anyways, good idea from the poster above asking about sport mode. I turned sport on this morning before I left and it does NOT happen in sport mode! It was 22 degrees, so certainly cold conditions (which is when it happens most). I went through my first couple of stop signs on my commute without a shudder. It's a 35 mile drive... so after awhile I decided to switch back to non-sport and the next stop I made it shuttered into first again! Then after that it was completely fine.

So... since it doesn't happen in sport mode... that makes me believe it is more of a programming issue than an actual transmission issue... right? If there was something wrong with the transmission, I'd think it'd happen regardless of sport/non-sport mode.

 

That's my thought process but again, I'm no expert in this matter.
Also, keep in mind that in sport mode you will lose a little in mpg.
I'd still call the dealership and ask and explain the situation to them.
Good luck.

 

Love my beautiful baby, who is an automatic:-D!

 

Im in! paddles about half the time.

 

As I recall, the weather was slightly rainy/snow so I was driving a bit more cautiously than usual (say 65-ish mph). Plus, I don't tend to use a lead foot to gather speed and in this case the traffic was light and terrain slowly rolling. Since there was very little need to pass, or slow down, I was in "D" mode and used the cruise control to evenly maintain my speed. Also, I run my winter tires (15" Mich Ice) around 38psi. I did not plan to drive that way, but I must have hit a sweet spot.

In normal city/freeway combo settings I get in the upper 30's and lower 40's when driving predominately freeway speeds.

Cheers...

 

I've noticed if I drive mine like an old lady I can get about 34 mpg combined. If I use the stick or paddles and run the rpm's up, I get
about 27-28 mpg.

It's all in the way one drives.

Either way I love my auto, paddles, and shifter. What more can one
want. Oh, no carbon build up.

 

Sport buttonquestion.

So my new to me '10 clubman has a Sport Button. the owners manual says I press it in to go into Sport mode, and a little light should appear on the dash. I tried that but no light comes on and the cars shifts as in regular mode. My question relates to why the button is necesasary at all when its easier to pull the auto shift **** into sport mode?