I have a 03 mini s which I've had for a year now.It has 89000 miles on it and with exception of a thermostat and a new set of tires it has been trouble free. My question is about "floating" gears,(shifting without the clutch).I drive a Mack truck at work and I'm wondering if it's ok to float gears in my mini, or could this cause problems later? My clutch works fine it just seems foolish to clutch if it's not nessessary.Any feedback would be helpfull

 

Sure if you want to and can figure out where it would switch gears without problems.

 

Your MINI, have at it & let us know how it goes. It's gone 89000 using the clutch, bet it won't get to 100000 if you stop using it. A Mack truck has a slightly more heavy duty gearbox than a MINI.

 

Since the mini is fully syncronized, and the rpm drop is a bit more than the typical 200-400 on a HD truck, good luck...
IMO just shift so the syncros are not working too hard, and use the clutch...heck with a truck, if you get the rpm's within about 50 the shift works...but that is 50 on a truck that normally goes from what 800-1650 rpm (with a cat anyway)..the mini is 800-7000 or so...so much harder to get perfect!!

 

You'll greatly accellerate the wear on the syncros. Use the clutch.

 

use the clutch! i just had to replace mine and trust me. you dont wanna break your bank on a MINI clutch