My 2010 base MINI has a 6 speed manual transmission. It seems to me that she shifts very high - I can still be in 4th gear and going over 50mph. I go by my tachometer and how she feels.....

Are MINIs known to shift at higher MPHs than other cars? My Saab would squeal like a girl if I ever shifted at these speeds. Just wondering..... Pamela

 

Yep, totally normal. I don't usually shift out of 4th until 55 or so.

 

I don't believe I've ever run across a car that couldn't do at least 50mph in 2nd gear. Your car exceeds 70 in third gear. It is necessary for passing safely on two-lane roads. 5th and 6th gears are overdrive for increased fuel economy when cruising on multi-lane highways.

 

Yep, you can rev the hell out of a MINI's powerplant. I often shift somewhere from 4000 - 5000 RPMs. Any of my prior manual tranny cars would've hated that...the MINI loves it!

 

Hehe 5k shifts are always fun.. especially 2nd to 3rd and 3rd to 4th!!

 

That's perfectly normal. I'm usually in 5th when I hit 50 mph for that sake of fuel economy, but I can easily hit 50 in second if needed. These engines love to be revved.

 

70MPH in 3rd gear??? Yup, it's called an Italian tune up.

 

I'll frequently go from 3rd to 5th when getting on it up an on-ramp hitting freeway speeds.

 

I change down into 4th (from 6th) on the freeway if I want a little extra passing power. Its good for over 110, so I usually have plenty of revs to spare, and it puts him in the power band. If you're really going for it, the optimal shift point is at redline in every gear, but 3rd will only take you up to 90 that way.

 

Well, that's just not true.

The optimal shift point is when changing to the next gear puts you at a place where the gearing will allow you accelerate more than the last gear.

If you look at a MINI (S) dyno plot, torque is falling very quickly above 5800 rpm. You will accelerate faster if you shift at about 6000 rpm, and not 6500.

Unless you have upgraded the turbo, head, intake, and exhaust.

 

^ +1

 

I love it when reason and fact enters a thread!!
I also bet your motor will last longer and you will save gas too....

 

The OP is driving a Cooper, not an S. I have a spreadsheet to work this out from dyno plots, and the Dyno plots for Coopers I've found show that optimal shift points are all at redline, the plots never overlap.

For an S the shift points are lower.

For our JCW, the shift point out of 3rd is 6400, you'd be hard pushed to hit that not redline. For 4th the shift point is 5900, but I've found shifting only slows me down because usually there's a corner coming up when I get to those speeds.

 

And it is additionally delightful when the facts are appropriate to the subject at hand.