R50/53 Dumb question, manual shift go uphill
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2nd Gear
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 56
Likes: 1
Dumb question, manual shift go uphill
hi guys!
I just bough a 2008 stick shift mini cooper non-S convertible!
I havent driven a manual shift for 10 years... (been driven c-class for quite a while...)
Anyway, how do you guys go very very slow uphill (say 1:5 slope) during a traffic jam? i mean i have no problem stop and start on a slope but I just couldnt figure how do I coordinate with my clutch and all dat...
What is the slowest you can go uphill (or on level road) with the first shift without fidgeting?
Sorry for this bunch of dumb Qs ....
I just bough a 2008 stick shift mini cooper non-S convertible!
I havent driven a manual shift for 10 years... (been driven c-class for quite a while...)
Anyway, how do you guys go very very slow uphill (say 1:5 slope) during a traffic jam? i mean i have no problem stop and start on a slope but I just couldnt figure how do I coordinate with my clutch and all dat...
What is the slowest you can go uphill (or on level road) with the first shift without fidgeting?
Sorry for this bunch of dumb Qs ....
5th Gear
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 958
Likes: 0
From: San Antonio, Texas
I was condemned to automatic transmission 7 long years before getting behind the wheel of our MINI. Hills are part of the relearning curve. I can usually do it now without chirping the tires. I am still worried about the first fool who pulls up on my rear as I'm stopped a the top of a hill.
I just say a small prayer to our lady of perpetual acceleration and hope for the best.
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2nd Gear
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 56
Likes: 1
Thanks all
WOw, as a newbie, this is a very warm place where you can pick up a few sex techniques too..... unlike some of the european mini site.
So it is still all about clutch than..? riding the clutch up and down during slow uphill ride.... right? will it "burn" as some say for a prolonged time...?
cheers
So it is still all about clutch than..? riding the clutch up and down during slow uphill ride.... right? will it "burn" as some say for a prolonged time...?
cheers
Last edited by remotecontrol; Apr 7, 2008 at 09:43 PM.
2nd Gear
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 80
Likes: 1
From: Louisville
I don't know if they put it on the cabrio yet, but the new R56 has hill start assist or something like that. It holds the e-brake on automatically for you when you start out on a hill. But you said your going up a hill in stop and go traffic? You can take your foot off the throttle while in first gear and idle along, it won't stall the engine,(as long as the incline isn't too steep). If you apply brakes then you'll have to push in the clutch.
Do you live in San Fransisco? Hills and traffic can be a common clutch nightmare in that area.
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2nd Gear
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 70
Likes: 0
From: Webster Groves, MO
How about just letting the gap between you and the car in front of you open a bit before you move forward? It will reduce the number of times you have to start-stop and if you just idle forward you further allow traffic to move ahead.
There's no rule that you have to stay three feet behind the car in front of you at all times....
There's no rule that you have to stay three feet behind the car in front of you at all times....
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2nd Gear
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 56
Likes: 1
no hill side assist
hm.. actually i live in Hong Kong, if you know where it is.. very agressive drivers here, excessive honking is a definite if i dont go right away after my car moved..... engine will act funny if my foot is off the gas pedal in 1st gear though....
thanks guys and i will keep practicing!
thanks guys and i will keep practicing!
1st Gear
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 23
Likes: 0
A trick they teach new motorcyclists works well on hills.
Practice sitting and letting the clutch out while in first - just to the point where the car starts to pull. You can probably get it to rock a bit. This is what they call the friction zone. Once you get the feel for where it is, the easier hill starts will be.
--Steimle
Practice sitting and letting the clutch out while in first - just to the point where the car starts to pull. You can probably get it to rock a bit. This is what they call the friction zone. Once you get the feel for where it is, the easier hill starts will be.
--Steimle
6th Gear
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 1,427
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From: Sword Mountain
God Bless my driving instructor back when I was 17. He made me go out one day, in a manual, and do nothing but hill starts and stops. I would advise the same. Go out very early (or late) one day, find a big hill with little traffic, and practice. My MINI is very different on the clutch from my husbands MINI and VERY different from the clutch feel on the Ford Bronco (don't ask) that is our third car.
5th Gear
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 852
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From: Aurora, IL
For the interest of clutch life, I would not ride the clutch, but instead treat it as "on" or "off". I've found I can idle along (on level ground) at about 5 or 6 mph with my foot off the gas pedal. I try to maintain my spacing behind the car in front of me so I am able to do so. While they "stop and go", I attempt to just crawl along at a steady speed.
For hills, as mentioned, the hand brake is very effective for preventing you from rolling back:
For hills, as mentioned, the hand brake is very effective for preventing you from rolling back:
Starting on a Hill
If there's one thing other than stalling the car in the middle of traffic that scares a newbie, it's starting from a stop on a hill. Make sure you are comfortable with flat terrain before attempting an incline, and it is best to start with a minimal slope that will allow the car to roll backwards slowly if in neutral. The key to learning how to start on a hill is the parking brake. It will allow you to remain in place and not roll backwards while you practice reaching the friction point quickly. And quickly is the key for starting on a hill to prevent rolling backwards. With the parking brake fully set, practice quickly releasing the clutch until the friction point is reached and then back off. Next, quickly reach the friction point and then partially release the parking brake as you give the car gas and release the clutch some more. The idea is to give the car just enough power to overcome the brake and gravity, which will allow you start smoothly without rolling back. As you get better, you will be able to reduce the amount and time that the parking brake is set, until you won't need it at all.
If there's one thing other than stalling the car in the middle of traffic that scares a newbie, it's starting from a stop on a hill. Make sure you are comfortable with flat terrain before attempting an incline, and it is best to start with a minimal slope that will allow the car to roll backwards slowly if in neutral. The key to learning how to start on a hill is the parking brake. It will allow you to remain in place and not roll backwards while you practice reaching the friction point quickly. And quickly is the key for starting on a hill to prevent rolling backwards. With the parking brake fully set, practice quickly releasing the clutch until the friction point is reached and then back off. Next, quickly reach the friction point and then partially release the parking brake as you give the car gas and release the clutch some more. The idea is to give the car just enough power to overcome the brake and gravity, which will allow you start smoothly without rolling back. As you get better, you will be able to reduce the amount and time that the parking brake is set, until you won't need it at all.
5th Gear
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 958
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From: San Antonio, Texas
No hill assist in cabrios yet. We're previous generation until the 2009 model year. Trade offs.
4th Gear
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 570
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From: Loveland, Ohio
try to rev your rpms witht he clutch pedal depressed all the way, when your rpms begin to fall back down slowly release the clutch until you feel it start to pull slightly then back on the gas and let clutch out all the way. doing this is good to learn exactly where your clutch starts to grab and with repitition youll know down to the millimeter where the clutch enguages. doing this isnt very hard ont he clutch and is a great way to get the "feel" of the car.
Banned
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 3,673
Likes: 2
God Bless my driving instructor back when I was 17. He made me go out one day, in a manual, and do nothing but hill starts and stops. I would advise the same. Go out very early (or late) one day, find a big hill with little traffic, and practice. My MINI is very different on the clutch from my husbands MINI and VERY different from the clutch feel on the Ford Bronco (don't ask) that is our third car.
1st Gear
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 23
Likes: 0
--Steimle
Neutral
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
I ride a motorcycle as well as drive my new mini. Hills/inclines are not forgiving on either vehichle. The best way is to find the "friction" zone as someone else stated that is where the clutch grabs but you do not move forward right away. Once you find that in your car you can pretty much let the clutch out to the "friction zone point" and hold yourself in place on an incline. I am a small women, and can hold my bike (yamaha v-star 1300) on an incline without rolling backwards before I go forward. It takes time, but you will get it. I am finding it slowly on the mini. You have to slowly let your clutch out without any gas or brakes to find the place were the car gentlly wants to move forward. the friction zone is right before the car moves forward. Good luck and keep praticing I do every day
3rd Gear
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 224
Likes: 1
From: CT
+1 on letting a gap form between you and the cars in front so you can chug, while they stop and go... also called "rubberbanding." Once the cars behind know what you're doing, they actually appreciate it, as they also are using less gas and brakes. Hong Kong is also more likely to have a greater percentage of manual cars than the US, and so should understand the strategy. A few impatient jerks will pass you into the gap... so let them and think they've advance so far 
. HK hills are steep, so you definitely need gas. Give it enough so that it doesn't under power the engine to the point where it starts to shudder/stall. If the following drivers are really rude, then try to follow a truck/bus as they're professional drivers and always tend to drive traffic rubberband style, perhaps even the taxis, which if I remember correctly, were column shift manuals. I lived there for 3 years with a manual car and motorcycle... I don't recall people being unusually impatient, but then again, that was about 14 yrs ago.
. HK hills are steep, so you definitely need gas. Give it enough so that it doesn't under power the engine to the point where it starts to shudder/stall. If the following drivers are really rude, then try to follow a truck/bus as they're professional drivers and always tend to drive traffic rubberband style, perhaps even the taxis, which if I remember correctly, were column shift manuals. I lived there for 3 years with a manual car and motorcycle... I don't recall people being unusually impatient, but then again, that was about 14 yrs ago.
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