Well I am new to the modern Mini world, but since my last manual was a 66 Chevy II with 327/350 hp...which I did a lot of street racing (yea I know ) ... I was occasionally used to power shifting (full throttle through the shift)the old Muncy 4 speed.... soooo after taking it easy for a while on my 2015 MCS( new to me) stick , I was feeling spunky and power shifted to second...spun the tires but a very noticeable "thump" upon clutch release. Talked to my very knowledgeable service rep and his response was
"what !! you never power shift these Minis, the clutch is only (held his hands to show a diameter of about7 inches) ..He gave me three rules to follow if I expected my clutch to survive :
1. NEVER power shift !!!
2. no slipping to hold the car.
3. Never use downshifting to slow the car.


I plan to follow these rules..as many threads on here about the "weak" clutch configuration in these cars.

 

You've given three reasons to buy an automatic!

Suddenly I am glad I went auto.

 

They aren't as robust as V8 cars no, but they aren't fragile either. I agree with the no power shifting and slipping to hold the car, but the downshifting to slow the car down...I don't think it is all that harmful but probably isn't all the beneficial to do either.
I have always down shifted to slow down, never had an adverse affects from it, but with the little 4 bangers it doesn't make a dramatic difference in slowing down either, nothing like a semi or a big V8.

 

I agree with Helltime. I don't see any problem with downshifting, as long as it's not too drastic, and never into first.

 

You can downshift as long as you're rev matching. If you're accurate, it will cause no premature wear.

If you're clutch braking (shift down and release clutch without rev match), that's when you prematurely wear the clutch.

 

Should I avoid heel-toeing as well?

 

I am only repeating the service managers recommendations...Heel and toe away !!

 

It was more that an autotech would tell someone not to engine brake a manual car...

 

When I grew up we did not have a color TV until something like 1964, the World Series was on during the day, there were only six NHL teams, an air conditioner was blowing a fan over a bag of ice, you played football on grass (unless you were Dallas that had to go to Lambeau and play the Packers in the Ice Bowl), the Indy 500 was the American Sports Car Race, and a sports car had a stick shift on the floor.

My Mini has a stick

 

Yes I know I have dated myself.

 

A stick puts "sports" in a sports car...

 

Amen!

 

Yea, not many other car brands have a stick option anymore. I got some life out of my last clutch and had it on some track days. The throw out bearing rattled and the composite material tabs on the ears of the throw out worn out. The clutch itself and pressure plate could have gone further but since I was there I just replace the whole kit. Most of the time I see the throw out bearing go. At least on the gen 1 MINIs. Now if you are doing smoky burnouts all the time, that's another thing.

 

are these r56 problems?

 

I never heard the "no downshifting to slow the car" thing. It seems counter-intuitive to the experience of driving a manual.

Personally, the lowest gear I downshift to is 3rd. Let 3rd do some slowing, then I use the brakes from there to complete the stop. Same thing with my motorcycle. This is during normal commuting / relaxed driving. Going down to 2nd seems too . . . abrupt, causing the vehicle to buck.

 

Heel/toe, saves clutches and synchros

 

 

To the OP & r53coop...amen! I'm probably as old or older than you! My first car was a 55 Chevy with a 235 6 cyl...great engine but for a whopping $300 or so dollars I bought a long block 327 V8 through my local Chevy dealer in Florida & swapped it in by myself at 15 years old! The new engine shipped from Michigan for probably $10 or so...lol! I swapped the 3 on the tree to a floor shift too. But my Chevy had 4 doors so after awhile I opted for a new 1967 Chevelle SS 375hp L78 with a 4 speed & positraction! You have to know how to use a clutch or kill that big block engine real fast! What a beast that car was...and FAST of course...it had drum brakes too! lol! Straight line speed only!

Fast forward to 2015....after lusting for a MINI since 2002 after seeing a new MCS..first seen at the BMW plant in South Carolina...I was attending 02-02-02 with my 1976 BMW 2002. BMW was celebrating the venerable 2002 for the 200 or so cars & drivers who attended.

My 2015 MINI JCW with 6 speed manual was ordered before the manual trans went into production! It was a long wait but worth it! Back then few to no dealers had a JCW on the lot to test drive, so it was a crap shoot when ordering.

I've never owned a front wheel wheel drive before & I had driven various MINIs before over the years, but the clutch on my JCW has taken some getting used to. Personally, it's a tad "light" for my taste but I've gotten used to it.

Long live the manual transmission! Treat a clutch right and it will last a very long time!!! When it needs replacing it's not brain surgery...nobody can say that for the fancy automatics! They break & you're screwed! ;-)

 

" Fast forward to 2015....after lusting for a MINI since 2002 after seeing a new MCS..first seen at the BMW plant in South Carolina...I was attending 02-02-02 with my 1976 BMW 2002. BMW was celebrating the venerable 2002 for the 200 or so cars & drivers who attended. " that was awesome you were there to see one at SBP in the early years. MINI finally has a track program down there for actual MINIs. Funny after I mentioned they should have one back in 2007 to the PDS managers across the street.

 

I have found it pretty pointless to downshift my Mini while slowing down, it provides virtually no compression braking. The BMW e39 M5 I had before the Mini, that had all sorts of compression braking. So much so that I would never ever dream of downshifting into first. The Mini I frequently find myself downshifting into first at a 5 mph roll.
Heck, even my 62 AH Sprite with a 1.1L engine has more compression braking than the Mini.

 

Lol as I was driving home tonight every time I down shift in the mini it reminded me of this post been driving now for 45 years and down shifted to slow the car or get away faster,dang it now I have to learn a new trick.

 

R53 has plenty of comp braking, if you do not heel toe on the track it unsettles the car

 

Engine braking is needed for cars with brakes that are weak compared to the horsepower....my 42 HP Bugeye can outdrive it's drum brakes....it was my first car, so I learned rev-matching, heel-n-toe down shifting quickly. I don't engine brake with my JCW. (Both cars are a blast to drive.)