My wife's 2006 R50 lately is having acceleration issues; giving more gas will send RPMs to 4000 or so without appreciable acceleration. Sounds like lots of potential causes, I'm starting with easy ones first - MAP sensor, coil, spark plugs. There's been little maintenance on the car over the years beyond oil changes and the shop fixing stuff that broke, so probably most of these could stand to be replaced even if they're not the cause here.

 

Could be the clutch is worn out.

 

+1 sounds like clutch

any dtc's present?

 

On standstill put it in 5th gear and try to drive away. If it doesn't stall immediately but still revs, it's your clutch.

 

I have not had codes read yet. I'll try the 5th gear test, thanks! She did have the clutch replaced in 2016, that was 90k miles ago.

 

In 5th gear I can drive a few feet before stalling but that was probably before clutch was all the way out (stalled once clutch all the way out).

 

If your clutch is acting normally you should check out the crankshaft pulley. It has a rubber core that can separate from the pulley and spin without the pulley also spinning. If that's the case, it should also create a noticeable burning smell.

 

I can’t imagine a bad crank pulley would cause the stated symptoms. It’s only driving the water pump, alternator, and AC compressor.

 

Could a slipping belt be suspect?
But the car has power under "normal driving" conditions?
I know nothing about R50s.
Watching this thread. Curious and willing to learn the outcome.
Edit: Ignore me - My head's still in supercharged R53 mode.

 

It's perfectly drivable, but if you're driving down the road or on the highway and step on it, instead of accelerating it just revs. You can drive at normal speeds for each gear, but if you hit the gas thinking you're going to get that extra oomph, you just get the rpms going up.

 

That really sounds like clutch.

 

I second that. A failing crank pulley does not influence the actual revs on an R50.

 

Yep.

Furthermore, with a manual transmission, there is a direct relation between engine speed in a given gear and wheel speed. If you boot it and RPMs zing to the moon, but the car doesn’t accelerate, something in the drivetrain is slipping. It pretty much has to be a bad clutch.

The R50 doesn’t make a ton of power, especially off idle. Stock, they barely manage 100 hp to the wheels at around 6k RPM. It’s probably not making enough power to slip the clutch when babied, but it will when you jump on it.

 

+1 for Deepgrey's analysis. I remember my son in law had a car that you could drive with a delicate touch and have no problems, but if you accelerated hard to crest a hill it would start to rev without effect. As I recall the clutch/ flywheel were the culprits.

 

If the RPMs are climbing but the car isn't moving faster, your clutch is slipping. None of those ignition parts like the coil or plugs would cause the revs to spike like that. It’s a purely mechanical issue between the engine and the gearbox.

 

Well, dang! Clutch is not a job I'm DIYing.

 

It's doable but quite time-consuming.

I've done 4 or 5 on an R50 and getting the gearbox off and on is the hardest part. You'll have to lower the gearbox side of the engine so it sits at an angle. This way you clear the chassis leg.

The R50 is actually more difficult than the R53 because the gearbox is wider. This is because the R50 has two axels for 6 gears where the R53 has three for 7 gears.

Anyway if you decide to do this job, we're here to help.

 

Thank you! But no, I don't think I'll be doing this haha. Anyone want to buy an R50 with 180k miles in MD?

 

Fix it! My (possibly controversial) opinion is that the ‘05-‘06 R50 is the best first gen Mini. It has the good five speed gearbox and all the facelift improvements. You don’t have to deal with the complications (though mostly minor) of the supercharger. It has a real spare. And, it’s a bit lighter than the R53 but still a riot to drive. Bonus points if it’s a slicktop.

 

This has been on the backburner for awhile, now returning to address it. I have a couple videos but this site apparently doesn't let me upload mp4

So my understanding is it basically has to be clutch because the other causes of poor acceleration (fuel/air/spark) would be limiting the acceleration via limiting increase in engine power, i.e., there would be no increase in RPM. Since RPM is increasing, that means the engine is doing its job but the increased power isn't getting to the wheels, ergo it must be clutch, is that right?

There is no smell or difficulty changing gears, grinding, or spongy pedal fwiw.

 

from everything you're saying, it sounds like the clutch. i don't think there's a lot more internet diagnosis to be done. i can appreciate wanting certainty, though. maybe cough up a diagnostic fee and take it to someone to see it in person.

and then get a quote, too. maybe the clutch won't seem like such a tough job, anymore. hahaha