I dont think im the only one...but does your mini just always ask to acclerate hard? and turn sharply...and all the other fun "mini" things?!

I'm just wondering how durable they are...i dont feel like im abusing my car...but i just dont want to shorten her life....

 

 

that is a concern I have. I am actually taking it slower nowadays. Fatigue is fatigue. It isnt a simple car to repair, so I guess we shouldnt treat it like it is some hunk of crap old 60's car to beat on.

I know one of the ways to go fast and not hurt a car is to keep it in a higher gear on sharp turns, like at 2000 rpm. I take them now in 3rd or 4th if mildly gradual. there is little stress on the car then it seems. You just feel like you are going to die and your tires get a little beat up.


I also skip 3rd and 5th often. sometimes I do 1st, 3rd 5th, or even 1st 3rd 6th. Less clutch wear, less fatigue as well.

Sometimes you can go from 2nd to 6th funny little car it is.

 

Your MINI is a masochist. Rough it up. Slap it around. Talk dirty to it. It likes it. It's all about making you happy.

 

Sometimes I go from 6th to 2nd (sharp turn).

Actually none of this matters as much as:
Driving smoothly
Doing the required maintenance and then some.
Replacing wear items on a regular basis sometimes before they wear out.

A good rule of thumb is if you let something really wear out, it tends to allow for additional wear on other supporting parts.

If most parts are in top operating order then it's fine to drive hard and make good use of your car.

Another good rule of thumb is, if you drive all the time like you would at the track, then you'd better be prepared for something to break because it will.

Do I drive hard? Sure but mostly at the track or at autocross. Most of the time I concentrate on driving smoothly on the street. Shift less, brake less, upset the balance of the car less.

 

I drive my MINI in a much more spirited manner than my other vehicles, even including our Corvette. I make sure to do frequent maintenance, interim oil changes, and take very good care of her. She likes to go!

 

Do the maintenance, obsess about the paint, love it like your baby but "drive it like you stole it" pretty much sums it up for me! You can always buy a new one...

 

...well....no....not really...i got a really good deal on mine, but probably couldnt afford to have to get a new one......lol

 

You are royally f'ing up your car. 6-2nd = give a big wave to your gearbox soon. Race cars get rebuilt every race. Yours is going to have a much shorter life expectancy.

also, sharp turns can normally be made in 3rd. unless they are sharper than 90 degrees. this car's 2nd gear is like 1.5.

 

no you can't. 02-06 looks 20x better than 07.

07 looks like a hunk of corporate america crap.

 

Hardly. He didn't say he was using the 6-2 downshift to slow the car down. I'm sure that with all of the auto-x experience, he knows that you slow the car down with the brakes. If you're in 6th and slow the car sufficiently with the brakes, you can then put it in 2nd and be on your way out of the corner. You're more likely to put extra stress on the tranny and clutch if you insist on heel-toeing down through every gear as you approach the corner. MOST people aren't that good.

3rd gear might be good for low-speed corners on the '05 and '06 cars, which got revised 1,2,3 gear ratios, but 2nd works fine for corners on mine. Heck, sometimes I downshift to 1st on tight corners.

 

6th to 2nd Downshift while going highway speed? No. Simply going 6th on the highway then slowing down over a long way to the offramp and then more until a stoplight and sharp turn almost the whole way in 6th with rpms slowly dropping. It's a pretty easy shift to second before the turn as rpms have dropped.

On the track it's different, usually 4th or 5th gear in the straight then brake hard and downshift to second with heel toe to match the revs before turning, hit the apex then throttle up as your wheels return to straight. When done right it's also pretty smooth.

2nd is good for hairpin turns on the track, 3rd good for sweeper turns and S curves done about 45 to 60+ mph.

 

Sometimes...but sometimes it's the opposite!

 

Hi MINIclo, what types of things do you do for "frequent maintenance"? After reading the oil change debates here on NAM, I changed my oil at 2.5k after my car was out of break-in. This is the first car I've had with 10k intervals for maintenance, so I have been kind of wondering/freaking out about whether or not there are things I should do to help keep it in top shape between trips to the dealer.

Any tips welcome.

 

Hi, Acorin! I make sure to check the fluid levels every week or so, keep the tire pressures correct, do oil changes every 5K, and pay attention to how she sounds and performs. Even though the mfr. suggests 10K intervals, it gives me peace of mind to change the oil more frequently, like every 5K.

 

coroporate america had nothing to do with the new new MINIs looks, they had to change the body because of pedestrian safety laws being changed in BRITAIN and decided to call it the second generation anyway. So although corporate america can be blamed for an endless list of stuff this is one of those things

 

Thanks MINIclo! Makes sense.