I find myself short shifting my MINI Cooper S when driving on the road. By this I mean going from fourth gear to sixth, skipping fifth gear. Also remember doing this in my M3 with a five speed, going from third to fifth. Believe I started this to save wear on the transmission and clutch. Maybe old habits are hard to break. Does anyone else do this?

 

I do this sometimes too, only when accelerating down a hill though. God I love stick...

 

I skip gears regularly with my 3-series. Have torque, will skip gears. It doesn't save wear and tear on the tranny, more like the clutch, since you're not shifting as much.

FYI: Short-shifting, as an action, is shifting early in the power-band (aka low-rev's). Skipping gears, well, that's just skipping gears. Just so you know.
_________________
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I'm curious. I've never driven a stick and I am trying to decide if I should go the safe route and get the automatic MC or be a little adventurous and go for the S with the 6 speed.

As manuals go - how does the Mini rank for a first time stick driver? I live in L.A., home of bumper to bumper traffic, and I was wondering what peoples opinions are on having a stick in all the stop and go traffic.

Any and all thought will be appreciated.


Thank you!

 

Welcome to MCO davecat!!!

To throw some perspective your way, every car I've owned has been a manual tranny. For me, getting a Cooper S is a natural since it can only be ordered in stick. If you've never driven a stick, my suggestion is to find a friend/family member/co-worker that is willing to teach you with their car. I'm sure the vast majority of the members on this site have manual's.

To answer your question; the MINI is quite an easy stick to drive, since it's got an excellent BMW-designed transmission, and is front wheel drive (meaning less shift effort and easier clutch engagement). According to me experience, BMW's are among the easiest manual's to learn on, due to their sophistication, smoothness, and accurate feedback.

My advice, go for the Cooper S

 

>>I'm curious. I've never driven a stick and I am trying to decide if I should go the safe route and get the automatic MC or be a little adventurous and go for the S with the 6 speed.
>>
>>As manuals go - how does the Mini rank for a first time stick driver? I live in L.A., home of bumper to bumper traffic, and I was wondering what peoples opinions are on having a stick in all the stop and go traffic.
>>
>>Any and all thought will be appreciated.
>>
>>
>>Thank you!

Don't want to put you off ... I grew up in England so have driven stick shift for years; currently driving an MC with 5 speed no problem. But my first test drive with an MCS stalled it twice.
The MCS (at least the one I drove) has a very stiff clutch which acted more like a toggle switch. But I am sure I would get used to it ...

If you can learn to drive a manual, you can do it in any car - but the MCS will be the most rewarding :smile:

 

Heh.

Somtimes, when I feel sporty I'll reach 60 in 2n'd and as it's a 55mph road. I'll pop it into 6th from there.

One time when my wife was in the car I commented on the shift change. "1-2-6".

And she said that she didn't know you could do that, she thought you had to use every gear, hehe.

 

That wouldn't ruin the cylinders over a long period of time would it???

 

I can't imagine why it would.

 

My MCS was my first manual car. It is a blast to drive. Now that I havea taste of manual...I don't think I am ever going back o automatic.

 

I constantly do this... I just love to out-accelerate the ricer hondas and then just cruise once I get to the speed limit to not get a ticket..

 

>> I was wondering what peoples opinions are on having a
>> stick in all the stop and go traffic.

In stop-n-go traffic, you'll curse yourself for getting a stick!

My 2 cents...


You must weight out how much of your driving is in stop-n-go. For me it's less than 2% of my driving so a stick is fine for me. When I did live in an area with lots of stop-n-go, I drove an automatic.

 

I'm obsessive about replying to posts about first time stick drivers and the MCS.... but here I go again, anyway:

Never drove a stick (well, like 3 times) didn't even test drive the S--had another do it for me while I guaged fun-ness of ride...

AM SO HAPPY!!!!

I've posted before that it seems--to me, at least--that the travel on the clutch is shorter and this makes life better for me since I'm mini myself. Now I've got about 1500 miles and 2.5 weeks under my belt and it's seriously the most fun I've ever had while driving. I'll never have an automatic again. Come to think of it, I may never have a non-mini again, either :smile:

Good luck!
(Buy the S!)

~Kelley

 

I learned to drive a stick on a '77 Corvette L-82, which is an old, rwd v8 with a ton of power. This obviously wasn't the easiest car to learn on, but within a couple of weeks I was as comfortable street driving in a manual as I was with an automatic (strange as that seems). I live in LA too so I had the same traffic experiences. Plus, the added driving experience is worth the effort at least a hundredfold, so go for the S!! My 2p.

 

I drive in stop and go traffic for about 25-30 minutes each morning and again each afternoon. I really don't have a problem with doing it. The fun that I have when I'm not in the traffice more than makes up for it. It really isn't that big a hassle... If you drove an automatic the same effort would be put towards holding your foot on the brake as it is to push the clutch in, or so thats how I think of it. Also, the MINI's tall 1st gear helps because you won't have to shift as often.

 

I walk to work, so my wife drives out MCS in stop-n-go everyday. She already knew how to drive stick when we ordered our MINI, she was hesitant about the commute. However, after 2 months with Hermione, my wife has no complaints. She says "It gives me something to do in traffic".

In my experience, the MCS is a very easy car to drive, as the clutch has much lighter action than my boss's M3, and a much more precise shifter than my old Diamond-Star car.

 

davecat wrote:

>>I'm curious. I've never driven a stick and I am trying to decide if I should go the safe route and get the automatic MC or be a little adventurous and go for the S with the 6 speed.
>>
>>As manuals go - how does the Mini rank for a first time stick driver? I live in L.A., home of bumper to bumper traffic, and I was wondering what peoples opinions are on having a stick in all the stop and go traffic.
>>
>>Any and all thought will be appreciated.
>>
>>
>>Thank you!<<


:smile:

Cheers!
Clover

 

>>Welcome to MCO, davecat! I also live in L.A., so I know what you mean about the traffic! I got the 5-speed Cooper and am LOVING it. She has 7500+ miles on the odometer now and the tranny is as smooth as silk and very easy to drive. I hadn't owned a car with a manual tranny since 1984, but after a few weeks of driving, it's like second-nature to me! :smile:
>>
>>Cheers!
>>Clover

 

If you like to eat, drink and talk on the cell phone while you drive... get the auto. If you like to take control of the car and get the most out of your driving experience go with the stick.

 

>>I'm curious. I've never driven a stick and I am trying to decide if I should go the safe route and get the automatic MC or be a little adventurous and go for the S with the 6 speed.
>>
>>As manuals go - how does the Mini rank for a first time stick driver? I live in L.A., home of bumper to bumper traffic, and I was wondering what peoples opinions are on having a stick in all the stop and go traffic.
>>
>>Any and all thought will be appreciated.
>>
>>
>>Thank you!

I would simply move away from that area...

 

Short shifting?

I didn't know you could do this!

Is it safe?

God I feel dumb...

 

Having driven a lot in the UK in true bumper to bumper traffic I found driving stick great. But then that's what I am used to. You will find in traffic you can keep the engine ticking over and with enough skill leave it in first gear and crawl along without stalling (almost like driving automatic).

As for the MCS the clutch is a little stiff but after a few minutes of driving you will get the hang of it. My suggestion is to drive it on some residential streets without too much traffic to get used to it before venturing to the open road. You will feel less pressured just in case you stall it at a light (it does happen occassionally - I have done it enough times).

Driving stick though is like nothing else. As for skipping gears - do it all the time. No problems.

 

okay... there seems to be a bit of confusion about, how, exactly, a manual transmission works...

one of the BEST places I've found an explanation of what's happening with the guts of the car when you're shifting, clutching, reving, etc...

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/transmission.htm

 

Here's my take:

I drive a stick from age 15 to 18
I drove autos ever since then. I turn 40 this year (Good Lord, did I just type that?!) :???:

3 months ago I bought a 2002 MCS, 6 speed. I've stalled it maybe 3 times since then. Plus, I have fallen in love with driving again!

Go with the stick, and as has been said here before, go rent a car for the weekend that has a manual gearbox. Trash that one learning, not your beautiful Mini.