Picked up my Clubbie yesterday, with a fellow NAMer who already has one. Her coaching was invaluable! I only had a couple "training" experiences with a stick, so am having the expected problems with first gear, hills, and reverse. I understand what I need to do on hills, and am getting the feel - but does anyone have any advise on parking in reverse? I must have stalled 5 times this morning backing my Clubbie into a parking space in the work parking lot! (Yes! I did make it to work though!)

 

One way to look at parking is to never have the goal to fully release the clutch. The key is slipping while parking (though I hate slipping the clutch). Give it some gas and let it out a little, then when you are at the momentum you need you can push the clutch back in and repeat as necessary.

 

Our first Cooper S Convertible ('05) that we got was a stick... it was a compromise. I didn't know how to drive it so the husband drove most of the way home from Jacksonville to Sarasota. (I tried to drive some of the way on the highway since it was empty and late)... what's that smell??? Yeah... my first real smell of clutch! (Ok, so there was a little bit of tire in there too.)

Anyway, such a pretty lil' red car and I was practicing on my neighborhood roads... wasn't surprised to stall. Decided that I was finally confident enough in my shifting to do a loop on the main road back into the other main neighborhood entrance. Pulled out, stomped on it and did really well... started to pull into the next entrance and it stalled right in part of the intersection. I couldn't start it and since I was so new at it, I didn't know why. A nice man in a suit and dress shoes pushed the car off the road for me... don't think he even broke a sweat (being that it was a MINI and all).

Turned out that I ran out of gas! So... while you're out practicing and having lots of fun... make sure to keep an eye out for that little red light!

By the way- we just got our second one so apparently it all worked out. I am a very good driver. (Rainman)

 

I'm getting more confidence, only stalling 1-2 X on my way to work (usually because I'm not giving enough gas and letting out the clutch too early). Hill assist works fine now, no e-brake necessary.

I'm just not quite sure how to downshift properly. There was a point a few days ago where I was cruising along in fourth gear but then traffic slowed down considerably (not to a complete stop but a crawl) and my car starts to shake..i knew it was too high a gear..would that do damage to the car if I had shifted to neutral then to first/second?

How many times can you stall an engine before it gets damaged?

 

To my knowledge, stalling an engine does practically no damage. There are some very, very, very slight increases in wear going on but nothing to get worked up over. The only thing that could damage the car while learning is if you are riding the clutch too much at which point you are wearing the clutch much more than you should.

My friend that I helped learn stick, got in the habit of putting the clutch every time she slowed down, regardless if she was going 70 and slowed to 60 or 60 and slowed to 10. This was excessive but it gave her time to get comfortable with the gearing of her car and ensured she didn't stall the car while slowing down. Eventually, she figured it out and knows when to downshift and when not to.

 

Clutch in with brake before shuddering is a good idea. I do that.

I still have a bit of OCD when it comes to starting from a stop. With clutch in I go from 1st to 2nd (foot on brake)- 1st- 2nd just to make sure that I don't accidentally try to take off in 3rd (and stall) or worse yet- REVERSE. Yes, there are quite a few other people here that have done that. I think I have only done that in my driveway.

 

You can absolutely skip gears. In that situation, while braking, clutch in, downshift directly to 2nd. As soon as you match the speed of the crawling traffic in front of you, clutch out and continue. If necessary feather the clutch out (which should be fine at very low speeds i.e. a crawl) or better yet rev-match (by blipping the throttle) to ensure a smooth transition. It's all a matter of feel, you'll get used to it soon enough.

The next thing to learn is smooth downshifting via rev-matching. Once you learn to blip the throttle when downshifting you'll start to feel like a race car driver .

 

When I first started I thought you had to go through all of the lower gears to slow down so it was a bit nerve wracking. But... NOPE!

I can do rev-match and do it all the time! I like the sound. It is lots of fun and I definitely DO feel like a race car driver. Fortunately I've only gotten one ticket (airplane speed trap )...

Don't know if you're good with sound and tones but that's really how I know when to shift and rev-match... I "hear" the race car driver in my mind. Can't wait 'til you pull it all together. You WON'T want to drive the automatic MINI again. (It will especially stink if they give you a loaner that isn't manual.)

 

RE: Whoever asked about exiting ramps from 60-20(or whatever the speed).

I have a similar exit of 70 to a stop sign and usually once I get on the off ramp, I slip it into neutral and just coast. So basically clutch in, 6th to neutral and coast. Obviously other foot on brake just in case the slow down isn't sufficient. Once at the stop sign, just put it in first and go. Don't engine brake though since brake pads are cheaper to replace than the alternative.

Downshifting is probably the hardest(second to starting on stops and hills) but you'll get it.

 

I was told to use the brake only in case of emergency ... especially on the Dragon.

 

From some of these posts above, I would advise not to be in neutral in turns or any fast speeds for that matter. Engine breaking is not bad for the car, especially if you are rev matching if downshifting is need. That said, don't run through every gear just to come to a stop at a light. You can ride 6th gear all the way to 20mph and then clutch in and to neutral. These engines were designed to cut the fuel supply when you are off the throttle so use that instead of coasting to a stop. If you must do some downshifting, rev-match rev-match rev-match. Get good at that and you will not put any extra wear on the clutch or tranny because you are catching the engine speed up for that lower gear.

If you are at highway speeds in 6th and need to come to a stop, shifting into
4th with a rev-match (blip throttle) is a good gear to get in because its powerful enough if you need to accelerate and it can be run down to like 10 mph

2nd is your friend (just make sure you rev-match it perfectly), but I would avoid 1st if you are moving. The only time you go to first while moving is if you are going like 5 mph and the light just changes.

 

thanks guys and girls! all good tips. I'm a still a little frustrated. I still manage to stall once on my trips out. I'd like to manage a trip without stalling! I still have to figure out rev matching but I'm sure I'll get there soon. I would say that the Mini is probably one of the easier cars to learn clutch on..I practised on an instructor's Toyota Celica and I found the clutch was much more sensitive at the hook up point.
I find that most of my launches are pretty smooth except for uphill slopes and my upshifting is very smooth.
If you are pushing the clutch all the way in while completely stopped at a light making a left turn, is that technically using up the clutch?

 

Clutch, no. Throwout bearing, yes.

 

Tell me... did I hurt him?

I'm a first time standard driver (except for a couple times in the English countryside), and while I'm coming along (I can get around without stalling in my VERY hilly Vancouver suburb of Coquitlam), I did something the other day that concerned me.

So, the other day, I was slowing to a stop (about 10kmph) when a woman basically shoots out of her driveway in a Camry .

Long story short, this required me to accelerate quickly (my first emergency manoeuvre), but I accidentally threw the car into 3rd instead of 1st, so when I went to accelerate I only got slight acceleration. The car did accelerate, though, so I kept with it...

But oh, the sound. I'm pretty sure it wasn't lugging because the car didn't shake or anything. It sounded a degree worse than low-RPM growl... I believe the engine was turning about 1000RPM at that point... this went on for about 1-1.5 seconds until I got up a bit more engine speed.

Did I hurt my shiny new MINI's engine? Did I do the right thing? I'm not sure I would've been quick enough to clutch back in and to correct my shift to 1st in time.

Ack... I feel like I'm learning to drive all over again. On the other hand, I drove my mum's auto Civic the other day and it felt like there was a rubber band between the pedal and the wheels. I guess I'm stuck in the middle now... no going back!

 

I highly doubt it. I think you were just in a section of the engine's powerband where it just isn't very refined. Nearly every engine is like that. Heck, if you tried to accelerate below 2,000 rpm in my old MX-5, the thing made a pretty nasty (almost a grind plus water, if that makes any sense to you...) sound. But that was just the way it was. It's certainly not recommended to drive around in that part of the powerband but I wouldn't worry about hurting your engine because of one experience.

 

Bah, that's nothing. Google "money shift". You'll want to avoid those

 

Ouuuuuchhh.... thanks, Youtube. Thanks for the advice.

 

my mini was my first manual car. i had learned on my friends honda civic in california, and got the hang of it pretty well after about an hour or so of driving around in parkinglots and over speedbumps, etc. a couple weeks later i tried to drive my friends WRX, i didnt get anywhere, very different cars. ive had the mini for about 13 months or so, and i havnt stalled in like 10 months. its an amazing feeling driving stick. my only complaint (which has been mentioned a million times in this thread already) is driving stick in traffic. especially new york stop and go traffic, where the highest speed youll see is 15-20 mph. not fun, but i love it. i love scaring unsuspecting people going under the underpass next to me when i floor it through with my exhaust. ive gotten some NASTY looks from unhappy campers. worth it to me though =D

 

Yep - my Clubman is my first manual car. I got it on Veteran's day and had my first real solo driving experience on R395 in rush hour to Washington DC - going was OK, I leave very early, so my stalls weren't too annoying to others - coming home I blocked a lane of traffic since I didn't know how to deal with stop/go and stalled a number of times - then landed in third by mistake and couldn't get the car started. Had numerous stall events the next day, only different ones.

My big, big event was Tuesday when I decided to drive out to Lansdowne for an out-of-office meeting, thinking it would be a great opportunity since I was leaving after rush hour to go in the morning. But, coming home I hit rush hour on Rt 7E by Tyson's Corner. Worst thing I've ever seen - beyond stop/start - I was please that I went through a variety of "interesting" maneuvers - but I still had some good stalls along with them - my leg/foot started to hurt and I got really stressed out. My foot is still a little sore from being on the clutch/break so much - and I hired a diriver for the next two days of the meeting because I couldn't face that again.

I realize my "training ground" isn't optimal - but am feeling very frustrated and defeated - and STRESSED. I'm close to wanting to sell it - if I thought I could get a good price without losing a lot, I think I actually would! Right now I can't even imagine driving a stick as being fun in any way. I have to drive to PA for Thanksgiving, so hope that experience will go well and maybe I'll get a different perspective.

Else, you'll see my Clubbie listed in the NAM Classifieds after I get back from PA!

 

That stinks... but hopefully you will have more fun on your journey to PA. It takes awhile. At some point when it gets warmer you should go to NC and drive around on the mountains there... you will fall in love with your baby!

I still get a little freaked out if there's lots of stop and go like Atlanta or NY so I know where you're coming from there.

 

Selling the car this quickly is about the same as some stock market analyst jumping out the window of his 130-story office. You really want to but, eventually, cooler heads prevail. Give it some time. Have some patience. When I taught my friend, we spent nearly half a day in the parking lot of a local high school doing nothing more than stopping and starting. Trying to go out into real traffic too quickly is very much like skiing down the bunny hill once on your first go then climbing up to the top of a double black diamond and expecting to ski it well.

Once you get some free time, just go to a safe open space where you can do nothing other stop and start and don't leave until it becomes close to second nature. But don't give up. You'll regret it in the long run.

 

Give it some time Myrrth. Driving standard is never 100% fun in stop and go, but eventually you will become so accustomed to it it will almost be a non-factor.

Think of it this way - you bought a Mini in part for how much fun it is to drive. What percentage of your driving time will you be sitting in traffic as opposed to open road? If the percentage is small you will definitely not regret learning to drive stick.

Once you have manual mastered, it will be a very tough time going back to automatic. Just stick with it and you'll be fine

 

Hi
As you know, here in Europe manual is more custom.
That only means that it is just as difficult for you to learn gearchanging as you're used to an automatic, as it is difficult for us to master this technique as we have to learn it when we get our drivers license.
In the end, everybody learns it. Take your time

I found it very helpful to take a long abandoned straight road and just drive on it stopping and getting to 3rd gear, then stopping again. After a few runs you get more feel to it. And you don't have the trouble of annoying other drivers or having dangerous situations.
Remember that if you were to let go of the clutch reeeeeeeaaaaaaalllllllllyyy sloooooooooowwwwww in only the first weeks , it would not damage your engine (as long as you don't hit full throttle every time).

 

My first mini was my 04 HB/W MCa that I purchased used. It is the R53 and I had a great time with it. My wife purchased a MY/B Cabrio MCa that we purchased new she is a top down 90% + driver and when comparing these two cars I felt that my 04 had a little more power. I went on a 7 month cruise with the Navy and purchased my 08 DS/B MCSm new and what a blast. I enjoyed the MC however once you go to the "S" its hard to go back. When I drive the other two I want the kick/torque that the MCS provides. I had not driven stick since the early 90's and it was just like getting back on a bike. A little jerky maybe at first however the car handles extremely well and the hill hold makes it very easy for a new driver to get going again after stopping on a hill.

 

first to Carsncars -- hello fellow Mini stick driver in BC! I thought I'd be the only one to pick a mini as a first time stick driver (in the hilly BC no less!). It's comforting to know there is another person like me out there!

Secondly, to Myrrh -- I was until recently thinking the same thing as you. Trust me; stalling isn't fun especially with the stress of traffic behind you but don't let those automatic drivers give you too much stress. They are impatient (and I used to be one of them!) I was stalling quite a bit early on(esp on hills in Vancouver) but i've gotten the hang of it and have stopped stalling now, and I've only had my MCS for less than a month now. The key is letting go of the clutch slowly at first until you reach the sticky/grabby point. Another tip that my instructor gave me is that he found I had bettr control over the clutch when my whole left leg is in the air (i.e don't let your heel touch the floor and pivot the foot, that gives less control). AT least for me that was the case.

Another thing I found to help me get over my fears was I planned a few Sundays (quiet traffic days) where I woke up early to practice driving in areas like the park/near the cemetary with low traffic and hills to practice around. It really helped build my confidence. Other than the great help I've gotten here, there is a great website forum that talks about stick driving in general for first-timers: http://www.standardshift.com/faq.html
But this forum here has mini specific information.