I bought my Mini Cooper S in red manual over this weekend. Drove it to Amish country in Holmes county in Ohio on Sat. This is a really fun car to drive. Been a new owner I have some rather basic questions. This is my first car driving manual. I did learn in an auto school how to drive a manual so I am not doing too bad. I do need some help on when to change gears though. Everytime I am in 3rd or even 4th, the engine sounds a lot louder than when I am in 5th. Is this because the car is new. Also when to use 5th and 6th?

Also I am looking to buy some floor mats as my car did not come with one. Has anyone looked into minicarparts.net. They have Floorlines moulded mats and black carpet mats. Consider that I live in OH, which do you think would be better.

I need to buy some cleaning material for the interior of my car. Should I just use normal wipes. Does this car have a temperature gauge that tells you engine temperature. Like in my last car (Nissan Maxima) when i would start the car the temp would be all the way down and then i would wait till it came up to the middle to get going.

 

Where do you guys keep your coins?

 

Welcome to the club. Good to see another MINI in Ohio!

I use Aerospace 303 cleaner to keep all the interior black looking good. You can find it online or at a West Marine store around here. Use microfiber towels to apply the cleaner. You can find those at Target. You should check out the Detailing forum here on NAM to help answer all kinds of cleaning questions.

The standard rubber mats work well for Ohio winters (so far at least). You can get them at the dealer or at http://www.outmotoring.com (located here in Ohio). In fact on every third Saturday there is a MINI get together at a Tim Hortons right by Outmotoring. We have coffee and doughnuts and then head over to the worldwide headquarters of Outmotoring. It's this Saturday so swing down if you can.

 

The engine will sound louder as your RPMs increase. Once they get to a point determined by you, thats when you shift to the next gear. The engine will always sound louder in 4th gear when compared to 5th gear if you're traveling at the same speed.

For me, I cruise in 6th gear at all times unless I'm accelerating or slowing down to stop. If I need to speed up quickly I just shift to 5th, but generally the car has enough pickup to do whatever I need in 6th gear.

If you want the MINI floormats, here's the cheapest place to buy them:
http://www.trademotion.com/partlocat...egoryID=126734

I would recommend a rubber set for the winter and the JCW set for the summer
JCW set: http://www.trademotion.com/partlocat...catalogid=5277

 

I try to keep the rpm somewhere between 2500 and 3000 when cruising. So if that means using 5th and 6th is necessary at high speeds, I do. In the city traffic, I don't need them usually.

 

After you're out of the break in you might do what I do...
At 35 mph, I downshift to 2nd when I need to accelerate quickly.
at 50 mph, I downshift to 3rd to accelerate quickly.
at 65 mph, I downshift to 4th to accelerate quickly.
If I am above 75 mph, I downshift to 5th to accelerate quickly.

 

This Sat wont be possible, driving to madison, wi. But will try to make it to columbus the next time you guys decide to meet. Is there a forum topic to follow or should i just go to https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...d.php?t=124303

for activities around the area.

 

Just keep your eye on the parent forum.

 

I am planning on a trip to nyc over this weekend from cleveland, a distance of 450 miles. Is that a good thing considering my car only has 200 miles right now? Would it harm my mini to go on a trip like that?

 

Just don't use the cruise control, go above 4500 rpm or 90 mph.

 

Welcome to NAM - Congrats on your MINI and I love your screen name...

Donna

 

Welcome to NAM.

How about some more details on your new MINI, color, model, options?

From the posts, sounds like you have some good trips planned and lots of questions.

You will good answers from the folks on NAM, so keep asking them.

Enjoy and drive safe, you have some long trips planned and your new MINI will handle them just fine.

Don

 

Congrats!!! Hopefully you'll get the hang of driving stick.

 

Um, I think you're going to confuse him/her--you mean "don't use the cruise control." ALSO, don't go above 4500 rpm or 90 mph. Quite a difference from how it COULD be interpreted!

The reason for the cruise control warning is that you want to vary speeds as much as possible during the break-in period.

Regarding your earlier question about the temp light--unfortunately the R56 doesn't have one. It's the biggest mistake MINI's made, IMO. You do get an idiot light to tell the idiot that the engine has overheated, but by then it's probably too late. Don't ask me how I know.

 

Yeah you're right. But it made sense to me
I guess after you hear these things so often they jell into one thought.

 

Congrats on the new MINI.

The gear you want depends somewhat on how much work the car has to do. If it is going up a grade, you want higher rpms. If you are going down hill, lower rpms are fine. For cruising along a flat, you want something in between. The faster you go, the more wind resistance there is, so highways speeds call for higher rpm than say 35 mph. For level cruising at 25 to 50 mph, I like somewhere between 2,500 and 3,000 rpm. Up a steep grade at 65 mph and you should be turning around 4,000 rpm. That's what feels right to me.

I have the factory rubber mats and like them. If you get them, be sure to get the Velcro anchors for both the passenger and driver side. There are some threads here about cocoa mats. You might want to check that out.

Check out the Detailing 101 forum here. You'll learn more than you wanted to know about cleaning materials for the interior and exterior.

No, there is no temp gauge. If you want one, you can add a ScanGaugeII pretty easily. It plugs into the OBDII outlet under the dash. It will read out four gauge functions at a time. Water temp is one of the options.

If you plan on letting your MINI idle until it reaches operating temp, I'm not sure that is such a great idea. I've always heard it is better to just drive gently until the car warms. That way everything is warmed up, transmission, drive train, tires, engine, etc. rather than having the engine warm and everything else cold. My MCS takes quite awhile to reach operating temp. I've gone as far as five miles before it was up to temp. My Acura warms up much more quickly.

 

I'm not sure how this will help. I don't see where it says that an instant--real time--water temp is indicated. I do see where it says you can read it minutes to hours later. Where did I miss this feature?

It sounds like it would be the greatest thing since sliced bread (or at least since MINI took away the temp gauge) if it works for this...

 

Doh! Computer's playing games tonight...

 

Thanks for all the responses. I intend to attend as many mini events in the ohio area as possible and make some friends. I bought a Mini Cooper S in Red with white stripes, Cold weather package, Conveninence Package, Black Leatherette, Red interior, sunroof. I am going to name my car after my youngest sister plus i am looking into buying a customized number plate of the same name.

So I should not be using cruise control until 1200 miles. Well I have been using it upto now, but I shall stop.

In my last car, I used to wait for 10 mins or so prior to driving away so that the engine would heat up. I dont need to do this anymore in mini? Not even in the mornings?

Where do you guys keep your coins. I tried to keep them next to the ashtray but they spill over. the cup holders are a little deep and kind of tight.

 

What type of gas should I put into it?

 

Premium--"top tier," as they say. I use Shell or Texaco.

No, don't idle the car in the morning, even when cold.

Did you get an owner's manual? I'd read it cover to cover (even the boring stuff), and then read it again. Lots of really good information there!

 

Use 91 octane or higher.

For the first 1,200 miles: Don't go over 4,500 RPM. Don't go over 90 mph. Don't use your cruise control. Vary your speed when cruising on the highway. Accelerate, slow down, accelerate, slow down... Drive the folks behind your crazy.

Read the manual. Read the manual. Read the manual.

 

I just put my coins in the armrest, not much else will fit in there

 

I have been trying to keep the interior clean and shiny. So I went and bought some 303 Aerospace Protectant. Sprayed it on the dashboard and around the car and used microfiber to wipe it off. But it leaves stains, like liquid stains. What am I doing wrong. Also I have leatherette seats. How to maintain them?

 

Welcome to NAM & congratulations on your choosing wisely and purchasing a MINI!

Oh, one more thing fullymooned, don't forget to share with your NAMily by posting some pics of your new MINI.

Enjoy & Motor On!