I'm a (current) RX-8 owner as well. I'm going to have the same problem I'll have to consciously focus on this for the first few months, since I've had my 8 for 3 years now.

It sure will be nice to fill up half as often, though.

That's very true and the pickup from a stop is much greater in an MCS than an RX-8...go figure.

Love the RX-8...hate the MPG.

Yup. And, as you said, the complete lack of low-end grunt.

The MPG would be bearable (or tolerable) if I could move out from a stop sign. However, it's hard to beat on the open road or on twists and turns. Getting rid of my 8 was a tough decision to make...but once I drove the MCS, I was sold. I still think I'll miss it though...until I go a few weeks between fill-ups that is

I feel exactly the same way. If it had Corvette grunt, I could deal with the MPG. And I love the sweet song of the rotary at high revs, and the wonderful balance of the car through twisties. But the MINI seems like a much better combination of compromises for me at this time.

Driving my wife's Mini compared to my 6 speed Rubicon it is easier shifting but terrible coming out of first (ill explain). On my Jeep 1st gear is a crawling gear and I never use it because the fastest I can go is 5mph @ 2600 rpm hence a crawling gear (for rock trolling). I start off always in 2nd because I won't have to do rapid shifting in traffic and I can get up to 20-25mph in it before changing which helps in Big D's grid locks.

Regarding the Mini, first gear is terrible to get out of because of two things, the car seems as though it is not idling enough to let the clutch out slow enough without the use of the accelerator. But when you do get the clutch out mid way the accelerator is very resistant and by that I mean you need a little more "umph" to tap it and when you do you over shot a simple rev into a j-e-r-k- - - -j-e-r-k until it gets to around 1500+ rpm and then the clutch can be fully depressed.

Maybe the car is still going through a break in process (hasn't hit the 1200 marker yet) but it just seems the clutch needs to be loosened or maybe its a shorter distance to depress it than the one in my jeep. But then again why am I comparing the gearing of a off road vehicle to sports car!

Wow, you guys run at low rpms. If I'm going 50 mph or more, I'll cruise at raound 3000. I may let it drop down to 2500, but if I'm going above 65, it is 3k+.

The torque curve on a r56 mcs is so broad that there is no need to go above 3000 rpm in traffic unless in top gear and cruising. NOrmally, I start in 1st and sometimes second gear and go almost immediately to 4th gear than to sixth gear. I am in sixth gear at about 45 mph. Of course, if you need performance, the other gears are fun. I figure that the fewer times that the clutch is used, the longer it will last.

well, it's a little notchier than a lot of Japanese cars. but nothing beats the volvo s40. drove my friends 03? volvo s40. wow, it's sooo easy to drive hahaha. but yeah, honda's are not as notchier then the mini's.

Is that from the George W. school of grammarification?

No, the Quan Dale one.

potatoe

i shift mine at around 2K RPM

I love mine. the only stick I had before is a e30 and it was an oooold car.
My MINI is the ultimate driving machine!!

Between 2500 and 2800 RPM here. Don't wanna lug the engine.

I noticed the same thing coming from a honda gear box. I think the getrag is just sharper (right word?) and you can feel the syncros working a bit more as you shift. I have to say I like the getrag more especially because hondas 6 speed has reliability issues that from what I still here still aren't fixed on the new Si since the 2002 RSX. That said the engine is more of a pain to rev match for me because the revs just don't come down as fast. You would think a 1.6 would have barely any inertia.

Torque is made regardless of throttle position. Yes, I realize there is an added bump in the R56's ecm that gives more temporary torque/hp at WOT.

The R56 makes it's torque at a relatively low rpm.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I always understood torque to be what you want to change speed, and horse power is what you want to maintain a certain cruising speed. You have to have hp to push a Ferrari at 200 mph. So, the right rpm for cruising at a specific speed would depend on the horse power and torque created at that rpm, right?

I am gonna use different terms.
As I understand it, the higher the torque, the faster the acceleration.
And the higher the horsepower, the higher the top speed (given that the drag coefficient is the same). Horsepower is derived from the torque value.

I could be wrong, but I always think of it like this. Torque pulls and horsepower pushes. They are related anyway, that's why the hp curve and torque curve always meet at 5250 rpm (or something like that)

A lot smoother than the 2000 Ford Mustang I used to drive.

They are related: torque(ft-lb)*engine speed(rpm)/33,000 = horsepower

Simplifying it torque comes for oxygen (displacement or boost based) and power comes from engine speed.

Well, simplifying it further, torque is a measurement of energy, horsepower is a measurement of the ability to do work in an amount of time. High torque will let you pull weight, without consideration for how fast you would like to go. High horsepower will let you pull that weight at a high rate of speed.



Oh, and the R56 starts pretty notchy, but smooths out nicely. At 11K, my only problem is remembering which gear I am in. 6 is twice as many gears as my first manual, that imaginary 7th is gonna magically appear before I stop trying to shift into it. I also have noted that its weight and positive gating is satisfying compared to the wife's Jetta.

Give it a chance, most other manuals will feel like your are stirring a bare metal rod in a bucket after you get the getrag broken in and used to it.