I noticed on Minis that when you have the shifter in N, its perpendicular with 3rd above it and 4th below it, and that going to 1st or 2nd, you need to push left and go up/down and with 5th or 6th, you need to push right and up/down, rather than just sliding the shifter over and then going up or down. I hope this is making sense, im just saying that the shifter always pops back to inbetween 3rd and 4th.

Now is this possible to change by getting a short shifter that isnt just an add-on?

 

Hmmm, that is interesting, the 2006 MCS JCW that I test drove a few months ago did not do that. It functioned like any other manual. When I went from 1st to 2nd, it was pretty much a pull down motion,without going to neutral. Same thing with 3rd to 4th. Couldn't do 5th and 6th because I was on the local streets. Perhaps you popped it out of first without a straight downward pull? Or the shifter could be malfunctioning. Maybe other MINI owners will know better. But I don't think it should do that, or else I'll be mighty displeased and decline the upcoming purchase!

 

Hmm with the 07's it felt like I just had to push up to get it into first.. and I'm a first time manual driver.. then down to get it into 2nd.. I did a kinda up diagonal right to get into 3rd.. felt fairly natural but then again I'm new to this and have only drive manual on an 06 and 07 when the dealer was teaching me :p

 

I think thlaxx is just stating that the most natural position of the shift handle is centered. There is a good reason for doing this. 6 speeds are a bit of a minefield. When downshifting from 5th to 4th gear you DO NOT want to accidentally choose 2nd. That's known as the money shift, and you'll know why when you release the clutch. I don't think thlaxx suggested that when shifting from 1st to 2nd that you need to have the stick center itself and then back over to the left again as you select 2nd.

Interesting to note that on some cars (BMW M3 being one of them) the entire longitudinally mounted engine and transmission can twist slightly against its motor mounts, making you a little more likely to miss a shift when driving in the extremes. Also interesting to note that the money shift is not frightened away by mere rev limiters. Those are soft input influencers that prevent your car from inducing higher revs through air/fuel and spark. But the money shift will chew up and spit out your pistons, rods, crank, transmission, clutch or driveshaft as soon as you let the clutch out as your car is pushing all of its weight geared through the transmission to accellerate your engine far beyond its rational rev limit. I was lucky to only lose my motor driven fan to the fan shroud when I encountered MS.

 

When out of gear my '06 MCS shifter settles between 3rd and 4th. To get to either 1/2 or 5/6, yes you have to push against resistance. This is normal. You want the shifter to settle in the same position each time to reduce confusion.

My only complaint is having R in same direction as 1st. Granted you have to push harder to get past 1/2 into R, but when I get in a hurry with a bit of adrenalin (surprised by a light for example) I don't feel the "bump" and sometimes push it into R rather than 1st. Hard to tell until you let out the clutch. Liked my Mazdas much better...right and down, away from first.

 

The rest position between 3 and 4 is pretty standard with manula transmissions here, almost all cars are the same. It just gives you a starting point so you know where the gear lever is and where to go for the gear you want.

 

Exactly, all normal 5 & 6 speeds I know of are this way. You have three columns. If it spring loaded to 1st/ 2nd you would have to feel for the 3/4 and 5/6 columns. The way they do it you don't need think about it once you've done it a bit.

 

However the spring shouldn't be so hard that you have to fight to get it into 2nd. I can't imagine it would be that way. Even the 5-speeds that I've driven were centered on the 3-4 path.

 

Wow thanks, i guess i just havnt driven enough manuals. The only manual ive driven before was an Audi A4 and i dont remeber it being that springloaded as much as the mini. But i can see how it would help sort confusion by always snapping it back to 3/4 when its in N.

 

All 6 speed manuals are supposed to be like this. It's held there by a "centering spring". This is to help you avoid mis-shifts. That 5th to 2nd will kill you every time. That spring serves a very distinct purpose. "Know the spring. Use the spring. Become the spring."
It centers you in the 3-4 gates. The 1-2 gates requires countering the spring force to the left and using the left side rail as a guide. The 5-6 gates requires countering the spring force to the right and using the right side rail as a guide. This is the most fundamental characteristic of a 6 sp. manual transmission. It shouldn't be a surprise.

 

It was to me. This is my first manual, and my first car so i was just checking why it was like that.