Good point. I did an HPDE day in a 2012 R56 Cooper and it pulled harder than my R50 did pre-tune, for sure.

 

there isn't a high enough octane to give you the kind of torque the OP is wishing for.

just have to be comfortable driving 3000 to 6000k

 

Don't be afraid of the redline. It's there for a reason; that's your top end of what the engine can safely handle! The ecu won't let you hurt the car. Since you don't have a turbo you'll need every rpm you can get. It'll be ok to whomp on the thing, I redlined my 87 celica regularly in every gear for Years with no issues, and sold her running just fine before I got my mini.

Next, get a high flow air filter, and run some injector cleaner through the engine. Redlining the car is OK people! It's GOOD for the car!

 

So the ecu will not let the motor go over red line?

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You got it.

 

Well that's good news because I was constantly looking at the tach to make sure she wasn't going to blow!

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Don't look and watch and feel how the ECU will shut you down when you hit redline.

 

The ECU shuts down fuel, spark, and adjusts timing to protect it from over reving..

 

Um, the speed limiter only works when accelerating, not when downshifting, yes?

 

Um... Correct.

You can over-rev the engine in a manual while downshifting.

$$$$$$ + a trail of parts on the road..

 

My Winnie had no trouble passing even when the speed limit was 80 (in Utah) but you do have to be willing to push them higher. I'm finding the joy in the higher rpms. Go out somewhere safe, and play with what your engine can do if you get serious about it! Plus, the sport button is your friend, changes your linear acceleration to progressive, so the pressure that you put on the pedal gets multiplied!

Correct me if I am wrong, please, but the way it was explained to me is that generally the accelerator is a 1:1 ratio, so your foot moves, and the pedal gives the same amount of gas as your movement. But in Sport, that ratio goes up exponentially with more pressure, so you get a greater response in acceleration. Not more POWER, but more RESPONSE. Is that right, oh Gurus?

Also, the ECU senses your driving style, and adjusts to it. So if you tend to start out with more zest, the engine control unit comes to expect that and deliver it. Some people clear their ECU before tracking their car, someone said, especially if it is a commuter car/daily driver. So the car starts again, with a different driving style, while tracking. Is that the case?

 

That's called the money shift lol
$$$$$$$$$$$$

 

Boom!!!
Your mini is no cellica.....

 

I redline my R50 all the time, and it's been very reliable for the 35,000KM I've been thrashing it around. Maybe the R56's are more fragile, but I doubt it. Nothing wrong with hitting the rev limiter... it's there for a reason. If it wasn't within safe tolerance, it would be at a lower RPM... right?

 

Not quite understanding this... You saying a mini engine is not as good as a 20+ year old Toyota engine design?

 

Love my mini but....
180,000 miles on one is an accomplishment....
270,000+ or even 350,000 miles is kinda the norm on a honda or Toyota with care....even thraehing....engines are a bit more mature.

 

Justa Cooper's do not suffer from carbon build up. They are not direct injection engines. At each oil change pour a bottle of Chevron Techron in the tank. Keeps the intae tract nice & clean.

Edit

I justa started reading this thread. Sorry if this has been covered a few times.

 

With small high reving engines you need to learn to keep them within thier power band for performance and as long as you don't go beyond the designed limits it doesn't hurt a thing.
Of course for just crusing down the highway for economy the highest gear and lowest rpm works best.
Wife used to have a little non-turbo PT Cruiser and it was a fun little car to drive, plenty of pep as long as you kept it in the power band and took trips through the rocky mountain pass's without a problem.

 

^ ^ this.


I don't see the point of going to redline once you pass the peak HP and Torque of the motor.

It's not a Honda..

 

Just because your audio system goes to "10" does not mean it sounds best... Or is good for it.

 

Cruzer214
I also have a manual transmission and almost 20,000 miles. I suggest you use a top-tier premimum gasoline as recommended by MINI. Also change the oil at 8,000 miles as MINI is now recommending. I keep the revs over 2,000 rpm for normal driving and over 4,000 rpm for spirited driving. I have never added any additives and my engine seems to respond very well. I rarely have to down shift to pass and have plenty of power when needed. The top tier gasolines and frequent oil changes should keep your engine clean and responsive.

Morris, 2011 MC, PW/B

 

I don't there are any top tier stations in New Jersey unfortunately. I drive approx 23,000 a year so the one good move I made was not getting an S. hopefully I didn't make a mistake in buying a mini, time will tell!

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Surely some of these brands are sold in New Jersey: http://www.toptiergas.com/retailers.html

 

My sound system goes to 50

I'm inclined to trust the engineers who determined where the safe rev limit for the engine is.