Try being told that you can get rid of your stupid honda civic and buy a mini cooper... NEXT YEAR!

AHHHHHHRRRRRGGGGGHHHH!

Hi from Minnesota!

I test drove a Mini Cooper S after we had an auto show here about two-three years ago. I LOVED IT. But, the wife was not a fan of us buying a new car then, so I wait.

Accord is a pile of junk and thats the wife's car, so we sell that to get a Nisan Murano. (Need a larger car for people/pets/larger things.) So I wait.

Recently she was talking about her financial plans for next year and indicated that we could probably get rid of the civic at that point. I was ecstatic! I have hated that civic ever since we bought it.

So I immediately rush out to the Mini dealer and test the S again. Yep. Still in love. But now the passion is fueled. I have this obsession with a car I cant own for another year. It's going to be a long torturous road.

In the mean time, I'm going to try to figure out a way to learn stick, because I feel like I should get the stick version. I have had auto cars all my life and dont even know anyone who has ever driven a stick. If I do get a stick its going to be a black or silver red roof factory JCW. (pending spousal approval.) Possibly the regular S in stick, but if we don't do the factory JCW, it will probably end up being an auto S in BRG with White roof.

I have never in my life had this much fun diving (or motoring, as they like to say) in a car. EVER. You go for the test drive and end up weaving in and out of traffic and taking corners at unheard of speeds, and pulling into the dealership with a ridiculous smile on your face.

I cant get enough! I spend hours on here pouring over information. I build at least one cooper a day on the mini site. I have book marked all the mini sites I can find... Its bordering on unhealthy. I have watched countless youtube videos of coopers racing Porsches on some track in Germany, and then googled tracks in MN to race around on.

So, sorry for the long winded introduction, but I just wanted to say HI!

(Oh and any tips for someone looking to learn to drive a stick would be helpful. I don't know anyone who can or who has one?!?)

 

Don't be in gear at a stop light (keep your foot off the clutch):
http://www.cartalk.com/content/colum...92/May/01.html

Learn to get rolling by slowly letting out the clutch without using any gas (on a flat surface):
http://www.cartalk.com/content/stick-shift/index.html (really http://www.cartalk.com/content/stick-shift/abc.html)


Is there a sticky topic for tips like this? If not, perhaps there should be.

 

If your test drives were with the 6AT and you really enjoyed them, why
worry about learning stick? (meaning learning just for the MINI)

 

Well, There is a lot of flak from people about driving an auto cooper. I have always wanted to learn how to drive a stick so I figured this would be the car to have. Plus the JCW looks pretty bad ***. If I go stick, I think its going to be a JCW, if not, Cooper S.

 

Go to a rental car place and rent a stick for the weekend. Just don't tell them that you don't know how to drive a stick. That's how my friend learned with his BMW 135i.

 

Welcome to the MINI obsession! ...but its likely that your wait is just the beginning...

After getting a MINI..the passion is often fueled even more...do start doing mods....(which are sometimes faced by wife dissapproval)

..then the mod sneaking begins... ..often starts with wheels.

J

 

We were just talking about this today. I bought my first car when I was 18(prior to that drove parents cars). I found a Datsun Pickup truck that I fell in love with, it had a cool camper top so I could haul my dogs with me and take it up to the mountains camping. It was a manual, so my brother drove it home for me. He had to leave right after we got home, so he quickly explained the basics and took off. I had to drive my new truck to work the next morning so in a cold sweat, I got in and started it up. It took me at least 20 minutes to back out of the driveway! I finally got out on to our road and spent the next 2-3 hours circling our very hilly neighborhood that had at least 2 stop signs I had to traverse every time around. Finally a cop pulled me over since someone called in to say the neighborhood was being cased . Anyway when I explained to the cop what I was doing he hopped in and rode around the block with me a few times and announced I had pretty much figured it out, I just needed practice. I left for work the next day an hour earlier than usual just in case, but I got there. By the end of that week I was a pro(well not really, but I was very comfortable). I've driven a stick ever since.
Like Torri91 said, rent one for a weekend and just get in and go. It will feel completely natural in no time.
Annette

 

Someone please tell me where to rent a stick shift! IIt seems america has given up on sticks! ive been trying to rent one to get comfortable for months.

 

My second MINI was purchased just last month from Motorwerks. They know how to do it right there...you should have a good experience -- once you get the green light.

Incidentally, it won't too long before Oxford will start retooling for the '12 production line. In my book, that's close enough to "next year" ... go for it!

 

that is exactly what I was thinking. . .many, if not ALL rentla places don't offer a manual transmission. The typical HERTZ/Enterprise, so on and so forth, can keep up with a lot of the maintenance as is, let alone people glazing clutches. . .

those that have motorcycle experience seem to get/understand, a manual a bit quicker than those who have had an automatic lifestyle.

The hardest part is getting out of first. Once rolling, it is all downhill, or uphill, but hell, you are moving!

Like mentioned prior, just get a feel for the clutch grabbing. It will grab regardless of you feeding it gas or not, and it is possible to idle into first(or even through all gears)without giving gas, at all.

Just be patient with you, and your car. Learn it's soul, and how it wants to go. Focus on the fundamentals and adapt from there.

 

Yeah, I have looked around at all of the "typical" car rental places, but they don't rent manuals for the obvious reasons that we are talking about here!

There are the "exotic" car rental places that rent sticks, but I feel like I would need someone that knows how to rent it get it off the lot and to a parking lot so we could practice. I don't think I would be comfortable learning to drive it off their lot. They might have an issue with that.

The other problem that I think I am going to run into is that the JCW version doesn't seem to be "stocked" at the dealer. I was talking to the MA about it and she said that when I was ready we could place an order for one. It kind of concerns me that I cant test drive one (assuming I learn how to drive a manual before then.) before I order one. I know its only going to be "better" than a MCS, but I question whether or not I need the power that car provides.

I have these visions of grandure about taking this thing to a track and racing around, but I don't know if thats realistic or not. The MCS seems to be a rocket on its own, and when I pressed that sport button for the first time, I had a cheek splitting grin for the next hour at least!

 

I thought this video series was well done and informative...
http://www.ehow.com/videos-on_462_dr...shift-car.html

This second video was interesting for a couple reasons. A) It's a MINI Cooper, B) He had two cameras going, one over the shoulder and a second focused on the pedals...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B59-pWSPoZU

...but he could use a few tips on public speaking (couldn't we all?).

 

Thanks.

I have seen those before, and thought that the second ones were pretty good. I get how to do it in theory, but in practice is another thing.

You have to "roll" off the clutch right? What happens if you let it go too quick?
The travel of the clutch seems really long based on the video. Is it really that far when you are doing it? Any time you are stopped at a light, you have to be sitting there with the clutch in and your foot on the brake and be in first gear? Is that correct? Most of it seems to make sense, but I feel like I would mess up the clutch and break at a light thing. Dunno why, just seems un-natural to me as a 16 year auto driver.

I am super excited to try to drive a stick for the first time.

We are going to San Francisco next month and I wanted to drive a Mini Cooper S Convertible, but the only place we found has the auto rented out for the week we are there. They have a manual, but Im not sure I could learn and be proficient in time. Plus the wife doesn't know how to drive one either, and has expressed zero interest in it. Kinda disappointed there aren't more places to rent coopers from.

Anyone know of any out there? (City Rent-a-Car was the only place I could find.)

 

I know of at least one person who got points off on their driving test because they put the car in neutral and took their foot off of the clutch at a stop light.

 

1) If you let the clutch out too fast the vehicle is likely to lurch, buck, and possibly stall. It's not the end of the world but it's a little embarrassing when it happens in traffic.

2) If you let the clutch out fast and punch the gas you're likely to burn rubber.

Both errors are covered here:
http://www.ehow.com/video_2327213_no...on_-video.html

I can't comment on what's considered too long.

There are multiple schools of thought on this (as phinzup points out). When it comes to clutch use there's what's safest, what puts the least amount of wear and tear on the car, and what uses the least amount of fuel.

Never forget that free advice is worth every cent.

All that said, the hills of San Fran probably aren't the best place to be driving stick for the first time.

Cheers.

 

Yeah I figured that would be the case anyway. It was just a desire to drive a cooper S on the HWY 1 just north of town, I heard its pretty twisty and a cool drive to take.

Still hoping for an auto S rental somewhere....

 

If thats how youre gonna drive it on a regular basis then do us all a favor and keep your civic!

 

Most dealers have to order the JCW. I test drove one a few years ago, but it was one that was ordered and then the buyer couldn't complete the deal for some reason so they were selling it off the lot. That's the only one I've ever seen that wasn't waiting for pickup. Most people that want the JCW have specific needs and will order theirs. If I'm paying that much more for the car, I'd do the same thing and order it exactly how I want it.

As to track days, have you done driving schools before? I've done about half a dozen and my '06 MCS with a few mods was way more than sufficient for my needs. Now, having said that, speed is not my goal, I was more interested in accuracy and hitting every turn just so. I made it to "C" group and was quite happy there. I never even came close to maxing out what El Kabong was capable of (as evidenced by one of my instructors who took me out in it to show me what a MINI could do). I just ordered my second MINI and was about to pull the trigger on the JCW, but decided I would be fine in another MCS and save the money to use on mods, which I know I'll want to do over time as my needs evolve. Plus I find it more fun to have something to research and mod.
Annette

 

What - No MINI-sota NAM peeps willing to take this wanne-bee out to drive a stick?



http://www.zipcar.com/

 

Thanks for the Zipcar suggestion. We just signed up. Hope to pick up a convertible cooper in SFO when we are there! (No S, but it'll still be way more fun than a mini van or some other avis crap.)

And as for the driving school/racing/blah blah blah,... yeah. I have never been to a performance driving school and I am probably getting way in over my head with that kinda talk, but Yes, I was interested in attending one to learn the skills necessary to take it out on the track. And I suppose you are right about more power than you really need. I just have never been in a JCW, so I dont know if its way better or not. I think I am mainly drawn to the exclusivity of the car. And the brakes. I like the brakes on it!