Good morning all. My name is Paul. I just purchased my first Mini and I love it. I purchased a 2009 from a Mini dealership in NJ and drove it all the way back home to Howard Beach, Queens NY. That was a task because I have NEVER driven a car with a manual transmission. Before you start saying "Holy Crap" I probably don't have a transmission left, let me say that I am 54 years old and have been driving Harley's all my life so I knew the premise behind a clutch. I have a lot of questions about this car that I will try to post in the appropriate forum but for this post and while I am on the subject of the manual transmission, any suggestions on the proper way to shift, what not to do, what to do and the reason why you are giving me that suggestion would be great. Thanks and look forward to connecting with many of you.

 

Welcome Paul. Driving a standard really isn't too difficult and I really have to give you a major thumbs up for driving one in NYC! Welcome to the forums and to MINIlife in general!

Al.

 

Welcome Paul and Congratulations! You will not regret picking up a Mini, they are an absolute blast to drive and will put a smile on your face each time you seat up.

Is your Mini a standard Cooper or Cooper S? Five speed or six speed?

I've ridden Harley's my whole life too. I just sold my 2004 FatBoy. Like on a bike the timing of your transition from clutch engagement to throttle/accelerator is really crucial for clutch life. You want to avoid too much in the way of slipping or sliding the clutch, just my driving preference.

Drive the wheels off of it and enjoy!

 

It's nice hearing someone else taking the plunge on an MT. When I first drove my MCS from Morristown, NJ to the DC area, it was only my second time driving stick, the first time being the week prior. Eight months later (and having very little lessons on driving MT), my car still runs fine, so I don't think you'll have any trouble perfecting your technique, especially since you already know the basic concept. The best thing to do now is to drive as much as possible in a place with as little traffic as possible to get more comfortable behind the wheel. An abandoned shopping mall or empty parking lot is ideal and you may even be okay just driving around when most people are off the roads, like late at night or at midday.

Below are a few threads that have a plethora of useful information that would be good to browse through.

How To Drive A Manual (or How To Preserve Your Clutch)

New to a manual - how to come to a complete stop?

Learning to drive manual

There is no right way to drive stick, but there are a lot of different techniques and finding the most comfortable ones can not only make driving easier, but can also save your clutch. Good luck and keep motoring!

 

I've been driving Manual transmission for about 15 years, and when I bought my MINI a month ago, everyone asked me why I didn't get an automatic. It seems manual transmission is just disappearing these days. So sad.

Here's a few tips off the top of my head, sorry if I'm long-winded but I'm not good at explaining MT, I never actually talked about it before. It's one of those things that just comes natural when you do it, but hard to explain when someone asks

- Don't be embarrassed to use the handbrake when you're stopped on a hill. You'll hear people say you should be able to balance your car on a hill without using the handbrake, just play with the clutch and gas, etc... well, that's just the automatic drivers talking! If you come to a red light and you're on a hill, especially with passengers and/or heavy cargo in the trunk, just pull the handbrake and rest the car. When it's time to go, release the clutch and press the gas as you normally would, then you'll feel the car start to move, it might even lift up a bit... then release the handbrake. It's safer, easier on your clutch, and a lot of professional race drivers rely on the handbrake as an essential part of their driving maneuvers, it's not just for parking your car

- If you've ever heard the term 'riding your clutch' that means when the clutch is pressed in partially. If your foot is off the clutch or it's pushed all the way to the floor, you're not riding the clutch and will cause no damage to it. But on a hill, if your foot is tapping the clutch so your car doesn't roll backwards, that's riding the clutch. You'll see other drivers doing it. The car is rocking back and forth at a red light. It's OK on slight hills, but on a steep hill, that's like using the clutch as a brake, to hold the car back, and then you press the gas and let out the clutch improperly, and you could put some wear on the clutch. You can 'ride the clutch' without damaging anything, but it takes practice, and it'll come naturally. But if you decide to just ride the clutch on hills, pressing the gas and just letting your foot off the clutch any old way, as many drivers do, that'll land your car in the garage a few years down the line for clutch repairs. A good way to learn is find a place with no traffic - maybe a neighborhood - and stop the car on a hill. Practice taking off using the handbrake, and if you want, practice using the clutch to balance the car on the hill, and take off without using the handbrake at all - but experiment with the clutch and gas and 'feel' the car and try to take off smoothly. Also helpful to have more weight in the car, like passengers, and then practice on a hill. If you can balance the car on the hill with just the clutch, that's perfect, now press the gas and get the car moving smoothly. If you're having to play with the gas pedal and the clutch to keep the car from rolling down the hill, then the hill could be too steep, the car might have too much weight, or you just need more practice. It's also a waste of gas, so I say use the handbrake, but it's good to practice to give you a boost in confidence. If you have any fears about driving MT, just find quiet places to practice in your spare time

- You'll slowly learn how to drive conservatively and save gas by shifting at lower rpms, or make the car fly by shifting at higher rpms. It'll come to you as you learn to 'feel' the car, through the sound of the engine, the feel of the clutch and gas pedals - you'll pick it up over a short time. Probably in a month or two, you'll be a natural! You can drive the MINI conservatively and the engine will be nice and quiet, but in a split second, you can start shifting more agressively, and the engine will really sound sporty, and the car will really open up and you will feel the power as you barrel down the road. A good example is how I sometimes drive: The light turns green, so in first gear I step on the gas. The car flies, the engine screams, I throw it into second gear. The MINI leaps forward and I quickly shift to third, and I'm at the 45MPH speed limit. So I go straight from third gear to fifth, and immediately, the engine is quiet, the car is cruising down the road like a tiny butterfly, the monster has disappeared! Of course driving agressively like this can lead to clutch damage if done improperly, but if done properly, the only thing it will do is put a smile on your face, and that it will

Also, some old cars I had, you could throw the car in neutral as you coast down the highway, foot off the clutch, and the car would just keep rolling. I haven't tried it on my MINI - not something I would normally do anyway - but I think most modern cars will die out if the stick is in neutral and you're rolling down the road without holding the clutch in. Just pointing it out in case you thought about doing it, which most people do think about when they drive manual cars. It might work on the MINI, but probably not, so keep your foot on the clutch when you're in neutral

Another thing, and this is very minor, but a lot of drivers will put one hand on the steering wheel, and keep their other hand on the shifter. It's a good practice to always keep both hands on the steering wheel. Shift, then hand back on the wheel. Of course you could say it's good for safe driving, but the real reason as a MINI owner is because if you're going to start zipping through traffic, taking sharp turns and other daredevil things that the MINI can do effortlessly, you'll need both hands to maneuver that wheel. It's very easy to lose control when driving MT agressively if you only have one hand on the wheel and that's for any car with MT. But driving a MINI really brings out the mischevious driver in most of us, so two hands on the wheel is a good practice!

Remember to throw the car in first gear (or reverse but that scares me) when you park the car, and throw it in neutral, put your feet on clutch and brake when you start the car to be safe.

Can't think of anything else off the top of my head, but honestly I have never had more fun than driving my manual transmission MINI. It's like the most fun car to drive, and it's just over the top with manual transmission. I actually smile at least once during my daily drives between work and home. Hope you have lots of fun with your car, MiniShield!

 

Thanks guys for all your responses:

fastzombie: It is a standard Cooper.

Pure87: Those threads were great. Spent hours reading through them because they also had links in them.

keal: Thanks for taking the time and explaining it all to me.

After thoroughly reading through it all all i did definitely pick up a lot of tips and suggestions. I also did find out that there there were a lot of people saying the same things so I would try to use those sugeestions. I know it will take some time. Just hope I don't burn out the clutch in the meantime. On that note: This car is a 2009 and it has over 85K miles on it already so I don't know how long this clutch will last. How do you know when your clutch is wearing out?

I love driving this car so much that I wish my round trip to work was longer ( olny 9 miles round trip)

 

MiniShield, you can drive a car for over a decade and never have clutch problems, so just know that it can last the lifespan of a car. If it starts to wear out, you will usually notice that the shifter will go into gear a lot easier - sort of a softer, more buttery feel than usual. Also when you take off from a parked position, the car will start moving a little slower or softer than usual. These things happen gradually over time, usually years, so if you're worried about it, ask a mechanic to inspect the clutch system when you take your MINI in for a regular maintenance job. You can drive a car with a worn out clutch with no worries, but you won't be able to pull out into traffic in a quick, zippy fashion so you'll tend to drive slower and safer.

The only real way to break a clutch system is if you force the shifter into gear against its will over and over, or if you learn how to burn rubber and you do it all the time

 

And, unlike your Harley, don't ride the clutch (friction zone, if you will).