Weight cannot affect topspeed if your only looking at paper calculations that dont take real world factors into account.

Put four of your buddies in the Mini and see what v-max is. It will definately be lower. The more weight you add to a car the more friction your tires will create with the road, your wheel bearings will have more load, your drivetrain will have more load, etc. Physics do work in the real world, you just have to look at more than a couple of factors.

 

was to change one gear ratio to get lower revs in 6th, without affecting other performance metrics. You can't do that in our dual output shaft 6 speed, because each internal gear is used twice.

If one is really interested in what ratios are availabe, there are a couple of threads where people found the ratios some of the other cars use (and there are aftermarket sets as well).

Matt

 

 

Can someone point me to the gear ratios for the S vs MC on the R56?

 

Ok, I found this on the MINIusa.com web site.
Can someone help me convert this to total gearing for each gear, to compare the two?

MC:
Type: Getrag G225 6-speed
Gear Ratios 1-6: 3.214/1.792/1.194/.914/.784/.683
Reverse Ratio: 3.143
Final Drive Ratio: 4.353

MCS:
Type: Getrag G253 6-speed
Gear Ratios 1-6: 3.308/2.130/1.483/1.139/0.949/0.816
Reverse Ratio: 3.231
Final Drive Ratio: 3.647

 

I've hit over 150 in my car with my current mods. The limit on speed in the MINI isn't gearing, it's drag . You can either make it more aerodynamic, or add more power, but weight reduction won't do a damn thing .

 

Ok, I figure you multiply the gear ratio by the final drive ratio:

MC: 13.990542/7.800576/5.197482/3.978642/3.412752/2.973099
MCS: 12.064276/7.768110/5.408501/4.153933/3.461003/2.975952

Very interesting, if I might say.
The 6th gears of both are remarkably similar.

edit: To tell the truth, I'm more interested in high mileage at low rpms at highway speed. With my MC, I'm reading 2000 rpm at 50 mph as I recall.
The VW diesel crowd that I was recently part of used a .68 5th gear replacing, if I recall, a .75. I don't recall final drive. The diesel also has peak torque at low rpm similar to your MCS.

 

I know the Mini is drag limited... i think my little sister knows its drag limited, what I was saying is that with stock gearing and 195/55/16 tires the mini would top out at 162 @ 6700rpm IF it had enough power to get there

Anyways I thought we decided the point of this thread was lower rpm's at cruising speeds

 

I think it's pretty much been said that there isn't really a way to do that unless you want to go out and cut custom gears for the MCS.

 

While I don't understand the nuances of the design of the transmission, I bet you could substitute some parts of the MCS transmission to wind up with the .683 sixth of a MC, plus who knows what else. I guess I could replace the final drive of the MC with an MCS. All of this stuff would probably make them undrivable to some extent. A low reving 6th would be ideal for me. I was thinking the lower-reving and torquier Euro diesel model might have some possibilities. I'm just thinking out loud. The trans on the MC seems a little too close ratio for me and, like I said, I'd like a lower revving 6th.

 

Somebody on the mini2 forum had the gear ratio for the diesel (I didn't know the Clubman had different ratios): link

 

Ahh yes, but if you are flying at 150 mph in an 1800 lb car vs a 3300 lb car (weights at random here) you'll feel like you're jumping all over the road in the lighter one. More weight will feel more stable at higher speeds, and provide a smoother ride also.

....but that's not really what this thread is about.

 

After 18k miles I'm finding the close ratio trans on the Cooper a pain. Give me more space 'tween gears and a higher top gear. I bet the diesel would do it, but 'cause it has more torque a transplant might not be that good.