adener

Thanks for the replies Yeah, there's nothing to worry about. It's gotta be the kickdown. I forced the car into it in Auto, and it upshifts after the kickdown on its own. I was in manual the first time it happened, so I freaked out a little! Edge, I find myself agreeing with you 100% on the "control" aspect of automatics. I got sick of it and that's why I started driving with the pedals. The only thing a little iffy with the Getrag is that there's a half a second delay on your shifts. Considering how much I don't like dealing with a clutch though, I'll gladly take that over a full on manual. Just my personal choice Quitta: I know *exactly* what you're referring to The automatic transmission, I find, has a tendency to shift too late for everyday driving. It also attempts to avoid downshifting for some unexplicable reason. It causes the car to stutter and stall in acceleration, if you had to slow down in traffic previously. You end up having to really lean on the gas to force a downshift. Pedals really take care of all these problems. That much I can tell you. I'm new to it myself, so I'll just tell you how I taught myself the pedal shifting I turned the radio off, pulled down the rear seats to get exhaust noise, rolled down the windows and drove for 40 miles. I shifted on the sound of the engine, and started to line that up with gear intervals on the tachometer. I find that Mini is very cooperative on this! I'm not experienced in it by any means, but it's pretty apparent even to an absolute newbie when the car is roaring with power, and when it's screeching for you to shift up. It's not difficult to get a hang of it after a few tries.

I did this again, this time on purpose and driving it auto. It's exactly what you guys said it is. Sort of a hidden "ZOOM!" button at the end of the pedal. Apparently the reason why Scoop hit the redline the first time was because I was in Getrag and didn't shift it up fast enough (coz I didn't expect it) when it was autoshifted down. As far as the transmission goes, I cant say I like the automatic too much. It has a tendency to shift way higher than it needs to in everyday driving conditions. I'm sure it'll shift better than me when I have to accelerate to max speed but that's obviously never the case. That said, my opinions of the Getrag drastically changed when I actually started driving it "manual". It's extremely responsive. Steering wheel pedals are so convenient, and it gives me pretty much all the control of a straight up manual without any of the clutch hassle. Then again, my stint with full on manual transmission was a very brief one when I was learning to drive, and it certainly wasn't on a Mini. So I'm not exactly qualified to make a solid comparison between the two.

So, my Mini decided to surprise me today on the highway. I'm still new to these cars, loving every second of it, but still have a lot to learn about the details. The Scoop came with a 6 speed getrag. I started driving automatic but in the past 2 weeks, I really got into driving it "manual" (well, ya know, as manual as getrag can be). It even has the shift pedals on the steering wheel. Loads of fun. Can also squeeze out another 2 mpg out of the car, since the automatic has a tendency to shift at 3500-4000rpm; way too high for everyday traffic. Anyways, coasting on I70 at 6th gear, the traffic slowed down and I dipped below 2000rpm and Scoop just sort of slumped. I got lazy and didn't shift below to accelerate. I just floored the gas pedal instead. Much to my surprise, the pedal didn't stop when it hit the bottom. There was some sort of a "button" there that clicked. Scoop shifted itself to 3rd gear automatically and pushed the engine to the redline. I'm not sure if it was supposed to do something different and me not driving it automatic messed something up. Either way, it was a little scary to have that happen in relatively heavy traffic! :laugh: I'm still wondering what that was. Anyone have any idea?

I'm an Aerospace Engineer in training myself (MechE with AE minor since UMBC doesnt offer AE major). I suppose it helps that the Mini logo closely resembles pilot wings

Just googled it. It definitely was a Space Blue. I'm on my first Mini. Still yet to get attuned to the finer details on these cars. I'm trying though! Spotted a 3rd Mini when I was walking to my car. Again, in the UMBC campus. 2007+ MSC, Chili Red with black bonnet stripes and roof. Had custom wheels on it and the MD license plate was screwed on top of an European one. Was an interesting sight.

Saw a MINI on Ridge Road this morning, at 8am, going South - right past the speed camera in Damascus. Indi Blue (I think - it sure was darker than my Hyper Blue) with white roof and off-center white bonnet stripes. I don't remember seeing a hood scoop but it might still be an S. Waved at it too but in between the headlights and the heavy downpour, I couldn't spot the driver. Also, saw an MSC at the UMBC faculty parking lot today. Darkest blue I've seen on a Mini (no idea what it's called). Body colored roof, no stripes. Didn't have it with me at the time but if it's still there whem I'm walking out, I'll card it! Curious if the owners are DCMM members..