Hey All,

I'm still learning to drive the mini (and also relearning to drive a manual in general)

There is a steep hill on my route home, i've avoided it a few times, but last night I tried driving up it to see how it went.

The limit on the piece of road is 80km/hr, so i started out at the bottom of the hill in 4th going about 80, maybe a little more since i figured i'd need a run up...

Once the car got down to i guess 50 or so, i changed down to 3rd and continued waving people past till i got to the top.... i was going around 30 by the top

Should i be changing down the 3rd earlier on? some of the lads a work said they would, but none of them drive minis (or even cars that are similar, a 1990's Mazda Astina is about as close as it gets)

Its a tired old 998 in the car, so that may also contribute to the problem...

How far can I stretch 2nd and 3rd gear speed wise? (i don't have a tacho, so i've only got speed and engine noise to go off)

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1975 Hairy Lime/White Clubby
Build Thread: http://www.ausmini.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=80657

when im going up big hills i try to maintain similar speed, a 998 loves to spin so changing up earlier is no drama... a tired engine certainly doesnt help, but then again, it just depends on how it is driven! keep practicing, you'll eventually get the knack for it

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Here am I sitting in my tin can far above the Moon
Planet Earth is blue and there's nothing I can do...



“A turbo: exhaust gasses go into the turbocharger and spin it, witchcraft happens and you go faster.” - Jeremy Clarkson

Ring its neck. The little 998s need a good run-up and once they drop down the rev range its hard to get it back, so try to keep the revs up. Even in my Moke with its 1275, I drop it back to 3rd nice and early to keep it pulling on the hills around here.

Tim

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1951 Morris Commercial J Type Van
1955 BSA C11G
1961 Morris Mini Traveller
1969 Triumph TR6R
1977 Leyland Moke Californian

As a general rule in most cars, I change down to 3rd at 60kph.

The way I see it, in my 998 with a 3.44 diff, I'm sitting at about 3750rpm at 100. In 3rd I will be at 3750rpm at about 65kph - so change down at 65!

Keep in mind that changing down earlier is what wears out gearboxes - and the gearbox on the mini is a weak link. The 2nd gear synchros tend to wear early from people downshifting too early.

Is this a problem with 1098's aswell ? as ive read they have good torque , or is it just a usual thing with older cars/motors in general ? ....... i cant seem to remeber all those years ago " 30 years " what it was like to drive cars that werent V8's.

Cheers Bill

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Project Pickles is ALIVE!!!!! Click Here!
Success is so much sweeter after the struggle

Assuming a 3.765 diff ratio, you can do about 60 in 2nd, and 90 in 3rd without any major stress - that's getting to around 5000rpm, which is fine.

Your car probably has a standard carb on it, so will be running out of puff anywhere over that and torque will be tailing off

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did I tell you that I won a trophy?

It's just old cars in general. Remember, the cooper s was quite fast for it's time. 0-100 still took around 10 seconds. Any family car will do that now. My brother has a 3.7L Valiant AP5 from 1964. Top speed from the factory was about 150km/h, which any 1.5L car can now do easily. Old engines weren't pushed as far as they could have been for power back then.

You can squeeze a lot more out of a 998 - a new exhaust with extractors, better flowing inlet manifold and air filter, an electronic ignition module and a good tune will make it feel like a different car without spending too much. There's a good thread in the A/A+ Series Modifications section of this forum which is worth a look if you need more power.

Solution: Get a BIG 1275 and then you can do it at 80km/h in ANY gear






Disclaimer: My post doesn't actually reflect what I mean or have any sort of common sense attached to it and I claim no responsibility if you choose to follow such actions suggested.

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Lillee - 1969 Morris Mini K

1st gear might be a bit risky though

There's a few big hills around Hobart I try to navigate around instead of going up them but when I do go up them I normally drop her back to 3rd doing about 80kmh she loves revving (998 with 1 1/2inch carb), so I used to just boot it in 3rd at the bottom of every hill.
Gave her a good tune up and adjusted timing etc and now the hills I went back to 3rd on I just stomp on it in 4th and she pulls up them doing 80kmh!
So a good tune will help aswell!! My solution is in progress, 1293 and a weber!

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2000 Holden Rodeo TD - The Daily
1998 JDM Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution V -The Weekender
1977 Leyland Mini 998cc, 1293cc in the works - The project
1977 Leyland Mini Van - Sold
1966 Morris Mini Deluxe - Sold
2004 MINI Cooper S Chilli - Sold

My 1098 usually needs second by the top of a big hill.

30 in third up any incline at all would be a struggle.

my 1275 I get 130 from 3rd.

When going up a hill and I don't want to slow I change from 4th to 3rd when I get around 80 going up a hill (A big hill )

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Thanks all, I gave it another go tonight using 3rd a lot earlier and it was a much better experience.

4th seems fairly weak up any kinda of incline, there's certainly no chance I could get up these hills in 4th like speedwell can.

Some more practice behind the wheel and a tuneup by someone who knows what they doing will help no end

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1975 Hairy Lime/White Clubby
Build Thread: http://www.ausmini.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=80657

The 1100 in the MG is no fireball either. I found I had to think about the road a lot further in advance,
even just things like entering roundabouts.
The trick to going up hills was to make sure the revs were up so you could feel that nice buzzing
coming through the firewall and then do your best to keep it there as you go down the gears.
It became a lot of fun and a challenge when I was using it as a daily commuter.