White Roof Radio #177
After out earlier Skype blow out, we ended up recording on Saturday morning instead. Todd at WRR Headquarters, db at WRR Studios West (that has a nice sound I think) and Gabe from the Indiana Toll Road in his R56.
There was some great news this week from Motoringfile, so if you didn’t get the chance to catch it all, don’t forget to go back and get caught up! Of course, the easiest way to do that is to subscribe to the RSS feed or via email. Follow that link to learn how!
Be sure to check back tomorrow when we talk about our week with the MINIs and top 5 mods for the R53, among other things.
Woofcast #177: [audio:http://www.whiteroofradio.com/podcasts/woof177.mp3]
I think a Dark Silver with a silver roof and silver C Clubman will be the one of the best colored specs.
Gabe, you broke my heart when I heard about the M3 you parked next to.
This is why some people should drive a automatic.
<a href="http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=79e_1187577635" rel="nofollow ugc">http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=79e_1187577635</a>
Comment on the discussion on Automatic Vs Manual transmission.
Wife and I are considering the Automatic mostly because of the (seemingly) many problems reported on the Mini forums about the manual tramsmission. 3rd to 2nd down shift noise, transmission & clutch and flywheel replacement(s), de-glazing procedures to keep the clutch from chattering. If the Mini Forum traffic is believed then the 2007 R-56 will have black marks in Consumer Report concerning the Manual transmission. (Sited Consumer Report only to make a point) If there is better data about the failure rate of the R56 w/manual transmission (clutch et al) I would appreciate comments or a source. I prefer a manual shift but can not endure the drivetrain failures that seem a high probability with the manual R56.
>Wife and I are considering the Automatic mostly because of the (seemingly) many problems reported on the Mini forums about the manual tramsmission.
The (huge) issue with turning to forums for insight is that you only hear about the problems. You don’t hear from the 99.5% of the people who have nothing to report, just the .5% out there that are dealing with issues. Are there problems with the manual transmission? I’ve personally heard from someone who said he knew someone with an issue and that was with a January build car.
My car has been flawless. The other two R56s I’ve spent two weeks with have been flawless. Everyone I know who owns one (with the manual) have had no issues. I’m not sure I would take everything from a forum site as gospel.
My R56 has a great manual transmission. I’ve followed the troubles on NAM with some concern, but Gabe is exactly right that forums accentuate problems. It seems like those with transmission troubles have also had them solved under warranty without an enormous inconvenience.
I have known of at least 2 other R56 S owners that have had their manual gearboxes and clutches replaced under warranty in our local club.
So these problems are not really isolated cases. My suggestion is to keep your eyes peeled and try to determine whether these transmission problems are contained within a specific production build date.
Someone over at MINI2.com just recently had MINIUSA replace his troublesome R56 S manual with a brand new R56 S automatic.
Perhaps not all R56 S manual owners will experience issues with the transmission, but the odds of that happening remain very high.
Also keep in mind that the Clutch kits and flywheel assemblies are made and supplied by a German company called LuK. These flywheels and clutch kits are notorious for problems and poor durability. Some of the issues experienced by R53 S manual transmission owners have passed onto the R56 S. Since the new R56 S has more torque, the same defective clutch components are experiencing more stress than ever before.
It seems to me that MINI needs to actively pursue this quality control problem with LuK. For the record, most other vehicles equipped with LuK Clutches and flywheels (Like the 6-speed GMC/Chevy full size diesel pickup trucks) are experiencing similar pains of MINI owners.
I have a ’05 R53 S and my LuK factory clutch and flywheel both had to be replaced at 25K miles. The dealer deemed the clutch assembly to be defective and I was provided with a new one under warranty. Lets see how long this new “revised” LuK clutch kit will last.
My R53 S Getrag 6-speed gearbox has been flawless otherwise.
How nice… My last post in this thread was deleted.
I have a week 4 – January 07 – build R56 S 6 speed with 4500 miles on it. Not a problem with the transmission. A closer read of NAM will show that the early builds that had this problem were associated with the LSD. This is not a good reason to switch to an automatic if you are inclined to get a manual.