i have a similar question - more a newbie driver question than a particularly mini one i guess
my previous car was an old ford banger that drove when i passed my test. that had very clear speed ranges for each gear, you couldn't go over 30 in 2nd and you had to change into 4th at 45 etc (well, i exagerate a bit, but still...)
however, with my Cooper, i get the impression the boundaries between which gear you should be in at which speed are much less distinct. i've been experimenting (both intentionally and by accident) and it seems there's quite a wide range of speeds that you can be in either 1st or 2nd or 3rd, and also 2nd or 3rd or 4th, etc etc.
also discovered (by accident) the rec limiter kicks in when i got somewhere above 40mph in 1st, but it'll pull away in 2nd at 10mph too.
so my question is, assuming i'm not being an idiot and hitting the rev limiter all the time, does it do the gearbox/engine damage if i'm changing gear too early or too late?
cos it does sound very nice when you hit the 4000 rev mark and it belts off down the road at that point too
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