[Jeffy]

Is there a chip or program available that can cause my CVT to shift more quickly under full-throttle and also raise the full-throttle shift points? Here in the U.S., one needs all the accelleration that can be mustered, since most vehicles have as much as, or more accelleration than a non-S Cooper, and driving in big cities require the ability to sometimes out run someone just to change lanes or enter the freeway. I'm sorry if this is a question already addressed, but I haven't been on this site in a while, and most Mini's in the U.S. are "S" cars, which have plenty of power, not having this problem to address. Make no mistake, I love my '02 MC, but I can never have too much accelleration. Suffer me and my question and I will be grateful! -Jeffy.

[robble]

Can't answer the meat of your question but I have a tip or two for you.

When you are in D or SD the car starts off in the equivalent of 2nd gear. For maximum acceleration from a start you need to go into manual mode as you are coming to a stop and downshift into 1st. Do it early enough so the trans has time to shift down. Leave it in man mode then floor it. When you hit redline or very close to it pull the stick to the left back into D mode. This will give you the strongest shift into "2nd".

If you have it floored it should go all the way to redline in either D or SD before it shifts.

[Tio Barry]

It is worth a trip to the dealer to determine if the car has the latest software update for CVT shifting. Also check the sticky threads for driving technoques as Robble suggests. Yes the trans wil bog down just when your desire is to floor it but there are sweet spots in the shifting. I had an '03 and had to work it very carefully to get reasonable performance - but my '06 is really tractable and can be driven far more easily.

[nonsequitur]

Tio Barry brings up an interesting point about the differences between the mdel years, as the cars were very quietly but steadily improved. Much of the "objective data" in the site comes from the early passionate discussions about the merits of the car, the best way to drive it, etc. I don't remember the question ever being asked about differences in performance between model years.

On the basic question being asked here. Go into the draft FAQ thread for references to some of the early work done on this website regarding "shifting" (it doesn't) and the best performance techniques (it does).

That "shift" is really a software induced bump into the cabin to give the [not very good] impression of a typical torque-converter coupled geared automatic. There's better technique for more-effective and turbine-smooth acceleration with the CVT-equipped cars!