I have added this mods to my MCS the last week:
Alta intercooler air diverter
Alta 15% pulley
Hotchkis front and rear sway bars
Braided stainless steel brake lines
Hawk ceramic brake pads (front and rear)
Dot-4 brake fluid
Brake caliper bushing stiffening kit
And im waiting for the dinan Intake

Now I want to get a new clutch but I dont know which one, Ive seen that there are from kevlar, ceramic, carbon and steel. Which one is the best for street driving and some racetrack driving?
What is the lightweight flywheel? should I get it?

Im also thinking on getting the LSD, but it is really expensive, Is it worth it? Whats the benefit of it?

I want to keep my car as simple as possibele, plus I live in Mexico so it is kind of dificult for me to get the car to USA to get an dyno tuning.

Suggestions are welcomed.

 

All that I can keep saying is call Jan @ RMW...
here you go...
www.revolutionmini.com
Great guy with unbeatable prices. I would go with a a FX-300 for those, but that is me...talk over everything with Jan(your plan on where you are going with your car etc...)

 

Raul,

First thing I would ask is how much you are looking to spend and what you are going to use your car for? Are you going to hit the track? How often?

For both the clutch and flywheel, on a daily driven car, I would recommend going more mild then wild. If you have a super stiff "stage 3" (using as a generic term for very stiff) clutch, it will make the car less enjoyable to use day to day. If you get a superlight flywheel, while your car will be very rev happy, it might also be harder to drive smooth. If you want to upgrade to an aftermarket clutch, maybe a mild one like a Clutchmasters stage 1. I know Ralph got one a few months back and from my experience, it felt very close to stock.

If you are going to track the car, an LSD is DEFINATELY worth the money. It will help you get more power to the pavement on the track and on the street. Its up to you if its worth money though.

If you want to keep the car as simple as possible, maybe try taking some driving schools. I don't know how much experience you've had, but I think all of us could benefit from some professional instruction and tips behind the wheel. Also, with spending the money improving your skill rather then the cars capabilities, you know you are getting more out of the car and you will be able to use your new skills in any car you drive.

 

if you search streetfire.net there was a good video explaining all the differences in clutchs. Sprung, unsprung, materials, and the whole "puck" thing.

 

This one?

PRI 2006 - StreetFire.net does a technical interview about how clutches work with Fidanza.

 

yes

 

Good video

 

I highly suggest a lightweight flywheel...throttel repsonse is insane and the pull to 7 is rediculous

 

Grate veideo guys thank you

Ill be using my car mostly for street driving, onece in a while Ill taike it to a recetrack, my conclusion with the video is that for a smoother driving I should get the kevlar disc, which is the stage 2, and no lightweight flywheel.
What do you think about that?

I was considering on taking some driving school but dont know which one, Im between the BMW ones and from a frind who is a profesional racer.

 

I say go with stg 3/lightweight flywheel....im 16 and drive in bumper to bumper traffic all day sometimes and its really not that hard at all

 

I'll disagree with this somewhat. Maybe the flatness of the Palmetto State helps, but here in hilly western PA, that combo is a bit of a PITA. I actually alter my drive to and from work to avoid the red light at the top of a steep hill. Otherwise it's bog vs wheelspin.

 

I highly recommend Clutch Master's FX300 with their lightweight flywheel. It's honestly no harder to drive compared to a stock setup, yet the engine is way more responsive. I keep hearing the whole "drive by wire is to blame for the lack of engine response"... trust me on this one... all that lag goes away with a lightweight flywheel... not to mention it makes driving much more fun! The only downside is you'll have to deal with a lot more drivetrain noise... especially the ticking that you'll hear when you're sitting in traffic at idle. I'm completely used to it myself, but I know a lot of my passengers often wonder what the hell is wrong. I just tell them the BB (BB meaning Blue Bomber, referring to the name of my MINI) is antsy to get a move on!

As far as the LSD... I'm loving mine and it's hella worth it if you plan on changing out your clutch setup anyways. Granted the cost of the LSD is prohibitive, but the install is cheap when you consider they have to take off the transmission anyways to get to the clutch. The additional labor involved in swapping the stock diff with an LSD is meaningless when you consider a majority of the labor is removing/reinstalling the transmission.

GotMINI

 

Actually, i believe that clicking noise you are hearing is from the LSd. There is a version of the quaife out there that is know for doing that.

 

No, it's the clutch/fw. Here's a great explanation:

http://www.uucmotorwerks.com/flywheel/gear_rattle.htm

 

Which one I should get? Clutch Masters FX300 or SPEC stage 2+, SPEC Lightweight flywheel or Fidenza Lightweight flywheel

 

7k? Is that all? Psh...

 

I have the Clutch Master FX300 and lightweight flywheel with an OBX LSD. Great combo at a great price. Great for daily driving and good for at least 300hp .

Longboard

 

Guys, I am new to the MINI modding game. I've owned an S for the past 3 years, but only as a daily commuter. It has some mild in house mods that we made, and thats about the extent of it.

I do have a pertinent question to this thread, however: I am looking into purchasing a new '07-'08 S and I have been piecing them together online. I see that a factory LSD is available from the factory. Does anyone have any experience with them? Would you go with it of choose an aftermarket piece?

 

I have the obx lsd, spec flywheel and 2+ clutch. It is streetable, but sometimes chatters and makes a grinding/squeel noise at take off (I think due to the mixed material, kevlar on one side, metalic on the other). My previous stage 2 clutch was much better. No noise and very littler chatter. It had great grip, I could feather it or launch it, or anywhere in between without complaint. The stage 2+ will launch or feather, but once you start riding it you can't just release it the rest of the way and go. It will keep slipping similar to stock. The stage 2 doesn't have this issue, it is very flexable and seemed to be invincible. It also didn't lose performance as it wore. I will go back to it for sure.

Bottom line, the flyhweel is great and no driveability issues for me or other drivers, but it does rattle. The ability to replace the surface is a nice feature and is much cheaper than replacing the stock flywheel. The obx is cheap and it works great too. Choose a clutch based on the engagement characteristics you like, not holding power. For me the stage 2 (kevlar disc) is perfect, even in the hills of San Francisco.

One last note, don't forget that aftermarket clutches will not last as long as stock with hard driving, though neither will stock. When talking to spec they thought that the 65k+ miles I got was very good. This was with trips to the drags and hard street driving.

 

i got clutchmaster FX300, Fidanza Flywheel, and the Quaife, easy to street... but starting from a hill is more difficult than stock of course

i keep hearing bad stuff from other boards about the OBX lsd... ive learned my lesson with cheap parts... if you are going with something that's going to cost you alot of labor to put in, then might as well get something that will last... im not going to pay someone to take my tranny apart again until the clutch needs a replacement

 

And with medium driving will the aftermarket cluch last more than the stock?

 

I think with a stage 1 or 2 it will, it's just that with the higher stages more abuse (slipping/riding) the clutch is required to get the car moving. If you are not good at it I could see how hills and traffic would wear it out quickly.
Although, my stock clutch barely lasted 35k before it would chatter and act goofey enough for me to replace it. In that case aftermarket lasted longer. Also note that I have never needed to replace a clutch on a any of my previous cars and one of those whent 230k on stock w/o issue.

Like I said, I got 65k from the spec stage 2. It wasn't broken, just a worn disc. I drove the snot out of it just to see what would happen. It lasted much longer than I expected.

 

I looked into that too. The only legetimate complaint I found was that on early honda versions the axle would get stuck (whe trying to remove them) because the unit was not machined to release the c-clip. That is not an issue with the mini. I made sure before the install. I found one questionable failulre where the preload gear broke, not the load bearing gears. Coincidently this unit was disassembled and and the user "improved" the order of the preload springs before installing it.

I can't guarantee it won't brake, but the internet complaints are 99% BS from the peanut gallery. My only concern would be the material used.

I think there are only two of using it and no problems yet.

 

I researched the OBX like crazy. I couldn't find anyone telling first hand accounts of how they broke one. I did find lots story tellers though.

At 399.00 for the OBX and $500.00 to install I couldn't pass it up. I have been pounding the snot out of it for 2000 miles with allot of Hp and have had no problems. I better go knock on some wood.

Longboard