Hi everyone,

I am about at the point of bolting up my new clutch and flywheel (CM FX200 and the lightweight fw), but reading the boards it seems that there have been issues in the past. I am wondering if anyone is liking the setup and not having that many issues. The clutch is a hard job for the DIY'er and being a pilot, I am out of town at a week at a time, with only a few days off back at home.

Should I give this setup a shot? Take in mind it will be driven by the girlfriend too who is somewhat new to sticks... Or should I sell the clutch and just pick up an OEM one at the dealership to mount to the lightweight flywheel. I got 81k out of the clutch and it would have been more if my lady wasn't a noob. :P Thanks for all the feedback!

 

One thing to add...if they say it is the oem equivalent, good to go on the clutch...if it is listed as "higher" holding power it means it is a more agressive...and will have a shorter life.
As for the flywheel...the oem is a dual-mass...it dampens vibrations/harhness at idle...a single mass with give the car more vibration at idle...sonit comes down to money.....and one more variable here...the weight...the lightweight one is harder to drive, eassier to stall, especially in traffic, on hills, or with a grabby aftermarket clutch.
Many folks have said the oem is good for 90% the folks....
The Luk/Valeo has been said to be oem by a few, and I think LUK makes an aftermarket dual mass flywheel for a few bucks less than oem.
If it was just you, you might like the extra throttle response of the lightweight flywheel...but a gal might hate the extra skill it takes to prevent stalls and or the vibration at traffic lights...a clutch can make or brake a sale when it comes time to sell a car too!!
Doing the clutch install is a gutsy move, but take your time, and you have saved 1 full day of $$ shop labor!!

 

Well I did do an r & r of my engine about 8 months ago (Spun Bearings), so I felt pretty comfortable tearing into it.

I can't return the items I bought, so I'd probably need to sell if I went with another clutch combo. I really do want the light weight flywheel, I am just worried about the clutch slipping after a few months like some have reported. If I can get just 30-40k miles out of the clutch, I'd be happy. I don't plan on making my MINI have more than about 200hp in it's life, and when I was choosing a clutch, I saw nothing but rave reviews on this combo. I wish I would have looked a bit deeper (or if people would have posted updates to their review), I would have seen that mileage varied...

 

If the clutch you are looking at/have has standard friction materal, I think you are fine...if it has the Kevlar stuff, run away IMO.
The Kevlar friction materal can in some cases have a longer life, but---
If the clutch is slipped ( even once on a hill or bad start) and is partially glazed, it will NEVER recover...a regular clutch can recover most grip, a Kevlar will never recover. Also if a Kevlar clutch gets contaminated with a drop of oil or grease...it is now junk. Oil or grease on a motor?! Lol. For a perfectly clean motor, nonleaks, and a good driver, it might work...for everybody else standard clutch materal, either regular or extra holding if needed is better IMO. WayMotorWorks was using standard clutches on his racing car, till he got a sponsor from a highbend japaneese company...nice clutch, but $$$$ one. The standard cluthch will hold 210+ hp..even more look at modded jcw cars (factory 210 hp 2005+)with stock clutches!!

 

Break it in easy for 500 miles and you're good for a long time with a carbon/kevlar disc. Stalling is not an issue with the FX200.

PM returned Portedbuckle.

Jeremy

 

Thanks for the input. I'd love to take the chance on the fx200 right now, but as I won't be around all the time for the break in I may be looking at something else.. Anybody have experience with the fx100? Or how about a valeo clutch on a cm flywheel?

 

Or one more yet... Would ab ACT Clutch work on a CM Flywheel (I don't see why it wouldn't.). Thanks!

 

Just thought I'd add my experience since I have a CM FX300 clutch setup with their lightened flywheel. Drivability wise, I did not notice any detectable difference as far as clutch engagement, it seemed to engage just as well as the stock setup with no extra difficulty. Clutch effort, on the otherhand, much to my surprise, became significantly easier; the stock setup required more effort to depress the clutch compared to the CM setup.

My only annoyance is the chatter you get at idle, but I've come accustomed to it and just drown it out with music. I definitely recommend watching some of the various videos they have on Youtube that demonstrate the chatter, at least so you'll have an idea of what you'll be getting yourself into.

GotMINI

 

Thanks for the feedback. I think I'm going to try to use an organic clutch with the CM flywheel. If anyone has feedback on that, it'd be greatly appreciated

 

Update:

I've traded emails with Way and he has said that he no longer recommends clutch master products to any of his customers... So I have a few choices. Go with the 200, buy a fx100 and try it, or take a loss and buy an act clutch flywheel combo, or just get a valeo.

If there is anyone with experience on the fx100 or the act products, I'd love to hear. Thanks!

 

I've had the FX200 for about 28K miles and it's served its purpose well. There is a little clutch chatter, but it's not that bad. My vehicle is a daily driver and I've been happy with the FX200's performance. If your power output is stock or mildly modified, the FX200 will suit you well.

 

Thanks k5. Do you get on your car any? I only have a 15% pulley and am losing lots of performance being a mile high. How hard do you think it is to glaze the clutch?

I wonder how many folks are happy and haven't said anything vs the people that had issues. I'm just in a money crunch right now and if I can't get the company I bought the clutch and fw from to accept my return I may just put it in, break it in myself (not let the lady drive for the break in) and then give her a refresher on not slipping a clutch and go. If it lasts me a year, I wouldn't be too disappointed.

 

I had the FX100/flywheel put in maybe six months ago. I didn't want crazy grip for my daily driver but a little better performance is always welcome. It does not say a break in is required with this set up but I went easy-ish on it for the first 500 miles. It broke in nicely and works great. I burned it pretty good a few weeks ago on a really steep hill with a stop sign at the top and several cars in front of me. Stunk it up real good but it has not felt any different since (I'm still perfecting the e-brake trick ). Like my mech said before I left the shop with it, "You pretty much dump it and go!"

 

With 250+ on tap, it's hard not to get on it. The clutch has survived quite a bit of punishment over the last 2.5 years, and will be replaced very soon while doing some other mods. As far as "glazing" the clutch, I'm sure you could do that to just about any clutch depending on how you mistreat it. Drive it right and select the clutch for your engine's performance level and it should last quite a while. Since you only have a pulley, the FX200 will be fine for you.

I should have stepped up to an FX400 when I had the engine built, but I felt it would be too much for daily driving, so now I'm faced with another clutch replacement because the FX200 didn't like all the power. I also feel that a friend of mine may have taken some life out of the clutch with his poor driving habits.

 

Hey Ministrater,

I just got the car all back together and am now going easy ish on the FX100. So far I love the shifts, but the starts are tough. Did these get easier as the clutch broke in a bit? Right now, its very on and off. Thanks again for everyone's input.

 

Sounds like my first week with it. When mine was brand new it was a little tough keep from stalling (never did though ). I could feel the pucks engaging but this eventually mellowed and it became as easy as the original. Seems to have a real positive engagement. I had it installed May 7th. Six months and still runnin' strong. We'll see how she goes.

 

Thanks for the feedback. Its tough for me sometimes. I work on the car, drive it a bit, then have to go flying for 5 days. Plenty of time for the idle brain to drum up some worst case scenarios. I haven't stalled it yet, but the lady has. I love shifting the thing now, and it feels like it pulls better, the starts were just a bit sketchy. Reverse was tough too! :P I hope the kit lasts a while. If I could not have to do some work on the car for a while, it'd be a welcome change.

 

Well I just had my FX100 clutch/flywheel completely replaced. Failure occurred at approximately 25k. Lame. The sad part is I had the money at the time to go stock but thought I would replace it with a better performer and save some cash. If only I had researched this more before buying. Now I don't have the money for a stock replacement and instead went with a Valeo kit. Hopefully this one lasts longer. I will say the Valeo has a completely different softer stock feel. Compared to the Clutch Bastard it makes little to zero chatter and has a very smooth engagement. If you want longevity and are thinking about the CM. Think again.