Which aftermarket clutch is better?
 

Hello to all,

I am looking for feedback on aftermarket clutches that people have installed. Please only leave feedback for MCS. Please specify which clutch manufacturer, clutch model, flywheel manufacturer, dual mass or single mass, and any mods you have with it.
Also could you please rate the clutch system you have installed verses OEM on a 0 -10 scale (0 worse than OEM - 10 better than OEM) in these areas:

-Drive-ability
-Performance
-Idle quality
-price of the parts vs. quality of the parts

also feel free to add any comments.



The reason I am asking this is because I have an 04 MCS with 133K miles on it and I have been forced to baby it for about 30K miles because I have the dreaded clutch noise. It sounds just like a throwout bearing, clutch engaged there is a marble sound. With the clutch disengaged the noise goes away. So my predicament is simply this, which clutch set-up to get.

Thanks ahead for the feedback.

I have a Clutchmaster Aluminum flywheel and FX400 sprung 6-puck.

Drive-ability - The clutch is lighter then stock has short engagement (somewhat on/off), coupled with the 11lb fly you need some rpm's from a stop or you stall out easy.

Performance - Its the level below clutchmaster twin plate clutches. It can handle abuse track, drag, power.

Idle quality - Since the flywheel is single mass and aluminum it chatters at idle which isn't a big deal.

Price/Quality - If your on a budget hands down the best. No expense spared go OS Giken.

sorry, stupid nob question. how much power is your MINI pushing? why not just go with a OE Replacement? My friend just had it done on his MINI about two months ago, cost wasn't that bad (well, the labor was, but not the parts themselves). Then again, he is only pushing 200hp.

250+whp

So you like combo though? Because I'm going to be running the exact same thing soon.

Yeah I love it

:thumbsup:

For stock or near stock cars I usualy recomend to our customer to just stick with the OEM clutch. It's comfortable, they are used to it and the cost is relatively not that bad.

From there it really becomes a question of what kind of power the car is making or is planed to make. That's when I would look in to ACT, Clutchmaster or OS. All three have there pros and cons and it i really up to the driver to decide what they want to sacrifice. ACT and Clutchmaster seem to deliver pretty well in performance and are inexpensive, but tend to give harder pedal feel and chatter at low RPM. This gets worse as you go to the more aggressive pressure plates and disc. The OS is also great for performance and has a relatively easier pedal in comparison to the amount of power it can handle. However it is noisy at idle and cost about twice as much as most clutch/flywheel combos. So to pretty much agree with what checkmate2006 said if your on a budget hands down ACT or CM. No expense spared go OS Giken.

RMW recommended and installed a Competition Clutch stage 4. when they rebuilt my engine.

I'm running 262 hp. and 207 ft. lb tq. Stock would probably be marginal, though certainly driveability of stock clutch is far superior to anything out there.

The Comp Clutch has short engagement stroke so it is hard to engage smoothly. Coupled with low bottom end track cam and light flywheel and it is very difficult to start up smoothly from a stop without revving the engine over 2500 rpm. Other than that, it is a solid and not a hint of slippage. I only have 1500 miles on it so time will tell regarding longevity.

thanks for the response mini power but you can loose the attitude, I wasn't looking for that, just answers that I am sure other people have wanted to know.





thanks to everyone else for the input. please keep it coming, just please no attitudes. keep the thread straight and to the point.

I have an OS Giken STR clutch and it's not fun on the street in traffic. Most of the cars I've owned have been manual trans so I'm no newbie to clutch engagement differences, but this thing pisses me off regularly. The engagement point is small, and it doesn't like it when you slip it (chatters horribly) so you can't start off perfectly smooth in traffic without paying close attention ALL the time. As it gets warmer the chatter gets worse.

Overall the noise isn't too bad (ringing sound of the floating pressure plate disc & the input shaft rattle of the trans), the quick engagement you can get used to (even if you don't like it and it's not friendly), but the chatter flat out sucks!!! If you fwy drive in traffic it will absolutely make you hate it. Luckily I don't get stuck in bumper to bumper traffic often, but when I do, I want to rip the OS out of the car & throw it in the trash...

I thought the OS Giken was supposed to be "the" clutch? Or are there different OS Giken clutches out there?

There is only one single plate from OS. First bad thing I've heard about it.

Actually there's another guy on the forum who put one in about the same time I did and says the same thing about it... If he'd done it earlier & I had read his review first I wouldn't have bought one.

The OS is not the absolute toughest clutch to drive in a Mini, but it certainly isn't "street friendly" if you do a lot of stop & go. I'm pushing some good torque & HP with my 1.8L so the choices were kind of slim.

Well I've used every clutch you can imagine and can say by far the OS Giken is the best. The downside is it isn't the best for a daily driver. It locks up pretty quick making it not as smooth, but OS has a new softer version coming available very soon that will be as reliable as the standard OS, but softer for the daily driver. Yes it's expensive but worth it.
If you want to stay cheap go with the stock, yours has already lasted 130k so it's not that bad.
and in 3rd place you could consider the Valeo kit which includes a single mass flywheel, clutch, pressure plate, and throw out bearing.

Ok, I didnt know people were that sensitive on this forum, wow. Just simply want to find out your hp level. My friends mini is only pushing 200 hp so the oem replacement makes sense for him. If you are making more than that, then you should consider OS clutch.

:sly:
hmmm. I didn't pick up on any attitude in your reply.

He did only want feed back on aftermarket clutches so maybe your OEM suggestion was misconstrued as sarcasm.


As far as keeping on target, I would consider the Valeo package from Way.:thumbsup:

A softer version OS? Interesting... is this just a different friction material?

Thanks for the info, but I have only had the car since 100K and not sure if it has had a clutch replacement, the carfax didn't show it. but it feels the stock one i drove at the dealership.
I didn't think the stock setup was that cheap, i was quoted $2000 for the clutch and flywheel. I was told no one anywhere near here is setup to turn the flywheel.


I read that wrong, I apologize, but I read the "Stupid nob question" as a dig.
I have a completely stock mini, for now, and want to have it ready to do upgrades. I don't want to have to replace the clutch again when I upgrade the engine.



I am only hesitant about the noise, I don't sit in traffic very often at all. The noise is really the only reason that I want to replace my clutch now, I hate hearing the sound of marbles and knowing that that is the precursor to the failure of the clutch.




So far the Clutchmasters 6 puck FX400 seems a little extreme, anyone have the fx200 or fx300?
Checkmate- do you have the clutchmaster flywheel with replaceable wear surface?

The OS Giken is the best but mainly for track use.

My next question is what is the lifespan of each clutch, yeah I know it has a lot to do with the driver but how many miles have you all been running with the clutch system you have?

Yes I have the clutchmaster aluminum flywheel.

You should drive one of these clutches (in a Mini) that's lighter, grabs more & chatters before you say you don't mind... remember stalling from a standing start is a possibility, especially if your car has "stockish" torque down low.

I have to replace my clutch kit and flywheel as well and I was quoted at $2300. I'm looking for a replacement as well, I think I may just replace it with the OEM but was also looking at the FX200 or FX300.

Great post since this is also helping my decision as well. :thumbsup:

I took 4wheels advice and found a friend of friend who has a 1st gen MCS with an FX300 setup, he had only put a Megan cat back, and M7 intake. I could not stand to drive it more then 5 minutes, the chatter and roughness was not for me. So thanks to all who replied and gave advice.

I was able to find two cheap alternatives to the dealer. First was on EBAY.
The other was on www.autopartswarehouse.com I just put the make model and submodel and then searched for LUK


I got mine from ebay because it was about $100 cheaper than the autopartswarehouse.

But good luck.