Big props out to Foreign Affairs Motors, down in Deerfield Beach FL for the install, they did it in 12 hours labor and so far everything seems perfect.

As for the Quaife... this is what a MINI is supposed to have out of the box. The straight line acceleration from a standstill is much better, turning starts are a breeze. No more getting anxious turning into traffic and overrevving/spinning one tire and going nowhere. As for hard cornering... oh hell yeah! No more inside wheel spin/pushing out of line as the outside tire bears all the cornering force. You point, the car goes. I am going to absolutely own the autocross course now... I am normally somehwere in the top 5 pax for the day, now I can feel an FTD in there somewhere.

Did the Mini Madness stage 2 clutch as well, while everything was apart. Like it a lot because it is much like stock in feel. Similiar pedal pressure, grab, and ease of slipping to feather a launch. I had an Exedy Hyper-single on my Evo 8, that burned me out on performance ON/OFF clutches quick. I'll take near stock feel any day of the week.

So, now I have a MINI the way I like it, after only ~$2800 parts and labor... sad that it didn't come that way stock. Far as I am concerned, from my normal very aggressive daily driving, it is definitely worth it though.

I highly recommend an LSD if you have the means. :smile:

 

Congrats, sounds nice. Does that let you stay in STX?

 

Yep, FWD vehicles can add an LSD in STX. Almost mandatory to be truly competitive.

 

>>Congrats, sounds nice. Does that let you stay in STX?

I think he will find that the stage 2 clutch replacement is not STX legal as it must meet the stock class rule section 13 that says that "the replacement parts must be essentially identical to the standard parts (e.g. have the same type, size hardness, weight, material etc.).... and provide no performance benefit."

 

Likely that is true, however; if you are a rules lawyer you can pretty much bounce any car you choose out of the class it is in with nitnoid rulings. That is the joy of the SCCA, with its many and continual rulings and amendments and supplements etc. One of the big reasons that competing organizations such as NASA are finding fertile ground to grow, the sheer quantity of fertilizer available.

The clutch provides no performance benefit, it is merely more durable than the stock one, and pedal feel and engagement are indistinguishable from stock. So I will continue to run in STX.

 

All organizing bodies have rules, if you choose not to follow them you risk paying the price. How would you feel if you were being beat by someone you knew was cheating? Try thinking about other people and get in the class you belong in. Mini MiniMadness apparently feels differently about the stage two clutch than you do. And did you replace the O.E. clutch because you wore it out? While on the Subject of illegal items I think you will find that the RDR control arms you have are also illegal. NOT COOL

_________________
2001 & 2002 SCCA, STS, Pro Solo National Champion,

2003 STX, Solo 2 Nationals, Me 8th, codriver 2nd

 

ticked off commentary deleted

Not really going to get into a pissing match here regards interpreting the rules. If you have an issue, protest. I'll deal with it then.

 

While ou had the bottom apart, why didn't you install a lighter flywheel?

 

Lighter flywheels allow your motor to rev up quicker, but there is a loss in off the line launching torque. The kinetic energy stored in the moving flywheel is what helps to get your car moving when you release the clutch. So a lighter flywheel would "store" less energy, making for more difficult fast launches (at least with the little torque our motors make). Quicker revving would be good for open track or high horsepower high RPM setups, but suck for daily use and autocrossing. So my flywheel is stock, and feels pretty good to me with both tires hooking now.

Do a search on the flywheel issue, there was a good post on someone installing one and being very disappointd with the results.

 

Nice feedback 2 cool! Any more gear noise coming from the tranny with the ls unit?

 

2Cool

Could you comment on how a lsd is for normal day to day driving.
I ask because I have heard the a Quaife works great on the track but it makes regular motoring not much fun.

Thanks,
Jack

_________________

ly/b mcs all packages leather anthricite dob 11/23/2002

 

Well, I guess you join one of these forums before actually buying the car is to learn about them. I just assumed that the MCS, especially in JCW trim, comes with some sort of limited slip differential. You mean they have all that electronic stability stuff as an option and it's running an open differential?

Is Quaife the only option, or is it just considered to be the best?

 

The Quaife is transparent in normal use, you can't even tell it is in the car. It is only apparent when you accelerate from a stop, especially into a turn like entering traffic. Then you have both wheels pulling you the way your wheel is turned, not just one steering and one spinning. On hard low speed (1st and 2nd gear) turns it feels much better, both wheels are getting traction so you can make a tighter turn under acceleration. Driving easy and straight you cannot tell the differential is in the car. There is slightly more tranny noise, but it seems to be more a function of the new clutch than the diff.

No MCS comes with a limited slip, not even the JCW kit. For most people it isn't a real requirement, only for those who intend to push the limits of the car.

So far as I know, the current options for aftermarket are the Quaife (best choice so far), the Phantom Grip (cheap and lots of reported issues), and now a Torsen (check out Grassroots Motorsports on their project MCS). The torsen is new and untested, plus no price reported as yet, but it should equal the Quaife for performance.

 

2 cool...what made you choose the Stage 2 clutch as opposed to the other option available (and I'm not sure what those are)? This is something I've been thinking about (that and the lsd) and so am quite interested...and would think of doing all those together...but a lot more research needed first

L