Howdy All:

I am a first time user (minus first gear post) and I am very excited to be part of the board. I am hoping some of the MINI enthusiasts could lend a bit of advice on a clutch issue I have.

I bought an 06 MINI non-S with Getrag 5 speed gearbox. It only has 86K on it but I do drive the hell out of this thing. Its like no car I have ever owned, and I have owned quite a few!

Over the last few weeks, I have noticed what I thought was a hard spot developing on the flywheel. It chatters a bit when the clutch just starts to grab first gear from a stand still. I later learned that this thing has a dual mass flywheel. Im an ASE master tech, and have dealt with a lot of clutch jobs, but this is my first time with a dual mass unit. Every person I have ever known who had a dual mass flywheel had it on a Diesel and they were for crap! High failure rate seemed to be the biggest complaint.

My inclination is to replace the clutch and flywheel with a Valeo solid flywheel conversion, put a steel guide tube on for the throw out bearing and maybe a Helix short shifter while I have it all apart.

The problem is that, as I said earlier, I do drive this vehicle VERY aggressively. I would love to put a combination on this car that will complement my aggressive driving style, but not at the expense of the gearbox.

The other problem is that I cant seem to find a kit that specifies that it is for a Non-S, 5 speed Getrag equipped 06. Everything I am seeing is for S or for 6 speed and even a few that specified that they were for 5 speed Midlands transmission.

I also would love to know if it is customary in MINI world to replace the slave cylinder or if the stock unit is pretty resilient.

There are a few very popular clutch manufactures out there, but I am thinking single mass (solid) flywheel conversion. Im willing to sacrifice the comfort of a solid flywheel for reliability but not at the expense of the gearbox.

OK, Enough now, sorry for the bla bla bla. This is a new frontier for me and I am attempting to shorten the learning curve a bit if I can. Thanks for your time.

 

Toss the 5 speed midlands in the bin and get a 6 speed getrag unit. the 5 speed midlands is a failure waiting to happen.

PERIOD.

 

A base cooper does not have a dual mass flywheel

 

Well, I just found out from the guys at Detroit Tuned (and here) that this thing has a single mass wheel, that's great news!

Yea, I couldn't agree more on the 5 speed Midlands being a bucket of junk! Fortunately, ours is a Getrag 5 speed. I bit more hearty, but the gearing really sucks! Seems like it always needs a little more or a little less gear in every gear!

I am curious as to how involved it is to switch to a Getrag 6 speed and just which gearbox/clutch combination to use. I have driven a MINI with Getrag 6 and its gearing was much more conducive to my driving habits.

 

Yes the R50 no matter what 5spd trans it will have a solid steel flywheel. You can't put the Valeo R53 kit in it as it is the wrong size and wrong spline on the clutch to work in the R50.
Go with our OEM R50 clutch kit, we've had failures with the aftermarkets including the valeo. They make a good R53 conversion, but not the R50 clutch kit.