What days in Jan?
Might give me an excuse to drive to VIR

 

whats the average mileage for theclutch to die? put another way: how long is the clutch designed to last if treated propertly etc?

 

THSCC first event is Feb 10-11 and NASA is FEB 23-24-25

 

Mine still works good at 150K but of course I do not abuse the car

 

So which company makes the "best" light flywheel? Which one is the quietest and comes closest to eliminating the "chatter" or "rough idle" sound?

Thanks

 

heh... if you ask me... no "light" flywheel will reduce the chatter better than just leaving the stock dual-mass flywheel, unless of course you want to find someone who makes an even heavier one! I currently have the M7 segmented flywheel installed and it is one of the "heavier" lightened flywheels on the market currently. I actually wasn't sure what to expect when I had it installed initially, as this is the first time I've ever upgraded the flywheel. After having driven the car for several thousand miles, I'd probably opt out of doing this again for a daily driver. Having to listen to the additional chatter from the drivetrain can be really annoying. I will say, however, that the car is FAR more responsive than it ever was stock. So if you plan to track your MINI on occassion, I'd consider it a worthwhile upgrade, otherwise I'd refrain from doing it. Course, everyone's experience varies, so someone might like the constant ticking from under the bonnet, they might even call it just part of their MINI's personality.

GotMINI

 

I have had the spec flywheel and stage 2 clutch for 60k+ miles. I have a serious commute with stop and go traffic. Until you learn how to drive the clutch, stop and go can be a pain and would wear the disc out fast if you tried to overcome judder with lots of slippage. Having said that, I would not go back to stock. The only negative is the rattle at idle. I think this has more to do with our gear box (when using a sprung disc) than the flywheel. I say this because my previous two cars had stock flywheels that were lighter than the spec without any noise. 12 to 14 pounds is not exactly light. Plus the rattle comes and goes depending on the mood of the car. Sometime is sounds like a mac truck, other times it is completely silent.

I have not noticed any loss of torque and the car feels much stronger. Quick launches are much easier (lazy take offs are harder) and hills are not a problem. It is also girlfriend approved and she noticed all the differences compared to her mcs.

After 60K+ hard miles, including trips to the drags, it is just starting to show signs of wear. No slipping or anything, but I can tell that it doesn't have the same bite anymore. It will probably be 70 to 80k before I replace it and that's not bad IMO.

Oh, and to answer the question, you will feel a difference.

 

Thanks! That was a big help, and much appreciated