Hi NAM,

I have an 05 R53 with 50k miles. The clutch is still good but the flywheel is already making the chatter noise and I’ve started tracking too. With the current situation, track events are cancelled and the car is sitting in the garage. No seat time for me for now.

That said, I’m contemplating getting a lightweight flywheel, valeo clutch, and quaife LSD. Since the quaife is on sale at Waymotorworks, This move becomes even more tempting. And then I’ll get into some mild weight reductions (battery, rear seats, rear wiper, passenger seats etc.)

I’m looking for more justifications on fitting an LSD. Do you guys and gals think I should go for it? Will I love the LSD? Or is it not worth it in your opinion? Is and LSD mini that much better in terms of performance compared to an open diffed one? My thinking is the earlier I get an LSD, the earlier I can enjoy/benefit from it. Already have Bilstein B4 and swift springs 22mm RSB and poly bushings.

thanks in advance.

 

Try this thread yet?

You sure you do not have one? Just checking, as the '05 S could be ordered with OEM LSD.

I put one in Gollum I, an '04 S with the JCW kit added. It was a fairly serious STX build for SCCA autocross, and it damned well transformed the car.

Cheers,

Charlie

 

I checked my VIN and I don’t have one. I also had an SCCA autocross instructor instruct me in my car who verified it has an open diff.

Can you describe how it transformed the car? Was it a big difference? Do you highly recommend it especially for track and autocross?

Basically I am looking for more reasons to do it before I pull the trigger. Or are there other performance mods the bring more bang for the buck, short of seat time?

 

From another thread I posted in.

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Also, carefully consider the pros AND cons of the lightweight flywheel before you buy it.... and make sure it is appropriate for the majority of how you run your car.

Light flywheels, single mass flywheels and Dual mass flywheels all have their pros/cons.

Since you can get all of them at reasonable costs... choose wisely and you will be rewarded in the long run.




.

 

[QUOTE=mountainhorse;4527118]Also, carefully consider the pros AND cons of the lightweight flywheel before you buy it.... and make sure it is appropriate for the majority of how you run your car.

Light flywheels, single mass flywheels and Dual mass flywheels all have their pros/cons.

Since you can get all of them at reasonable costs... choose wisely and you will be rewarded in the long run.

Oh, any cons with the valeo lightweight? Pardon my ignorance, Is the valeo single mass?

The car is not a daily, a toy car to use for fun - modding, occasional hpde/track, autocross and weekend fun car. My r53 replaced my e30 that’s fully gutted/ built for spec e30. That car was too much for me.





.[QUOTE]

 

It eliminated spin on the inside front wheel during corner exit. It was a big difference indeed, and I do highly recommend it.

Cheers,

Charlie

 

Thanks for the response, you guys. I’m convinced I want an LSD. Now I just need to do more reading.

wavetrac vs quaife (OSG is out of my budget)
single mass vs dual mass FW
Valeo vs others

 

Valeo cannot handle hot track days, mine slips after 15 minutes on track, see vid when I go under the bridge around 40 seconds in it slips so bad I have to lift off the throttle for it to grab. This clutch/flywheel had less than 3000 miles on it, came out looking new. I replaced it with a cheap "stage 3" thing I got off ebay, no more slips but it's aggressive for street


LSD helps a lot, even the OEM 30 % lockup is a huge difference.

 

Oh soot! Did I just make an expensive mistake? I just ordered Quaife and Valeo from Way. My car only has 15% pulley and intake for mods. Will the Valeo be ok. I don't know if i can still cancel. Should I get the Wavetrac for not much more or is the Quaife good enough for my use? MrBLAH, I value your opinion, you've helped me a lot.

 

If you are pulling the trans it is clearly the best time to install the LSD, because after you go through the work you'll realize you don't want to do it again.

The Quaife is freaking great and requires no maint ever, I've had one in my race car for like 13yrs now and beat on it with no failure.

I would also make sure you do the front control arm bushings with powerflex while you have the subframe out, and steering rack bushing. If you are going to do more track stuff in the future upgrading the the larger front sway bar is also not a bad idea as it's easy to do at the same time.

 

Hi Way,

I’m glad you’re chiming in. I already have poly bushings in the front, all except steering rack.

I’ve read some of your posts regarding quaife vs wavetrac. Knowing you have it on yours for 13 years makes me feel better about my purchase.

What can you say about the Valeo slipping after 15 minutes?

My car has mild power mods, Pulley, intake and bytetronik tune. Maybe one ball mod in the future for weight savings and sound.

 

I think you'll enjoy the limited slip! Has anyone used the Black Flag differential? Looks like WMW also sells it: https://www.waymotorworks.com/black-...l-r52-r53.html

 

I only know of one guy with one and he put it in a month ago, so he is now the tester for it so it will be a year before we can say anything about it.
IMO I'm still only going to use the Quaife because I warranty all my work and I'm not going to risk a failure to save a couple hundred bucks, because if that diff fails and damages the case it will cost far more than a few hundred to fix, not to mention the time involved.

 

I have a cam/injectors/17%/meth the valeo may be fine for you

as for the diff I cannot comment, I use the OEM and make it work, anything is better than open diff!

 

Thanks, Way. My order was made this morning. In the notes, I asked if the bearings can come pressed to the Quaife LSD. Is that doable? Thanks,

 

Thank you, Mr Blah. I'll stick to the Valeo/Quaife then. I've done brakes and suspensions myself. I had the shop do the front bushings as I didn't feel confident enough to sub-frame drop by myself. Did you do your clutch job yourself? I have the next month free where the car is just in the garage and I am working from home. This means I can take my time. Is the clutch job physically huge? A shop quoted me $725 for the labor. If I do it myself, I'd have to purchase a jack transmission and an engine strut support brace and a few small tools though (hammer, pry-bar, strap, etc.), making the savings only around $400-450. Also, I will do it all by myself though (covid-19).

 

I've done like five clutches it gets easier every time it is quite a bit of work I have a lift so it helps a lot. 700 bucks and labor is honestly worth it if I didn't have the time and enjoy doing the stuff

 

I recently installed a Valeo clutch kit and a M Factory helical lsd on my R53 and I am quiet happy with it so far, I only have around 2000km on it so far but its working well.

 

Thanks for the response. I might just have the shop do it.

Must be nice to have a lift. I just subscribed to your channel. It helps to watch great drivers in their MINIs. VIR looks like a fun track.

 

I have an MFactory LSD in my garage waiting to be put to work.

 

I am quite happy with mine so far.

 

Ok guys, so I got the LSD and Valeo Clutch installed. I also had the shop install poly bushing transmission and lower engine mount inserts.

Question, is it normal to experience a light thud/clunk when releasing the clutch just as it engages? The best I can describe it is it sounds like a rubber mallet hitting pavement, not very loud at all but noticeable to me. Is that because of the inserts? If I shift very carefully, it doesn't do it but that's when I'm almost slipping the clutch. It's like the grab is aggressive, I hope I'm making sense. I am not able to replicate it when in gear and stepping on the gas. It only happens when shifting. right at the end of the shift process.

I'm really liking the clutch pedal feel though and the LSD really pulls the car in the corners. it is almost a weird sensation.

 

Soo, what was the outcome of this test? I too am getting an lsd soon, and can get the black flag one for 450$. If its not worth it then I will spend the extra 300 on team m factory one. @waymotorworks

 

Well they quite making and selling the black flag diff. So it's not an option anymore. We still stock and use the Quaife as our #1 MINI diff.
https://www.waymotorworks.com/quaife...ferential.html