Description:

Lightly used ACT 3000802 Performance Street Sprung Disc for R53s in good condition. Made to be paired with a lightweight flywheel. Will not work with the stock dual-mass flywheel. I used with the ACT lightweight flywheel, but should be okay to use with any lightweight flywheel that keeps the OEM dimensions. I used it with a stock pressure plate, so the ACT one is not necessary. 

The disc is recommended for street and race use. It has features that improve burst strength and has a reduced marcel spring for faster shifts. More on my experience with it below. 

I had this on my base Cooper with the 6-speed for about 5k miles. Never tracked, and mostly driven pretty easy. Why did I pull it off?

Overall, it's definitely trickier starting from a stop with this disc. It's marketed as streetable, and I do agree with that description. Engagement was smooth with the organic friction material. However, the reduced marcel spring is what makes the biggest difference related to drivability. The distance on the clutch pedal from where the clutch began to engage to the point where it was fully engaged was very small. I gradually got used to it, trying to be more precise with my left foot, but occasionally misjudged my left foot and found myself surprised I had stalled it. My wife had a hard time with it too, and as a result started avoiding driving it, so that's ultimately the reason I decided to pull it off. I took a side by side picture of the marcel spring so you can see the significant difference between this disc and the stock LuK disc's marcel spring. Some might like the precision and feel of knowing exactly when the clutch is engaging, but it does make it more challenging from a stop. 

Also as a result of the reduced marcel spring, the engagement point on the clutch pedal was higher than a stock setup. This is because the unclamped thickness of the disc is very close to the clamped thickness of the disc. 

I had a subtle chatter at idle and low rpm. That went away at around 2k rpm. Chatter at idle was a little louder with the AC on. That's probably mainly due to the lighter flywheel though. 

The syncros aligned much faster with the lighter weight setup, and shifts were easier to do faster. I liked that aspect a lot. It took the sluggishness of the engine revs away.   

For my base Cooper, I wanted to keep the lightweight setup, and believe it or not, I'm currently trying a stock Valeo disc that was used on a lot of GM vehicles in the 80s with a 5-speed Izuzu transmission: Skyhawks, Berettas, Cavaliers, and even Fieros. It just so happens to have the same diameter and splines. I plan to do a thread in the Mods section once I've driven it more. 

FREE to anyone who wants to give it a try. Just cover shipping or come pick it up.