I drive an 08 MCS and the clutch isn't hard but i feel like I have more control over it. My MCS is getting work done and they gave me a 2013 one while it's getting done. The 2013 MCS's clutch feels like it's on a magnet. It feels like after a certain point it's pushing back on my foot and I actually stalled a couple time embarrasingly trying to get it out of first like a rookie. My 08's clutch feels more controllable with no resistance pushing against me and feels consistent at every point. I stomped on it when I first used it. I also felt like the gas pedal on the new one was very inresponsive. When I would try to rev match I would either not blip at all or over blip, I also found it impossible to heel toe althought that might be because the brakes are new and in mine they are worn, however I couldn't even rev match. On my 08 I can heel toe and rev match with no effort, I barely touch the accelerator and get the blip I need. Anyone have any experience with this? Is it because the car is new?

 

That's how mine feels so I know what you mean. Rev matching takes a bit more effort timing it right because of the mushy feel. Our clutch feels so much better! Count yourself as the lucky few

The funny part is when you get back into your car, you'll feel like you're 1-leg squatting 300lbs pushing that clutch in. LOL.

 

Lol, I can see that happening. It makes me kind of sad because I planned on buying a 2012 MCS and modding it. The 08 is actually my Mom's and I was going to buy it from her. It has had a few problems so I feel it's not worth modding because of that and it's not in the greatest condition.

 

Ah gotcha. That's too bad. My '10 has been solid, minus the thermostat housing, it has treated me well. It's not going anywhere...

Hopefully you find one that has the same feel and appeal you're looking for!

 

I wouldn't be surprised if they recalibrated the throttle pedal maps to have more "mush" in them for 2013. That seems to be the trend with ever commuter car these days. Even with sport mode on my '09 still has just a little bit of mush in it. Makes me glad my other car has a now inferior throttle cable.

 

Thanks! Glad you got a good hit with yours!


Hm, I wonder if theres any way to modify this? I could deal with the clutch but the gas feeling mushy I feel is a bit of a performance downgrade. I just can't get the hang of rev matching.

 

There's the sprint booster, but dang that thing is expensive.

Why do you even care when the 2013 model is just a loaner? You have a 2008 that doesn't have a problem.

 

I didn't really notice much of a difference in the throttle pedal response between my 2013 and my old 2011.

 

The 08 is actually my mom's and i was going to buy it from her and do some mods to it. It's pretty beat up inside and out and has had some mechanical problems so I'd like to get a newer one instead and do some minor mods to it. I mentioned it in an earlier post. It's just not worth putting any effort into this one, my mom doesn't care as long as it works but I want to make it mine.

 

Dude, I'm selling mine. Click the link in my signature. Totally babied no B.S. performance MINI. Only reason I'm selling it is because I bought a Lotus.

Anyways back on topic!

 

Woah. Woah. Woah. You bought a Lotus? Wow. That's on my list of cars I would love to buy someday.

 

Holy ****, your Mini is cool a.f. I would love to own your Mini the only problem is I need back seats. This is going to be an all purpose car and sometime I haul around 3 or 4 people. But holy cow if it's not sold and for some reason I have more money I'm taking.

 

Just putting the word out there guys. But anyways, might be worth test driving some more 2013 S models to see if they all exhibit the same issue you experienced.

 

I drove to work and I can rev match a little better now. It's still not as accurate as the other car, feels like a little bit of dead space that throws me off. You could hear the other car's engine reving a little as soon as you touched the pedal but not with this one. You have to press down a little more to get a small rev. That sprint booster sounds like it would solve this. As for heel toeing, in pretty sure i cant do it on this car because the brakes arent as worn.

 

*BUMP*

Just found this thread and wondered if there was any suggestions about what to do with the '13 clutch?! I just bought a '14 MCS Convertible (got it in 2013, but it's a '14 model year, but not new body style). I still have, and regularly drive, my '09 Clubbie S -

And the difference in the clutch is HUGE! As re2fanatic said, I'm doing 300# presses with my left leg. And I LOVE it...

while I love my new convertible, I just don't feel the clutch is as responsive... I would LOVE to get my new clutch a bit stiffer and more responsive. I am going to (eventually) put a short shift in... that would help the shifter (and yes, the problem there is that my clubbie has a short shift installed), but what can I do about the clutch? SA at dealership wasn't helpful on this issue...

Thought y'all might have some suggestions.

Thanks (oh, and type slowly, I love my MINIs but don't know the first thing about the actual pieces parts!)

 

I was actually thinking about how much of a difference installing a stage 2 clutch would make.

 

As mentioned, I don't really speak mechanical speak, so what would a stage 2 clutch do? Would this be something I would want on my '09 Clubbie S who's clutch is starting to show signs of wear?

And I'm assuming that this is NOT something I would do to a car with less than 5k miles on it ('14 Convertible S)... as it wouldn't be covered by warranty...

<sigh> I was so hoping for a "you just need to jingle this jongle with the thingamajiggy, click your heels three times and your clutch is great"

 

A stage 2 clutch is a heavier duty clutch that is made to handle higher HP. They take more punishment than a regular clutch. They also make the clutch feel heavier.

 

2011 thru 2013 are N-18 engines, except JCW which wasn't an N-18 until 2013. N-14 before that. The reason I bring up the N-18 is they have Valvetronic which is the variable intake valve opening as the throttle instead of a throttle valve. I think this "mushy throttle" feel is a slight lag in the valvetronic signal, almost like the old turbo lag. I have only driven the N-18 manual cars. A 2012 Clubman S which I traded for my 2013 JCW Hardtop which I currently own. I don't have any trouble rev matching, as it's mainly by ear anyway. Never heel and toe as I only drive on the street, so have no comment either way on that.

 

Well I have a brand new 2013 MCS (R56s) 6sp manual, and have to say that as fun as the car is on the whole, there are a few flies in the ointment. My reference is my former 2003 MCS 6sp-m. (Both hatchbacks). One of the flies is the clutch, the other the torque steer - maybe in conjunction with the eLSD. When pushing the car, it feel squirrely as the tires struggle with grip (195/55/16 AS-RFs). Throttle response is ok in sport mode - not great, but ok. The clutch I don't like, it's soft, and it feels like the engagement point and travel are both inconsistent. Too much like a sponge. The 2003 R53 clutch was much, much better, and of course the R53 had no torque steer. Coming up for me are FES Auto Sport module to automatically and always place into sport mode (non-sport mode just makes no sense in the MCS), and also the NM Engineering torque arm inserts. I'm hoping this will help a bit. On the whole, the R56 has more power and gets better mileage, and in some ways is more refined, but I think the R53 is the better driver/enthusiast car. We'll see, I'm hoping I can fix my R56 up a bit.

 

I had to use a dictionary to translate what you were saying, but if I'm not mistaken, you're running runflats? And having probs with grip? I'm no expert, but I would change tires... in fact, that's on my list of things to do, is to get rid of the runflats on my 2013 MCCS 6sp-m. Just a thought.