NM shift cover finally came in so I'm going to go ahead and install the short shifter this week if I can find the time. Figured I should get used to it first so as to not influence my review of the new clutch/LSD combo when installed.

 

So I managed to find the time to install the CravenSpeed short shifter this week and drive it for a bit. I have to say the short shifter in conjunction with the BMS clutch stop makes a great combination. The shorted pedal travel combined with shorter shift throws just begs to be driven in a spirited manner. The short shifter itself is a well engineered and constructed piece. Bravo CravenSpeed for seeing a need and filling it with a great product. If you choose to use the included aluminum bushings in place of the original rubber bushings you can expect a little extra vibration to be transmitted through the shift handle but they do take some additional play out of the mechanism. I dont find the extra vibration annoying but I thought you should be aware of it.

Being able to adjust the shifter length is also very nice allowing you to find the throw that best suites you. I know there are fixed length short shift adapters available for less money. But if your going to go to the trouble of dropping your exhaust and heat shield to install one you want to make sure your going to be happy with the results. The other adapters also make no change to the height of the shifter inside the vehicle whereas the CravenSpeed does. I'm pretty happy with mine at the lowest/shortest setting. Something else the shifter needs is a weighted shift ****. By reducing the throw length from the top and extending it from the bottom you are changing the lever ration of the mechanism. This means the shorter thows require a tiny bit more effort. A weighted shift **** would go a long ways to addressing the difference in effort.

I also purchased the shifter clip that CravenSpeed makes in case you break yours taking it out. Definitely a need for this product as you cannot purchase just the clip from BMW if you break it. Luckily I had no problem removing the standard clip and after looking closely at the replacement clip I had extra incentive to be careful. The construction of this clip is sub par. I hate to say that because every CravenSpeed product I have purchased to this point has been outstanding in design and execution. The machining of the part leaves much to be desired. The amount of loose material and finish is simply unacceptable. Even sanding to remove it not an ideal solution as the more material you remove the sloppier the clip will hold the shifter. This is now sitting on a shelf and the original clip was re-installed.


All in all I'm super happy with the shifter and highly recommend it. Whether or not you purchase the clip as insurance is a personal call only you can make.

Unfortunately, even these items cannot address the factory dual mass flywheels' terrible shift characteristics at high RPM. At 6800 RPM the extra inertia created by the weight of the flywheel forces the synchronizers to work much harder than would be the case with a lightened flywheel. So while speed shifting at slightly lower RPM is certainly much more enjoyable with this combination, the system as a whole could perform much better with a lightened clutch assembly.

 

Hey Tigger, I want to say thank you for continuing to share your detailed experiences working on Vlad. The aspirations my wife and I have for our Coupe include quite a few of the mods you covered in the Tigger 2.0 thread and here. It's great seeing not only what you choose to buy, but also the input you solicit from the community and the thought process that goes into your final decision.
Your efforts and commentary are appreciated

 

Glad your finding the information useful. Just trying to pay it forward when I can. There's a lot of forum members here that helped me out when I first got bitten by the Mini bug. Prior to that I had never owned a turbo or anything smaller than a 327. Talk about a learning curve. Gotta love NAM though because even if I couldn't find the exact answer I was looking for, someone would usually at least point me in the right general direction.

Speaking of direction I've decided which direction I'm going with the clutch as well. One of the principles I set when we opened Prototype-R was that we would never sell a product that we wouldn't be willing to, or hadn't already installed in our own vehicles. So the STR twin disc clutch and Wavetrac LSD have been ordered. I'm working three jobs to pay for it since it's coming out of my pocket but it should be worth it. The OSG twins are considered the most street friendly ones made and the quality is top rate. The 570 ft/lbs of torque this clutch is rated to handle is more than Vlad 1.0 will ever make, but Vlad 2.0 will definitely exceed the 315 ft/lbs that the GT1 clutch is rated at. I personally think the ratings on their single clutches is conservative but it's better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it. The clutch will be coming out of Japan and Wavetrac is running a two week back order at the moment so it looks like I'll be babying the factory clutch a tad longer (sigh). I also ordered ARP rod bolts which I'll swap out at the same time since its much easier to pull the oil pan off with the subframe already removed.

 

So the weighted shift **** I ordered arrived and I installed it yesterday. Its ~460 grams and the added weight really makes the shifts smoother. You could even go heavier if you want but I'm pretty happy with this one.

 

Tigger

Is it worth doing all this to the R58?

Ian

 

Hi Ian,

It really depends on what you mean by worth doing. If you mean is it financially worth it to install performance mods in a vehicle then the answer is usually a resounding no. You almost never get out of a project vehicle what you put into it. Then again we don't turn into serial Mini modders for financial gain. We do it because we like driving with a rocket powered go-kart strapped to our ***.

If you mean does it make even less financial sense to modify an R58 as opposed to an R56 then I'd say the answer is maybe. The R58 has always been a niche vehicle and any vehicle is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it.

If you mean does it make since to modify what is arguably the best handling Mini chassis ever made then I have to say "Hell Yeah!"

I grin like an idiot every time I drive Vlad

 

Took the JCW today to the Porsche dealer parked in front of the service department to visit service writer about issue with wifes new P Car. The looks that the R58 gets are priceless.

While the R58 makes me smile everytime I drive it I don't think I would like it with more power. It actually has that just about perfect amount for me, the ride is just harsh.Turn in is good but to much movement in the rear end possibly a sway bar to correct.

The wife's new little P Car sounds like machine gun fire when she lets off the gas making the R58 now seem whisper quiet.

Ian

 

I know what you mean. It's the closest to perfect out of the box as I've ever seen from a manufacturer. Being an aircraft mechanic by trade and a tinkerer by heart I can never leave well enough alone lol. The RSB will help most with under steer. The tendency of the front of the car to push out when accelerating in a curve. What settled the rear end most for me was going to linear rate springs from Swift. I didn't notice much difference in ride but if it's already to harsh for you may want to consider a KW or ST coil over. Their spring rates are very reasonable and you can adjust the dampening to how you like.

 

I was a good boy this year (sort of anyway) and look what Santa brought me.









The OS Giken STR2C Twin Disc Clutch. It's a bit of a beast but hopefully is adaptable to driving on the street. Rev matching will have to become second nature but we'll see how it goes. Notice the weight for the complete assembly 28.3 lbs. Not too shabby.






Also the Wavetrac 56.309.190K which is a helical type LSD as noted previously. The body is case hardened billet steel and is assembled with ARP bolts. The internal gears are made of 9310 alloy steel. All in all it should be pretty beefy. Time will tell here as well. Really looking forward to seeing how this unit behaves compared to the OSG.



This little tidbit is way over due for installation. When the front of Vlad comes off I'll flush the intercooler at the same time.



Since we're eliminating clutch slip and increasing traction to both 235/40 wheels at the same time, the torque load on the engine will be increased. Hence the ARP rod bolts. Cheap insurance and since the oil pan is a piece of cake with the subframe off now would be the time to go ahead and swap'em out.

There's a few more odds and ends coming in yet that I just ordered. Specifically, a new clutch fork and pivot pin, throw out bearing guide tube, input shaft seal, differential bearings, slave cylinder and flywheel bolts. Trans fluid will be Motul 300. Since I'm changing the slave cylinder I'll go ahead and install the steel braided brake lines and flush everything out with Torque RT700 brake fluid. I'm hoping the RT700 will also help eliminate some of that dead spot at the top of the clutch pedal.

 

Hey Tigger, how did it go with the RX OCC?

 

Still haven't installed it yet. I'm waiting on a 17mm one way check valve to come in which will be installed into the line pre-turbo (5/8" line). Basically both valve cover outlets will combine and go into the center port of the can for optimum filtration. Then there will be one check valve between the manifold and the T to prevent pressurizing the can when under boost. The other check valve in the pre-turbo line will prevent air being drawn thru the can and into the manifold when its under vacuum.

The can itself is very well designed but I'm not fond of the normal RX installation. RX calls the boost PCV outlet the clean side, which I find rather entertaining. When under boost the cylinder pressures are much higher and consequently there is much more blow by. If there's a time you really want to prevent oil vapors from entering the inlet tract it's when your under boost.

 

Had some spare time so I finally got around to installing the new clutch and LSD. Babying the factory clutch so as not to smoke it was getting old. I used an engine support bar and skipped putting it in service mode.


All the other usual stuff applies (remove exhaust, subframe, suspension etc..). Went ahead and dropped the oil pan to replace the factory rod bolts with the ARP and learned something new in the process. The N14 engine oil pump is not ECU controlled like it is on the N18.

I know some have used a pry bar to keep the flywheel from turning during removal. I just used the alignment pin from the cam kit.


The old clutch was pretty low mileage so I expected it to look decent from the outside and it did.


Next up was taking a peek inside. A few hot spots which was expected and there was a lot of material left on the disc.


Since I had weighed the OSG I figured I'd see what the complete DMF clutch setup weighed. Thirty six pounds even, so OSG shaved 21% off that and doubled the torque capacity. Nice work from our friends in Japan.


Next up was splitting the transmission, inspecting the teeth, cleaning the permanent magnet and installing the Wavetrac and putting everything back together with new bearings, input shaft seal, pivot pin, guide tube and fork. The old fork had a small crack in it so having a spare came in handy.




Next up was pulling the OSG apart. Note the discs on the STR twin are solid. Having solid discs with a SMF can sometimes cause gear rattle at low RPM or at idle with the transmission in neutral and the clutch engaged. Without the mass of a DMF or a sprung hub individual engine pulses can cause the gears to couple/uncouple causing a rattle.


Here you can also see the intermediate plate that floats and separates the two discs.


Once the OSG was apart I was able to measure the flywheel thickness and am happy to report that on the STR2 it is the exact same thickness as the factory flywheel. So no monkey motion with cutting new factory flywheel bolts is required. Just bolt, torque, apply 90º and your good to go.

One piece of advice if considering the OSG twin. Order a spline alignment tool as it does not come with one. Unlike a single disc, the splines on both must be aligned perfectly or you will have fun getting the input shaft to go in. I ordered one over two weeks ago and it never came in. This required leaving the cover bolts loose, sliding the transmission in then back out, snugging the cover bolts and sliding the transmission in and out one more time before torquing the cover bolts.


Once everything was back together I went ahead and put in a new slave cylinder and swapped out the brake lines with new braided steel ones. After that I flushed the system with Torque RT700 brake fluid. It has a very high temp limit and the specific gravity of the fluid is higher than any other I could find. In braking applications it is touted for its fade resistance and improved pedal feel.

Full metallic clutches don't need much in the way of break in but I plan on putting about 500 miles on the clutch before beating on it. I've put about 50 miles on it so far.

Initial Impressions:

1. This is not a clutch you need to be afraid of. The engagement window is only slightly narrower than stock and the pedal pressure is nearly identical. Engagement is smooth and pulling away from a light can be done with as little as 1100 RPM.

2. Twins usually produce a ringing or rattling noise when sitting at a light with the pedal depressed. This one does as well but its very quiet. I can hear it with the windows down but if they're up and the AC is on I can't. Kinda sounds like chimes more than anything else.

3. No gear rattle at idle or low RPM...yeah. I was prepared to use a mixture of Turco SGO 70W and 140W if it was an issue. Happily that wasn't necessary.

4. All in all the clutch behaves itself very well and is a breeze to drive on the street. The only unusual behavior noted at this point is some clutch chatter when downshifting without rev matching. It will be interesting to see how this changes during breakin.

5. The RT700 combined with the new slave cylinder has almost completely eliminated the soft spot at the top of the clutch pedal and brake pedal feel is definitely improved.

6. I did get a chance to hit some twist's and turns with the Wavetrac. It does not fully lock like the OSG LSD but it seems to transition much more smoothly and makes the car very neutral.

 

It's been a couple of weeks since the installation of all these awesome drive train bits and I'm curious how you've enjoyed the modifications now that you've had time to live with them. Any adjustments or pleasant surprises during the break-in period?

Also, Are you considering meth/water or/and oil catch can for Vlad?

 

Hi Chris,

Vlad is already running 100% meth injection and has been for awhile now (~16,000 miles). I was planning on putting a review of the clutch and LSD in the modifications section so NAM members can find it more easily. Finding any info on the OSG twin disc clutch was like looking for a needle in a hay stack before my purchase.

Pleasant surprises...hmm. The Wavetrac has impressed the hell out of me honestly. I wish it had been on my mod list a long time ago. Being able to fully apply traction to both front wheels is a Godsend on Vlad. With traction control off before it would just shred tires. Heavy throttle application in a curve was also not a wise choice. Now the 235/40's hook up and go. Steering in a curve is neutral even when into it hard. The engagement of the unit is super smooth and quiet. I've also noticed the power transfer thru S curves to be very smooth. I haven't gotten a chance yet to test power application with one wheel off the ground. I know, I know "If your your not on three wheels your going too slow" lol. But since all my driving has been on the street I can only push it so hard. I plan on correcting that with a trip to Homestead Raceway soon however.

I love the responsiveness and speed with which this clutch can be shifted. No more missed gears when speed shifting at 6,800 rpm (wohoo!!!) and the OSG twin is a beast of a clutch. By that I don't mean it's difficult to drive in daily traffic because it's not. But once the pedal is fully released it does not slip at all...period. According to the data provided to me by OSG this clutch is rated to hold 570 ft/lbs of torque. I'll exceed that number in oh say never. The clutch can however be slipped very easily and the engagement window is only slightly narrower than stock (yea). I do have to admit that I've stalled it once though. However, there were mitigating circumstances as I had just finished a 3K run and I usually do most of my running from the couch to the fridge. Another point to consider is that this is a full faced twin disc metallic clutch. As such it has twice the friction surface as any single disc made and twice the abradable material to wear. All else being equal I expect this to be the last clutch I need for quite some time.

As I mentioned previously a twin does make a little noise when sitting at a light with the pedal depressed. I never notice it unless the windows are down which doesn't happen much in summer in South Florida. There are two other times this clutch will cause noise and both are gearbox noise related to the decision by OSG to use solid hubs on the discs instead of sprung hubs. The first is a slight noise in decel when in 6th gear between 55 and 70 mph. Any other gear or speed and I can't hear it. Granted I have a 3" exhaust but it's the quietest 3" exhaust on a Mini I've ever heard. It's quieter than the Borla, Invidia, Alta, NM and just about any other aftermarket exhaust I can think of. The last noise was the one I found kinda irritating at first but I became a better driver because of it. When down shifting you will get gear rattle if the RPM split is too large. In other words I spent the first week consciously learning to rev match. Now it's second nature and I don't even notice I'm doing it anymore. Sprung hubs would have made this clutch the absolute end all to beat all of street performance clutches. I absolutely love this clutch but it is not one you'd want for Granny's Mini Cooper. If your the type of person that understands and is comfortable with the compromises increased performance can demand you might be a fit for what I consider to be the M-1 Abrams of clutches. If your ok with a stiffer ride that goes with better handling, don't mind the extra volume of a high performance exhaust, etc it might be your cup of tea. But if your the type of person that demands a more stock like behavior from your clutch then I'd say look elsewhere. Perhaps the Grand Touring GT1CD with its 315 ft/lb rating or some other performance single would be a better choice.

One final note I feel compelled to put in here for the sake of transparency, and that is that I am now an OS Giken and Wavetrac dealer. I don't don't carry products I either haven't or wouldn't be willing to put in my own vehicle so it only made sense to add them to our product line.

 

Got some time this weekend to do a couple of little things that have been hanging out there on my to do list. Customer vehicles always take precedence over Vlad. Luckily he hasn't held it against me yet. I kinda got a little tired of the way the shifter boot looked so I used a rubber grommet to hold the boot half way down the shifter. I think its a nice improvement.






I also finally got around to installing the OCC. As I mentioned previously I don't care for the way most RX cans are routed, and based on feedback some users have been experiencing pressure buildup in the crankcase. I believe this is caused primarily by how the "clean" side is routed which provides insufficient vacuum under boost.

I used the factory Norma connectors by using a heat gun to slightly heat the factory flex tubing. This allowed the connector to be easily removed and they fit perfectly in a 3/4" hose.



A 3/4" hose will also fit nice and snug over the clean side output with a little oil on the inside of the tube.



These lines were then connected via a 3/4" x 3/4" x 5/8" Tee fitting and routed to the center port of the OCC. The aft port of the OCC was routed to the intake manifold with a 1/2" hose and a one way check valve. The check valve prevents the OCC from being pressurized when in boost. After the check valve there is a 1/2" to 3/4" adapter then 3/4" hose with the factory Norma connector going to the manifold.


The forward OCC port connects to a 5/8" line to the regular connection on the turbo inlet pipe. I purchased a larger one way check valve for this line from UPR. The check valve allows vacuum draw under boost but prevents air being pulled through the OCC and into the manifold when not in boost.


Here's everything put together. My apologies for the dirty engine but I didn't have time to clean it up and was starting to loose daylight. I also had to fabricate a 2" x 7" L bracket to lower the OCC sufficiently so that the elbow fittings on the top of the can would clear the DDMWorks Intake. The elbows I'm not real crazy about either. The AN/NPT fittings on the OCC are 3/8" but the lines themselves have a 1/4" ID.

Installing the OCC this way allowed me to save all the factory hardware in case I'm not pleased with the results. The drain line out of the OCC is routed to the underside of the vehicle and tie wrapped to the subframe. This way I can just slide a small pan under Vlad and open the petcock. I'll be keeping an eye on what the OCC catches as well as any changes in oil consumption and post any surprises.

One other quick update on the clutch. I replaced the Motul 300 with one quart of Torco SGO 75W-90 and one quart of Torco SGO 75W-140 to see if that would help with the decel noise. It was necessary to change to Torco as the Motul 140 weight includes friction modifiers which you don't want with an ATB style LSD. It made a small difference in noise but nothing major so the noise is just the nature of the beast.

 

Having configured one of these on an EFR I was looking forward to installing the R56 specific version on Vlad. Turbosmart makes two models for the R56. One is a full recirc valve while the other is a combination BOV and recirc valve. The second one P/N TS-0203-1052 is designed to recirculate 50% of the excess pressure while venting the other 50% to atmosphere. This is the model I chose and the kit is fairly complete but does have a few shortcomings which I'll get in to later.


The boost port adapter included has two ports so you can run the 3/16 output to the BOV and a separate 5/32 fitting you can run to another boost referenced device such as a meth kit or boost gauge. If you don't need the second boost source the kit also includes a plug to close off the extra port. They also include a 16 ohm resistor that plugs in the connector for the old valve to prevent the ECU from kicking out any error codes.

Here's also a few photos comparing the the Kompact to the newest Mini recirc valve. The quality and construction of the valve is outstanding.







The Good: Like most Turbosmart products it works flawlessly and produces zero error codes. Top end boost also appears to be higher but I haven't had a chance to data log it yet. I'd say it looks like another trip to the dyno is in Vlads near future. Another positive is of course the BOV sound if you like that sort of thing. Guess I fall into that category. I'll post a video of the sound shortly.

The Bad: I had two issues with the kit provided that prevent me from giving it five stars. The first is the bolt included that secures the MAP sensor and boost port adapter to the intake manifold. The length is a bit on the short side. Luckily I was pulling off a CravenSpeed adapter which is thicker than the one provided by Turbosmart. So I was able to shorten the CravenSpeed fastener to ensure a solid attachment. The second shortcoming was the smaller 5/32 fitting that I plumbed to my boost gauge. The threads were not cut properly leaving the threads flattened. A quick clean up with a die helped but teflon tape on these fittings is definitely recommended. After assembling a quick pressure check with leak detector showed a good seal but it should have been right from the start.


All in all a great alternative if your looking to upgrade your recirc vavle. The real advantage to this type of valve is the ability to handle increased boost pressure since both the spring as well as the boost pressure helps hold the valve closed. The spring pressure of the unit is adjustable by simply rotating the top of the unit and the directions for setting it up are very clear. I currently have the valve set at two full turns in from the minimum setting.

 

This is like p-o-r-n to me.

 

A short video as promised.

 

All hail Vlad the Impaler! Huzzzzzah!

(Side Note: What company are those gauges? They look great!)

 

There's a phrase you don't hear every day.

Thanks. The gauge on the left is a 52mm Depo Racing boost gauge made in Japan. It uses a stepper motor with MAP sensor and reads up to 30 psi. It will either display in white or amber and you can attach one of the wires to a power signal for the headlights so that it will be white during the day and turn amber at night. The gauge on the right is the Aquamist gauge for the meth injection. I have the controller set to trigger the boost fail-safe if a malfunction occurs. Besides the security it provides, I can turn the power off on the gauge to kill the boost before I hand Vlad over to a valet.

Got a chance for a few pulls and a quick data log today. Boost level still tapers to 20 - 20.5 psi at 6000 RPM. So the Turbosmart isn't magic. My JCW turbo just can't keep up. Got a solution for that little problem sitting on my desk though

 

Does this mean what I think it means?

 

Yep. 51mm of turbo goodness. Nick has also agreed to develop both an ECU controlled as well as a stand alone boost controlled tune for it.

 

Nomnomnomnomnomnom

 

Looking forward to learning about the details!

Your post in the Tigger 2.0 thread on choosing an appropriate turbo for your engine/goals was a great primer. I've continued to learn more on the topic... how/why turbos work, how to read a compressor map, how to calculate my engine numbers... so I can make an informed choice when the time for an upgrade arrives (and make a reasonable case for the upgrade to my engineer wife