Been driving a manual my entire life, and I have to say my MCS is one of the worst clutches I have ever driven. The car itself is super fun, but the clutch from a stop --> 1st and 1st --> 2nd are horrid. No matter what I do, I get this "herky jerky" jitter in the car. I have tried everything. From 2nd --> 3rd it is MUCH better than 3rd on I don't notice it at all.

Thoughts on this? Car is a 2013 MCS with about 4k miles. I thought at first the clutch just need to break in... but I swear my 2012 Wrangler has a smoother 1st --> 2nd than this thing. I cannot get a smooth 1st --> 2nd for the life of me.

IF I hammer the gas when I'm releasing clutch I can get a decent shift... but it shouldn't be like that.

Any known clutch issues with the 2013 MCS's? I'm going to be bringing it into the dealer in the next week or two.

SIDE NOTE: The "jitter" is just that, it's not a crazy jerk or anything... it's sometimes barely there, but I can feel it about 95% of the time. Passengers can't always tell, but I think that's because I'm a little more in tune with the car since I drive it daily.

Am I just going nuts?

EDIT: Also, I only get the jerk as the clutch is near the top, almost fully released. The last inch or so is where the jerk comes in.

 

Dual mass flywheel I would assume. Learn to shift different.

 

Pointers?

I already feel like an ***. I've been driving manuals for 12 years. No issues. Until now.

 

It would get me every once and a while, Just make sure the clutch is loaded before you hit the gas.

 

I thought the same thing, until I started releasing the clutch a hair slower when going into second. I don't press the gas between shifts to preload the engagement, although I have been told to not let the RPM's drop as much between shifts. I find that going from 2nd to 3rd is a lot smoother in general like you said. 1 to 2 is the weird point.

 

That sounds like what you need to do than. If you've got the right engine revs it'll be smooth.

Do you have the sport button on? I can't make a decent shift without the sport button. You won't have to hammer the gas so hard to get the same effect.

 

Agreed in my 2010 mcs I can shift much smoother with the sport button on just because of the better throttle response, without sport I do sometimes get some jerking/bucking when I did what I thought to be a clean start/shift

 

Your clutch may be defective. I have the same issue. You're probably experiencing clutch chatter.

I drove my car, then another one with the same mileage and it was buttery smooth. Have MINI look at it

 

Anyone else notice hard shifting into 1st when the engine is cold? It's not as smooth as one would like....kinda notchy, seems to get better as I drive for a few minutes...I suspect the mt trans must be a scavenging or pick-up style lubrication system

 

For those with a jerky 1st --> 2nd, try shifting earlier. Almost immediately. Works for me and I've always thought the car was jerky while rowing the first few gears too. It's smoother with the sport button off as well.

 

My 2010 Justa is the same way....my friends laugh at me because of 1st to 2nd...everything else is cake. Downshifting into 2nd takes a decent jab of throttle to be smooth too...even at 20mph

 

Glad I'm not the only one

 

Install a FES AutoSport module and never have to think about pushing a button again.

As for the clutch. My 2010 S is fine, but trying to drive my friend Vic's 2012 S is a problem. Appearantly BMW/MINI started putting in self adjusting clutchs and the thing doesn't engage until it's almost fully released. It's horrible... If they are all like that, I won't be buying any new Mini...

 

The catch point where the clutch engages is really high for these cars which can make it a pain to get used to intially. Especially if you have mutliple manual cars in the house and frequently switch from other stick-shifts to the MINI.

Also, there had been an issue for a while where many of the flywheels used were slightly warped. I had to have my flywheel + clutch replaced at 2,500 miles due to shaking in the pedal every time the clutch was being engaged.

 

So as much as I wanted to blame you for this I switched back to the stock map and with this OS Giken clutch I uhhh... uhhh.. stalled a couple times. This non-linier throttle is terrible.

 

I have a 2008 46,000 miles and had the clutch done last year. The clutch was smooth until it started to slip under hard acceleration in 6th. When I had it replaced, the clutch disc was not worn out but the Flywheel surface was destroyed. I had a new OEM clutch kit and flywheel put in, and its done the judder dance ever since. I have to over rev slightly and slow down the engagement on launch. These flywheels are very light and I wonder if I should have gotten a steel flywheel and gotten a 5 blade clutch plate to offset the weight gain. Any Autocrossers used this set up?

 

The stock clutch and flywheel weigh nearly 40 pounds. The jitters are due to the springs in the flywheel.

 

Springs in the flywheel? It's new and the old one never did it. I'm confused.

 

There are springs in between the two plates of the flywheel. Since you were used to the old worn down springs getting used to the new one is going to be different. I can barley drive my car with the stock throttle map and aftermarket solid flywheel.

 

Guess I'll have to adapt. Certainly there is no other car I want that fits my budget. So the new blue version 2013 I have ordered will just have to put up with me!

Thanks for the info. I thought dual mass meant that one part was aluminum and the friction surface was steel. I can wrap my head around this, I remember clutch plates had springs to dampen chatter. I suppose this is meant to serve a similar purpose.

 

Never in a MINI, but every "puck" type clutch disk (the pieces of friction material on those five arms are called pucks) I have ever tried or even heard of are on/off switches. There is zero modulation, and it is not easy to get them rolling without stalling.

 

Yeah they are there to get rid of the snappiness of the clutch engaging. And make accelerating and engine breaking less harsh. You tube it. Tht can explain better then me over text.

 

It would be nice if you could feel the engagement point a little more. I find that I don't like sport mode unless driving really aggressively. On the street there is not enough safe areas to drive aggressively enough... On the autocross course I think I do prefer the sport button. The throttle is just to touchy. Its like past the first 1/2 inch of travel there is no modulation to the throttle, I think it goes to WOT after just a little bet of movement.

 

The stock map is not liner I find it annoying.

 

Thanks , before this I understood but, now I overstand!