Since day one of purchase of the beloved R56S the stiffness and hardness to press the clutch pedal was always strange. After the passing of the years, its beginning to become a thing to take in mind of and wish that it could be softer. So i had to ask here if anyone has ever though of this, and if there is a way to make it softer.

 

I recently added a Clutchmasters FX100 kit to my Clubman, and the pedal stiffness is slightly less than stock. Might look into one of their kits. I installed the kit with the steel flywheel, which is about the same weight as stock, but single mass.

 

Is it hydraulic or cable?

 

Are you new to Minis? All Minis have a hydraulic activated clutch.

 

What you're talking about is the springs in the pressure plate. As a clutch wears, the engagement point in pedal travel moves close and closer to the floor. Pedal effort also increases. You may not notice this change over time because it is so slight, but it will be very noticeable when you install a new clutch disc, pressure plate, and in the case of the R56, a new flywheel (dual or single mass). The clutch pedal effort is much higher on my VW Corrado with a relatively new OE clutch and pressure plate.

 

This also does not apply to the R56. Mini uses a "self-adjusting" clutch to prevent that change in pedal stroke. The slave cylinder is internally sprung, so it is always engaged with the release lever. This also causes the throw-out bearing to always be engaged with the pressure plate springs. And, the pressure plate has a self adjusting ratchet, so the clearance is consistent. The only way pedal travel will change is if something bends or breaks in the system, which is not unheard of.

 

My friends 2005 VW Golf has a much softer clutch, also many other cars are the same... something must be done to soften the clutch, maybe replace those springs... no?

 

Its not as easy as just replacing the pressure plate springs, and you can't just swap out the pressure plate from another car. Many factors go into defining clutch pedal stiffness - pressure plate springs are just one of those factors.

 

Its strange that after so many years, this clutch pedal stiffness issue hasn't been brought up and resolved by anyone, either mini drives/users or perhaps a 3rd party tech company.
Hmm could this be a "Marketing gap"?

 

The older original clutches are harder

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...utch-feel.html

 

What do u mean by "older original clutches"? The first clutch that came with the mini?

 

Older as in 2008 model year vs the LCI 2011+. I think I had a similar experience with my previous 08 clutch vs the 13 JCW, the 13 is definitely softer and easier on the leg.

 

can the JCW clutch fit on the R56S?

 

They merged the parts. Yes. The older clutches produced before that date had a harder clutch plate.

 

Is there a way to find out if the clutch/disk installed is the original one or not?

 

Should be Valeo on the friction disc and it will have the genuine MINI marking. On that part it will have the original part number or the last 7 of it.

 

will i need to remove it to find out, or might there be some way easier to check if its the original?

 

You could crawl under the car and try to determine if the bellhousing bolts have ever been removed. If they haven't, I would suspect original clutch.

 

I guess I forgot about that. I have an ‘07 with ~70k miles on it’s original clutch. Mine has what I would consider a relatively light clutch pedal. When our WRX’s clutch was getting thin, driving that car with a stress fracture in my left foot was not fun.

 

Could i have a pic of the area where those bellhousing bolts would be, cause i dont understand where exactly i should be looking to.
Since the clutch has been replaced with an original part by a technician, is it needed to determine if the bellhousing bolts have ever been removed or not?