For those that have opted for a Manic or Rpm tune...

I recently bought an R61 JCW and plan to tune in a matter of weeks. I've read quite a bit on this site and have reached out to several people with real world experience. The opinions/experiences vary quite a bit. I realize the increased drivability and enjoyment of a tune will inevitably wear things out sooner but I'm wondering how many of you are still using the OEM clutch? Or how long it lasted before needed to be replaced.

Would really appreciate some opinions from those that are tuned...

 

I may not be the best example for clutch longevity but I will give my experience. I went straight from stock to a Manic stage 2 tune at about 65,000 miles with the stock clutch and started getting clutch slip under hard acceleration within about 10,000 miles.

Now, here comes the more interesting part of my experience. As I am the second owner, I cannot say for certain that the clutch that was in my R60 was the original from the factory, but I can say that it was not the JCW clutch that was used in all R60/R61's from 2013 and on as there were durability issues with the clutch used before then. Also, after taking my old clutch out I took a look at the flywheel and it had 4 hot-spots on it which would lower the durability of the clutch. This damage to the clutch could have been caused by the clutch slipping, but due to the size of the spots my guess would be that it happened prior but that is almost impossible to verify at this point.

So, to try and answer your question, the life of your clutch after a tune will vary based on the state of the clutch. Some have successfully ran the stock JCW clutch up to stage 3, but this is not recommended by most tuners that I have talked to as clutch life is hard to measure and guess with each person being unique in their driving and clutching ability. Depending on the miles on your R61 it may be a good idea to just upgrade the clutch before or after tuning it.

 

Thanks for the response.