I would like feedback on which clutch is a good compromise for street and track use. I have on 03 R53 that will need a clutch soon. I drive it around 5-6k miles a year and will be used as a trackday/ drivers school car 5-6 weekend a year. I currently track a 91 civic with a b16 swap and am cloning the mini as close to the civic as i can. I use an exedy stage 1 in the civic and the engagement is very quick and positive. This is not a negative to me for a street clutch but it would seem most would disagree and want a smoother engagement. The clutch masters stage 3 seem to be the closest to the setup i have in the civic. I have read positive and negative reviews on almost all the clutches available. I would like feedback from people who use their mini as I intend to use mine. Thank You

 

I run about 15 to 20 track days a year with NASA in their time trials group and have stuck with the OEM clutch. I have over 90k miles on the car with the original clutch and still going strong.

A few months ago I was researching a new "upgraded" clutch and decided that the OEM clutch was just fine. I have a bunch of other upgrades, but when it comes time, the clutch will stay OEM.

 

Thanks for the input Hooptie. I am still getting the Mini track ready and have added koni yellows, swift springs, 22mm rear bar and camber adjustment front and rear. I have also upgraded the front brakes to R56S calipers. I plan on adding brake ducts also as this was the final piece to get the Civics brakes sorted.Do you have any brake issues and what caliper and rotor setup are you using? I plan on using 15'' wheels and a 205/50/15 tire same as the Civic. What are your wheel and tire combo?

 

I have been running ebc yellow stuff pads for awhile, but am having a problem with cooking the brake pads. I will be ordering carob tech 10's (front) and 8's (rear) prior to next month. Maybe 12's for the front, still debating. I have stock calipers which I know isn't great, but I am switching to a race prepped e36 M3 next year and am not investing more in the mini now. Not sure on rotor brand but they are slotted. Tried cross drilled years ago and cracked them after one day.

I think my tire size is 195/55/15 as I am low enough that rubbing the rear fenders was an issue so was concerned about 205's. It is the same size spec miatas run. I also get point credits for NASA by running skinny tires.

If I was going to continue tracking the mini I would reevaluate the ducting I have from sneed. My research on ducting has shown the setup blows cool air in the wrong spot. It should be going to the center of the rotor, not the outer edge as their system does. Would require custom fabbing the connection, but it should be possible. I would also move up to a 16 inch wheel and get a BBK. It all depends on how much you have to spend.

 

I have been using Hawk DTC 60's for the front on the Civic and HPS's or Porterfield R4-S's on the rear with 11'' rotors & Integra calipers front & rear This has been a very good setup with no issues with 30 min. sessions. Thanks for the info. and enjoy the M3 next year.