When I floor the car in 2nd, the traction control light usually starts flashing. I still have the factory Dunlop SP01's, but I'm not hearing the tires screech. I was wondering if the traction control would cut power to the engine if the clutch were slipping and not the tires????
I have had issues with my clutch in the past....namely the infamous 3-2 squeal.

 

Are you sure it's not torque steer? Even with LSD a floored S can be a handful.

 

My vote is traction control, not clutch slipping. Traction control is loss of traction at the wheels, whereas clutch is at the flywheel. Easiest way to tell for sure is to put the car into a high gear but relatively low speed and step on the gas hard. If the engine revs but the car doesnt speed up your clutch is slipping. If the engine doesnt rev and the car starts to slowly gain speed then your clutch is fine.

 

Why do the tires have to be screeching to be slipping? The traction control is observing the front wheel speed sensors are going faster than the rear wheels, hence activating the traction control.

With only an exhaust and intake, chances are your clutch is just fine. Remember, it's the same clutch that is used with the dealer installed JCW engine kit.

 

my concern is stemed from the fact that I had the 3-2 squeal (to me a squealing clutch means a clutch that is slipping, however so slightly)

I wouldn't think that my few mods would over-power a healthy factory clutch, but one that has had issues tends to lend some concern.

back to the original question......would a slipping clutch cause the traction control to power limit the engine? Or, are the only sensors located at the wheels.
Possibly could the sensors (sensors at the wheels, and sensors monitoring engine speed) say the wheels aren't spinning as quickly as they should be for the current engine speed, so therefore the clutch must be slipping.......or is this giving the computer too much credit?

 

If the clutch were slipping you wouldnt be getting any power to the wheels and the traction control would have no reason to limit the power of the engine.

 

Traction control uses the ABS sensors, so no, it wouldn't do anything if your clutch was slipping. If your clutch was slipping, when you gassed it in 2nd, the RPM's would climb (As if the car was in neutral) but you wouldn't go anywhere.

A good test is to accelerate to 55-60 MPH. Leave it in 5th or 6th, push the clutch in, rev to 5500 or so, then drop the clutch. The car should lurch forward (I don't like saying violently, but it often is rather violent). If there's any hesitation, your clutch is shot.

You can also try doing the above, but instead of pushing the clutch in, just floor it in 5th or 6th at 55-60. If your clutch is bad your RPM's will go up a bit before the clutch grabs on and you accelerate.

 

While I havent consulted the Bentley Manual and I am not a MINI mechanic, it would seem that there is no direct correlation between the speed of the engine versus the speed of the wheels. If there were then the system wouldnt work with a manual gearbox. After all, the engine speed will vary depending on the gear that you are in and you would have real problems if you ever pushed in the clutch and revved the engine.

 

DSC/ESP Senses independent wheel velocities and uses differential braking and engine timing to control wheel slip/yaw angle.

In English, when your wheels slip, the ECU dials back a LOT of timing and stutters the engine a bit to regain traction.

Should the car enter a spin or become unstable, the ABS control module will pulse individual brakes to control the car.

I suppose then that yes your car can arbitrarily modulate engine speed, although it has nothing to do with gearing or your transmission.

 

Random Tidbit, I'm at nearly 30k miles on my stock clutch. at least 20k of those miles have been spent with my car making 230+ whp . Working fine still!

 

as far as i am aware, no traction control system accounts for clutch slip. The whole idea of traction control refers to the traction of the tires, no relation to the clutch.

 

I'd like to see a truly long-term test on an OEM clutch. I don't see any reason why a modern clutch shouldn't do at LEAST 100,000. Frankly, I'll be PO if I don't get 150k. (Got 190,000 in my BMW before I sold it, with no hint of a problem anywhere in the transmission system.