Another successful Auto to Manual conversion

[MX5Spares]

Just finalising another Auto to 6speed manual conversion i mk1.Worked out well except the XTR clutch that came from US had wrong clucth pressure plate/cover in kit.Other 3 parts fitted fine but plate was too small and not deep enough also.Ended up getting 1.8 standard pressure plate upgraded using heavier diaphragm and springs and using 6 puck copper lined clutch disc.It has increased the pressure on the clutch disc by about 15% so shuld be fine.Thats the worst about buying overseas if anything is wrong/faulty you are knackered.

[Steve]

Just curious, what kind of power is that clutch rated to? How heavy is it compared to the original clutch?

[MX5Spares]

Well disc is copper faced 6 puck so its top notch but pressure plate was wrong but when I brought it to cluctch company here in Dublin they pressure checked it and it was nothing special.In the end I had to get my own reconditioned ,as XTR came for US and no way to send it back quickly, but they skimmed the flywheel and put heavier diaphragm in the pressure plate so it ended up with more strenght than the XTR one .So best of both worlds now.

[emarkey]

Steve, this auto to manual conversion was done on my mx5.
The kit (if it came with the right pressure plate) is said to hold up to 320HP. Which is a lot of HP to hold for the price of the clutch $130 odd +shipping. I havnt heard anything bad about them, other than that they sent me the wrong pressure plate.
All is good so far anyway with plenty of burnouts and aggressive starts. The clutch is nice and tight with very little travel.
And as for the 6speed box.. as far as I'm concerned, the 6speed is the only box that should be in an mx5! Loads of fun and loads of torque in every gear.
Highly recommend it!

Thanks a mill to Robert for the fast conversion. Dropped it in on friday and picked it up on sunday morning.

[MX5Spares]

Hi Eoin ,glad to see your settling in to manual.....6 speed if defo the way to go in mx5.I have sold baout 6 x 6 speed boxes and everyone was delighted.There ia a myth around that the final ratio is same as 5 speed but its not true.At 70mph revs are cut by about 500rpm and great torque between the gears etc.

[sidewaysreilly]

Depends on diff ratio tho Rob, 1.8 5 speed with a 4.1 going to a 6 speed with 3.9 , there is virtually no difference except for the extra gear which is a huge bonus. There is a calculator somewhere if I can find it........

Have a play with this;

http://www.flyinmiata.com/tech/gearing.php

Taken from that calculator, with a 6 speed box 70mph would need ;

3126rpm with a 3.6 diff
3361/3.9
3525/4.1
3697/4.3

with a 5 speed again 70 mph occurs at rpm/diff ratio

3019/3.6
3245/3.9
3404/4.1
3570/4.3