MX5 clutch +/- flywheel replacement?

[vexed]

Evening all

I am a three months into MX5 ownership and have completely fallen in love with the car. I bought it as a cheapish convertible to play with the roof down for the summer months, but I am very much sure I will be keeping an MX5 long term. My car is a Mk2 1.8 on 80,000 miles


I was doing an exuberant start today- Revs at 6000 and dropped the clutch, but instead of complaints from the tyres, the speed picked up steadily whilst the revs stayed high. I presume this is an early sign my clutch is on the way out.


I was wondering if anyone would be able to advise how much I should expect to pay for a clutch change from an independent?
Is there any advantage in going for an non-standard clutch? (Otherwise standard car, no plans for power mods)
I quite like the idea of a lightened flywheel, presumably this makes the car a littlle 'revvier' and potentially accelerate a bit quicker. Would this add much expense, and is now the time to do it?

Thanks in advance!
George

[ShaunTheSheep]

The Mazda OEM stuff is quite good (Ford coil packs excepted!), there's much cheaper options though and if you choose one of the good aftermarkets (LUK are good & cheap) you won't see any difference.

Lightening the flywheel means the revs drop faster too, so casually changing gear day to day will become annoying if it's been lightened enough to be worthwhile. I'd steer clear. Maybe if it was found the flywheel was buggered, i'd entertain having it sent off for major machining and lightening then?

EDIT: i misread the clutch question

[vrsmxtb]

I've heard very good things about a lightened flywheel, but always remember from Gran Turismo how much quicker the revs drop going uphill etc!

[Sad Weevil]

I have a lightweight flywheel on my 1.8 mk1, I went for the IL Motorsports one at 6.1kg/13lb from mx5parts, rather than the ultra lightweight at 4.7kg/10.3lb. Standard on the 1.8 is about 9kg/20lb. The reasoning behind my choice was to avoid any problems with idling and drivability in town which may arise with the lighter of the two. This is a great mod, makes a huge difference. Much better throttle response, quicker gear changes, easier rev matching, better engine breaking, better accelaration, easier to balance the car on the throttle, much livelier all round. Best bang for buck for better performance in the real world, with no downsides or compromise.

[TokyoRich]

I believe that you can use a MK2 cluth / flywheel combo in a MK1, anyone know for sure?

Cheers,

Rich