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I own a 2002 Mini Cooper (R50), a Model Year infamous for its failure-prone 5-speed manual gearbox. When failure occurred I replaced the whole starter motor - flywheel - clutch - gearbox - axles assembly with one from a 2005 Cooper S.

To my delight, the gearbox version I got is a "BKL", meaning "factory fitted with limited slip differential". The difference it makes is so marked and pleasant (way faster around corners, grippier, more solid driveline feeling) that I got interested in the tech of LSDs / self locking differentials.

To my big surprise, I found NO source telling what type of LSD the one fitted on some 2005-2006 R53 MINIs is. I think it falls in the clutch-type category, but was unable to find any other kind of information, let alone a datasheet of some sort.

May you help me in learning more about the specific piece of hardware I have? It is a surprise to me that such a significant dynamic improvement fell "under the radar" of the enthusiasts...

Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2
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Caterpillaraoz
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The R53 is a Getrag GS6 and has a 25% locking limited slip. If I'm not mistaken, it is a clutch-type.

As far as a lack of information, you'll quickly find that most MINI owners just don't care what's in the car, just how expensive it is. ;)

soolus
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