E34 540i SPEC Aluminum Singlemass flywheel review

[Parkypine]

I purchased the SPEC singlemass aluminum flywheel this summer. It is currently installed in my car and have enough miles on it to be broken in. So far, I am very satisfied.

I ordered JB through first through Turner. However, after 6 weeks of delayed shipping along with unapologetic and extremely rude customer service, the sales rep just canceled my order. So without any choice, I had to look for an alternative and went with SPEC.

Although SPEC is not a common choice for an alum singlemass, I highly recommend it. The finish on it was immaculate, and it is cheaper than JB. (JB is around $800 while SPEC is $650). Also, the flywheel arrived at my door 3 days after purchasing. Weight wise, its about half the dualmass, so around 16lbs (3 lbs heavier than JB I believe).

The lightweight flywheel revs like a sonofabish and the throttle response isn't clumsy at all anymore. It does chatter a bit at idle, but you can barely hear it (when next to another car or parked in a confined area).

Here are some pictures of the flywheel
https://www.flickr.com/photos/121114348@N03/

For those who are looking for an alternative to their overweight dualmass flywheels on their 540i or any e34, I highly recommend getting the SPEC singlemass.

[BruinBimmer]

Thanks for the review, I've always wondered what the weight of these were. Would definitely get it now if I didn't get the JB years ago. Sorry the JB didn't work out for you, it feels great and none of us have had any complaints about it.

[Parkypine]

Thanks!

Its not that JB didn't work out for me, it was Turner.

Some member told me that he ordered directly from JB not through Turner. I should have done the same, but oh well, I have my singlemass and happy with it so I guess it all worked out!

[Steve547i]

This is good info. Thanks for being the guinea pig because others will sure appreciate it.

Turner having poor customer service? I havent heard that in like 3 days.

[excelsisba]

Thanks for the update! Def on my to do list!

[Parkypine]

I ranted about it when it happened. Its been too long to stay sore, but yeah in a nutshell, Doug the sales rep told me it will take 1~2 weeks. No word after 2 weeks, contacted him, he said another week. This went on for 4 more weeks until I snapped and told him that atleast an update would be nice and he went ahead and canceled my order. I understand they may not have them stocked, but an accurate time estimate and prompt follow ups would have made the experience so much better.

Anywho, Turner has its bad moments, so as other companies.
But from my experience, I would definitely recommend SPEC for their high quality product, excellent customer service (ordered mine through the phone, sales rep was very professional and respectful) and competitive pricing.

[ross1]

Do you find yourself using more throttle and slipping the clutch more on take off? Just curious.

[imae30driver]

Do you find yourself using more throttle and slipping the clutch more on take off? Just curious.I do slightly with my JB actually. Its mostly subconscious after the first few time, but i also have an on/off switch of a clutch. OP, thanks for the review. Sorry to hear about your troubles. I called JB direct and they had 1 left in stock! SOLD... As i knew another member was gonna order soon too... Got it a few days later, great piece. Spec sounds like a solid alternative.

[BruinBimmer]

Yeah I went directly to JB, but still had to wait for it to be made for some time. I was getting it since I was dropping the tranny to replace a slipping clutch anyways. At the time, it was my only car, and I kept trying to drive it while waiting 6 weeks for it to be made and shipped, and it quickly became very hard to drive the car. At the end of it, I couldn't use more than 20% throttle without complete clutch slip/zero acceleration.


Do you find yourself using more throttle and slipping the clutch more on take off? Just curious.

Yeah, take off is a little bit different, but it's not so hard as taking off in an F1 car or anything. Nothing serious.

[Parkypine]

to be quite honest, I don't quite remember how the car used to engage since I have been driving around with a slipping clutch for so long (budget issues), so I cant tell you how much more throttle/slipping is required compared to stock dmfw.
But I'll tell you this, it doesnt make everyday driving any difficult. Haven't even stalled once. Like I said, the only down side would be the chatter

[Costa Mellios]

Thanks for sharing, a single mass flywheel is the next thing going in after my engine rebuild.

Are you using a stock clutch?

Sent from my iPhone using BF.com

[Parkypine]

Yes, it is the OEM disk and PP. Although for next clutch job, I am planning on doing stage 1 disk and PP from SPEC as well

[K Fox]

Like I said, the only down side would be the chatter

As everyone said, thanks for sharing - fresh new info like this is nice. I have a couple questions though, for clarity - first, what disc diameter is the flywheel? Meaning, the stock size of 265mm or smaller E39 size of 240mm? And on the chatter I quoted you on, have you tried the fluid mix method to address it? Look up UUC's clutches and they have a wonderful article on what the chatter is and they give a great solution, which in our BMW's is to use about half the fluid capacity as the stock ATF, and the other half as MTF (GL4 gear oil - but do NOT use GL5). This thickens up the fluid just enough to prevent the chatter in most cases, and as long as you don't use fluid meant for hypoid diffs (again, that GL5 rating) it does no harm at all. It will start to get a little stiff in sub freezing temps, but if you don't drive in temps that low, it's a no loss situation. Might help, thought I'd mention it.

Fox

[Parkypine]

No worries! It is in fact the 265mm diameter, stock e34 540i flywheel size. And I had no idea about the chatter! Definitely need to look into that.

[lazar540i]

e39m5s62 -Hows the flywheel holding up? I'm about to order one. Thanks

[Parkypine]

its actually been really good. I've put about 6k miles and no difficulties till now. However my m60 just threw a rod so I had to disassemble everything just this weekend. I took the clutch/flywheel out and nothing out of the ordinary so its been holding up very well.

As far as my experiences go its been excellent. It will not disappoint you

[lazar540i]

Awesome, sorry to hear about the engine... What company did you order from? I just got off the phone with enjuku racing which is a spec authorized dealer and they told me around 5 business days to ship out since its not in stock

[Parkypine]

Awesome, sorry to hear about the engine... What company did you order from? I just got off the phone with enjuku racing which is a spec authorized dealer and they told me around 5 business days to ship out since its not in stock

Eh shit happens, typical e34 not running xD I got mine from enjuku as well. When I bought one they had it in stock and it came to my door in 3 days. Make sure you check out their promo pricing. I ordered mine through the phone and the phone operator wasn't aware of the discount pricing at the time and almost charged me another $100.

Good luck with the purchase and enjoy!

[moroza]

What clutch did you use, and how's that been?

[Parkypine]

What clutch did you use, and how's that been?

I ran it with stock 265mm Sachs disk and pressure plate as stated above. Holds just fine, no trouble at all

[lazar540i]

Eh shit happens, typical e34 not running xD I got mine from enjuku as well. When I bought one they had it in stock and it came to my door in 3 days. Make sure you check out their promo pricing. I ordered mine through the phone and the phone operator wasn't aware of the discount pricing at the time and almost charged me another $100.

Good luck with the purchase and enjoy!

Thanks for the heads up on the pricing, got the flywheel for $647. Did you receive your flywheel with any hardware (flywheel bolts) or do I need to get those separate? The sales guy wasn't sure if the flywheel came with it or not.

[Parkypine]

Thanks for the heads up on the pricing, got the flywheel for $647. Did you receive your flywheel with any hardware (flywheel bolts) or do I need to get those separate? The sales guy wasn't sure if the flywheel came with it or not.

That's the exact price that I got it for! And thats funny the representative I talked to (Sam) also didn't know about the mounting hardware. But everything comes with for you to mount it on your car. By everything I mean bolts and washers haha