Racing PressurePlate/Clutch/Flywheel experiences s5x

[CoMZ302]

Folks,

I bought the (standard?) JB Racing aluminum FW and M5 clutch and E36 M3 PP from BimmerWorld. Phil has been super helpful.

Since the install, I've had an odd vibration I can't track down. I've had - maybe - 10 laps with the car, and the shifting got worse and worse through the day, so I decided to pull the tranny and take a look.

The PP is starting to come apart already. I can't say I was particularly nice with my shifting, but I also wasnt that abusive, IMHO.

Anyway, I've decided to buy a junkyard transmission, do the shift detent rebuild on it, and replace pretty much everything from the slave, to the shift fork, little pivot pin, input tube and seal on the tranny - the throwout bearing and...

...now I need to know if I should just put the same sachs (stock) E36 PP back on it, or is there a better option. I know the $3K packages are great but I dont' want to put that much money in that part of the car. (Unless I just have to).

Oh, this is on a race-engined 328 with close to 300rwhp/250tq.

Does anyone else have any experiences with these stock PP's coming apart like this? Is there a better alternative?

I'll attach pix here shortly.

Any advice appreciated - thank you!

[CoMZ302]

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[XnWarden]

I wouldnt put a dual mass flywheel on a track car. The fidanza flywheel sold by gripforce clutches is very nice for the money. Its like $200-250 new. Weighs 15 lbs so it chatters a bit but you get more throttle response due to lighter weight. Its strong, machined out of chromoly steel. Not gonna break. Several forum members run it with boost

[CoMZ302]

The JB Racing wheel isn't dual-mass, is it?

http://www.bimmerworld.com/E36-Z3-Li...t-Stage-I.html

[jimmypet]

Stock pressure plates have straps, straps are known to break under race conditions especially if you are not a great heel / toe - rev match downshifter (not saying you are, or are not) but they fail easily if downshifted abruptly.

I suggest any brand of lug drive clutch setup.
Clutchmasters makes a few lug drive clutch options that from TO bearing to flywheel are around half what you quoted.
I had them build me a one off 8.5" lug drive "Super Single" for my S14 powered E30 M3 that they had never built one before that they charged me $1600 for the whole thing from flywheel to TO bearing.

[CoMZ302]

Hey Jimmy - thanks for chiming in with the good advice as always.

BW has a tilton 7.5" dual-disk setup with FW and TO for about $1600. It's pretty much on the way. I'm hoping I can sell my JB Racing FW.

http://www.bimmerworld.com/Tilton-Tw...eel-Kit_2.html

This is one of the last 3 things I need to sort out before the Majors at Heartland, so despite a strong desire to stay on budget, I whipped out the credit card. Not my favorite thing but it was a weak point and the last thing I want is a string of DNFs.

[A ///Monster]

I'm also having recent troubles with the same JB racing flywheel, sachs PP, and organic disc. I have maybe 20k trouble free mostly highway miles on it. I recently decided to run my car through it's paces following a stop light. When I engaged 3rd gear the clutch started slipping. I thought that was strange, not that many miles on this clutch. Needless to say I backed off. I haven't noticed my clutch slipping since that event but my clutch engagement point seems to be dynamic but on average at a higher pedal height. I can't let the clutch out smoothly to save my life now. It's like a surprise engagement point, and a little bit of a grabbing sensation like "warped brakes" but with my clutch.

Is this signs of a pressure plate failure?

Also to note, I don't have a fancy clutch stop, is there such a thing as over extension of the pressure plate?

[jimmypet]

Hey Jimmy - thanks for chiming in with the good advice as always.

BW has a tilton 7.5" dual-disk setup with FW and TO for about $1600. It's pretty much on the way. I'm hoping I can sell my JB Racing FW.

http://www.bimmerworld.com/Tilton-Tw...eel-Kit_2.html

This is one of the last 3 things I need to sort out before the Majors at Heartland, so despite a strong desire to stay on budget, I whipped out the credit card. Not my favorite thing but it was a weak point and the last thing I want is a string of DNFs.

Thats a solid deal on a good setup. Great choice.
Thats a clutch that will serve you well for a long time and has longevity built in because you can actually service it unlike stock based strap clutches.
Good luck at the Majors.

[NeilM]

For those who prefer selective upgrades to their clutch system rather than moving up to a more elaborate/costly race clutch setup:

1) Fort Wayne Clutch (http://fortwayneclutch.com) will rivet reinforced drive straps to your pressure plate for small money (IIRC about $60 the last time I took a PP there). These resist PP strap buckling failure from any of those, err, less than expert downshifts. Not listed on their web site — you'll need to call them.

2) Sachs, the OE clutch supplier to BMW, offers a motorsport PP with higher clamping force for many BMW's. It's about twice as expensive as a stock PP, but is a direct drop-in. May need to be special ordered. I've had the E34 M5 version motorsport PP (along with LTW flywheel and M5 sprung clutch disk) on my E36 M3 track car for over a decade, and it's been bulletproof. Pedal effort is of course somewhat higher, and the engagement range is a bit narrower than stock, but neither is any big deal and the setup is still entirely streetable if need be.

Neil
96 M3

[CoMZ302]

Great info thanks Neil.

[ThreeD]

Good stuff thanks. I have also had a premature PP failure with the same setup. I replaced with another Sachs PP so we will see how that goes but another option would be one of the clutchmasters pressure plates. They are a good bit more expensive, though.

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