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68 Posts
Greetings Fellow M5ers,
I'm mostly a lurker and I've got my flamesuit on; so, please bear with me. I've spent over 2 hours searching/reading threads and investigating replacement clutches for the beast. After all of the investigative work, I've got a headache and I still require some collective guidance. Any insight would be much appreciated.
Background: I purchased a pre-owned MY 2000 with 42,000 mi from an independent BMW shop. That was almost 3 years ago and I've got 75,000 on the odometer now. The previous owner had already replaced the clutch and installed a lightened flywheel (timing and Brand of replacement parts unknown - the shop said "probably UUC and my sig says UUC but, I'm not really sure). I don't really mind the "chatter" and the increased pedal effort. I do not track this car and do not abuse it. However, I would consider myself a very "spirited" street driver. Last night, I detected slight slippage when I accelerated hard on the highway. As I begin to investigate my options to replace my clutch (and flywheel?) it's coming down to this -
1) How much performance gain can be attributed to the LW flywheel - is it worth the chatter (I realize that the engine can spool up faster and deccelerate faster - but, if I drove a stock car would I be able to notice the performance difference - e.g. If the clutch and LW flywheel are both trashed - and I opt to go straight OEM will I detect a "de-tune")?
2) How do I know whether the LW flywheel is still good?
3) If the shop says that the LW flywheel is OK - can I match to any aftermarket clutch (e.g., Spec Euro stage 2+, Brecus, or similar)?
4) Finally, what's typical - replace BOTH flywheel and clutch or just the clutch?
Thanks for reading (and replying?)
Bubbaschill
I'm mostly a lurker and I've got my flamesuit on; so, please bear with me. I've spent over 2 hours searching/reading threads and investigating replacement clutches for the beast. After all of the investigative work, I've got a headache and I still require some collective guidance. Any insight would be much appreciated.
Background: I purchased a pre-owned MY 2000 with 42,000 mi from an independent BMW shop. That was almost 3 years ago and I've got 75,000 on the odometer now. The previous owner had already replaced the clutch and installed a lightened flywheel (timing and Brand of replacement parts unknown - the shop said "probably UUC and my sig says UUC but, I'm not really sure). I don't really mind the "chatter" and the increased pedal effort. I do not track this car and do not abuse it. However, I would consider myself a very "spirited" street driver. Last night, I detected slight slippage when I accelerated hard on the highway. As I begin to investigate my options to replace my clutch (and flywheel?) it's coming down to this -
1) How much performance gain can be attributed to the LW flywheel - is it worth the chatter (I realize that the engine can spool up faster and deccelerate faster - but, if I drove a stock car would I be able to notice the performance difference - e.g. If the clutch and LW flywheel are both trashed - and I opt to go straight OEM will I detect a "de-tune")?
2) How do I know whether the LW flywheel is still good?
3) If the shop says that the LW flywheel is OK - can I match to any aftermarket clutch (e.g., Spec Euro stage 2+, Brecus, or similar)?
4) Finally, what's typical - replace BOTH flywheel and clutch or just the clutch?
Thanks for reading (and replying?)
Bubbaschill