[rdeterman]

I just installed my Spec Stage 2+ and steel SMFW (got from Jeff at top gear solutions) who was awesome to deal with! I had some flywheel chatter right away while at idle and it got louder if the ac was on. After about 100 break in miles the noise is very minimal.. i dont even notice it anymore. I do like how this clutch is breaking in... cant wait to do some hard launches after a few hundred more miles!

[1nityrider]

Originally Posted by rdeterman

I just installed my Spec Stage 2+ and steel SMFW (got from Jeff at top gear solutions) who was awesome to deal with! I had some flywheel chatter right away while at idle and it got louder if the ac was on. After about 100 break in miles the noise is very minimal.. i dont even notice it anymore. I do like how this clutch is breaking in... cant wait to do some hard launches after a few hundred more miles!

Nice, please keep us updated on your clutch and the "chattering" situation. I will be getting a new clutch soon, since a new flywheel is recommended, I am thinking why not just go for a SMF.

[stratos_335]

Hi all,

sorry for being late but I performed my first nice run last night.

480 km (300 miles) on the odometer and my car feels great. I think idle chattering is less when the car is cold but it's very audible when you stop the engine and start it up again after let's say 20 minutes. With windows down and fully catless exhaust is not annoying but you can definitely hear it.

As some other people mentioned, it sound like a diesel engine when accelerating until 2000k rpm exactly with WOT. For instance 3rd gear and 40 km/h. Nothing horrible with 30% of gas pedal pressure but you can hear it and feel the vibration with more throttle.



The most important: MISFIRES ARE GONE. Yes!!!!! I did a 19 psi run tapering to 18 psi at 7000 rpm with meth spraying (100% meth) and RB turbos. The car is a beast and can't wait to hit the dyno for more results.

As Shiv found out first with his ST cars, misfires are completely gone and the car runs perfect with full boost with the SMFW.



I forgot to mention that you can feel the clutch when it has broken in. It is more grabby than the first day it was installed and you need to rev the engine higher to start the car moving from a dead stop. And it doesn't sound like the crappy 6 puck ACT clutch that my friend has on his 135.


SPEC SMFW FTW !!!

[Jeff@TopGearSolutions]

Originally Posted by mrbillytalent

That's what I wrote.....

Sorry I was up past my bedtime.

Mike's the guy I ordered my aluminum trans bolts from... of course.

It's all good

Originally Posted by mrbillytalent

Stock FW seems to be fine on stock turbos. I don't prefer how sloppy the stock FW feels but at times it can be smoother and is quieter.

Unless I'm wrong... the misfire phenomenon is born from upgraded turbos at high RPM's with the stock dual mass.

Yes if someone is plan on keeping stock turbo's the single mass does feel a bit "Tighter" but at the end of the day the Stock OEM DMFW will be the "quieter" choice.

Originally Posted by rdeterman

I just installed my Spec Stage 2+ and steel SMFW (got from Jeff at top gear solutions) who was awesome to deal with! I had some flywheel chatter right away while at idle and it got louder if the ac was on. After about 100 break in miles the noise is very minimal.. i dont even notice it anymore. I do like how this clutch is breaking in... cant wait to do some hard launches after a few hundred more miles!

Yes I hear more and more times that after a few hundred miles this clutch breaks in very well. Glad you like it.

Originally Posted by stratos_335

Hi all,

sorry for being late but I performed my first nice run last night.

480 km (300 miles) on the odometer and my car feels great. I think idle chattering is less when the car is cold but it's very audible when you stop the engine and start it up again after let's say 20 minutes. With windows down and fully catless exhaust is not annoying but you can definitely hear it.

As some other people mentioned, it sound like a diesel engine when accelerating until 2000k rpm exactly with WOT. For instance 3rd gear and 40 km/h. Nothing horrible with 30% of gas pedal pressure but you can hear it and feel the vibration with more throttle.



The most important: MISFIRES ARE GONE. Yes!!!!! I did a 19 psi run tapering to 18 psi at 7000 rpm with meth spraying (100% meth) and RB turbos. The car is a beast and can't wait to hit the dyno for more results.

As Shiv found out first with his ST cars, misfires are completely gone and the car runs perfect with full boost with the SMFW.



I forgot to mention that you can feel the clutch when it has broken in. It is more grabby than the first day it was installed and you need to rev the engine higher to start the car moving from a dead stop. And it doesn't sound like the crappy 6 puck ACT clutch that my friend has on his 135.


SPEC SMFW FTW !!!

Finally you get to enjoy your car!

[Alex!]

Hi Stratos, I read all your review, very usefull, specialy the info about the bearing.
I have my new Satge 2+ and SMFW waiting to be installed here, in Arentina (Euro Spec). I bought the kit from Jeff, excellent seller.

I have two questions for you or any guy with new clutch:

1-How you remove the small bearing of the center of the gearbox?

2-Do you have the Torque for the Flywheel screws and the gearbox screws???

Thnks!
Alex

[stratos_335]

Hi Alex,

the torque for the flywheel is 120 Nm or 88.5 ft/lbs. Start with 25-30 Nm and torque it up with 5 Nm increments until 120 Nm. As for the gearbox bolts, it is much less like 30Nm or so but I can't remember exactly.

As for the center bearing... I left the same. The shop needs a special tool for removing it but most shops are not equipped with that. One other way that is not recommended is to push some plasticine inside the small bearing and push it with a 12 mm axle. It is a time consuming process and you should know what you are doing. The plasticine will get into the small hole at the end of the bearing and eventually will push it out of its housing. Again, I don't recommend it, you might fail and then you should search for the special tool.

[Alex!]

Thanks for you fast answer!!!!!

[Alex!]

Hi again Stratos! Tomorow I will finish to install my new clutch, but I need (if you remenber) the correct toque for plate bolts...

[Dave W.]

Originally Posted by Alex!

Hi again Stratos! Tomorow I will finish to install my new clutch, but I need (if you remenber) the correct toque for plate bolts...

Torque for pressure plate to flywheel is 15Nm plus 90 degrees. Bolts should be replaced when removed.

[stratos_335]

Originally Posted by Alex!

Hi again Stratos! Tomorow I will finish to install my new clutch, but I need (if you remenber) the correct toque for plate bolts...

Originally Posted by Dave W.

Torque for pressure plate to flywheel is 15Nm plus 90 degrees. Bolts should be replaced when removed.

Hi Alex,

If Dave is correct, then the torque for the transfer case is 15 Nm but i thought it was 20-25.

Give us some feedback after the installation

[nikitino25]

Does that piece on the throw out bearing with a low and high setting have to do with the clutch pedal take up point? I think you used the low setting and said that the pedal was pretty high or out before the clutch started grabbing. If you used the high setting on that piece would that put the pedal take up lower? Or does it have nothing to do with it?

[Dave W.]

Originally Posted by stratos_335

Hi Alex,

If Dave is correct, then the torque for the transfer case is 15 Nm but i thought it was 20-25.

Give us some feedback after the installation

Careful! Notice the torque spec is 15Nm PLUS an additional 90 degrees of tightening. That means it's probably closer to 27 Ft-lbsor 37 Nm.

[stratos_335]

Originally Posted by Dave W.

Careful! Notice the torque spec is 15Nm PLUS an additional 90 degrees of tightening. That means it's probably closer to 27 Ft-lbsor 37 Nm.

My mechanic is closed for summer vacation, else I would have asked him. 30Nm sounds better but with the extra 90 deg twist is more possible.

[Alex!]

Guys thank you very much for your help!!!

I will do a small introduction:
I´m from Argentina and I have a 2010 135i Euro Spec with JB4 G5, Riss Racing Catless Downpipes (in my country it is not forbidden) AFE filters and coolingmist WM (80/20 mix). Im not a mechanic but as many guys in this forum I love cars, so most of the modifications was made by me with my friends help. This car is by far my best and powerfull car.

At this moment I have 45.000 km (aprox 28K miles). I had to change aprox at 15k miles all the injectors and plugs. It was the only problems that I had with my car. But now with aprox 390 whp and cold weather (6 grades celcius or 43F) my original clutch started to sleep. So I decided to change it. I was between Clutchmaster or Spec, but reading the forum I went for Spec. The original idea was to conserve the original dual mass because of the chatter, but most of my friends with VAGs cars recommended me the single mass because it is lighter and stronger and also I read in this forum the problem with RB turbos of the double mass, so I bought a Steel single mass (not an aluminium because I read that can be more noisy).
I Contacted Jeff of TGS and bought the kit, excellent seller by the way. He sent it to Miami and my courrier dispatched to Argentina.

So on Tuesday afternoon with my friends (one of them is a mechanic) we start to change it. We had to remove a lot of things to get to the gearbox. Really it is a PITA to take off the two upper screws!!!!

For recomendation of Stratos and reading the difficult of take off the small center bearing, I cleaned and put new grease because it looks OK. By the way, my original TO bearing was in the low position, so the new one I put in the same position.

As we have differents works, we only can play to be mechanics in the afternoons. Yesterday we put the gearbox again in the car and today we will assembly the rest of the car.
We had some problems with the Spec alignment tool, but thanks god we have this one:


As soon as I drive the car, I will post a review.

Now some pics!

[stratos_335]

Well done. Did you drive your car? How does it feel?

[Alex!]

Yes!! Yesterday I did.

First impressions in break in period:

-Pedal feeling harder than the original specialy at the end of the travel. In a traffic jump will be like to be in the gym!!!

-Engagement point similar with the original, Near the top of the pedal. I will test when break in period finish, but I thing I will buy a clutch stop. Also I have to rev a little more the car in first gear.

I think the worse part it is the chatter, but it is normal in single mass flywheel. The worse part of the chatter, as you wrote in the first post, is the noise at low rev and high gears, 3 gear at 60 km/h and about 1300 rpm is the worse part for me. I feel that the car is disarming.

But despite of this, Im happy with the clutch because I use my car twice a week and one of them it is to run with another cars.