UUC Clutch and Lightweight Flywheel

[Green Dragon]

Santa drop off a present a wee bit early........ and I thought I should share. It will be a while before its installed, so that I may bid farewell, yea even to kiss crappy clutch engagement, and anything vaguely similar to bmw's self adjusting clutch, goodbye.

A few details, Kit is specific for the 6-speed, UUC flywheel is 13.5lbs, clutch disc is sprung hub performance organic for smooth street performance and dampening for drive-line chatter, pressure plate is a euro ///M3 Plate from the euro e36, I think. Similar spec to the e34 ///M5 plate used in the 5-speed kit. I will use a special transmission fluid package to further quiet gear lash associated with removal of the heavy dual mass flywheel and a lighter flywheel. The HD pressure plate and clutch disc are heavier than OE, so you have to look at the total assembly. In the end, I'm still much lighter, especially when you are talking about critical rotating mass and moment of inertia. The X will have an amplified virtual weight reduction which will aid acceleration and reinforce the playful character my manual X5 is endowed.

I will update this thread with a complete write up/pics. But for now.... some eye candy.

[Ricky Bobby]

DRIVELINE PORN ALERT

[Roman D]

Please dont forget to order and replace rear crankshaft seal while you at it.

[X53Jay4.8is]

The UUC flywheel is a work of art.

[Roman D]

Also, there are many rubber bushings and other parts to do with shifter (and precision of shifting) that are easy to replace while you are there. i can help you with P/n 's if you need to....i have recently did the same job.. Let me know. Oh yes, exhaust joint gaskets too, I'd out you can/want to reuse old ones.

[dabenthusiast]

Nice! Have fun, I'm out of funds for my x5 at the moment.
I left my 8 series on the street without reg. and saw a cop next to it luckily today, they would have towed it tomarow.

[Joshdub]

Super jelly. I almost bought one for my E30 but they hadn't been officially released yet and I needed to get my car back together.

Are you worried about harmonics at all? From what I have read putting a LWFW on a m54B30 can be met with disaster at sustained high RPMs without also upgrading the crank pulley.

[tonycajjo]

any update on this? feedback now that it's been awhile?

[Green Dragon]

Hey. Thanks for keeping me on my toes. One other member, techboy, is running The UUC LTW as well. He is running a Kevlar clutch disk. I'll page him on this thread as well to offer his feedback.

I absolutely love mine. I have had zero problems. The only exception was a starter alignment issue, but that was completely on my end.

Performance wise, it's such a nice treat. It ranks in as one of my favorite mods, hands down. The whole character of the car for me was changed. It even sounds slightly different as the dynamics of how quickly it responds to changes in flywheel inertia. Vehicle's power feels increased by a very noticeable magnitude, especially in the lower gears. The car feels virtually lighter, more nimble, and on point, which goes along ways in bringing into balance the perceved deficit of power in a heavy vehicle. Let's be honest, the M54 works hard in our e53, so I feel like the benefit an LTW and high performance clutch is magnified more so.

The clutch pedal feels heavier. Feels like an e39 ///M5, or E46 ///M3. You quickly Adjust. I love it. Engagement and disengagement are much more percise. Gone is the soft vagueness. Gone is the self adjusting clutch. Gone is the heavy dual mass flywheel. Mine was shot.

As expected, I do have to give a slight bit more tip-in, in the throttle when accelerating from a stop, but we're talking barely. Powering out from a dig in deep snow for example, was no problem at all, and I could quickly overwhelm the traction of my new blizzaks if pushed.

I do have a light gear box rattle when in neutral, clutch out. There is a recommend gear box fluid blend with an additive fluid which I'm told works well. I'm running RedLine MTL, and it's okay.

I'm sure I'm forgetting something, and I'm sure Techboy can add his 10 cents here.

Oh just a side note, I ditched my mechanical/viscous clutch fan too. Big improvement as well! I'm running a low amp draw, high performance brushless fan now.

I will post pics. Can't do it from my phone as the website wants the pics reduced in size.

[tonycajjo]

Thanks for the feedback, it's much appreciated.

This is the kit UUC said i would need:

Lightweight Flywheel & clutch - '03+ E46 330 6-speed/SMG, Z4 3.0, '04+ 530i – UUC Motorwerks Online Store

definitely thinking a lot about this. pinged a local mechanic since I don't feel like tackling it myself. might need to see on here if someone recommends a mechanic in CT.