Umm...

Very slight slip when shifting between gears, maybe...

But my experience is that it pretty much goes from working great to gone almost instantaneously.

 

shift into 5th and floor the throttle. if your rpm goes up but you don't accel then it's toast. :dunno:

 

Last I had mine go, I would get slip while accelerating hard in a middle gear, like third.

 

I believe if you put in 3rd (or is it 4th?) at a stop and try to go you'll find out. If you stall, clutch is still good. If it goes, there's slip.

I replaced mine at 130K miles just because it seemed like the thing to do and I had a new set up ready to go, which I was anxious to play with.

 

Cool, thanks for the feedback.

I kind of hope that it’s like Nick says… it’s good one day and completely gone the next. What I don’t what to happen, is to have it slowly start going bad over time and it have it gradually start hurting my times on the track (without me realizing what’s going on).

I like the 3rd/4th/5th gear acceleration tests, that will give me something to do periodically to give me a piece of mind that it’s still ok.

Yeah, call me anal… but I already knew that.

Thanks again!! :thumbup:

 

a trait of the self adjusting clutch

 

Just as an FYI, 3, 4, 5 never worked for me.

 

I think you can find signs of slippage, but by then it's gone already.
I think clutch plate is like brake pads. It's there to be worn, and it self adjusts to account for the wear, but you can't tell how much is still left without looking at it.

 

...but you can't tell how much is still left without looking at it.

That is what I was afraid of.

 

I kind of hope that it's like Nick says… it's good one day and completely gone the next. What I don't what to happen, is to have it slowly start going bad over time and it have it gradually start hurting my times on the track (without me realizing what's going on).

Am I reading this right? You'd prefer the clutch to completely go out rather than give you warning so that you can get it changed before it completely goes out? :dunno:

Sounds fun to me. Good luck with that.

 

Am I reading this right? You'd prefer the clutch to completely go out rather than give you warning so that you can get it changed before it completely goes out? :dunno:

Sounds fun to me. Good luck with that.

Put it this way… I'd prefer the clutch to go out on my daily commute to work and leave me stranded then to have it slowly go out over time and cause me to loose 1/10th of a second during a race.

Yeah, call me nuts... but I already know that.

 

Put it this way… I'd prefer the clutch to go out on my daily commute to work and leave me stranded then to have it slowly go out over time and cause me to loose 1/10th of a second during a race.

Yeah, call me nuts... but I already know that.

When your clutch goes you'll know it. Under heavy load you'll feel as if you're slipping the clutch when your not. It wont leave you stranded, you'll have ample time before that.

 

Put it this way… I'd prefer the clutch to go out on my daily commute to work and leave me stranded then to have it slowly go out over time and cause me to loose 1/10th of a second during a race.

Yeah, call me nuts... but I already know that.

LOL!!!! I'll agree with Elwood that it's highly unlikely for a clutch to leave you stranded, but by what you're saying (if it were to actually be extensive enough to leave you stranded somewhere), you'd rather DNF in a race than lose 1/10th of a second.

Good stuff!

 

plan on changing it every year if you run Pro Solo with a codriver otherwise every 2 years, the flywheel is likely to blow the rubber joint between dual mass pieces too so figure on one of those while you're in there

usually it will start slipping, either on a hard launch or a hard 1-2 upshift, however if you ever slip the clutch it will quickly overheat and start slipping so you have to be careful not to confuse the two

 

plan on changing it every year if you run Pro Solo with a codriver otherwise every 2 years, the flywheel is likely to blow the rubber joint between dual mass pieces too so figure on one of those while you're in there

usually it will start slipping, either on a hard launch or a hard 1-2 upshift, however if you ever slip the clutch it will quickly overheat and start slipping so you have to be careful not to confuse the two

Thanks for the posts guys.

Yeah, I was afraid running the ProSolo events would reek havoc on my clutch… but at least that gives me an idea of how long it will last.

 

unfortunately the BMW factory clutch & dual-mass flywheel have always been a weak link :thumbdwn:

 

Unless you're running gobs of HP, racing or auto-X are easier on a clutch than street driving. Much less clutch slip is required in competition and slip is what kills clutches. Ask anyone who has put a racing clutch in street car and found it failed after <5,000 miles.

I have raced or worked on eveything from Showroom Stock to Formula Ford to Can Am cars, and the only thing I ever changed a clutch in because of failure was a Can Am car. Of course, that is the only thing I have ever wrenched on with any real power. Except for a 426 Hemi dragster, but it had an autobox. Keep in mind, I did usually change discs in the SS cars whenever the engine was out for any other reason.

 

there is a simple BMW tool for measuring the disk in the car.

 

I agree with the change the clutch anytim eyo uhave it apart. Engine or tranny. Murphy will strike otherwise.

Can you run a different flywheel, pressure plate and clutch in your class?

 

no

 

Unless you're running gobs of HP, racing or auto-X are easier on a clutch than street driving. Much less clutch slip is required in competition and slip is what kills clutches. Ask anyone who has put a racing clutch in street car and found it failed after <5,000 miles son.

well I already advised against slipping the clutch, but even if you don't the OE clutch/flywheel will only take so many drag strip launches at 4000+ rpm on high grip concrete and high grip tires before going south. That's my minimal experience anyways. :angel:

 

well I already advised against slipping the clutch, but even if you don't the OE clutch/flywheel will only take so many drag strip launches at 4000+ rpm on high grip concrete and high grip tires before going south. That's my minimal experience anyways. :angel:

Yeah, I'll concede Solo launches are tougher on a clutch than anything in road racing (at least US style rolling starts), especially when you consider the ratio of launches to track time is so high for Solo.

 

Yeah, I'll concede Solo launches are tougher on a clutch than anything in road racing (at least US style rolling starts), especially when you consider the ratio of launches to track time is so high for Solo.

Throw AWD into the mix, and it gets REALLY hard on the clutch. I had awesome launches in my wagon, but they definitely came at a price.

 

Light slippage under light load only in first...

reading through this thread and some others I found in the search it seems the indicators of clutch wear are apparent under heavy load and show up in the middle gears. On my '01 325Ci with a DaveZ CDV and about 35k miles I'v started to get just a little slippage in 1st gear only and under load load when starting from a stop. It is only for a fraction of a second and I do not notice any slippage in any other gear. Also once it catches additional load doesn't bother it. Is this a sign of the clutch going or some other problem - I really don't want to fork out the money for a new clutch - especially at only 35k miles. Thanks.

 

no, that sounds more like the clutch delay orifice or a sticking slave cylinder

when's the last time the clutch line has been bled? It get's really hot down there for long periods of time.