Best DCT Clutchpacks - SSP vs Dodson

doublespaces

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Oct 18, 2016
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A lot of progress has been made with cars that run this BMW DCT transmission, and I thought it was time to revisit the discussion of the two clutch pack options we have available to us.

Currently there are two companies producing performance clutch kits, SSP and Dodson. Way back when there were stories circulating the internet regarding SSP clutches and failures. My understanding is they had changed their formula and since then and it seems that people have had great luck with them. It has also been said throughout various message boards that the Dodson clutches did not learn properly and are a bit harsh when they do. Well, Dodson has now redone their clutch material as well it seems so I reached out to both companies and this is what they had to say:

Kris@sspperformance said:
We are a huge part of the BMW DCT community. We currently have around 1000
performance clutch systems in BMW DCT equipped cars around the world.
Our Spec-R Clutch is a 16 plate clutch that is rated to 900 ftlbs of torque
at the flywheel.
Our Spec-X Clutch system is a 18 plate clutch that runs a little more
aggressive friction material. This clutch is rated to 1000ftlbs+ at the
flywheel.
The snap ring that you are inquiring about is for the filter housing. It
holds the side filter into the transmission.

We discontinued the Spec-S clutch due to lack of interest. Almost 99
percent of the sales are with the Spec-R clutch and higher.
Many years ago, we did have issues with finding the correct compound clutch
plates that were needed to make the DCT happy. We did some R&D with a
couple shops that were less than shady at time. But we over came the
negative publicity, nay sayers, to develop a superior product line up. We
stand behind our BMW DCT performance products for the term of 1 year. This
is never heard of in the aftermarket industry.


Steve@dodsonmotorsport said:
We have found over the years that instillation and learn have been issues for some clients so we have been reworking our entire program to make this simple for the dealers and end users. We have also incorporated some patent pending technology in our new clutches so we can hold more power and still offer nice drivability for a big clutch. We partnered with Exedy one of the worlds largest manufacturers in an exclusive arrangement which gives access to the latest in friction material design that is also patented. In the past we have seen some clients having some challenges mainly with assembly and learn. We have in recent months purchased an M5 test car and reworked the entire program and now supply fully built clutches rather than having variation with installers clearances and setup. Having run all of our clutches in our own test cars, whether it be the AUDIR8, Porsche 911, M5, R35 and many others we have first had experience once we have developed and product on its performance. The new BMWPLUS DMS Clutch is something quite special and is proving to be very popular we stand behind it 100%.

Both companies have revised their products, so it would seem we have to throw out the previous allegations and make our decision based on accomplishments and feedback since that time.

BrandModelPowerPriceNotes
SSPSpec R900ft lb$2,599 8/8 plate
SSPSpec X1000ft lb$5,299 9/9 plate, Billet Baskets
DodsonSupersport800ft lb$1909 8/8 plate
Dodson Sportsman's Plus1000ft lb$4115 10/10 plate, Billet Baskets, assembled
[TBODY] [/TBODY]
I still need to confirm MSRP and power handling of the Dodson parts. Dodson now requires you to send your clutch basket into them to ensure proper assembly.
 

4N Motorsport

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A lot of progress has been made with cars that run this BMW DCT transmission, and I thought it was time to revisit the discussion of the two clutch pack options we have available to us.

Currently there are two companies producing performance clutch kits, SSP and Dodson. Way back when there were stories circulating the internet regarding SSP clutches and failures. My understanding is they had changed their formula and since then and it seems that people have had great luck with them. It has also been said throughout various message boards that the Dodson clutches did not learn properly and are a bit harsh when they do. Well, Dodson has now redone their clutch material as well it seems so I reached out to both companies and this is what they had to say:






Both companies have revised their products, so it would seem we have to throw out the previous allegations and make our decision based on accomplishments and feedback since that time.

BrandModelPowerPriceNotes
SSPSpec R900ft lb$2,599 8/8 plate
SSPSpec X1000ft lb$5,299 9/9 plate, Billet Baskets
DodsonSupersport 8/8 plate
Dodson Sportsman's Plus 10/10 plate, Billet Baskets, assembled
[TBODY] [/TBODY]
I still need to confirm MSRP and power handling of the Dodson parts. Dodson now requires you to send your clutch basket into them to ensure proper assembly.
I have a 335is as a shop car and I am going to do the m4 flywheel dct pack upgrade and trans rebuild myself. I am very interested in this info thanks for throwing it out there
 

Alex@abrhouston

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Oct 25, 2016
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Not only are we SSP clutch dealers, and the only authorized shop in the Houston area for warranty- I want to bring personal insight to this. We've seen first hand trying to get a Dodson to properly initialize after replacement. 5 times it was pulled, even a spare DCT was installed and it wouldn't initialize. We swapped to SSP's and it did it first attempt. Kris is in the US vs Aussi land, and is very helpful with questions. We're a big fan of easy peasy.
 

doublespaces

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Oct 18, 2016
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Not only are we SSP clutch dealers, and the only authorized shop in the Houston area for warranty- I want to bring personal insight to this. We've seen first hand trying to get a Dodson to properly initialize after replacement. 5 times it was pulled, even a spare DCT was installed and it wouldn't initialize. We swapped to SSP's and it did it first attempt. Kris is in the US vs Aussi land, and is very helpful with questions. We're a big fan of easy peasy.

Which clutches were these?
 

Blue335is

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Dec 12, 2016
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I dont know anyone who has run the Dodson clutch packs. Im not sure they will recover in our market. The only place ive seen them recommended is he who's name we dont mention and his shitty forum. Thats really just a reflection of his personal feelings towards SSP.
 

BMWJunkie

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Dec 25, 2016
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Dodson was a nightmare, incorrectly made parts, little testing done on their end. Support was a joke. SSP was seemless.
 

BMWJunkie

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Dec 25, 2016
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This was their earlier clutch material, and not their new one, right?
I believe it was around the time they revised the parts but we were sent a 2nd set of friction materials and we had the same issue. This was with the upgraded baskets. The upgraded baskets poorly machined. I had trouble with the splines not sliding onto the input shaft of the transmission on the 2nd transmission we used. When we questioned Dodson about the issue they said they only tested fitment on 1 transmission and said that there may be variations. Not a quality product, at least summer 2016 it wasn't.
 

DMS

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Jan 29, 2018
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Hi All, I thought this would be a good opportunity to give some educational and instructional information on the Dodson Motorsport Plus Clutches to suit BMW DCT. There are a few things that need to be covered off, including the installation, clearances, learn procedure and also tunes, particularly with turbo and air intake upgrades to ensure you get the best result. We have two test vehicles that we have been monitoring, a stock standard 2013 m5 which we use to ensure smooth adaption and standard driving manners, also a 2015 M3 F80 1000 WHP Heat Exchanger, Intercooler, Charge Pipes, Intakes, S55 Turbo System, Titanium Option, Torque 798 Ft/lb. E85. Port Injection. Engine Custom Flash ECU, Transmission flash upgraded. Below is a render of the clutch. I thought we could start from top to bottom and go through the parts, and specifications etc. Then move on to installation and upgrades. Any questions during this, please let me know and also looking forward to hearing some feedback. All the best. Steve Parker General Manager Dodson Motorsport.

bmwcskplus_1.jpg
 
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BMWJunkie

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On average how many tries does it take for the clutch slip calibration test plan to run successfully on the latest version of the dodson dct clutch upgrade?
 

DMS

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Hi BMWJunkie, Thanks for the question. We get and expect first attempt learns on the DMS PLUS clutch with N54, F10, F80 as per tests and installs we have monitored and done in-house with our test cars. This is part of the process before we release a product then we generate the install and learn instructions to suit which we give to our dealers. These days we generally send full core exchange pre-built clutches to ensure they are plug and play essentially as there are some variables in assembly.
Why do you ask, have you had some issues if so we can look at this for you? We have a 335i, M5 and M3 test car if that assists you our engineers can review?
 

BMWJunkie

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Yes I had problems for months with your product. Your engineer told me he had to attempt clutch relearn 15 times. Even then a long test drive and another set of relearn attempts.
 
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DMS

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Hi, I will get team to look into this for you because it looks like you had some issues. We just wouldn't expect that these days as we redesigned to ensure a simple learn procedure, even back then we still had plenty working but a few didn't and it was predominantly around the learn. I think the best we can do in this scenario is to send you one of our new BMW plus clutches and give us some feedback, I think you will be pleasantly surprised. Maybe we could send you to one of our closer dealers. Can you tell us about your vehicle, modifications, turbos etc?
 

BMWJunkie

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Hi, I will get team to look into this for you because it looks like you had some issues. We just wouldn't expect that these days as we redesigned to ensure a simple learn procedure, even back then we still had plenty working but a few didn't and it was predominantly around the learn. I think the best we can do in this scenario is to send you one of our new BMW plus clutches and give us some feedback, I think you will be pleasantly surprised. Maybe we could send you to one of our closer dealers. Can you tell us about your vehicle, modifications, turbos etc?

If you would like me to test the new clutch design I would be more than happy to give my input. I own a very well known 335is with an extensive mod list.


http://www.dragtimes.com/BMW-335i-Timeslip-28057.html

I am a bmw master technician and performed the first dct swap into a N54 135i in 2016. The project was delayed over 6 months due to faulty dodson clutches. This was on David Rooney's 2010 135i. Previous overall fastest and quickest n54 in the world. After 6 months we tried SSP and were on the road that day. Here are links to his vehicle.


http://www.dragtimes.com/BMW-135i-Timeslip-27920.html
 
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DMS

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I will arrange that for you, I went through some of the history and I dont quite have the answer for what happened previously. It looks like a combination of items but we had used your initial feedback in our team discussion when designing the PLUS clutch. Ther had been some variables in some few cases. Will you run this in the 335i? out of interest what tune and trans flash/software are you using?