Twin Disc Clutches and drivability

PupkinRacing

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Aug 31, 2017
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So Iam currently looking at twin disc clutches. As there are a decent amount of options, I haven’t found many reviews on how they are for daily driving. Iam looking for reviews on which brand you have and the drivability aspect. My power goals is mid 600 wheel with the option to put down 700 wheel in the future. Iam looking to keep daily driving this car so that is the main focus for this clutch. It will see highway pulls and maybe a couple times down the strip but that’s it. I’ve driven plenty of heavy ass single disc clutches on other platforms and they generally suck for a DD. I haven’t had a twin disc before so I know very little about them. Please give me your opinions and suggestions, would be for an N54 135i.
 

GreyNBlueE92

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Oct 3, 2018
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Xclutch ftw, my twin ceramic really isn't too bad to drive. It gets easier after break in ~600mi or so.
 

The Convert

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Jun 4, 2017
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If you're not going to launch the car I'd go with the organic.
This 100%. Organic full face sprung discs is a must if you want good drivability. I have non-organic sprung pucked discs in my spec and absolutely hate it.
 

martymil

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Sep 6, 2017
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I personally have had the first organic twin plate from xclutch and its been the best.

Drives like stock after break in period and the metal throw out bearings becomes almost silent after a few thousand miles

I would never go back to stock unless I went stock turbos.

You need to turn up the idle to 850/900rpm as all twin plates chatter and this makes them virtually silent
 
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fmorelli

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Aug 11, 2017
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Drives like stock after break in period and the metal throw out bearings becomes almost silent after a few thousand miles
Marty I've been unsure about the metal TO install with my XClutch on the Z4. So you are saying go for it, and it'll quiet down in a few thousand miles? I don't drag the car but expect to be in the 600whp zone.

Filippo
 

martymil

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The tob is virtually silent but still a little audible to tell you its there and working correctly after a few thousand miles

Clutch fully engaged the tob is silent but the gearbox can sometimes be a tiny bit rattly but you have to listen for it to hear it

I also found with all twin plates and stock exhaust and catless dp you have to run flex joints up front otherwise you will get 5th or 6th gear resonance under 2k but the xclutch is way better than all the ones I tested
 

fmorelli

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Interesting. Thanks. I have a full custom exhaust all the way back (catless on DP but high flow mid-pipe cats) and I get a 2k resonance. Figured it was a pipe diameter thing. So when you say flex up front ... behind the DP connection?

I'm not super picky on sound. I run Revshift 80a mounts and am still at stock idle. The annoyance is minor at best. Sounds like metal TOB and kick the revs up should be fine. Thanks.

Filippo
 

ShocknAwe

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Jan 24, 2018
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Interesting. Thanks. I have a full custom exhaust all the way back (catless on DP but high flow mid-pipe cats) and I get a 2k resonance. Figured it was a pipe diameter thing. So when you say flex up front ... behind the DP connection?

I'm not super picky on sound. I run Revshift 80a mounts and am still at stock idle. The annoyance is minor at best. Sounds like metal TOB and kick the revs up should be fine. Thanks.

Filippo

Interested in this as well. I'm full custom exhaust at this point and have bad resonance at 2.2-2.5 thinking it's from the 3.5" mid and needs a drone pipe, but if I need flex pipe somewhere....

Have both the xclutch metal TOB and a LuK one. Painfully undecided there heh.
 

DCook

Sergeant
May 25, 2018
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I'll throw my opinion in here. Im running the organic x clutch twin disk. Absolutely love it. Easy steetable. It showed up, put it in, trailered it to the track, did a ton of roll racing, then turned around the next day and drove it from Illinois to florida, around there and back home. Its seen a metric fuckton of 750+hp roll pulls, couple hard take offs, and a ton of abuse. It had a few little hotspots when i took it out, cleaned all the surfaces slapped it back in, it settled back in after a few rips and shes just fine. No break in here. Far from it. I would definitely chose them again. And highly recommend it. The only complaint i have is all the damn pressure plate bolts. But thats cause im lazy haha.

Also, using the included metal tob. No issues.
 

martymil

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Sep 6, 2017
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Sorry guys had to have a nap the time difference kills me sometimes.

The tob has a shimmering metal sound like someone has got a sheet of stainless and rubbing it gently on concrete.

That virtually disappears after a few thousand miles but I love it, it reminds me its there and to treat it with respect and
the sound goes down to like rubbing carboard on a desk very faint.

The flex pipe is what all twin plates need to stop resonance at around 1800rpm.

Why it does is is because aftermarket dp's don't have the flex joints like stock ones have.

You can get rid of it in two ways

Weld in a flex joint or install two slip joints with a clamp like akrapovic mids have.

Have you ever noticed the dp's dont line up quite right with the mids and the flanges are not quite true to each other.

That causes huge resonance, you can also hear it with a dual mass fly wheel but not quite as bad thats why BMW
has done this on the factory units.

aeroflow-af9500-2500.jpg
RM-DS-2.5-SS-2.jpg
 
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PupkinRacing

Specialist
Aug 31, 2017
79
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Madison, Wisconsin
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Bmw 135i
Sorry guys had to have a nap the time difference kills me sometimes.

The tob has a shimmering metal sound like someone has got a sheet of stainless and rubbing it gently on concrete.

That virtually disappears after a few thousand miles but I love it, it reminds me its there and to treat it with respect and
the sound goes down to like rubbing carboard on a desk very faint.

The flex pipe is what all twin plates need to stop resonance at around 1800rpm.

Why it does is is because aftermarket dp's don't have the flex joints like stock ones have.

You can get rid of it in two ways

Weld in a flex joint or install two slip joints with a clamp like akrapovic mids have.

Have you ever noticed the dp's dont line up quite right with the mids and the flanges are not quite true to each other.

That causes huge resonance, you can also hear it with a dual mass fly wheel but not quite as bad thats why BMW
has done this on the factory units.

View attachment 36957View attachment 36958

I saw you post about this in another thread and I definitely want to do! Thanks for sharing again. As well as your xclutch experience. I think Iam going to go for it.
 

The Convert

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Jun 4, 2017
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I would like to see a hydraulic tob used. That would eliminate all the tob worries and make all clutches even easier.
 

Frenchie1013

Lurker
Jun 26, 2017
21
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335i
Old thread but want to chime in - I have the organic Xclutch and it is amazing. Had mine for about 10k miles and its great. Easier to shift than the stock clutch once you get used to it and holds plenty of power. Im going to add this flex pipe as well as I do have some resonance at around 2000-2500 rpm. Def go for it if you haven't already !
 
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ShocknAwe

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Jan 24, 2018
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Wanted to drop in and give my feedback finally on the Xclutch Organic. Have it installed with RE trans mounts, OEM engine mounts with aluminum BMW Racing style mount inserts, and Hydra Performance turbos hooked up to catless 3" downpipes to 3.5" solid mid.

So, reinforced mounts, and solid steel exhaust.

First: NVH.
- Horrible drone from 1800-2200 rpm. This is new. I think probably due to my flex/slipless exhaust. Gonna ask my exhaust guy to put some flex pipe in the forward portion of the mid section and a drone pipe.
- the TOB noise is totally tolerable and extremely quiet to me. Maybe I'm going deaf. It's definitely a scraping/shimmering sound with the clutch depressed.
- gear rattle is present even with idle at 900. This is probably due to the aluminum engine mount inserts. No big deal, honestly it's only a little louder than my worn out stock DMFW was.

Second: Drivability @ 200 miles
- Engagement. The Xclutch is pretty grabby still. At first it was rough going from a slipping stock setup to fresh twin disk. Starting to be able to slip it for smooth starts but getting it rolling from a stop can still be rough, especially if I'm tired, not paying attention, or in a rush.
- Weight. Definitely spins up faster and easier with this clutch, and revs drop faster too. Totally different beast.
- Pedal. The clutch pedal dead zone is smaller up top, and the friction point is higher in pedal travel. Overall I like this as it allows me to use a bigger clutch stop and took up a ton of clutch pedal travel.
 
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PupkinRacing

Specialist
Aug 31, 2017
79
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Madison, Wisconsin
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Bmw 135i
Old thread but want to chime in - I have the organic Xclutch and it is amazing. Had mine for about 10k miles and its great. Easier to shift than the stock clutch once you get used to it and holds plenty of power. Im going to add this flex pipe as well as I do have some resonance at around 2000-2500 rpm. Def go for it if you haven't already !
Never to old to add good feedback. The drone is something Iam definitely getting ready to fix