11" clutch

[stefandwornik]

I have just bought a great 2001 M5, but it needs a clutch, which I am starting to find out, is a bit of a weak link with these cars.
Can someone please tell me some details of an 11" conversion that I am hearing about.......is it worth doing, where do I get it from, are there issues with the starter motor, etc., etc.

[NGS_M5]

[stefandwornik]

62000

[STAN]

I put in a UUC clutch last year as a do it yourself project. It was not tricky but was a bit time consuming. You have to remove the exhaust system, the sound deading components, the drive shaft, the shift lever, and break the clutch slave cylinder hydraulic line. None of this is difficult, but it still is a lot of junk. UUC wants quite a bit for their kit and I understand there are other kits availiable that are priced a bit lower. The basis for these change over kits is a special flywheel that mates up to the M5 motor and allows a standard BMW 11 inch clutch plate, pressure plate, throw out bearing, and slave cylinder to be used. You could spend a bit more and get a high performance clutch plate, but I am not sure it is worth it unless you plan to race the car.

[1LT]

my clutch failed a 32,000 on a CPO 540i the dealer repleced it, but now I'm having problems again at 95,000. I wished I had gone with a larger and clutch and flywheel at the time, OH well lessons learned.

[Rich5]

Stan, thanks for your reply....I have been gone for 10 days, so I only just saw it.
My M5 is quite abrupt when you lift off the throttle........lack of flywheel effect, so I am not in a hurry to get a lighter flywheel than standard. But I will call UUC tomorrow.
Anyone else out there think their car is "jerky" when they lift off the throttle?

[Stan]

I have not experienced any off gas jerkiness when I put in the UUC clutch. My car is a 2000 built in July of that year. Perhaps other years have different throttle maping in their computers that cause this problem.

[Rich5]

My impression is that it is jerky when you are cruising, and you lift the gas pedal quickly, because this engine has a light clutch and flywheel assembly. It happens at slow or fast speeds, so I think it is a lack of inertia. But this same effect also lets the car accelerate faster

[Stan]

The only time I have experienced anything like what you are describing is when the cars has just be started and with in the first few blocks of driving it and it has not come up to temperature yet.