[DaanBMW]

OK, my SMFW Valeo clutch kit is now in !

Impressions:

• So far the noise at idle is not noticeably higher ! I'm relieved, this is what I was most afraid of. (I used a 30% syncromesh + 70% MTL 90 in the tranny)
• the noise is noticeably higher on acceleration, so much so that it feels the engine has moved in the cabin. truth be told, I also replaced the motor mounts with 034 MS full rubber ones, and - this is what I think does most of it - m3 e46 tranny mounts (these are really hard).
• my clutch bite is waaay low, so low that I couldn't even shift until I got the clutch stop out (I had put it in because of the high bite of the OEM clutch)
• the top of the clutch travel is dead, meaning when I press the pedal on the first maybe 7 degrees (just a guess) there is barely any resistance. then you finally feel some pressure and near the end of the travel is where the clutch bites.

Questions:

1. Is the noise upon acceleration there for others with this kit ?
2. Is this super-low bite normal ?

[DaanBMW]

I also used the large ECS SFTRBKT2 shifter kit.

@[RuinE90d]: While doing so:

• I can confirm that the Teflon bushings are the size you mentioned - 0.46" (the 0.94" in the 1st pic was an aprox. measrmt, it was really 0.92")
• But... that went in on my tranny with room to spare, see 2nd pic, it was fitting loosely. Must be because we have different tranny's ? mine is the Getrag GS6-17BG
• Lastly - and v. disappointingly - the bushing were way too small on OD: 2 of them were falling off so I used some thin foam packing material to simply hold them from falling during install. To make things worse, they were also a bit large on ID, such that when the pins went in they also felt a little loose compared to stock ones.

Did anyone experience this issue with the ECS teflon bushings ?

.

[hassmaschine]

I saw some other posts about them not fitting either. Honestly, I'd rather have stock bushings than poorly fitting parts - they're not going to do you any good if they fit so loosely.

[DaanBMW]

Originally Posted by hassmaschine

I saw some other posts about them not fitting either..

Me too, but all I saw were about length and needing trimming, none about them being too small ! Was it a bad batch of bushing ? no idea.

Originally Posted by hassmaschine

Honestly, I'd rather have stock bushings than poorly fitting parts - they're not going to do you any good if they fit so loosely.

Agreed ! The problem is that this was a whole kit and ECS says I can return it or keep it. My impression about ECS tuning was way better than this. I can't get the whole damn kit off again

[DaanBMW]

Anyone with this or some other SMFW having the clutch pedal with such a dead travel up top and a v. low bite (when new that is) ?

[RuinE90d]

Originally Posted by DaanBMW

I also used the large ECS SFTRBKT2 shifter kit.

@[RuinE90d]: While doing so:

• I can confirm that the Teflon bushings are the size you mentioned - 0.46" (the 0.94" in the 1st pic was an aprox. measrmt, it was really 0.92")
• But... that went in on my tranny with room to spare, see 2nd pic, it was fitting loosely. Must be because we have different tranny's ? mine is the Getrag GS6-17BG
• Lastly - and v. disappointingly - the bushing were way too small on OD: 2 of them were falling off so I used some thin foam packing material to simply hold them from falling during install. To make things worse, they were also a bit large on ID, such that when the pins went in they also felt a little loose compared to stock ones.

Did anyone experience this issue with the ECS teflon bushings ?

.

Hey Daan, the issue must be the Trans, I have the non Getrag, ZF. When I installed the pins they fit snug on the ID of the bushings. However I had similar difficulty getting them in as one side would fall out while I tried to situate the other side. Wish I had glued them just to ease install. Maybe we had a similar slop in the bushing within the bracket, I'm not sure... but I think it's still a big improvement over the flimsy OE rubber bushings. W/O question ECS needs to rework the part.

I would expect them to refund you for the Teflon bushings only and ship you a free new set of OE rubber bushings. If you're sure you want to go back to the rubber ones.

After further driving I would agree to have some increased noise not originally reported. I would specify gears 1-3 being 20% noisier at lower rpms for me. I'm not sure if it's related to the clutch or shifter rebuild or both... I sort of doubt it's the clutch conversion. I too have the E46 M3 trans mounts but engine mounts are 335 iS.

As for the clutch pedal issue you're having that does not resemble my experience. My pedal travel is normal, with good pressure, and normal new clutch engagement.

[DaanBMW]

Originally Posted by RuinE90d

Hey Daan, the issue must be the Trans, I have the non Getrag, ZF. When I installed the pins they fit snug on the ID of the bushings. However I had similar difficulty getting them in as one side would fall out while I tried to situate the other side. Wish I had glued them just to ease install. Maybe we had a similar slop in the bushing within the bracket, I'm not sure... but I think it's still a big improvement over the flimsy OE rubber bushings. W/O question ECS needs to rework the part.

So you are saying your teflon bushings were also loose in the carrier ? You realize that is the recipe for slop.

I've not really felt a lot of improvement with the kit, but again mine where undersized in the carrier (oval shape), slightly oversized for the pins (ID), and a bit short between the tranny mounting fins (length).

For sure these kind of variations do not recommend the ECS bushings in my book, but ECS is currently providing the proper support for fixing this (after a bad start).

Originally Posted by RuinE90d

[snip] After further driving I would agree to have some increased noise not originally reported. I would specify gears 1-3 being 20% noisier at lower rpms for me. I'm not sure if it's related to the clutch or shifter rebuild or both... I sort of doubt it's the clutch conversion. I too have the E46 M3 trans mounts but engine mounts are 335 iS.

Sounds like your noise is not engine speed related ? Mine gets louder and ricier the further I accelerate... Will likely get the e46 m3 tranny mounts replaced, will see if that offers the hoped relief.

Originally Posted by RuinE90d

As for the clutch pedal issue you're having that does not resemble my experience. My pedal travel is normal, with good pressure, and normal new clutch engagement.

Now that is odd... I can't really explain it.

Thanks for the reply !

[RuinE90d]

The reason I say the ECS bushings are still an improvement is because they aren't compressible. The original rubber bushings compress. I think between the oval feature that slides into the carrier and the ID that the pin rides in together have a little slop but not much (relative to the OE rubber configuration)... even if you have to trim the width to fit the ZF trans.

These bushings only support the shifter and they do still (positively) limit shifter movement (slop) over the OE part... especially over time. The rubber will wear out sooner and provide less rigidity when exposed to use, oil/trans fluid, etc.

[DaanBMW]

Yeah, I'm torn trying to understand what would be better in the long run. Given mine have all 3 slops (rotation of teflon OD in carrier + rotation of pin in teflon ID + axial due to loose fitting between the fins) I also have different config than you (you miss the axial slop). But I actually tried to find some thin washers to try to maybe fix that... will see.

The way I see it, the bushings are oval - a clear complication in a design vs. a round shape - because BMW wanted to esp. reduce the vertical slop not so much the horizontal. Axial slop... ? Not clear to me, but I'm fairly sure the OEM rubber bushings - while indeed softer than teflon - do not allow free slop.

[850CSi]

So, I'm going to be rebuilding my shifter when I replace my flywheel/clutch. Based on the feedback here, I think I'm going to stick with the OE bushings (especially as it pertains to the OE lever bushing vs the teflon example discussed here) -- except for the shifter arm bushing, where I think I'm going to try the Turner polyurethane alternative. My parts list:

25117542200 (BMW performance SSK)
25111220600 ball socket bushing
Turner polyurethane shifter bushing (in place of 25111222015)
25117529078 bearing bolt
25117529079 bearing bolt
25117571899 shift rod clips x2
25117580281 rod joint
25117507695 OE shift lever bushing
23411466134 dowel pin

Any thoughts? Am I missing anything?

[850CSi]

Originally Posted by hassmaschine

The 330i uses a 240mm, and the 240mm will fit the other cars if the flywheel & pressure plate are the same.

Can someone confirm for me whether a 330i clutch set will work fine with a 325i (which has a different [Getrag] transmission than the 330i had)?

This is the exact kit I bought:
https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw...uk-21207625149

[blackedout330i]

Even though.the.330 and the 325/328 have different transmissions these are all cross compatible?

About to order JB racing flywheel and hopefully find that valeo hub sprung clutch kit it seems to be ONLY offered with non 330i. Of course I don't need the flywheel with the kit just the spring hub clutch disc