starting overhaul of my e34 525i: clutch/flywheel

[gmu525i]

Hi guys,

Having finally gotten a second vehicle, I am starting the process of giving my e34 525 all the love and attention and money she deserves. The intention at the end is to have a car that is solid enough to take to a driving school or similar. I know the 525 is not the 530/540/m5 and is not that fast, but it's still a lot of fun to drive.

With that said, the first thing I am planning to do is the clutch and flywheel since that is the system that is making the loudest noises that it's not supposed to. I searched through Pelican, ECS, Turner, etc and found a kit at GripForce that looks reasonable. That is to say, nice balance of price and slight upgrade. It has a Sachs clutch and Fidanza single-mass aluminum flywheel: http://gripforce.com/sachs-clutch-ki...-z3-e36-34-39/

Has anyone on here done a similar project, used that kit, or have other kits that they prefer?

After the choice of kit is the choice of whether do this myself or work with a shop to do it, but that is for another day.

Cheers,
Stephen

[gmu525i]

For everyone's edification (perhaps someone in the 87 views so far will care ...

Wound up getting the job done at Martin Motorsports and taking Gary's recommendation for an OEM Luk clutch, keeping the original dual-mass flywheel. He strongly advised against a single-mass setup if I was planning to keep it as any kind of daily-driver car, due to the massive increase in gear noise and finicky-ness on the launch. Coincidentally, the grinding sound from the clutch when driving to drop the car off was much louder than it had been previously. and Gary mentioned later that the throwout bearing fell out in three pieces. I felt bad having let it go that long, but sometimes it is what it is. The new clutch feels a thousand times better of course.

The next system with the most immediate problem is the exhaust, which is holding together mostly with good thoughts at the moment. I am thinking about going BillyBoat, but would also be interested in a used system off a parts car if anyone on here has one lying around.

Stephen