M44 Dual Mass to Single Mass and Beyond

[M666BMG]

Right guys, the missus has calmed down, and i have now had two weeks to live with the car, no telemetry data yet, but just from driving i know it will be a lot different from standard.

Re-cap so what did I set out to do? I wanted a car that was responsive, that when i changed up or down gear the power came on like the opening of a tap, i wanted a smooth fast power delivery, i wanted a country lane barn stormer of my yester year (MK2 Escort, Pug 205 GTI).

So what did i get?

Well, little secret here, i mentioned early on that i also wanted a re-map, so i had that done while it was having the other mods and tweeks completed, heres what I have done:

• Overhauled the rear subframe, Standard beam bushes, powerflex swing arm bushes. painted.
• Overhauled the diff, new Redline 75W90 Hypoid gear oil (Diff whine has gone)
• New rear wheel bearings
• New ABS sensors
• New back plates
• New rear calipers and red stuff pads
• New rear flexi pipes
• New rear hard lines
• Brake fluid change
• New hand brake cables
• New fuel tank straps
• New water pump & thermostat
• New Auxilliary belt, belt tensioner and pulleys
• New HT leads and plugs - NGK BKR6EQUP
• Oil & Filter - Fuchs Titan Super Syn 5W40
• Gear box oil seal and shifter bearing change.
• New Gear Box oil - Red Line D4 ATF/Automatic Transmission Fluid
• Aluminium Lightened and balanced single mass fly wheel, clutch cover and Valeo clutch plate
• New Subwoofer enclosure
• Remap
• MOT - Passed

Quite a lot done in the last twelve months now that i look at it, and the garage has now been converted back into my Gym.

I also took the time to build the good lady the en-suite of her dreams.

So how does it drive i hear you say?

Well, it exceeded my expectations in all areas except one, come back to the latter.

The car now idles very smoothly, i did not expect this I expected it to be worse, there is no gear box chatter, other than when in neutral and then it is not noticeable.

The car is extremely smooth to drive, i actually manage to drive it better than a car with a DMF. Acceleration in first and second is really awesome, looking forward to the tele data.

The theory suggests that at the current weight of the fly wheel should be putting through to the wheels an extra 30bhp in first and 20 in second. This is not extra power generated, just existing power that no longer goes into turning the heavy DMF. I do not know what the actual figure is, but you can feel it and the power comes through right up to the redline without hesitation.

Driving on the twisties is fantastic, you have engine barking and instant power out of the corners, reminds me of my old MK2 Escort which had a similar setup. I have to say that I now get a smile every time i drive it, where as before it would sometimes leave me feeling a little bit Meh!.

So whats the down side?

The exhaust note has changed, it is fantastic from a standing start, but it now drones on a long 70mph journey and i don't like it, it did not do this before, and i don't understand why, but i will have to get it sorted.

Would i do it again?

If cost was no option the answer would be yes in a heart beat, I think this time it was an itch that needed scratching, it certainly demonstrated that you need a good work shop and tools. I have the tools, but lying on your back for hours with rusty nuts and bolts is not rewarding.

I have discussed this at length with the good lady, and I am in agreement, time to save for that Cobra or Porsche I've always wanted, so I am going to drive it now and enjoy it, it has been off the road for the majority of my 3 year ownership, as i keep scratching those itches, so I need to stop (Fingers Crossed).

I will post the tele data shortly, possibly over the xmas holidays.

Well done mate, hope to meet you one day.

 

[zedonist]

Well I am available now any time, including bar mitzvah...just name a date...

 

[Brian H]

Well done Rich, it really is difficult to stop tinkering once you have started, drive, enjoy and I'll maybe see you around next year

 

[t-tony]

Really happy you got there in the end mate, now stop f***ing about and drive the thing. Keep September clear!

Tony.

 

[oldcarman]

Totally agree with the previous posters @zedonist, glad you have the results you were chasing and your experiences will undoubtably assist many others. In particular those with the M44. Can't wait for the final results to be published. JIM

 

[Mint]

@zedonist.What a great result Rich, well done for persevering, great credit to you. Just get the exhaust sorted and you'll be able to drive her rather than tinker with her

 

[Norrbaggar]

Hi, what was the cost for the aluminu flywheel? Can you make more of them for sale?

 

[zedonist]

It cost me about £400 all together, that was buying the original Valeo single mass kit and the labour and materials to make the new one, which was used as a template but also for the starter ring. The engine builder used the Valeo one as a template for the aluminium one, and to use the pins you, then need to use the clutch cover from the kit and have it dynamically balanced with the flywheel, this ensures you get no gear chatter.

It would be more cost effective to go this route and find a local race engine builder by you or try using the 325 clutch

 

[littlefeller]

i think hard top hit the nail on the head with the idea of chrome plating the clutch surface of the alloy flywheel, this is an excellent idea. one question - is the ring gear also ally? does this hold up ok? i had considered the lighter flywheel route myself but as you found out lighter isnt always that lighter anyway, unless you fab your own, excellent work.

 

[zedonist]

Chrome plating is not hard or deep enough to provide a clutch surface, you have to put a hardened steel plate on as the clutch surface, this means that you can just replace this plate when it wears, so you dont have to buy a new fly wheel as you would if it was all steel.

The ring gear is alloy steel, it comes off the Valeo Flywheel and is fitted to the Aluminium flywheel.

 

[littlefeller]

chrome plating or rather nicosil plating works well on cylinder bores, it is also used for chaisaw teeth as it is harder than steel. though the problem here would be the cost of plating/hardening, the changeable surface like yours is the easier,more cost effective option. how are you finding this mod on a day to day basis? i didn't realize the ring gear was also utilized, i had visions of it being ally, hence the question. the problem is there are not any real alternatives for the duel mass except the so called (lighter) single mass which are not that much lighter (unless you fab your own).

 

[hard top]

Put it this way, in the oil & gas biz we copper plate the coupling (female connection) on the chrome tubing (used for sour gas) and glass peen the pin connection (male connection) and if the process is done properly, after many 'makes & breaks' at high torque values, the coating is still good to go.

 

[littlefeller]

chrome plating is one of the hardest you could use, question is could it hold up as a clutch surface, i think it could. would this be more expensive though? next part of this is - could the ring gear be plated at the same time, would this hold up?. if the ally were to deform would not the plating simply come off. its an interesting idea. personal i think the ring gear would be the issue here. its great that someone has posted there experience on this as there is alot of miss information (on google) regarding duel to single mass conversions, especially as this post includes the fact that the so called lighter single mass are not that much lighter anyhow.
(the same maths can also be implied for the wheels too)

 

[hard top]

its an interesting idea.

Have a word with these guys....http://www.mpeastern.co.uk/

 

[zedonist]

Guys trust me it wont be up to the job, Although chromium is hard it needs to be quite a thick layer in the mm range to work. plating puts on anywhere from 4 microns to 20 microns, plating any thicker than this spalls off, copper plate is used as a lubricant and anti seize, the tightening torques may be high but that is the torque to ensure the joint does not come undone, incidentally 60 -80% of torque applied to a thread goes into overcoming friction not tightening the joint, there is very no constant pressure and friction once it is done up, hence why it does not come off.

As you will see from HT link, chrome conversion on aluminium is not used hardness properties and is either decorative or for the electrical properties.

On a clutch face you have a constant rotational force applied this would just wipe the surface clean and then take out the aluminium plate, when what you want is the clutch plate to grip the drive plate. The only other way, other than putting a hardened steel plate on the surface is to use a process called thermal metal spraying. This is where you spray molten metal at the surface of the component, it is expensive though. Which is why on aluminium clutches the cheapest and best option is the hardened steel plate.

 

[hard top]

copper plate is used as a lubricant and anti seize, the tightening torques may be high but that is the torque to ensure the joint does not come undone, incidentally 60 -80% of torque applied to a thread goes into overcoming friction not tightening the joint, there is very no constant pressure and friction once it is done up, hence why it does not come off.

Good point, it also makes sure that the male connection marries up with the shoulder in the female connection to make them gas tight.

 

[oldcarman]

I have a gun for anyone that wants to try out the thermal metal spraying techniques. It's a slow process but does the job! JIM

 

[Norrbaggar]

@zedonist have you consider this:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-Chrom...778953?hash=item3f594736c9:g:jN4AAOSwYGFUsTXw
Is this poor quality, or is it a possible option?

 

[zedonist]

Its certainly an option and at the right price, but consider this before diving in, you will also need to source a sprung clutch plate and release bearing, and more important a new clutch cover which you will need to have dynamically balanced with the fly wheel, or you risk snapping the crank or worse...now if the other bits and labour come in reasonable it is very good option, wish it was available last year.

The only other downside after now having the aluminium one is that once the clutch surface wears you will have to buy a new flywheel, hopefully they are still available, where as with the aluminium one you just get a clutch plate made. Swings and roundabouts really. I hope you have a go at it, as it would give two possible methods.

 

[BlackBMWs]

hmm. I run a lightened M20 flywheel with a M42 ring on it in my 318ic instead of a dual mass. Definately upped the pep factor for the car, lost lower end torque tho, but revs up much faster. I have a spare and wondered if it would work with the M44. Not had a recent occasion to give it a go as of yet. I think if I recall correctly the FW went from like 25-26 lbs to 11 lbs.

Nice setup in conjunction with a Downing Atlanta blower.