[krashDH]

Hey All; and hotsauce_bukkake


Stumbled upon this thread and read through the whole thing. Sorry to intrude I know you guys are G80's, but I can't seem to find any "real world" experiences with these clutches except for this thread.

I'm kind of a unique situation, I'll be swapping my E90 2011 335d to a manual this coming spring (all donor parts from a euro 330d M57), so I'm getting all my ducks in a row. There's really only 2 options for the clutch...a ClutchMasters, which doesn't have nice manners and is really only a race clutch. The guy who was using this in his swap ended up swapping back to an auto in that car because it wasn't daily-able.

Then there's PTB, which on paper looks great. They have a billet DMF which I want since I don't want the transmission shaken to death). The 335d that I have is tuned to about 375 whp/600 ft-lb tq (815 nm) at the wheels. My tuner said add about 10% to those numbers to what the crank/flywheel will see, so I'm sitting right around 900Nm to cover me.

Really the only options I have for this clutch from the following link:

https://www.ptb-shop.de/Kupplungs-Ki...M57-396D2.html

Are the or/sint/p (950Nm), or the sint/sint/s (1000 Nm). I also drive a manual 04 Cummins with a Southbend clutch so very familiar with heavy pedals and grabby clutch material. That being said, it's smoother engagement and a heavier pedal with option 1, or more grabby with a lighter, closer to stock pedal (better IMO for dailying, except I do have to sit in stop and go traffic, for which a sint/sint setup sucks). For those that have driven both or a combo of the materials and "p vs s" pressure plate, what's the verdict of how each one behaves?

It also seemed there was some issues with the performance (p) plate in this thread. It's made me wary of ordering up that combo, even that one seems closer to the power I need with a more forgiving friction material for one of the disks, at the expense of the heavier pedal...but then there's the issue of the OEM hydraulics being able to handle the (p) plate.

It seems there is so much up in the air with this but it's also probably the only clutch I'll be able to use for the swap based on my power.

Appreciate any insight you guys have from a clutch standpoint, I understand our applications/vehicles are different, but at the end of the day a clutch is a clutch and will demonstrate similar characteristics in different platforms

FWIW, I did reach out to PTB through their web portal. My inquiry went untouched for almost a week. I followed up with another one. Kai got back to me and said it must have gone to his spam folder. Not sure how that happens from the gmail account on their web submission platform. Then he asked for my application information, which I had explained in great detail in the first email he "found" in the spam folder. So I had to repeat everything about the swap, transmission, etc. Not a good start as far as customer service goes.

[krashDH]

Originally Posted by krashDH

Hey All; and hotsauce_bukkake


Stumbled upon this thread and read through the whole thing. Sorry to intrude I know you guys are G80's, but I can't seem to find any "real world" experiences with these clutches except for this thread.

I'm kind of a unique situation, I'll be swapping my E90 2011 335d to a manual this coming spring (all donor parts from a euro 330d M57), so I'm getting all my ducks in a row. There's really only 2 options for the clutch...a ClutchMasters, which doesn't have nice manners and is really only a race clutch. The guy who was using this in his swap ended up swapping back to an auto in that car because it wasn't daily-able.

Then there's PTB, which on paper looks great. They have a billet DMF which I want since I don't want the transmission shaken to death). The 335d that I have is tuned to about 375 whp/600 ft-lb tq (815 nm) at the wheels. My tuner said add about 10% to those numbers to what the crank/flywheel will see, so I'm sitting right around 900Nm to cover me.

Really the only options I have for this clutch from the following link:

https://www.ptb-shop.de/Kupplungs-Ki...M57-396D2.html

Are the or/sint/p (950Nm), or the sint/sint/s (1000 Nm). I also drive a manual 04 Cummins with a Southbend clutch so very familiar with heavy pedals and grabby clutch material. That being said, it's smoother engagement and a heavier pedal with option 1, or more grabby with a lighter, closer to stock pedal (better IMO for dailying, except I do have to sit in stop and go traffic, for which a sint/sint setup sucks). For those that have driven both or a combo of the materials and "p vs s" pressure plate, what's the verdict of how each one behaves?

It also seemed there was some issues with the performance (p) plate in this thread. It's made me wary of ordering up that combo, even that one seems closer to the power I need with a more forgiving friction material for one of the disks, at the expense of the heavier pedal...but then there's the issue of the OEM hydraulics being able to handle the (p) plate.

It seems there is so much up in the air with this but it's also probably the only clutch I'll be able to use for the swap based on my power.

Appreciate any insight you guys have from a clutch standpoint, I understand our applications/vehicles are different, but at the end of the day a clutch is a clutch and will demonstrate similar characteristics in different platforms

FWIW, I did reach out to PTB through their web portal. My inquiry went untouched for almost a week. I followed up with another one. Kai got back to me and said it must have gone to his spam folder. Not sure how that happens from the gmail account on their web submission platform. Then he asked for my application information, which I had explained in great detail in the first email he "found" in the spam folder. So I had to repeat everything about the swap, transmission, etc. Not a good start as far as customer service goes.

Alright we'll I'll follow up to my own inquiry. Emailed with Kai back and forth. I didn't think I could go with his 850 Nm clutch (org/sint/standard plate, and their values are at the flywheel) because I'm going to be about 900 at the crank/flywheel.

He informed me that there's a 20% safety factor on their designs, so in all reality, the 850 Nm version can technically hold about 1020 Nm before even starting to slip. So there's some reassurance there and I can have an OEM like pedal and some manners with the clutch.

Hopefully that info can maybe help others decide if they're unsure of which version to go with.

[curtdragon]

I don't think anything in this thread or anyone can help unless they've used that specfic clutch.

I've driven lots of cars with stock and aftermarket and they've all felt different.

Generally speaking organic vs sinter organic is going to feel better. The pressure plate surface is a hard surface so of you put another hard surface on it then it will be harsher while a softer material will be less harsh.

Add in pressure plate stiffness, stiffer will be more effort to press and the combo of stiffer and sinter will make it chatter and not really daily friendly.

[alpinepuggy]

Originally Posted by Moses25

Where is everyone buying there ptb clutches ?

It's on the official PTB website.

https://www.ptb-shop.de/?cat=c312_G80-G82-g80-g82.html

[alpinepuggy]

Originally Posted by kblamao

Does it work if you force it into gear? Keep us updated. Very frustrating indeed.

Hey! After 13 days of waiting, I finally got my car back. It turns out that it was, in fact, a faulty slave cylinder.

When they bled the clutch the first time after installing the slave cylinder, the clutch actually disconnected. After the weekend, the clutch was not getting out of first gear. Right when I was about to pick it up.

So, a day and a half later, they bled the clutch again and drove for 20 minutes, and now it worked fine. I experienced no difficulties driving home. This apparently happened to my brother's '19 GT350 when he got an aftermarket clutch kit installed. It needed to be bled twice.

The moral of the story is that the standard pressure plate setup does, in fact, work. I have no issue getting out of the gate. I also had the rogue engineering bushing installed. Works wonders.

[SLE3PER]

Originally Posted by alpinepuggy

Hey! After 13 days of waiting, I finally got my car back. It turns out that it was, in fact, a faulty slave cylinder.

When they bled the clutch the first time after installing the slave cylinder, the clutch actually disconnected. After the weekend, the clutch was not getting out of first gear. Right when I was about to pick it up.

So, a day and a half later, they bled the clutch again and drove for 20 minutes, and now it worked fine. I experienced no difficulties driving home. This apparently happened to my brother's '19 GT350 when he got an aftermarket clutch kit installed. It needed to be bled twice.

The moral of the story is that the standard pressure plate setup does, in fact, work. I have no issue getting out of the gate. I also had the rogue engineering bushing installed. Works wonders.

So what's causing these faulty slave cylinders when changing to a new clutch? So did you change the slave cylinder and it was still causing problems and all they did was bled it twice with the new one?

[hotsauce_bukkake]

Originally Posted by SLE3PER

So what's causing these faulty slave cylinders when changing to a new clutch? So did you change the slave cylinder and it was still causing problems and all they did was bled it twice with the new one?

I had a faulty slave as well, so there’s definitely something to it. Replacing it didn’t clean up O/S/P though. Here’s hoping the rogue clutch pedal fixes it for anyone else brave enough to risk the purchase/install.

[karayel]

Originally Posted by alpinepuggy

It's on the official PTB website.

https://www.ptb-shop.de/?cat=c312_G80-G82-g80-g82.html

Our clutch has been sitting in US customs for a few days now. That’s what my shop told me. My shop reached out to PTB to get more information e.g. tracking and he said he hasn’t received anything helpful.

For others that ordered through PTB, what was your shipping experience like? Did your package get held up at customs, how long did it take, what can I expect?

It can also be seasonal congestion at customs and things are backed up. At this point it’s been 6 business days at Customs.

[kaveh_h]

Nope. I returned that piece of crap and got PTB clutch instead

[alpinepuggy]

Hey! I think the integrity of my slave cylinder was already diminished prior to starting the clutch job.

After PTB installation...
The slave cylinder was changed.
Bled clutch.
The clutch was successfully disconnecting.
Stayed over the weekend in the shop for quality control and client advocation.
The clutch was not disengaging the following Monday.
Bled clutch again.
The clutch works with no problems.

A new slave cylinder was installed. The clutch just had to be bled twice. Also, I got the CDV removed before the installation of the slave cylinder.

[alpinepuggy]

I ordered my clutch around 9 p.m. PST and received the clutch on the seventh day. It took me exactly a week. As you stated, it may be the seasonal congestion that is preventing you from receiving your clutch.

As soon as I ordered it on the PTB website, I quickly got an email confirmation. I received maybe 15 emails in total just receiving updates about its whereabouts.

[SLE3PER]

I wonder what’s the average mileage of these slave cylinders before yall replaced them with the PTB clutch? How much is the part roughly?

[alpinepuggy]

My shop has their own supplier and they didn't order it from a BMW dealership. If I recall the slave cylinder was only $100.00 flat.

[alpinepuggy]

For anyone wondering, here are my experiences with my new clutch.

O/S/S

1) As people said in this thread, the pedal "grabs" near the floor. If anyone ever drove a second-generation GT350, the pedal felt like it had an assist spring.

2) It only took 200 miles to break in the clutch driving on surface streets in the SFV. Upshifts were very slow, and the gearbox was very stiff. After driving in stop-and-go traffic from light to light, the upshifts started getting quicker and the pedal was getting lighter.

3) The revs drop significantly fast. I don't know the exact weight of the flywheel, but in my opinion, first to second gear is significantly better, and upshifting is quick.

4) I only need to blip around 1500 rpms just to get the car moving on a flat-level surface. PTB was true to its word. This clutch feels and operates like the OEM clutch, just a tad better for putting down power. AND yes... clutch chatter is more pronounced.

4) Strictly driving on surface streets these past two weeks, I have about 300 miles to go before I can do my first clutch drop on this new setup.