ADVAN Performance, N54 "Single Mass Steel" flywheel

[Kiwi Peter]

Hey Gents,

I am very pleased to introduce to you all, the upgraded flywheel that we at ADVAN Performance have been working on.

It is a direct replacement for the BMW OE 135i N54 dual mass flywheel.

It has been machined by Rosco of Ross Balancers, to our specifications.

It is a single mass flywheel made entirely of chromoly steel, it is also nitrided.

The OE starter ring gear has been refitted using the same method employed by BMW, that being a heating and shrinking/press fitment process.

The OE dual mass flywheel weighs in at 12.5 kg, where as the ADVAN Performance flywheel is 10.0 kg in weight.

We could have further reduced the weight of the steel flywheel, however with decreased weight comes a potential loss of inertia.

That is ok for the track, but not entirely desirable for a daily driven street application.

Although if the demand is there, we would be more than happy to knock up a second version, that is truly "lightweight".

Lastly I am sure all you "8 bolt" guys are thinking, what about us?

Rest assured we have not forgotten you, however we have had a difficult time acquiring a used 8 bolt unit in Australia.

If anyone has a failed or a swapped out 8 bolt dual mass flywheel collecting dust, we would dearly like to take it off your hands.

The "6 bolt" flywheel is now available from ADVAN Performance, on an exchange basis of $995.00 exclusive of shipping.

Here are a few pics for you guys to enjoy.

Thank you,

Peter.

[Kiwi Peter]

Hey guys,

we have very recently installed our "Single Mass Steel" flywheel into our 135i R&D vehicle.

The clutch kit we chose was the latest offering from HPF, that being their new "Feramic" face unit.

We went with their Stage 2 pressure plate, as this vehicle will be back to the quarter mile in the near future and will be seeing quite a few passes.

After driving the car I can tell you that the use of our flywheel and the HPF clutch, is a superb combination that is very "streetable" considering the punishment the components will likely endure.

Truth be told,

I would be lying if I said the above combination was as gentlemanly as an OE dual mass & ACT Street set up.

However the Organic lined ACT is not up to the task of repeated 6,000 RPM launches at the strip, we know that for a fact.

Also there have already been several reported failures of the OE dual mass unit. I suspect as power and torque levels continue to head North, the shortcomings of the OE flywheel will become more prevalent.

I will provide detailed information on the driving characteristics of our new flywheel shortly.

At this stage I can say, that if HPF's clutch lives up to its claimed flywheel rating of 650 ft-lbs of torque, then for the serious racer our Single Mass Chromoly Steel flywheel is an excellent match.

Cheers,

Peter.

[Kiwi Peter]

Hi Gents,

after having put close to 500 kilometres on the ADVAN Performance "Single Mass Steel" flywheel & HPF "Feramic" clutch combo, I can tell you that the vehicle is very "streetable".

Whilst there is still a little driveline "shudder", it is much improved over our first driving experience following a proper bedding in period.

However having said that the shudder is very much dependant upon how much you slip the clutch and the engine speed or throttle application when it begins to engage.

If you get it just right, it is as smooth as butter.

Certainly not what one would expext from a clutch that is rated at 650 ft-lbs and from a single mass, chromoly steel flywheel that is never going to fail.

Obviously there is audible "chatter" at idle when the car is not in gear. But if one was to bump the idle to say 900 or 950 RPM, from out testing it is decreased by a very significant margin.

Unfortunately there is a little noise on-road that is audible from the transmission tunnel, however once again this is entirely dependant upon the driving conditions.

With windows up and the radio off, you will hear a resonance on moderate throttle between 1,750 & 2,250 RPM. But when playing any tunes or with a window cracked, as you revel in the sound of the N54 exhaust note, it is pretty much a non-issue.

I will provide further details on how our little 1'er goes at the 1/4 mile next week and importantly how the flywheel and clutch combo drives following a few 6,000 RPM launches.

It should be interesting as this will be the first time it has run down the strip with traction at the rear and a clutch that is not beginning to slip.

Cheers.

[Kiwi Peter]

A little more food for thought.


Quote:
Originally Posted by XPO186
Very interested in this... Any chance of a 7-8 kg lwfw offering? Hard to justify going aftermarket on the fw with only a 2.5 kg difference from stock.

Absolutely,

as you can see from my original post we already had this in mind.

Although if the demand is there, we would be more than happy to knock up a second version, that is truly "lightweight".

I suspect a second flywheel that is around the 7.5 kg mark, would be the ideal weight for all you guys that do not mind a little "chatter".

Of course given that it is made entirely from chromoly steel and it's nitrided, shaving a further 2.5 kg off its total mass, should not decrease its durability or strength.

After all it's not like it is made from aluminium.

[Kiwi Peter]

Bump for a new flywheel option.

[chachacha28]

whats the benefit of not going aluminum? too late for me, because i already did. just curious.

[Kiwi Peter]

Originally Posted by ezeedee

whats the benefit of not going aluminum? too late for me, because i already did. just curious.

Hey mate,

perhaps you did not see my postal query in the "Complete Cooling Solution" thread, but what city are you looking to ship to?

When I spoke to DHL they could not lock down the APO ZIP you provided.

[Kiwi Peter]

Originally Posted by ezeedee

whats the benefit of not going aluminum? too late for me, because i already did. just curious.

From our experience a solid steel one piece unit is more durable over time under extreme driving conditions, such as drag racing or circuit racing.

Most of the aluminium LWFW on the market have a centre driven plate surface that is made of steel, but the insert is only fastened to the aluminium sub surface.

The aluminium and steel materials heat and contract at different rates, as a result the fasteners that secure the driven steel plate surface can become loose over time.

Also the thin steel surface is more susceptible to warping than a one piece steel flywheel, due to heat developed by clutch slippage.

As such you can have issues where the steel clutch plate surface is no longer true, this will adversely effect the clamping ability of the clutch friction plate and its longevity.

However for a car that is seldom "driven in anger", the lightweight aluminium options should be fine for street use.

[Kiwi Peter]

Hey guys,

I know this is a little off topic, but here is a quick vid of the ADVAN Performance 135i on the rollers, less than 4 hours ago.

I apologise for the image size,

the intent was to have the car visible in the background as the monitor was sitting atop the cooling fan.

However the lighting in the dyno cell did not permit.

Speaking of dynos I thought I should make it clear, that the pulls you see in the vid were done on a Dyno Dynamics dyno, NOT a Dynojet.

I believe the guys in the know would be aware that a DD dyno will read a "little" lower than a Dynojet.

We were just doing some final prep, for the first Wednesday night 1/4 mile meet here in Sydney, Australia following the Xmas/New Year's break.

FYI,

the vehicle you hear screaming in the background is a late 2009 N54 135i.

It is FBO, running RB turbos + 70/30 Meth' and a PROcede Rev 3 "tune", with tweaked 25-11 "aggressive maps".

As you can see it makes strong, consistent power on 98 RON fuel.

Not bad at all for what is currently available off the shelf.

Cheers.

[chachacha28]

Originally Posted by skycat

From our experience a solid steel one piece unit is more durable over time under extreme driving conditions, such as drag racing or circuit racing.

Most of the aluminium LWFW on the market have a centre driven plate surface that is made of steel, but the insert is only fastened to the aluminium sub surface.

The aluminium and steel materials heat and contract at different rates, as a result the fasteners that secure the driven steel plate surface can become loose over time.

Also the thin steel surface is more susceptible to warping than a one piece steel flywheel, due to heat developed by clutch slippage.

As such you can have issues where the steel clutch plate surface is no longer true, this will adversely effect the clamping ability of the clutch friction plate and its longevity.

However for a car that is seldom "driven in anger", the lightweight aluminium options should be fine for street use.

i didnt upgrade my clutch to drive miss daisy.

the one thing i like about the removable friction surface is lower cost of replacement.

how many times do you think your flywheel would be able to be machined before replacement is necessary?

will your lighter flywheel (if you end up offering it) still have an integral friction surface? It might be my next flywheel.

[Kiwi Peter]

Hi guys,

unfortunately the weather prevented us from running our 135i on Wednesday night.

However I have not forgotten about your request for a vid, illustrating the level of "chatter" at idle, it is coming.

After speaking to Rosco of Ross Balancers, I can confirm that he can further reduce the weight of our flywheel, to achieve a target of 7.5 kg.

He can also machine the starter motor ring gear into the flywheel.

However the shaving of a further 2.5kg and the process of cutting the ring gear into the flywheel, will add $200 to the cost of the unit as a result of the additional CNC machining that is required.

We will now be offering two versions of our "Single Mass Steel" Flywheel.

- The original version will weigh 10 kg and will be supplied less the ring gear.

The 10 kg version is ideal for the daily driven vehicle that also sees 1/4 mile passes. It will be available for $995.00 Aus, excluding shipping.

- The second version will weigh in at 7.5 kg and the ring gear will be machined into the flywheel.

The NEW 7.5 kg version is perfect for the circuit racer, who is looking for maximum engine response. It will be available for $1,195.00 Aus, excluding shipping.

Lastly the supply locally of a used "8 bolt" flywheel fell through.

As such we are super keen to obtain a "8 bolt" unit from one of you guys in the US, so we can complete a sample unit ASAP.

If anyone has a damaged second hand unit that they no longer need, we would be more than happy to cover the shipping costs to Aus.

Alternatively if one of you 3 Series Gents are ready to move on either our 10 kg or 7.5 kg version, we could offer you a discount over the retail price in lieu of providing your flywheel to us and also being the first cab off the rank.

Cheers.

[chachacha28]

I have a stock 8 bolt i dont need anymore. ill shoot you a pm.

[Justin@ADVAN Performance]

Originally Posted by ezeedee

i didnt upgrade my clutch to drive miss daisy.

the one thing i like about the removable friction surface is lower cost of replacement.

how many times do you think your flywheel would be able to be machined before replacement is necessary?

will your lighter flywheel (if you end up offering it) still have an integral friction surface? It might be my next flywheel.

To be quite honest you could machine our flywheel more times than you would ever need to, how many clutches do you plan on going through?

As an example if you were to take 20 thou' or 0.5 mm off the flywheel driven face and top skirt every time you replaced a clutch, you could easily do that 4 or 5 times.

That is a lot of clutch kits.

[Justin@ADVAN Performance]

Originally Posted by ezeedee

I have a stock 8 bolt i dont need anymore. ill shoot you a pm.

Hey mate,

thank you very much for that.

Looking forward to receiving your shipping estimate on that "8 bolt" dual mass flywheel.

Cheers.

[Kiwi Peter]

Originally Posted by Justin@ADVAN Performance

Hey mate,

thank you very much for that.

Looking forward to receiving your shipping estimate on that "8 bolt" dual mass flywheel.

Cheers.

Hey ezeedee,

we are still keen to take that OE "8 bolt" flywheel off your hands.

How did you go with obtaining that shipping estimate to Sydney Aus?

[Justin@ADVAN Performance]

Hey Gents,

I have managed to get my hands on a GoPro HD camera.

So the somewhat overdue "Single Mass Steel" flywheel vid illustrating the "chatter" present on idle, should be online tomorrow night.

Apologies for the delay guys,

cheers.

[Justin@ADVAN Performance]

Hi guys,

here is the vid illustrating the "chatter" you will hear from our flywheel whilst the car is idling.

FYI,

the first 20 seconds are with the AC off, the remainder following a few stabs of the throttle is with the AC on.

Oh,

if you are wondering who that handsome fellow is who walks into the field of view of the GoPro, that is Peter Hopkins the Chief Mechanic and business owner of ADVAN Performance.

Cheers,

Justin.

[chachacha28]

Originally Posted by skycat

Hey ezeedee,

we are still keen to take that OE "8 bolt" flywheel off your hands.

How did you go with obtaining that shipping estimate to Sydney Aus?

yep, you have a PM

[Justin@ADVAN Performance]

Originally Posted by ezeedee

yep, you have a PM

Yes, got it!

Can you please PM your full address,

as I suspect I can get the flywheel delivered to Sydney much faster and cheaper, using our DHL Express International account.

Cheers.

[Justin@ADVAN Performance]

Hi Gents,

one of the forum members has kindly offered up their used "8 bolt" flywheel for shipment to Aus.

As such we will soon be in a position to manufacture both a 10kg "Street/Strip" and a 7.5 kg "Track" version, for all you "8 bolt" 3 Series and early model 135i guys very soon.

Cheers.

[Justin@ADVAN Performance]

Hey Gents,

a cheeky copy & paste from the "N54 Turbo Engine / Drivetrain / Exhaust Modifications - 335i Forum", pertaining to the availability of our 7.5 kg "Track" flywheel.

Quote:
Originally Posted by XPO186
Excellent news!

Thank you kindly Phil.

Does that mean I can put you down for the first 7.5 kg "Track" version?

Lastly guys,

would anyone be interested in purchasing a slightly used 10 kg version at cost price, as I am going to a multi-plate setup.

Obviously it's from my late model 135i, so it would only be suitable for a "6 bolt" application.

Cheers,

JD

[Justin@ADVAN Performance]

Another post from the "N54 Turbo Engine / Drivetrain / Exhaust Modifications - 335i Forum".

Quote:
Originally Posted by XPO186
Justin,

Certainly sign me up for the 7.5kg version as a package deal with your forthcoming twin/multi disc clutch

Hey Phil,

the 10 kg "Single Mass Steel" flywheel that is currently in my car and our forthcoming 7.5 kg "Track" version, will be different in design to the flywheel used in the multi-plate setup we are now doing for my vehicle.

It will obviously be a single mass flywheel and will also be made from chromoly steel that has been nitrided, however it will be machined to allow the multi-plate basket to bolt up to it.

If you Google "multi-plate" clutches and find an exploded view of one, you will see what I'm talking about.

We will be designing our own single face clutch kit to be used in conjuction with our 10 kg & 7.5 kg flywheels.

Many of you guys will simply not require the clamping force of a multi-plate, in particular if you do not plan to go 1/4 mile racing, running 275 "Hoosier" drag radials.

Cheers.