I have a larger pressure plate that came with my turbo motor buy which i am not going to rebuild, (anyone wana buy it PM for details) anyways.. The guy who i bought it from told me, its a larger surface area off of a larger pressure plate and he gave me a new complete cluth setup, told me that its better for torque. im not sure how exactly he said it but i thiiiiiiiink its off a 2002? anyways, my question is, if i take my existing flywheel out and get it machined smaller therefor makeing it lighter, will that work, instead of paying 500$ + for an allready lightened flywheel? I need to change my clutch but i figure..if i do it i might as well go all the way.:embarrasm

sry if i dont make sence. but id appreciate some input thanks guys

What you have is a 228mm clutch from an 02. Stock E21 clutch diameter is 215mm. This is not the entire diameter; it’s the contact area that intercepts the force of the clutch.

You can lighten your clutch at any experienced machine shop or motor builder. They don’t make it smaller, they machine off areas in the flywheel that will reduce weight but limit the structural interference. This can still cost upwards of $200.

If you’re going to use the 228mm flywheel you have to use it with the 228mm clutch, and same with the 215mm clutch/flywheel.

The ones that are $500 are usually aluminum with a steel starting gear, that way you can replace just the gear itself without repacing the actual flywheel. So you dont have to spend $500 again once or if the gear gets worn/damaged.

a clutch thread (http://bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=134450&highlight=talk+clutches)