Any Upgraded Clutches A/T

Cmiggz

Private
Jun 4, 2017
42
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2008 ST 335i
Has anyone made upgraded clutches for the auto N54?
Im currently on XHP Stage 3 but have a feeling my trans is going to start slipping. Car has never been on a dyno, it is single turbo’d 6266 on 27psi.
Went 169mph in 1/2 mile. Dont want to switch to manual unless i really have too.
Just wondering what solutions have been proven and what price range?
Thanks
 

Cheezy

Lieutenant
Nov 7, 2016
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Toledo Ohio
PD sells their clutches and bushings, they quoted me $1200, then I contacted European transmission for labor and that's $2850. Plus shipping. Just to save you some searching and work.
 

Cmiggz

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Jun 4, 2017
42
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2008 ST 335i
PD sells their clutches and bushings, they quoted me $1200, then I contacted European transmission for labor and that's $2850. Plus shipping. Just to save you some searching and work.
Thanks man, just wondering do they have a website and are there clutches a proven solution dobt want to end up like people who went level 10 :/
 

Seaneezy

Corporal
Mar 12, 2018
133
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e90 LCI 335i
Thanks man, just wondering do they have a website and are there clutches a proven solution dobt want to end up like people who went level 10 :/

I had PD clutches in for a while to solve slipping issues. The clutches work great but their material requires an accessory transmission cooler to be attached or else they will burn out fast like they did for me. They are told to hold up to 800tq and I believe it.

EDIT: Transmission was initially installed with low viscosity fluid which helped burn the clutches
 
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Cmiggz

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Jun 4, 2017
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2008 ST 335i
Int
I had PD clutches in for a while to solve slipping issues. The clutches work great but their material requires an accessory transmission cooler to be attached or else they will burn out fast like they did for me. They are told to hold up to 800tq and I believe it.
Interesting man. Yeah im useing a trans cooler right now. Maybe ill send them a dm and get some info on them and when they will be avaliable. Is the main guy on this page or? Thanks agian
 

Rob09msport

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Oct 28, 2017
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09 335i msport le mans 18 x5
I had PD clutches in for a while to solve slipping issues. The clutches work great but their material requires an accessory transmission cooler to be attached or else they will burn out fast like they did for me. They are told to hold up to 800tq and I believe it.
You burned up your pd unit
 

doublespaces

Administrator
Oct 18, 2016
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2009 E93 335i
Thanks man, just wondering do they have a website and are there clutches a proven solution dobt want to end up like people who went level 10 :/
Search this site, there is plenty of information on them. Its the only true clutch upgrade out there, quite literally nobody else makes an upgraded 6HP21 unit. Nizpro made some billet internals and had a few clutchpacks made but those have been long gone.
 

Cmiggz

Private
Jun 4, 2017
42
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2008 ST 335i
Thanks for th
Search this site, there is plenty of information on them. Its the only true clutch upgrade out there, quite literally nobody else makes an upgraded 6HP21 unit. Nizpro made some billet internals and had a few clutchpacks made but those have been long gone.
thanks for the info will be looking into it.
 

Seaneezy

Corporal
Mar 12, 2018
133
34
0
Ride
e90 LCI 335i
You burned up your pd unit

Yea trans had 5k miles on the rebuild and the input shaft bearing threw and i lost 4th gear. It was a rebuild problem, not the clutches but they were already burned when we were rebuilding it again so I decided to just go back to my good OEM clutches as I am only pushing 450whp. I didn't brake boost them at all, the lack of the trans cooler meant that they were cooking at 250F all day.

edit: see post below, temp was not the only thing that killed the trans
 
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tisdrew

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Jun 27, 2017
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09 335i 6MT
You can pick up used trans for less than a grand. If you can do the swap labor yourself, wouldn't it be significantly cheaper to just keep replacing?
 

Seaneezy

Corporal
Mar 12, 2018
133
34
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e90 LCI 335i
You can pick up used trans for less than a grand. If you can do the swap labor yourself, wouldn't it be significantly cheaper to just keep replacing?

I tried doing the labor, I didn't have the tools to lift the engine/lower the subframe enough to clear the transmission tunnel. My car was out of commission for 3 months at this point, I took it to the most german ZF guy I know (Wolfgang Schmid's son) and he gave me a warranty on the rebuild. I wanted to use the original TCM for my car, and the rebuild materials are updated from ZF. If it dies outside of warranty again, I have the tools I need to do the labor with, and I will probably just 6sp swap it since the bog is gone.
 

Rob09msport

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Oct 28, 2017
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I tried doing the labor, I didn't have the tools to lift the engine/lower the subframe enough to clear the transmission tunnel. My car was out of commission for 3 months at this point, I took it to the most german ZF guy I know (Wolfgang Schmid's son) and he gave me a warranty on the rebuild. I wanted to use the original TCM for my car, and the rebuild materials are updated from ZF. If it dies outside of warranty again, I have the tools I need to do the labor with, and I will probably just 6sp swap it since the bog is gone.
Do you think the clutches would have been good if you didn't have the wrong fluid in the tranny and did you notice any improvements in shift quality since you are perfect data source as you went from pd unit to fresh zf unit instead of worn to fresh pd unit like all others.
 

Seaneezy

Corporal
Mar 12, 2018
133
34
0
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e90 LCI 335i
Do you think the clutches would have been good if you didn't have the wrong fluid in the tranny and did you notice any improvements in shift quality since you are perfect data source as you went from pd unit to fresh zf unit instead of worn to fresh pd unit like all others.

I actually forgot about the fluid problem until you reminded me. The shop the previous owner took it to put in LOW VISCOSITY ATF-1 instead of the regular ATF1. I didn't notice until I compared fluid color after removal, and my transmission guy said the clutches burned up because of "lack of fluid pressure".

My car has the stock transmission cooler/radiator that helps a little bit. I'm unsure of the longevity of the clutches but Jason was confident that they are more reliable than OEM clutches, I believe him. Without a trans cooler but with proper fluid they should last a while, IIRC the material of the clutches heats them up faster which is why the cooler is needed.

I bought the car with the PD clutches already installed, freshly rebuilt and it lasted like that for 1000 miles. There was NO tune on the transmission and it never slipped on WOT. With a tune I'm sure the shifts could have been faster and harsher, it wasn't what I was going for at the time. Now I have xHP stage 3 on the OEM clutches, shift time is very quick but it slips sometimes on WOT.

I was driving on the already-burned clutches until I lost my 4th gear on the highway, I had NO idea anything was wrong with my transmission. The clutches are really top notch.

In comparison, shift speed doesn't change, the shifting is a lot smoother and you can really tell the PD clutches can take what you can throw at them compared to OEM. All in all, I would suggest the upgrade if your current transmission is dead and you want the upgrade or you can't afford to swap a DCT in. The ZF6HP21 is really a POS compared to other units on the market, we should have gotten the ZF6HP26 from the X series imo.
 
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Rob09msport

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Oct 28, 2017
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Was your unit calibrated again for stock clutches that may be why your shipping since if euro trans did install they calibrate and tune for the g3 frictions