Lightweight Flywheel Review UUC Motorwerks - E46 BMW 325i
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TechTranscript
00:00Hello viewers.
00:11I am going to tell you today about my new lightweight aluminum flywheel from UUC MotorWorks.
00:17Now if you have found this video because you were searching about flywheels, that's good.
00:22This is not BMW E46 specific.
00:25This is a review of a lightweight flywheel in essentially any car.
00:29Obviously the experience will be slightly different car to car, but the general concepts
00:33of a lightweight flywheel will stay the same.
00:36So why a lightweight flywheel?
00:41Well I'd like to say that I was ready to take my car to the next level of performance and
00:44so I got the lightest flywheel I could for a snappy response.
00:48No.
00:49It's because this happened.
00:50Probably.
00:51Is it really?
00:52Yeah.
00:53I'm going to get back over there.
00:54Push.
00:55They're going to push you?
00:56So, there you have it.
01:01When you drive on the track, stuff happens sometimes and this is what my clutch ended
01:05up looking like and I only got a chance to look at it after cursing and bleeding and
01:13having a terrible time, frankly, dropping the transmission from my car.
01:17It was my first time doing a transmission in a BMW and it seemed pretty straightforward
01:23but every single bolt was seized and it was a nightmare.
01:26I don't even want to talk about it.
01:29Point is, is that I got everything out, I got the new flywheel in, everything is fantastic
01:33and I'm happy to say that it was almost worth the effort of dropping a transmission and
01:40changing a clutch in one of these cars.
01:43So if your research has landed you here, you probably already know that you are looking
01:47to change from a dual mass flywheel to a single mass flywheel.
01:51So this one that I have in this car is the UUC Ultra Lightweight Aluminum Flywheel and
01:56it is a lot lighter, a lot lighter than the OEM dual mass flywheel in an E46 BMW.
02:04So when I took my dual mass flywheel out, it was completely worn out and that means
02:09that there was a lot of play in the two dual mass pieces.
02:14So not only was I going to upgrade the clutch but I was like, I'm going to do the flywheel
02:18at the same time.
02:19So I got this one.
02:21And I can completely and happily tell you that it is something that you should do to
02:25your car, in my opinion.
02:29So as I said earlier, this is the UUC Motorworks Lightweight Aluminum Flywheel and the Sprung
02:37Hub Organic Clutch.
02:40I really, really like this flywheel.
02:44So there's two major advantages to any lightweight flywheel, not just one on an E46 BMW.
02:50The first one is that shifting is completely different.
02:55Since there's less rotational mass, it doesn't take the engine as much energy to rev up.
03:01That means it can rev up quicker.
03:04That means when you blip the throttle for a downshift, when you're sitting at a stoplight
03:07and you think you're really cool, it revs up and it revs down really fast.
03:11It sounds like a really sporty car.
03:14Now what this translates to is the fact that the revs fall quicker too.
03:20The time between shifts feels like it has been cut in half for me.
03:25It probably has and it's probably been reduced by like 25 or 30 percent.
03:29But it completely changes the character of the entire car.
03:36Before it was pause, shift, release the clutch.
03:41Now it feels like I just get to row through the gears all the way up and down.
03:45As the gaps and the ratios change, as you go up from, for example, third to fourth,
03:50it's really quick.
03:51Fourth to fifth is really quick.
03:53So when you push the clutch and you shift and you release the clutch, just like that,
03:56bang.
03:57So shifting up looks like this now.
04:15So now, when I get into a car that has a dual mass flywheel, like my Saab 9-3, I'm pretty
04:40sure the flywheel on that thing weighs like 975 pounds.
04:43Because the time that you have to wait for the revs to fall between first and second
04:48makes me feel like I want to get out of the car and hitchhike to a bus stop so I can get
04:52a ride to my destination quicker.
04:56Now I'm happy to say that that's not the only advantage of a lightweight flywheel.
05:01The other part is that since the flywheel weighs less, the engine has to do less work
05:10to spin it up.
05:11That means that there's more power available to go to the wheels.
05:16This is a bunch of math.
05:17So basically, what that translates to is more power at the wheels.
05:22What that translates to is quicker acceleration.
05:26It changes for each gear.
05:28Some people don't believe this, or there's a lot of debate on how this actually works.
05:32If you are curious, I implore you, do your own research, but I will warn you that the
05:36calculations look something like this, and this, and this.
05:43So what does that mean for actually driving a BMW 325 around with a lightweight flywheel?
05:49Well, the power difference was immediately noticeable for me.
05:54I don't know if this is because I have a lower powered car.
05:57All I can tell you is that before, in third gear, if you put your foot down, not a whole
06:03lot would happen.
06:05This isn't a super powerful car, but now there is a distinctive kick.
06:10So this is third gear.
06:15It didn't do that before, and now it does.
06:19Fourth gear is obvious too.
06:20I mean, fifth gear still feels like, but that, whatever.
06:24So the whole point is that it has made a difference, and it feels like more horsepower.
06:29It feels like I have tuned a part of the engine, and I guess I have in a way.
06:34What are the disadvantages of a lightweight flywheel?
06:37Well, the issue that everybody seems to have with it is that since there is less rotational
06:43mass, you need a little bit more revs, a little bit more gas to get it going off the line.
06:50Because if you don't, it might stall out.
06:52I know in some cars, so you saw me do it there, so I just had to rev the car a little bit
06:56higher before I let the clutch all the way out.
07:02For me, this just became very quickly a part of driving the car.
07:06It's not like I was devastated and I had to relearn how to drive the whole thing.
07:11No, it was just a matter of practicing it a little bit, and then it just became second
07:14nature.
07:15Occasionally, yes, I do mess it up, and I stutter a little bit, but it's very rare,
07:21and to be honest, I did that before I had the flywheel anyway.
07:23I think that's just me.
07:24So it really isn't that big of a deal.
07:27It's something that if you're just learning how to drive a standard, you might not want
07:32to get a lightweight flywheel.
07:34I would imagine that you wouldn't anyway, but you kind of have to have good clutch control
07:38and good throttle control to be able to modulate it perfectly so you can smoothly drive away.
07:44Now the other thing that becomes an issue with people is that since there's no dual
07:49mass flywheel to dampen vibrations from the engine, you get what's called flywheel chatter
07:54or gear rattle or gear chatter, whatever you want to call it.
07:58This is essentially just a noise that you only hear when you are sitting still at idle
08:03with the clutch out in neutral, so that's the only time you hear it, and everyone blows
08:08this out of proportion to be perfectly honest.
08:10Yes, the car does sound a little bit like a diesel when you're sitting at a stoplight.
08:15It sounds something like this.
08:19You see, it is a noise, it is distinctive, and it is different, but it's not something
08:26to have a panic attack about.
08:28It's really not that big of a deal.
08:30In fact, actually, I find it's a little bit of a conversation starter.
08:32People go, why does your car sound like that, and I'm like, oh, well, let me tell you because
08:35I have a lightweight flywheel, and then I get to tell them all about it, and that's
08:38what I like to do is talk.
08:39As you can see, I'm going to stop now.
08:42Now what else can I say about UUC MotorWorks?
08:46Every time I have ever called there, Rob has picked up the phone, he'll be the guy
08:50that you talk to if you call, and he's answered all my questions, and I've had a lot of questions.
08:56When I was installing it, I called him and I asked him, he'd tell me what to do.
08:59When I had an issue with something, I called him, he'd tell me what to do.
09:02When I had a question about what is this noise and what is that noise, he says, relax, it's
09:06probably the clutch breaking in, right?
09:07He's always there to help you, and that's a very valuable thing.
09:10It's not like you're buying a part from a huge corporation where you wait in line for
09:1442 minutes and you talk to somebody in a different country.
09:16Well, I guess it is a different country, I'm from Canada.
09:20But the point is that it was a fantastic buying experience, and there was even a minor issue.
09:25The crank bolts were left out of the package for whatever reason.
09:28I called Rob up right away, and he's like, so sorry about that, and he shipped them out
09:33that day, and they got to me like a day and a half later, right?
09:36No questions asked, no issues whatsoever.
09:40So the whole experience dealing with UUC was fantastic.
09:43I'd buy other products from them anytime.
09:47So for me, that was a very important aspect of purchasing something for a car, especially
09:52something that has a complicated install procedure, and something that has kind of some quirks
09:59about it that you might have questions about.
10:01Having someone there to talk to is really worth it.
10:06It's also worth mentioning that the clutch and pressure plate in this kit are awesome.
10:10The pedal is now super stiff, and coupled with the clutch delay valve delete mod that
10:14I just did, I don't know why you would ever need more clutch pedal feel.
10:19So to wrap up a kind of long-winded review, in my opinion, a lightweight flywheel's advantages
10:24outweigh any of the disadvantages.
10:26I can recommend UUC for their customer service and quality, so if you have any questions
10:30about this setup, then leave them in the comments.
10:33Don't forget to like and subscribe for more reviews like this one.
10:36Until then, thanks for watching.