Bamford Rose thanks for great customer service re my clutch
Discussion
Earlier this year having decided to keep my 2007 V8V I decided to invest in some upgrades. Having initially decided to go for the BR exhaust and intake I then also decided to go for the lightened fly wheel and twin plate clutch. Anyone who has seen all these components cannot fail to be impressed by the quality and they enormously enhanced the car however I struggled from the outset with the ‘nature’ of the clutch on pulling away and could not get a consistent launch with judder sometimes occurring. It began to play on my mind which did not help. The inconsistent nature of my issues made it certain the problem was with me and specifically my driving style respective to the nature of the competition grade clutch and not the components or the fitment. I discussed my difficulties with BR and firstly to see if it was thought time might improve matters. BR were keen to check the clutch was working as intended and after a test drive by Mike this was as expected confirmed to be the case. It was agreed I would give the clutch more time however, and in a very generous gesture bearing in mind it was neither BR’s parts nor fitment fault, if I found that I could not get to grips with the nature of the clutch and accordingly my ownership experience had not been enhanced, BR would develop and provide a solution.
Well a few thousand miles latter and whilst a more aggressive style was employed to some success, I continued to have issues. True to their word BR have now fitted a new twin plate organic friction lining clutch and lightened flywheel providing for me the perfect solution. Any pull away style is now drama free.
The choice of organic plate clutch now exists for any future customer – more options to consider!
I wanted to publicly thank BR for their help with this issue and applaud their commitment to customer service.
Well a few thousand miles latter and whilst a more aggressive style was employed to some success, I continued to have issues. True to their word BR have now fitted a new twin plate organic friction lining clutch and lightened flywheel providing for me the perfect solution. Any pull away style is now drama free.
The choice of organic plate clutch now exists for any future customer – more options to consider!
I wanted to publicly thank BR for their help with this issue and applaud their commitment to customer service.
Bamford Rose now have a sintered material twin plate clutch (the original one I had fitted) and a conventional organic material twin plate clutch – both mate to their lightweight flywheel
Apparently, sintered and organic are two different clutch material types at either end of the clutch friction plate material spectrum….!
Organic is Metal-fiber woven into other materials. It is known for smooth engagement and long life. Will take hard use but will overheat (so wear) with repeated abuse.
Sintered material has less smooth engagement, it is a competition clutch with a near on / off driving style. The extreme high temperature resistance means it will never wear out
So, the choice is simple. Request sintered material and have a clutch for life but requires a ‘knack’ to drive it right, or select organic material with better engagement but means the softer material will wear out eventually. However, Bamford Rose have stated they expect nothing short of 50k miles from my new organic friction plate lining – 10x better than standard single plate clutch and the feeling to drive with it is more confidence inspiring over standard too, and I still have the lightweight flywheel which allows for more faster engine acceleration due to less inertia
Hope this has helped
This is interesting feedback. I can't remember reading from anyone else that has had the BR clutch upgrade that it requires a knack to drive smoothly. That in itself is concerning as it wouldn't be a positive step to put in a new clutch in that makes the car less smooth/easy to drive. I guess BR are accepting that this is the case since they have devised an alternative to provide smoother changes.
Are BR saying that your new friction plate that is good for 50K miles is ten times better than the standard factory one and by implication that the latter is only good for 5K miles? I think someone on here has over 50K on the original clutch and most have well over 5K miles.
Sounds like you have a much improved experince with the organic material. Not sure why anyone would now opt for the original sintered material. Did BR say anything on this other than having a clutch for 'life' with their original spec replacement clutch? Given the relatively low mileages on many Astons even 50K miles could be regarded as 'life' and so your clutch may well be enough for most people
Are BR saying that your new friction plate that is good for 50K miles is ten times better than the standard factory one and by implication that the latter is only good for 5K miles? I think someone on here has over 50K on the original clutch and most have well over 5K miles.
Sounds like you have a much improved experince with the organic material. Not sure why anyone would now opt for the original sintered material. Did BR say anything on this other than having a clutch for 'life' with their original spec replacement clutch? Given the relatively low mileages on many Astons even 50K miles could be regarded as 'life' and so your clutch may well be enough for most people
Edited by v8woollie on Thursday 6th December 14:17
I did write a piece on Jessica's thread when she had the first Bamford Rose Twin plate clutch put on along with a few other pieces
see thread http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
I can only agree to others who have found the transformation amazing. Quick, responsive, strong and when mated to the lightweight fly wheel a massive improvement in performance as well as driveability.
Its also nice to know that I shouldn't ever need to change it.
see thread http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
I can only agree to others who have found the transformation amazing. Quick, responsive, strong and when mated to the lightweight fly wheel a massive improvement in performance as well as driveability.
Its also nice to know that I shouldn't ever need to change it.
Hmm, odd one this.
There are two different types of friction materials for I guess two different driving styles. The sintered clutch does have a slight on/off nature but will last nigh-on forever and having driven it, I didn't find it jerky at all, even the first time I pulled away - and it will handle a wall of torque. Its for people who use their cars and is as good as it gets. I suppose some might not get on with it so the option exists for something more... refined? The organic clutch would be much smoother and would suit a lower use car although it will, by definition being a twin plate unit, handle twice what the original single plate affair can take and will therefore last far, far longer.
I have an organic material clutch because I let BR make the decision for me. Plus my clutch is not the same as you normaltons get offered, it's something much more special in preparation for the 6.5 engine
That did take some getting used to, but any new clutch does as the pedal feel and bite points are different from the outgoing set-up. I found that a drive to Monaco via the Route Napoleon helped me get acquainted
There are two different types of friction materials for I guess two different driving styles. The sintered clutch does have a slight on/off nature but will last nigh-on forever and having driven it, I didn't find it jerky at all, even the first time I pulled away - and it will handle a wall of torque. Its for people who use their cars and is as good as it gets. I suppose some might not get on with it so the option exists for something more... refined? The organic clutch would be much smoother and would suit a lower use car although it will, by definition being a twin plate unit, handle twice what the original single plate affair can take and will therefore last far, far longer.
I have an organic material clutch because I let BR make the decision for me. Plus my clutch is not the same as you normaltons get offered, it's something much more special in preparation for the 6.5 engine
That did take some getting used to, but any new clutch does as the pedal feel and bite points are different from the outgoing set-up. I found that a drive to Monaco via the Route Napoleon helped me get acquainted
V8 Woollie the issue I had was purely with pulling away, in gear changes were perfect as others have said. There is clearly a knack but once you have learnt it then it no doubt becomes second nature however I struggled. When Mike tested the car with me in passenger seat he had a perfectly smooth pull-away at low revs, even reversing up an incline, where I never could. There are many people on this forum who have had the sintered clutch and raved about it. I'm just saying it didn't suit my style but there was nothing inherently wrong with it. Bamford Rose listened to me, developed an alternative which others may now benefit from and suits me better.
The more race inspired driver will no doubt love the sintered clutch and that it will last forever, so to say the situation is "concerning" is the wrong use of words. However, there is now a choice depending on driving style. Those who do lots of trackdays and fast pull-aways will no doubt take comfort in sintered. You might be right in that the biggest take up now might be twinplate organic, the beauty is it still a better clutch than standard and the lightweight flywheel.
As to clutch life we all know this depends on how it is treated .I preserved my single plate clutch through sympathetic driving for over 29,000 miles and it had a deal of life left in it.I dont expect to wear this one out anytime soon.It has been seen before for a std clutch to only last 5k miles in the wrong hands.
I went for the mod to get the lightweight flywheel to go with my Bamford Rose exhaust upgrade.I thought I better get the uprated clutch too because all that extra power needs something stronger than standard and having decided to keep the car I figured that some time in my ownership the clutch would need changing and I might as well enjoy the benefits of the system as soon as possible.
You can get up to 6 types of Clutch materials.
As described above the two available here are at different ends of the Material Spectrum.
this link explains a little further into the types available.
http://www.uucmotorwerks.com/clutch/
As described above the two available here are at different ends of the Material Spectrum.
this link explains a little further into the types available.
http://www.uucmotorwerks.com/clutch/
I had the BR exhaust, intake, lightened fly wheel and twin plate clutch upgrade several months ago and although I initially found pulling away difficult I quickly learned the technique.
This now means I can get all the power down quickly without the worry of frying the clutch and an expensive bill, I really don't miss the smell of a barbecue everytime you try to reverse up a slight slope!!
For a small amount of effort you get a lot of reward, I just need to decide what I can sell to get the next upgrade and will it be brakes or Suspension?
To Mike and team keep up the great work making the Vantage the car it should always have been.
Mark
This now means I can get all the power down quickly without the worry of frying the clutch and an expensive bill, I really don't miss the smell of a barbecue everytime you try to reverse up a slight slope!!
For a small amount of effort you get a lot of reward, I just need to decide what I can sell to get the next upgrade and will it be brakes or Suspension?
To Mike and team keep up the great work making the Vantage the car it should always have been.
Mark
I've got the sintered clutch too. Took me awhile to get used to it, you have to deliberately slip it a lot to get a smooth getaway, but it became second nature quite quickly. Takes a while to get over years of training *not* to slip a clutch too much, but I believed Mike when he said it could take it
- Steve
- Steve
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