Dual mass flywheels - signs of failure?

[Mark34bn]

I'm on the verge of having my E36 328i clutch replaced and I've heard rumours about flywheel failure. Obviously I'd rather a £350 job didn't turn into an £800 job, but can you tell if a DMF is on the way out?
My car drives smoothly enough and TBH I can't hear anything abnormal.

Cheers
Mark

[Mark34bn]

Funny you should say that....
I've been looking at single mass flywheels. I mean if it needs replacing then man-logic suggests an upgrade could be on the cards.. BUT I'm worried about the downsides. My car is a road car and I don't want to hear chattering (or whatever it is)
I drove an early E36 320i years ago and I believe these had solid flywheels. That car was really nice and certainly didn't have refinement problems.
If anyone has been in an E36 with a solid flywheel I'd love to hear your opinions.

[Mark34bn]

buggalugs said:

bobthepsycho said:

stevieturbo said:

And the fact people are replacing them with solid flywheels with no negative effects to their cars...again, seems DMF's arent all they are cracked up to be.

The thing is... people only change to a solid flywheel when the DMF has problems. If they change a DMF which has deteriorated unnoticed over time, and don't notice a difference, it may not be that a new solid flywheel is better than a brand new DMF.

I'm not saying DMFs don't have their problems, but we should compare apples with apples.

I swapped the DMF on the back of my BMW M50 engine for a lighter solid unit with a sprung clutch friction plate hub. Just cause the clutch was sometimes starting to slip and I already had the new fly. The clutch action isn't as nice on the new clutch. Not terrible, just not as nice. But I like the reviness of the lighter fly.

That's only my one off experience though.

Are you experiencing any chatter with the new setup?

This seems to sound OK
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9t6vSLYUcQ

But I really wouldn't want this....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqhHF14EjvU

[Mark34bn]

les3002 said:

I run the solid M20 flywheel on my E36 328i, no chatter at all, drives much nicer than with the DMF, definitely recommended.

Can you give us a quick rundown on which components are used, and which are different to std. What clutch etc?

Cheers
Mark