M40 LWFW

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rotta
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Tue Nov 20, 2012 9:51 am

anyone know of a company that makes a LWFW for the M40

many thanks

Rotta
rotta
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Tue Nov 27, 2012 9:39 am

Does the m42 flywheel fit straight up to the m40 box?
jmc330i
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Tue Nov 27, 2012 12:26 pm

M20 flywheel fits I believe. One of those lightened should liven up an M40 a little.
James
'91 325i Sport
'93 318i touring 16v
rotta
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Tue Nov 27, 2012 2:20 pm

i had a look about and saw that but will i need m20 clutch ect or can you just lighten a single mass m20 and fit it?
jmc330i
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Tue Nov 27, 2012 4:24 pm

You will need the matching clutch and starter for the flywheel. I don't know which would be cheaper, finding and buying an M40 lightweight flywheel if they are available, or buying all the M20 bits and getting the flywheel machined.

If you're swapping the flywheel, it will be worth changing the clutch anyway whilst you're there - unless the existing clutch is practically new. It would be a right pain to have pull the gearbox off again if you use the old clutch and it fails after a few months.
James
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'93 318i touring 16v
rotta
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Wed Nov 28, 2012 9:50 am

the reason im looking for the lwfw is the clutch is literally about to sh*t itself so im changing it and thought a lwfw would be nice. so if i get an m20 clutch kit and source a flywheel and have it machined ill be good to go?
jmc330i
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Wed Nov 28, 2012 10:40 am

You will need an M20 starter as well.

I've not looked into it properly until I decide what engine I'm using, but I know people use them on the M42s.
As I said, I don't know if lightweight wheels are available for the M40, or if sourcing the M20 wheel and starter etc would be cheaper.
James
'91 325i Sport
'93 318i touring 16v
jmc330i
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Wed Nov 28, 2012 10:50 am

Just done a quick Google... I found 1 lightweight M40 flywheel from the USA, works out about £400 + shipping etc etc. There might well be a UK supplier, but I'd say it won't be cheap.

One of the traders on here had some lightweight M20 flywheels for sale, I think for around £150. Add the price of the clutch and new starter (or more likely a secondhand one from a trader on here) and it will work out cheaper than buying just a flywheel.
James
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rotta
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Wed Nov 28, 2012 10:52 am

Cheers JMC i think im goin to go the M20 starter, clutch kit and lightened flywheel route! :)
jmc330i
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Wed Nov 28, 2012 11:03 am

Have a search on M42club, all the info is on there, but keep in mind some of the differences of the US spec cars.
James
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dsm2002
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Wed Nov 28, 2012 2:57 pm

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joeseth
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Thu Nov 29, 2012 7:12 am

I just got the standard flywheel machined down on my m42. It's the same as the m40 one so should work on yours
'89 Lachsilver m42 coupe - Sold
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jmc330i
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Thu Nov 29, 2012 8:52 am

^^^^ what was the final weight of the M42 wheel after machining?

From memory, in standard form the M20 flywheel is lighter than the M40/M42 one, but the M20 clutch kit is heavier. This means as a complete flywheel/clutch combo, there is barely any difference between the two.
The advantage of the M20 flywheel is that it can be lightened more than the M40/M42 flywheel.
James
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'93 318i touring 16v
rotta
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Thu Nov 29, 2012 9:22 am

Danthe does machined M20 flywheels down to 5.3kg
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joeseth
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Sun Dec 02, 2012 8:42 am

I did weigh it and take a pic but was on my old phone. I'll try dig it out. My mate who machined it down took three hours to machine off about 5mm all round the outer edge, so felt a bit bad at making him do anymore! But it was all from the outside edge so rotational mass should be a lot better. I have seen pics of them machined down to about half weight, but not sure if its safe tbh.
'89 Lachsilver m42 coupe - Sold
'92 Laguna Green Convertible M50
'97 e36 328i sport - Daily
'89 Alfa Romeo Sprint cloverleaf
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