viper501

The LWF will also change the feel of the engagement from the dual-mass crap that Porsche uses. Instead of the spongy imprecise engagement you will actually be able to feel the clutch engage with the flywheel and it will be consistent through the entire engagement. Also, bcs the LWF weighs less, as mentioned above, you can reduce the rotational mass and thereby increase the actual power that is being transmitted to the wheels across the RPM range. You cannot do that with a flash of the ECU, it is simply a mechanical phenomenom. The LWF will also spin up faster. Frankly, it is the best mod I have made to this car, bar none. Also, the clutch, pressure plate, and flywheel install are easy jobs. 1100 for that job is not a great price when you consider that the book rate for an R&R of the engine is less than 10 hours. Removing the transaxle is significantly easier.

hdtwncam88

all 3 shops i spoke with say book time on the clutch is 5.3 hours. a good porsche tech quoted me actually 3.5 hrs to do the job although the shops in my area are charging 5-6 hours and indy's are $80-$90 an hour and dealers are $100-$115 an hr. so $1100 isnt bad at all. supposed dealer cost on the sachs kits is like $450.00. so with that said $90 x 5.3 = $477 + $450= $927 NOT including the RMS or tax

SMR996

Spot on description viper..............

arthurc

So based on this it sounds like a LWF is a great mod so long as you take take a bit of extra sound at idle (Im fine with that).
As for the clutch would I see significantly better wear out of a stage 1 or 2 vs stock? I like the feel of performance clutches and am 6'8" so anything I can do to reduce pedal throw would be great.
AC

JimB

The downside to a high performance clutch/LWF is more than just noise. Like so many other modifications, LWFs and high performance clutches will improve performance but you might not like the effect on day to day driving. At least consider how far to go.

Obviously the flywheel is there to regulate how fast your car gains and loses RPMs. Gaining RPMs fast is good. Loosing them fast isn't so good on the street. With a light LWF you really need to blip the throttle on every downshift. Maybe you do this already but maybe not. Even on upshifts, do it leisurely and your LWF engine will lose enough RPMs that you'll be lugging when you want to be going. If you like driving the car aggressively all the time, this is really cool. If you like just cruising around or drive a lot in traffic, you might find it pretty irritating.

A high performance clutch will have pads with much higher friction coefficients than the stock Sachs. That means the clutch will grab much more aggressively. Ever see someone start out in a cup car. It’s rev the engine up, drop the clutch and away you go with a big jerk and often a little chirping from the tires. Cool at the track but probably not that cool on the street. Obviously the effect of a street high performance clutch will be less but you get the idea.

Bottom line, I love racing clutches and light flywheels at the track but I’d never put either in my street car. I’m not saying you shouldn’t. Just know that if the flywheel is light enough and the clutch sticky enough to really improve performance, the car will be harder to drive on the street.
Jim

jasper

From what I am reading the LWF will solve the (only) two b!tches I have about my car....sluggish throttel repsonse and clunky dual mass fylwheel engagement. I kind of wish my car hasn't already got a new clutc now.

viper501

JimB, I have to disagree with you about the LWF and street driving. I drive my car every day to and fro. I've never had to 'blip' the throttle to shift. Although, I do sometimes like to sit at a light and blip the throttle so I can listen to her rev a bit. The one thing that I have noticed is that I have had two occasions where the car stalled apparently due to the IAC valve being unable to anticipate the quicker than normal drop in RPM's. Both of these occured when coming out of gear as I approached a stop.

hdtwncam88, if that price includes all of the parts, you're right. Not a bad deal. I was thinking you were paying that for labor only.

As to the clutch material and stage 1, 2 or whatever, I am using a stock OEM replacement clutch and flywheel. No problems with engagement whatsoever. One other thing that I have done, some time ago, is to remove that damn helper spring. I don't mind the concept but Porsche really put way too much assistance in that thing.

JimB

Viper,
I'm glad its working for you. I suppose the trick is to get light but not too light.
Jim

viper501

JimB, I think you're on the money there. There is such a thing as too light. 4 or 5 pounds for a flywheel is too little for street driving. The AASCO is about 14 pounds which works pretty well.

squidracer

Is the LWF dual mass? If not, then the disc is not sprung either? I would imagine the clutch engagment would be abrubt since neither one is sprung.

viper501

squid, the hub is not sprung and the flywheel is a single mass. You would think that there could be harshness but so far I haven't experienced it. The engagement is smooth and very consistent linearly. I suspect that there is possibly slightly greater wear from slippage of the clutch during engagement but it is so much briefer and easier to modulate than with the Dual-mass that I don't think it will make any difference in the life-span of the clutch disc. Of course, I'm not doing burnouts and 6k rpm clutch dumps either.

Tempcom

Does anyone know if the Stage 1 or 2 Sachs Kevlar clutch requires anymore pedal pressure that the straight OEM? And is the OEM the same as a Stage 1?

Tempcom

Is there a difference between an OEM Sachs clutch and Stage 1 in a Porsche 996 Turbo?

Macster

You'd probably have better response if you posted this in the 996 Turbo forum.

While I have a 996 Turbo I know nothing about the clutch options for it. I just had the RMS replaced and while the transmission was out the clutch hardware was inspected and all found just fine, with hardly any wear at all. Oh, with 110K miles of use too. For me and my needs the stock clutch with the stock engine is just fine.