DCT life w/ ESS VT650

[m33]

I figured it would be informative to share with you guys on what the DCT can handle and it would be wise to play close attention as this information can easily expand the life of your dual clutch pack.

The super charger was introduced to the car with 1,100 miles on the odometer , it actually went in for its first service with the blower on the car along with a BBK kit and dropped, when I pulled in most of the tech had a WTF look on their face and all were skeptical of the life of the motor and tranny/clutch considering the new 600whp power level.
Side Note : it's pretty funny looking at their questionable faces wondering if the car can hold such power and for how long, now me ..... I'm confident it can considering this was my 3rd supercharged E9x M3 .

Now the juicy stuff:

The car now currently has 23k on the clock yes I drive the car on a daily basis and I drive it HARD as most of you who know me personally already know. Now don't get me wrong this doesn't mean you can jump in your M and beat the shit out of it and not have to worry about anything, it all boils down to this ........ The way you treat your car your car will treat you! It doesn't get simpler than that so with that being said here are the key ingredient's to success.
Engine/blower/DCT precautionary measures:

-I always warm up the car to normal operating temps before I do any spirited driving.

DCT:
The do's
- always start your races or hard driving on up shifts ! What I mean by this is always be in your take off gear and in S mode, This is the key ingredient to smooth shifting and long clutch life.

The don'ts
- never punch your car in D mode as it calls for the tranny to down shift which causes the clutch to semi slip before it clamps/grips , now given the added power, that slip cause major heat on the clutch pack and as most of you with bowers on their M's that do this have gotten a warning or in some cases caused the car Togo into limp mode until the clutches cooled down this type of driving method will cause rough shift points.

- never punch your car from a dead stop !! This will cause a semi launch and not to mention it will cause a glaze spot in all your odd gears!
Who ever has done this will notice that every time you shift into 3rd 5th and 7th you will get a jerky shift . Well that's from punching it in 1st at a dead stop.
Always use launch control ! Or.... Take off from a roll while the clutch is engaged.

Follow these steps and you will experience long clutch life

I personally put 22k miles on my clutch and over 100 launch controls at the drag strip and all was fine until my last drag strip event .....
I couldn't use launch control cause I couldn't hook for shit due to the cold weather so I would punch it off the line ( failed to take my own advice ) which caused this glazed spot in all my odd gears. The clutch never slipped even after all this but it did make my shifting jerky which drove me crazy so I ended up putting a new clutch in and now the problem is solved and my shifts are smooth as butter .
Overall I'm impressed with these cars on the amount of abuse they can take and it would have lasted a lot longer if I had only declined to punch it off the line or....... Had purchased a set of MT's which I then would have been able to utilize launch control and would have avoided this problem but hey .... Lesson learned !

I hope this will be helpful for you guys and gals!

[klammer]

This is helpful, thank you sir

[GOLFFRR]

Nice thanks for the tips. This is very helpful.

[Jbook]

Thanks for the advice! This is very helpful for me as my blower should arrive this week and I can treat the car properly from the beginning.

[per]

Thanks for the tips, i will memorise them !

[BuckRodgers]

Good info, I think the DCT tranny has held up very well VS other transmissions over the years. Doing 100 drag launches I would imagine would kill most any clutch but it's good that the transmission has done well.

[Team Plutonium]

[mlhj83]

100+ LCs! Winner! Good to know!

Please explain what glaze spot on gear is - is this a shiny area on the gear teeth from sudden impact between the teeth of adjacent gears?

[flipm3]

Great info m33! Thanks for sharing!

Do you have any thoughts on upgraded clutches to increase longevity even more?

[VCMpower]

Thanks for this M33. I I have a set of SSP 600 discs ready to go. I will treat those nicer when I get around to installing them.

[m33]

Originally Posted by mlhj83

100+ LCs! Winner! Good to know!

Please explain what glaze spot on gear is - is this a shiny area on the gear teeth from sudden impact between the teeth of adjacent gears?

I don't know what it looks like as everything is concealed , the slippage is at the point of engagement/clamping force of the clutch/disks & This is only on the odd gears ! Keep in mind theirs two clutches one for odd gears and one for even , the even ones don't see that much abuse compared to the odd gears.

Originally Posted by flipm3

Great info m33! Thanks for sharing!

Do you have any thoughts on upgraded clutches to increase longevity even more?

Honestly from what I grasped to get this addressed properly you would need to address the software portion of the DCT not only the clutches , there is a learning/calibration procedure once the clutch pack is installed that it goes through and if the clutches ( upgraded clutches ) grip/bite to hard the calibration can fail and your assed out .

Originally Posted by VCMpower

Thanks for this M33. I I have a set of SSP 600 discs ready to go. I will treat those nicer when I get around to installing them.

I would be curious to see if it works, good luck

[m33]

FYI when treated properly these clutches can last you a long long time , 1sickM (Scott ) has over 300 launch controls with his M ** 300 launches control while supercharged ** .
All you have to do is avoid punching/hammering it from a dead stop !! And always take off on up shifts in S mode with settings all the way up ( full bars) .

The only reason I changed out my clutch is cause I'm anal and I missed my smooth shifts other than that the clutch was holding perfectly fine which is impressive considering it had 22k miles on it.

[mlhj83]

I'm aware that there are 2 clutch packs for even and odds gears, however, I still don't understand how using LC is kinder than just flooring the throttle in 1st gear from idle rpm. Surely the sudden shock of increased torque with LC is more detrimental than flooring the throttle from idle rpm? Please explain.

[nerwyll@trinityautosport]

thanks for sharing =)

[m33]

Originally Posted by mlhj83

I'm aware that there are 2 clutch packs for even and odds gears, however, I still don't understand how using LC is kinder than just flooring the throttle in 1st gear from idle rpm. Surely the sudden shock of increased torque with LC is more detrimental than flooring the throttle from idle rpm? Please explain.

Not necessarily , it's the opposite . Launch control controls the launch .
When stationed with launch control activated and you release the lever/shifter the clutch bites with maximum force while it controls/limits initial power at the point of engagement then half way through first it releases full power in return sling shoots you out the hole whereas punching it in first shocks the clutch at the point where it's programmed to semi slip into first giving you a smooth clutch engagement that's designed for normal take off , that's why you don't hammer it off the line , but ....... You can feather it but at that point adrenaline takes over .
I hope this clears things up .

[mlhj83]

Originally Posted by m33

Not necessarily , it's the opposite . Launch control controls the launch .
When stationed with launch control activated and you release the lever/shifter the clutch bites with maximum force while it controls/limits initial power at the point of engagement then half way through first it releases full power in return sling shoots you out the hole whereas punching it in first shocks the clutch at the point where it's programmed to semi slip into first giving you a smooth clutch engagement that's designed for normal take off , that's why you don't hammer it off the line , but ....... You can feather it but at that point adrenaline takes over .
I hope this clears things up .

So in short, you are saying that LC is kinder on the clutch because there is less clutch slip than flooring it from idle.

[img]

Good Info !

[1SICKM]

Originally Posted by mlhj83

So in short, you are saying that LC is kinder on the clutch because there is less clutch slip than flooring it from idle.

Yes! Furthermore, I wouldn't use LC unless at a 1/4 mile track and the surface was prepped.

[1SICKM]

Zim....very helpful info. If I only knew how you were launching that day I would have stopped you.... Sorry bro. I was so focused on hitting 10.6's....

I don't see the need to use LC unless at a 1/4mile event and your car is properly setup (tires and linelock). You run the risk of smoking your clutches and getting massive wheel hop breaking something in the rear

[Roman@ESS]

Originally Posted by m33

FYI when treated properly these clutches can last you a long long time , 1sickM (Scott ) has over 300 launch controls with his M ** 300 launches control while supercharged ** .
All you have to do is avoid punching/hammering it from a dead stop !! And always take off on up shifts in S mode with settings all the way up ( full bars) .

The only reason I changed out my clutch is cause I'm anal and I missed my smooth shifts other than that the clutch was holding perfectly fine which is impressive considering it had 22k miles on it.

Got to have smooth shifts when drinking your Starbucks

[VCMpower]

Masssive wheel hop indeed!

Originally Posted by 1SICKM

Zim....very helpful info. If I only knew how you were launching that day I would have stopped you.... Sorry bro. I was so focused on hitting 10.6's....

I don't see the need to use LC unless at a 1/4mile event and your car is properly setup (tires and linelock). You run the risk of smoking your clutches and getting massive wheel hop breaking something in the rear

[Raucky2000]

Great info thx