South Bend clutch with Fidanza flywheel, question?

[$teady$upreme]

My mechanic is just putting on the flywheel and clutch in for me, and the clutch disc doesn't fit my 10lbs aluminum fidanza flywheel.

Anyone runs into this problem before? My mechanic said the clutch disc is hitting the flywheel bolts, so do i have a wrong disc? Maybe they send me a disc with runs with OEM dual mass flywheel?

Any ideas?

[pac1085]

The flywheel Fidanza sells for the 1.8T requires that you use an unsprung disc, like the stock one.

If your clutch disc has springs in it (you want to use a sprung disc with a light weight flyhweel), it will not fit with the Fidanza flywheel.

You can either get a different flywheel, or machine the Fidanza, like Spec did back before they made their own 1.8T flywheel.

Here's a pic of my modded Fidanza, as you can see the center was machined to clear the springs.

[$teady$upreme]

That's the exact same Fidanza flywheel i have, is it the 10lbs aluminum one?

And i do have the sprung disc since im running an aftermarket flywheel (which is the fidanza). But you said,

"If your clutch disc has springs in it (you want to use a sprung disc with a light weight flyhweel), it will not fit with the Fidanza flywheel."

So wonder what clutch are you running? and if i really want to keep my SB stage 4 OFE clutch, i should go your route and machine the fidanza right? and how much do you have to machine the center off, in order to fit the clutch disc?

The flywheel Fidanza sells for the 1.8T requires that you use an unsprung disc, like the stock one.

If your clutch disc has springs in it (you want to use a sprung disc with a light weight flyhweel), it will not fit with the Fidanza flywheel.

You can either get a different flywheel, or machine the Fidanza, like Spec did back before they made their own 1.8T flywheel.

Here's a pic of my modded Fidanza, as you can see the center was machined to clear the springs.

[$teady$upreme]

do you have a side view pic of the flywheel, i just want to know how much i have to machine off for the center.

[pac1085]

I did not machine it myself. Years ago when the fidanza was the only LWFW option for the 1.8t, spec bought them, modified them and sold them as their own.

Yes, you want to use a sprung disc with a LWFW. But the Fidanza isn't meant to be used with a sprung disc (shitty)


I'm assuming yours looks like this:



You can see the raised center in that pic..

Sorry, no dimensions. The flywheel is at my machine shop right now so I can't take any measruments either. If you do cut it down you'll need different (shorter) bolts as well.

I would recommend getting a different flywheel (like Aasco which you can get for like $350 online)

[Siena]

If you need steel LWFW's for the 1,8T, (SM) I can supply these for £200.

If a group buy, then I can discount them further.

[mike-2ptzero]

Just call up South Bend and see if you can swap out the disk for a unspring version which is usually used with the stock flywheel or with a lwfw for racing. You will notice more chatter with a unspring disk with the 10 lbs flywheel then you would without a sprung disk.

[$teady$upreme]

Thank you for all the information. But the thing is, my car ties up the shop since the car is up on a hoist.


What do you guys think is the best way to do it?

[pac1085]

The best thing to do would be to buy a different LWFW, like an Aasco which will clear a sprung hub clutch. You could do what Mike suggested as well, but I'd try to stick with the sprung disc, unless it's a lot faster to do what Mike suggested.

[$teady$upreme]

yah both will be slow i think. I got my clutch from kinetic motorsports locally, but i doubt they will have an unsprung disc in stock.

If i order Aasco online, it will take as long right. Well, as of now, i have to call kinetic on Monday, hopefully i can solve this issue soon.

Thank you very much for all the information once again~

[$teady$upreme]

hey guys, as of now, the flywheel and clutch still haven't put together yet.

I ordered the flywheel bolts from the dealership, and one mechanic told me that those bolts are for stock dual mass flywheel so they are bigger and taller. Then he suggested me to get bolts from like a 97 golf vr6 (not dual mass flywheel), but those bolts still don't work.

So what should i do? I don't want to machine the center of the flywheel since some people said it will weaken the flywheel. I also called 034 today, and they had not encountered that problem, so really can't give me any insights.

Worst the worst, i will have to run the clutch disc (unsprung) with the fidanza flywheel, but how much chattering will i experience?

[Poopie]

The chatter will be noticeable. Especially with the AC on. You can machine the flywheel. My friend did that with no issues at all. The machine shop can cut down the stock bolts for you too. I think this is the way to go personally.

[t1demont1]

You can sell me your lwfw and get one for a sprung disk ;)

[$teady$upreme]

no man, i love that flywheel to death. I used to run it with Werks of Arts stage 2 clutch~

[$teady$upreme]

But do you know how much they have to machine the center of the flywheel off?

The chatter will be noticeable. Especially with the AC on. You can machine the flywheel. My friend did that with no issues at all. The machine shop can cut down the stock bolts for you too. I think this is the way to go personally.

[Poopie]

give them the clutch disk and the bolts.

[$teady$upreme]

Yah, im going to send the whole flywheel and clutch assembly with pressure plate bolts and flywheel bolts to Kinetic motorsports, see if they know anything about it.

[mike-2ptzero]

no man, i love that flywheel to death. I used to run it with Werks of Arts stage 2 clutch~

Was your WOA stage 2 clutch sprung or unsprung? Because it was most likely unsprung to work with that flywheel which means the SB unsprung disk will have the same amount of chatter the WOA did.

[macgyver681]

The flywheel Fidanza sells for the 1.8T requires that you use an unsprung disc, like the stock one.

If your clutch disc has springs in it (you want to use a sprung disc with a light weight flyhweel), it will not fit with the Fidanza flywheel.

You can either get a different flywheel, or machine the Fidanza, like Spec did back before they made their own 1.8T flywheel.

Here's a pic of my modded Fidanza, as you can see the center was machined to clear the springs.

I agree, I have the same setup, old spec/fidanza flywheel with a sprung disk Southbend clutch. Just bring the flywheel to any machine shop and have them machine down that inner hub. It isn't worth it to run a unsprung disk with a non-dual mass flywheel, too jerky and lots of chatter.

I ran into the same bolt problem too, just got the long ones from the dealer and cut them down so the same number of threads engage as when its used with the stock dual mass flywheel. Works fine for the last year.

Did you try calling spec and ask them anything about it, it might be useless since alot of their current people don't really even know about the old Spec/Fidanza flywheels but you might get somone knowledgeable that can help you out.

[Militant-Grunt]

I would be afraid to run a lightweight flywheel with a high horsepower application, there is that video of an S4 building up revs for a launch and then the flywheel explodes. Destroyed the entire bell housing on the transmission and caused a lot of damage. What setup do you intend on going with?

[mike-2ptzero]

I would be afraid to run a lightweight flywheel with a high horsepower application, there is that video of an S4 building up revs for a launch and then the flywheel explodes. Destroyed the entire bell housing on the transmission and caused a lot of damage. What setup do you intend on going with?

What? I have been running a lwfw in my car for 5 years, right now I have the 15 lbs flywheel and make way more power then 99% of the S4's.


You are most likely talking about Mike from WMS, he most likely broke something else before the lwfw exploded and he used anti-lag with the 034 SEM he was running on his S4. How many A4 owners do you know using anti-lag?

[pac1085]

I would be afraid to run a lightweight flywheel with a high horsepower application, there is that video of an S4 building up revs for a launch and then the flywheel explodes. Destroyed the entire bell housing on the transmission and caused a lot of damage. What setup do you intend on going with?

not uncommon, thats why scatter shields are made for a lot of cars (like DSM's) and I think they might even be required if you're running under a certain ET

[mike-2ptzero]

not uncommon, thats why scatter shields are made for a lot of cars (like DSM's) and I think they might even be required if you're running under a certain ET

Yes there is, IIRC it is needed at the same time a roll bar. They even have rules on the flywheel/clutch itself which must have a set rating.


Here are the rules from 2006.

Clutch – Clutch in cars running 11.99 quicker must meet SFI 1.1, 1.2, 1.4 specs.

Flywheel shield – All cars using a clutch and running quicker than 11.99 or faster than 135mph must be equipped with a flywheel shield made of 1/4inch minimum thickness steel plate. In lieu of shield, a blanket meeting SFI 4.1 spec, completely surrounding the bellhousing, is permitted

Flywheel – Stock-type cast iron flywheels and/or pressure plats are prohibited in any car running 11.99 or quicker. Units that meet SFI 1.1, 1.2, 1.3 or 1.4 specs are mandatory in all cars running 11.99 or quicker.