Has anybody even seen a ring like this on a Pressure plate?

NYSpeed Automotive
1

So ive been trying and TRYING to get my car running again…

I had to replace the stock clutch… no big deal… all the mechanical stuff was/is a snap…

Fwd to the last 5 days of my life trying to figure out why the stupid car wont actuate the clutch…

I have a spec stage II clutch… apparently spec has had these installed on SMG cars before, but i cant find ANYBODY who has… but i bought it anyways cuz the tech guy seemed to know what he was takling about, and spec is a well known company…

So here is what my pressure plate looks like

http://www.viper966.com/m3/DSC02047.jpg

see that ring around the fingers ?

i cant find another presure plate ANYWHERE that has this design… for e46 or otherwise…

which leads me to thing that it doesnt work…

the welll known HP clutch for my car is the horesepower freaks kit… which is pictured below

http://www.horsepowerfreaks.com/images/products/HorsepowerFreaks/Clutch_Kits_E46_M3_Feramic_Stage_1_LRG.jpg

SEE, no ring…

any ideas?

the ONLY thing i can think of is that this ring is meant to make the engagement point of the clutch stock height… but maybe it makes it a lot harder for the car to engage it?

and yes, IB i told ya so’s and you shoulda bought a 6 speeds…

im sooo stressed out and sooo fried from this ordeal… i just want it to end!

2

with that ring there does the TOB not go the same distance? i havnt seen a ring like that either, why not call the company

edit: ill look up a spec clutch for my neon, maybe its just the spec brand thats like this

edit2: http://www.ultrarev.com/product.php?productid=20275 no ring for my car

3

im calling them tommorow morning…

4

I’m going to make a post just as useless as the one two above me.

I’ve never seen a BMW clutch with a ring like that (aftermarket or OEM).

5

if ya look at it closely, it looks like it just holds the fingers in place, so some dont bend farther than others and they all have equal pressure applied to each one as a preventative measure, the TOB would still go the same distance, i dont think the rings your prob

6

I think the problem with the ring is that it makes it a lot harder for the TOB to engage… and force the fingers in

instead of pressing down on the ramp of the figers which starts them releasing, it has to push flush against this piece of metal

7

if it was the ring they wouldnt manufacture the clutch, even if it were a poor design which sometimes makes it out to consumers, it would just perform shittier but not at all, it obviously has gone through thorough testing and track testing im sure, if it turns out it is the ring, you prob just got a defect =(

8

Maybe its for shipping or for when they are making it and someone forgot to take it off…

9

that shit woulda just fell off or there would of been some sort of warning sticker to remove it

it is there as a preventative measure to keep all of the teeth aligned/evenly pressed/avoid untimely damage/mishaps, now do i have any proof of this? no but it seems to be logical

10

+1 it doesnt seem like it would be easy/possible to depress the fingers like that

11

I highly doubt viper hadn’t tried to remove the ring before making this post…

12

but in this case there would of been some sort of ATTENTION label written across it

13

x22222^91209e111111111111111111111111111

14

too many double negatives for me at this hour…

fail me once, fail me twice?

15

The ring doesn’t have what seems to be any easy way to take it off, I looked, there is no snap ring or anything like that which I can see

16

you were first on google, good luck…

http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/5087/80875137.jpg

17

i would be very surprised if it wasnt meant to be there but we wont know till the morn when ya call them up, go to bed, time will pass by faster

18

are you sure your smg is reprogrammed correctly? isnt there a process you need to do for smg with some sorta scan tool?

19

does the TOB spin all the time when the clutch is engaged? does it have a bearing on it? maybe it’s something for the TOB to ride on.

The TOB in my balt spins all the times and actually has a bearing in it…yes i know this isnt a cobalt but its just a thought lol

20

Yes, I’ve been trying to, but it needs to feel out where the clutch is, each time I do that it fails to program!!! Which is very frustrating, I have a full bmw enhanced ae tool