Just got my car back from BBI Autosport in Huntington Beach, CA. I had a Sachs Stage II racing clutch and light weight flywheel installed. BBI did the job with 9.5 hours of labor (I believe it is rated at 11 hours from Sachs). I always enjoy going over to pick up my car from BBI. They are a great bunch and really know their stuff. Always lots of cool new projects to check out too.

The clutch pedal feels almost exactly like the stock pedal. It is not any more difficult to depress. It is, however, a bit less forgiving in first gear. It engages much more quickly now (I don't mean higher or lower but quicker). I used to be able to let it off slowly in first gear and get the car to nudge forward. Now, when I let the pedal out to where it engages, it just goes. A real on/off feel.

I am not hearing any chatter from the LWFW. Rumor on the street was that the LWFW has a tendancy to rattle at idle with the clutch pedal depressed. I have not experienced this at all. Perhaps my tolerance for such noises is higher than some. But I am usually a real stickler for that kind of thing. So far, it has not been an issue for me. I will shoot some videos of the sound at start up, warm, etc. and post them soon.

The engine is spooling up better than ever and the car seems very strong. I also got an updated ECU flash that seems to be pretty aggressive. Once you get a flash from BBI, they will reflash it as many times as they get updates for a small fee. I am going to run the clutch a couple hundred miles before I start pushing it again. So I won't be running with those nuts on Saturday morning for a bit.

Right now, I am very happy with it and the work that Betim and Joey did for me at BBI. Anyone interested in mods for their 997TT (or any car for that matter) should really check them out.

 

Hey D! Your car looks and drives great! Thanks for the opportunity to do this nice upgrade. The new clutch and LWFW should help the engine rev up more quickly and will give you more confidence when pushing the car. The Sachs is our recommended clutch for stage II modifications.

As always, if anyone is interested in what we can do for your car, give me a call.

 

Nice feed back Barrister. That red beast is a pleasure to look at

I'm running the Stage II without the LWFW and I know what you mean by engaging quickly!

 

Here are my updated impressions after about 50 miles worth of driving.

The biggest thing that I notice is that first gear is totally different. The Sachs system is not nearly as forgiving as the stock system. I have not stalled the car for months but I stalled it in first gear several times yesterday and once on my way in to work today. When the pedal is ready to engage, you are IN GEAR and you better be ready. I am not mixing the gas with the clutch engagement much - if at all - right now. I am taking it especially easy in that beautiful second gear where we all love to punch it. I am doing mainly rolling engagement in second. I have given it some nice gas in third gear, however, and the results are very nice indeed. I am going to break in the clutch over the next 250 - 300 miles before pushing it. So, suffice it to say, that the Sachs system has a slight learning curve to it.

Today I paid closer attention to the chatter that the LWFW is making. It is definitely there. You hear it when in neutral while the car is idling and I hear it in first and second gear between 0 - 2500 RPMs. This is definitely something that should be considered before pulling the trigger on this system. For me, the performance boost should be enough to overcome the chatter. I have not been pusing the car very hard yet. But early indications are that the engine is revving up much more quickly in third and fourth gears. I think this bodes well for second gear once I get her broken in. I can't imagine being much faster in second. That really excited me. Stay tuned.

One final thing that I have noticed is that I am not getting any clutch smell at all. With the stock clutch I would get just a whif when I climbed up my steep driveway or the climb up into my parking garage in first gear. Now there is absolutely no smell at all. This is a good thing.

I will do another update when I have driver the system out of the break-in period. So far, however, I am very happy with it.

Thanks to BBI for the fine install.

 

Nice upgrade! Definately keep us updated after the break-in is complete.

 

Great review Barrister! Looks time BBI is on top of their game !

 

Thanks for the review Dana! Great reading during my honeymoon trip:

Rennteam.com: Porsche Club GB Swiss Trip / My Honeymoon !!

Something I am certainly considering at some point.

Sachs II for sure, LWFW I am still on the fence though. Would appreciate your ongoing feedback.

 

Just curious, how much did this upgrade run you? I'm considering doing the same to mine.

 

sachs 2 is the way to go, drives like stock and it has handled my upgraded turbos very well so far, the only thing is that there is a minimal chatter in slow reverse if you don't give it enough gas and I assume it is worse if you have a lwfw. Mine still has the oem flywheel which was not changed and I am glad I didn't get the lwfw.

 

Wow! Your honeymoon trip looks like it was a great time! Those roads are AMAZING. And I thought the good old Ortega Highway was as good as it gets.

I have now put about 400 miles on the clutch and I have started to do some very spirited driving again. It is absolutely rock solid and the engine spools up about 25% faster than before. The pedal is absolutely the same as stock. Now that it is broken in, I don't feel the "on/off" sensation that much any more. But it could be that I am just used to it. There is absolutely no slippage at all. I am running about 550 bhp and 600 tq. It is handling that power just fine. Solid as a rock.

The LWFW chatters - no getting over that. But the combination of the clutch with the LWFW is unbeatable. What can I say? The car is just faster with a lighter flywheel that spools the engine more quickly. But you have to accept the additional noise. It is louder when the car is cold and when it is on an uneven surface. And it goes away if you push the clutch in. To each his own, but for me, the performance gains are worth the chatter.

I would not suggest going to the Sachs if your stock clutch is holding up. But if the time comes that your stock clutch wears out or you mod the car such that it can't always handle the extra hp, the Sachs system is a great choice.

The parts should run you about $2,500. Here is a price from AWE which seems about right:

AWE Tuning - Products

The labor is stated to be around 11 hours. But I think a good mechanic can do it in 8-9.

Good luck!