ACT vs Exedy
 

So I'm looking to get a new clutch and possibly a lightweight flywheel in the near future for my S4 Gxl. I've been looking at the Exedy stage 1 organic and some of the ACT HD series clutches. Anyone have experience with these clutches and can you guys give me some of the pros and cons of each system?

My car is mostly stock with only full exhaust as a power adder. I'm planning to get a rtek, a S5 UIM and do something with the intake at a future date so I want the clutch to be able to handle around 200 rwhp and more importantly whatever torque is associated. My car is currently a DD but I will be doing track days next year for sure so I don't mind a little more pedal resistance as long as it engages well and can live up to the demands of the track and street.

The ACT HD series is great, but in an NA you won't likely outrun your clutch with either setup unless you go turbo.

Well it seems like the ACT is about $100 more so I was wondering if I will see any benefit from using the ACT or will the Exedy be as good since I don't have much power?

The Exedy Stage 1 is ~180ft-lbs
The ACT HD is ~268ft-lbs

I have the ACT Street & Strip clutch on my 90 GXL. I have about 90k miles on the clutch and have had no problems with it. The ACT has 30% more clamping force over the stock Mazda clutch. My only complaint is that the pedal requires some extra effort to press which makes it tiring when driving in stop-and-go traffic. Also, since I don't race the car, I don't think that I'm getting much benefit out of the ACT. I believe that Exedy is the stock Mazda clutch. When I need to replace, I will go back to the stock clutch.

The ACT HDSS has a nice feel and slightly harder engagement. I am more than satisfied with the one that I have in my GTUs and it has been through 6 years of good abuse. I am curious to see what it will look like when I take it off this winter to swap out my drivetrain.

So at the moment I am leaning towards the ACT since it seems to be widely used and definitely a quality product. Not to mention I will be pairing it with an ACT prolite flywheel and I'm all for matching components even though it probably doesn't matter in this circumstance. Any Exedy users out there that can chime in?

Both Exedy and ACT make good products. However, Exedy sponsors rotary car events while ACT does not. Therefore, with everything else being equal, I would tend to support Exedy.

The Exedy Stage 1 is rated for 242 lb-ft torque at the flywheel, so if this rating is adequate for your car then you may want to go this route to save some money. The rule of thumb is to use the lightest clutch that will handle 10% more than the peak torque of the engine. The ACT HDSS clutch is rated for 268 lb-ft, which would give you a little more clamping force if you think that you will need it. After that, you would need to move up to the less-driveable Exedy Stage 2 at 322 lb-ft and the ACT HDR4 or HDR6 at 343 lb-ft.

You can also call the manufacturer to answer your questions rather than asking the internet peanut gallery. ;)

I am reading 242 lb-ft FWTQ for the Exedy Stage 1 P/N 10806.
http://www.exedyusa.com/catalogs/Exe...atalog_web.pdf

You are correct. When I looked it up, the page I found them listed on had only the wheel torque listed with no specification! I thought that was quite lower than expected!

For the record the exedy stage 1 heavy duty isnt much more than the stage one but if your car is NA its probably not worth it.

I'm using one on my Turbo and I like it.

I originally thought this was for a Turbo car then saw its a NA *face palm*

in my 240s ive always ran exedy on all 4 of them always grabbed well even when dumping clutch. i just ordered the exedy clutch kit, as well as lightweight flywheel for my fc na. the flywheel is on back order so probably going to try the act flywheel and see how it goes.

I have used both brands, I had a 4 puck sprung clutch with an act street strip pressure plate, and the exedy stage 1 loved/ love both. Obviously the 4 puck and heavy PP were a bit more of a pain to drive in traffic.

I will say this. If you buy a pressure plate with higher clamping force than stock REPLACE YOUR CLUTCH FORK PIVOT BALL
it's like $10 and it will save you the pain of having to potentially remove your transmission again when it snaps from the increased pressure....ask me how I know. :lol:

Well it looks like they are both up to the task. It's just up to me whether I want the higher torque capacity of the ACT or the lower price of the Exedy. Plus I will definitely be ordering the fork pivot ball! Thanks for all the info everyone it's really appreciated. I have learned so much more about my car because of this site so you guys rock!