ya, forgot to add that the exeddy stage 1 clutch i bought also came with a very nice throwout bearing, pilot bearing that was the wrong size, pressure plate, and clutch disk.
deff worth the 200$ i put down

peace

 

You sir are too rich for your own good. You should share the wealth

 

I'm not rich, but I am a *****. Sidejob $$$$ FTW! Welding and fixing boats of rich people pays well.

I'm too old to say, "I don't like it, but it'll work so I'll just buy it 'cuz it's cheaper." Done it before and wasn't happy & ending up spending more $$ than had I just done it right the first time. I''ve been taught that lesson once and it was enough. Not to mention I have a bitchin' DD so I'm not pressed for time either which is a plus.

 

okay, i think i'm going to buy the Exedy Stage 1 Clutch or the spec stage 2. hopefully cheaper from spooledupracing, but my post count is too low to pm him. this web-site only lists the spec clutches for like '89-'91 and like '93+. Is the spec stage 2 for '88s?

should i buy Exedy Stage 1 Clutch 86-91 RX-7 or the Spec Stage 2?

 

I have the ACT HD pressure plate and exedy street strip disc and I have TII street ported and 3"exhaust. I love the feel of it. It is stiff but dose not give me cramps or anything. It catches quick and feels like no slipping. Love it even if I paid $419.00 OUCH

 

I wouldn't recommend a Spec clutch to anyone. I know several people who hav had problems with them going out very quickly (under 10k miles), especially their puck clutches. I will say though that these were not on Rx-7s.

 

Yep, I gotta side with Kev on this one. I have had alot of clutch setups and nothing worked as good as the ACT. My full face disk didnt even start giving up the ghost until I started making 490 HP. I am on a 4 puck unsprung now and I freakin HATE it...

 

Exedy stage I with resurfaced flywheel..

 

Kevin:

I'm looking at the ACT Streetlite flywheel on rx7store.net; the description says "** For Turbo cars only**"—what do you recommend for an N/A? Stock? I will only have very mild street ports on the engine I'm building, if I choose to port at all.

Thanks,

Chuck

 

I've got the 4 puck act unsprung...it kind of sucks if you do a lot of city driving in it. I guess first gear is the only gear I hate. I still haven't gotten a feel for it yet but then again I've only driven on it for a few hundred miles

 

Streetlite should work fine for an N/A, you'll love the new revving ability. I run a 8 lb Fidanza flywheel on my car.

I agree and disagree with a few posts here, so I'll go in order.

Here are the clutch setups I've driven.

RX-7:
1 x Stock Turbo Clutch/PP w/ Stock Flywheel
2 x Stock NA Clutch/PP w/ Stock Flywheel
1 x Centerforce Dual Friction Clutch/PP w/ Aluminum Flywheel (Not sure weight/brand)
1 x ACT 4-Puck Sprung Disk/Heavy Duty PP w/ Fidanza 8 lb. Aluminum Flywheel
1 x ACT 4-Puck Unsprung Disk/Xtreme PP w/ Stock Flywheel

Non RX-7
Stock Honda Accord Clutch/PP/Flywheel
Mitsubishi Eclipse ACT Street Disc/Xtreme PP w/ Stock Flywheel

I guess I'll start with clutch first.

DO NOT GET THE XTREME PP! It's absolute overkill and actually poses a risk to your clutch hydraulics.

I am also opposed to using race puck clutches on cars that see the majority of their life doing street duty. Track/autox cars are another story.

That being said....unsprung on the street? Properly driving it is hard, as in not slipping the clutch wherever you go. If you can engage without going over 900 rpms on that disc everytime? I salute you. A stock flywheel makes it easier, an aluminum makes it near impossible. All of my friends who have unsprungs go to 2000 and slip the clutch down. Mmm....burning clutch smell. For all race puck disks, you should never slip the clutch unless you have to, sprung or unsprung. Oh yeah, and engagement from a stop will be harsh.....you will stall everytime your first week, and will have to buck the car out of stoplights at first.

I currently use a sprung 4 puck with a heavy duty pp on my GTUs, which is my weekend/track car that doesn't see much daily driving. Pedal feel is noticeably stiffer than stock. Engagement is much harsher, to the point where I'm scared I'm going to break my Mazda Competition mounts. It's very hard to engage smoothly without burning the clutch, but I usually do it anyway, I make it a point to stay below 900 rpms if I can. However, revving-wise, and shifting-wise? It's much more fun than my street car, but that's the way I want it, to save my track car for the track.

The stock setups aren't bad, I enjoy the one I have now, and it serves me fine. I can launch when I need to, shift pretty fast when I need to, and can still enjoy the civility of the stock engagement, thanks to the full disc and stock flywheel. It leaves a little to be desired when getting on it, but it's a tradeoff worth having since this is my STREET car.

For the extreme example of easiness, you can look at the stock honda accord clutches/flywheels. Very slushy engagement means that there's a huge smoothness range on that clutch. Ridiculously heavy flywheel where the revs don't drop for 1 second after you clutch in allows for very very very smooth engagement. No wonder honda drivers think they know how to drive. It's the perfect amateur street clutch/flywheel setup for those who don't want to rock the soda out of their cup holders. Still, that flywheel was way too heavy for me, made the car even slower than what it is. But, at almost every shift, if you know anything about rev-matching or if you're slow with the clutch, you are rewarded with a smooth shift everytime.

The last example of the Xtreme PP was bought by a friend with an eclipse. He definitely bought much more clutch than he needed. He's the type that doesn't really require comfort and is looking for the girl that will appreciate him after looking past the fact that his car has no interior panels, window and metal bars are showing, and that his dash is in pieces, all for the sake of weight reduction. Amazingly, some of my friends are still interested in him, I have no idea why. Anyway, his xtreme/street disc setup is still to stiff for my liking on the street. While the engagement is smooth, the pedal control needed is too much to have to be thinking about while driving everyday. Sure, you can get used to it, but it never goes away. The disc also engages really low on his car, so you have to be on your A game to drive it, something that I may not want to do when I'm trying to relax.

That being said, for a street car, stay with the street disc. In terms of PP, go with the stock replacement, if you want something slightly stiffer, go with the heavy duty. STAY AWAY FROM THE XTREME.

Now that I've finished my rant on clutches/pressure plates, let's move on to flywheels.

Here's where I disagree with Kevin. I have no problem driving an Aluminum flywheel on the street. I concede that if you are properly driving it, it is much harder to do. However, 95% of stick drivers here slip and burn the clutch. If you do that, there is absolutely no difference on engagement versus stock flywheel on street discs. The only difference is that the revs will drop faster upon clutch disengagement. However, on puck clutches, the difference is exaggerated greatly.

When I did not know how to properly drive a couple years back, I didn't even notice that I had an aluminum flywheel. I would rev the car up to 1500, let the clutch out slowly and wait for the clutch to fully catch. No biggie. Now that I know what burning the clutch is, I rev to 900 at the most, and smoothly, yet fully, engage the clutch immediately. Much much much harder to do with an aluminum flywheel.

It all depends on what you want to do with your car, as well as how good of a driver are you now, and how good of a driver do you want to be? If you want to be really smooth at everything, and don't mind the street practice sessions, go with an aluminum flywheel. If you want to just slip and burn the clutch everywhere, go with an aluminum flywheel. If you prioritize comfort and a smooth driving experience, stick with stock or go with a steel flywheel. In the end, it depends on how much comfort you want. Lightened flywheels usually make the most impact when you have to go up and down the rev range, as opposed to just going up. (i.e. on circuit tracks vs. drag/highway racing)

 

Quite interesting. I am currently looking at clutches to replace my stock one with (since I believe the throwout bearing went bad on me--Figure it's a wiser choice to replace everything while I'm in there rather than just the throw out bearing).

I'll do a little more hunting to see if I can locate a Heavy duty Pressure plate and a stock clutch for cheap. Off to the hunt!

 

Does anyone have any experience or testimonials with the Centerforce dual friction clutch? Or would that just be overkill?

 

Centerforce is the biggest wast of money. I'll save you half the cost of the clutch. Send it to me

I put one on 8 or 9 years ago before I knew better. It came of REAL quick, mainly becuase it was a POS and burned damn quick.

If $$ is of big concern I'd just buy a used on and hold on rather than buy a centersuck

 

SPEC clutch stage 1 is what I have.

 

That's what I read, so I ended up going the common route and bought an ACT HDSS package.

 

An excellent choice I feel. SS disc for the engagement, HD PP for a little more clamping and no damage to pivot *****, clutch hyrdraulics, or my surgically underenhanced knee

 

Get an unsprung 4-puck clutch and the stiffest pressure plate you can find. After a a day or two of driving you will never again stupidly ask for racing parts for your street car. If you are a fast learner, you may also come to realize that racing conditions are totally different than street conditions, and the hp of the engine does not necessarily determine any type of requirement for race parts.

 

i have the 6 puck unsprung racing beat one on my s4 t2. engangment was harsh at times but got used to it after awhile. going up a hill the car used to buck alot and made me aware of my mad mounts haha.
i think it was a clutch master pressure plate heavy duty (is red)
i didnt know what i had till i removed it. if i were to use it again i might but im actually doubt thinking it now haha.









and thats about 10k miles of use all street.

 

So true though. I watched my buddy, who'd been driving stock for over 10 years get into (someone who will remain nameless because the car was on loan) an FD with a puck clutch and a lightewight flywheel and proceed to stahl it literally a 1/2 dozen times, buck it wildly 3-4 times, chirp tires at least twice all in the name of moving it from one section of the show to another and park it where it needed to be on display.

 

Does anyone know if the ACT HDSS kit comes with a pilot bearing? (I got my tranny off and bits and pieces of the pilot bearing came out)

 

My brother had a 4-puck unsprung clutch in his EG hatch w/ a B20, it sucked for everyday driving. Sure with practice you can drive it okay, but why have to practice when you don't need that much clutch in the first place? Unless you're over 350 hp, the most I'd go w/ is a 6-puck sprung hub clutch.

 

Okay everyone, thanks for the input! Did some research... the showdown is between the ZX2-HDG4 Spring Centered (4 Pad) Disc with HD pressure plate, the ZX2-HD G6 Spring Centered (6 Pad) Disc with HD pressure plate, and the ZX2-HDSS SS Performance Disc with HD pressure plate. I'm not sure of my torque... but I have a 13b na, street port, headers, intake, magnaflow exhaust, 2 1/4 quarter piping, kyb adjustable shocks, new master cylinder, slave, and have been driving stick for a couple months. Please... which kit and am i forgetting something like the flywheel??

 

I have an exedy cushion button ceramic/brass clutch, pedal effort is bout same as the stock clutch , i also have an exedy race chrome moly one piece(ring gear machined into edge ) flywheel which is burst proof to 18,000rpm, i would recommend both.
all up cost about $1300aud, fitted it myself.

 

ZX2-HDSS - for the billionth time - you do not need a puck/pad clutch. THe engagement is horrible. Stay with a frickin street disc.