I have a single turbo FD making appoximately 400rwhp
It has a resonated mid pipe/rb catback exhaust, a 5 puck clutch and a lightweight aluminum fly wheel.

I am pondering making the car easier to drive and a little bit more quiet (and possible less stinky) as well.
The clutch and flywheel set up is quite aggressive, the car will buck and chatter at certain engine speeds while cruising under 30mph.

What would you guys do? change just the clutch? or both the clutch and flywheel?

How much quieter do you think the car would be by switching to a High Flow Cat?

And maybe most importanly, what kind of horsepower loss would result from changing these?

 

No quieter with a cat...maybe a litte less stinky. Seal up all exhaust leaks. A street act clutch would be fine for your car. Puck clutches are always tough

 

^^^Would you recommend keeping the light weight flywheel. I have the stock one i can run. I think i would leave the pressure plate and just change the clutch disc. Its a Competion Clutch plate. thx a bunch

 

I like the stock flywheel

 

I have a ACT street/strip with HD pressure plate on a stock flywheel. VERY streetable. A little stiffer pedal press than stock but that is it. Slips in and out like butter. I probably make 400whp on a cool day and have had ZERO slip issues. I have heard the they can handle around 450whp without severe launching.

I don't think it would be necessary to change out your lightweight flywheel. Though it will need resurfaced with a new clutch of course. I believe the grab of the clutch is what's getting you.

RB is probably the more quiet exhaust you'll find, other than stock of course. I'd recommend a Bonez high flow cat if you still have your air pump. Without the air pump, most cats will die fast. One downfall for going single.

 

when does the clutch chatter? just out of 1st gear? I had an aggressive setup like this in a different car years ago, I just started out of 2nd gear for less chatter. Eventually gave it up and replaced the clutch and fw a year later.

 

To help quiet the interior of the car there is a great article in the interior section about using Quiet Coat. I believe David Hayes was the author.

 

It might be difficult to get the car much quieter since you already have a resonated midpipe and an RB catback. That is a fairly quiet setup. What resonated midpipe do you have? Maybe you can have a custom midpipe made with an actual muffler in it rather than a resonator? Also, is your wastegate plumbed back into your exhaust?

Definitely change out your clutch for a more streetable setup. I have an exedy carbon twin disc clutch in my car and it is extremely streetable.


John

 

Stock cat(yes it will cost you some hp), greddy sp catback, stock flywheel(the clutch you have will feel tons better with a stock flywheel), some type of sound deadening.

 

Change out all the bushings. Its a new car after that.

 

think about switching to a twin disc clutch. you'll get similar grip with a much softer pressure plate, ie. easier to drive on the street.

 

Buck and chatter while cruising sounds like a part throttle/light load tuning issue. I don't think that the light flywheel is the culprit here. Rather, a light flywheel is a nice upgrade that should make the whole package feel more responsive. I haven't noticed any downside to having one (10# aluminum).

I put another resonator after the cat/midpipe and ahead of the cat back, which really helped tone it down--and there's no flow penalty. Approx 5" round, 14" to 16" long w/SS packing, iirc.

--It doesn't take much to make the difference between a car that is fun and pleasant to drive and one that is annoying and stupid.

 

this is potentially a fabulous thread.

as stated above:

It doesn't take much to make the difference between a car that is fun and pleasant to drive and one that is annoying and stupid.


it is so easy to do mods that you later regret. mods that maybe give you 5% more... and make the car annoying to drive.

the key is knowing when to stop and also know which mods deliver a fair tradeoff between performance and overall pleasure.

as to the OP...

you currently have the wrong clutch in the car. the stock flywheel and a normal ACT non puck setup will have you grinning and hold your motor.

the bucking, as mentioned above, is a tuning issue... check your tach and you will find you are at low revs in gear off the throttle. find another gear.

there are lots of exhausts that are a pleasure rather than a burden. i absolutely love mine. it makes nice sounds in boost and doesn't attract attention around town.

Racing Beat catback w a Borla PN40944 straight thru stainless steel (rotary mufflers must be stainless steel inside, the piston muffling material melts in rotary app) packed midpipe muffler.

howard

 

What are you using for engine management and has it been professionally tuned?

 

Alot of people swap v8s in...

Haaaaaaaaa

 

I have a similar setup to you, single turbo, light flywheel and a spec stage 4 (not a fan of this clutch). I was able to tune out my low rpm bucking with more fuel below 3000rpm, it liked around 13.5:1 down low to run smooth in lower gears. I spent a ton of time tuning drivability with the datalogit and it really made a huge difference in overall driving quality. I run the RB dual with a large magnaflow canister in the midpipe and sound levels are not bad at all, leaning out idle afr's as much as possible really helps on the smell too without going with a cat. I have had a 3"cat on the car as well, I wouldnt say volume decreased that much vs res. midpipe but some of the characteristic choppy rotary sound was toned down.

 

^Agreed. Though I think my Bonez cat and Greddy SP is very streetable. Sound insulation doesn't have to be anything sophisticated, but definitely include applying it to the resonator they call the spare tire well. Rubberized spray-on deadner in the door.
Not just any bushings. Stock replacement is just fine for a streeted car IMO. Most don't need anything more. And careful choice of engine mounts and auxillary bracing. Most don't really need the latter.
Again, we're talking "practical to drive" and "easier to drive"...keep the PS and A/C. It seems like alot of guys pull them on street cars without really thinking it through.

 

My cars going to be that little bit more pleasent soon, I need to change something on my exhaust....
Its 104db at 4k rpm at the moment, which is too loud. I need to get it down to about 94 to pass my inspection.

 

Dunno if its only me, but someone said it so nice in another thread... The rx7 is that obnoxiously loud kid on speed that allways craves attention!

I like my RX7 "alittle out there" when it comes to drivability in traffic, silence etc... I like it being "that bucking mustang" you have a hard time relaxing with at slow speeds

 

Funny I am in the same boat, I am trying to make my car as quiet and smooth as possible as well. I have done a ton of mods over the years to make more power and now I am regreting most of it. I was even considering sell my FD and buying a stock one.

 

I don't know what your car needs...but, I do know one thing - You're avatar is well sorted out and needs nothing

 

Ok i've also got a single turbo setup. Gt35r, downpipe straight to a Blitz Nurspec. What if I do a highflow cat and the BORLA that Howard recommended? Too restricted? I also want to make mine a bit less stinky and quiet. Thought...

 

this goes both ways... i had a 4" dp/mp/exhaust and was way to loud. i just swapped the exhaust out for a rb single so the exhaust portion narrows to a 3". yes its quieter and more tolerable. but i absolutely hate it. it feels like my car lost its *****. so regret works both ways...

clutch set up, i dont think the flywheel will make more difference in "easier" if ur only making 400 id say go with the act hd pp and street clutch.. it was so easy to drive this setup before i got hp hugnry and upgraded to a 6spuck sprung.

http://www.turblown.net/store/index.php?productID=141

 

Is your wastegate rerouted? I like how mine is quiet at idle and normal driving, and loud as can be at full boost with my gate vented to atmosphere, I find it to be the best of both worlds.

 

"the bucking, as mentioned above, is a tuning issue... check your tach and you will find you are at low revs in gear off the throttle. find another gear."

is this something unique to the fd? I thought that I had forgotten how to drive a manual transmission suddenly. didn't know others were experiencing this. it took me a while to learn how to drive this car in traffic, which it hates!