anyone have any ideas?...the clutch has 37k miles on it.

 

My stock clutch on a stock FD didn't last me 5k miles, they're not very strong. From talking to alot of people it's the pressure plate that's the weak part.

 

I don't know what rwhp that I'm making exactly. Take a look at my mods, the stock clutch is slipping bad.

I'm getting ready to install an ACT S/S clutch (with LOTS of help from local FD owners).

 

I have the FEED Twin plate (car isn't running yet, process of building) and it's a push type. I had to buy a convertor release fork from pull to push. I think the pull type release mechinism is weak (and my spelling).

-joe

 

I have heard that the stock clutch is good for 400hp. I have spoken to various shops, and they said that the OEm clutch may not have the most clamping force, but should last the longest.

 

My OE clutch held 315 rwhp (~365 hp at the flywheel) without a problem. I changed it for an RPS Turbo clutch at 78K miles when I had the engine out for rebuild. The clutch was still in good shape. But I never abused it by high rpm drag launches. It did have many track miles on it, though.

 

Mine's slipping and I'm pushing ~380.

 

Mines slipping in 5th gear sometimes.

 

mine didn't let me get to 15psi, just started to slip.

 

If you're at all in doubt, replace it now. My first engine loss was due to the stock clutch (who knew that a new 4,000 mile clutch wouldn't hold ~330-340 RWHP?) and the elimination of my rev limiter by Mostly Mazda (M2 Performance) when they reprogrammed my ECU. 90 mph, 4th gear, full throttle... whoops! I think I tach'd about 14k, because it took a while for the needle to come back off the peg at 9k.

The car idled fine, ran fine, figured "**** it", and drove on. We replaced the clutch ASAP, and the car ran fine for another month or so before coughing out a corner seal that was probably broken during the high rpm episode. Half of it embedded itself in the face of one of the rotors and tore up the rear housing, and the other half took out all three apex seals and the turbine of the rear turbo on the way out the exhaust. Welcome to the joys of rotary ownership, with only 6,000 miles on the odometer.

Replace the stock clutch if you're making any serious power. I'd say that 280-300 RWHP is probably pushing it, and that 300+ is just begging for trouble. I went with a Centerforce and then switched to an ACT clutch, if I remember correctly. The Centerfore dual friction for the FD is a joke because it doesn't (can't) include the weights because of clearance issues. Those weights are the reason a Centerforce clutch has improved grip. Without them, it's not much better than stock, in my opinion. Besides, ACT makes a better clutch anyway.

 

I'd just like to add that clutch clamping force is measured in torque, not hp. My stock clutch actually held about 325lbs (flywheel), but not for long. It began slipping and just got progressively worse. I replaced it with the new PFS clutch/flywheel kit which I highly recommend. It should easily hold 450lbs of tq(flywheel) and is perfectly streetable with a full face disc. Pedal effort is not increased by much and engagement occurs close to the floor.