So without going into any background, I'm in need of a clutch. But this thread isn't about my problem, symptoms, etc. This thread is about your opinions. I want to know what you are using, have used, like to use, recommend to use, wouldn't touch with a 10' pole, etc. So tell me, what clutch is going to be the best for a WRX that will never see more than 350-375 tq. [Begin]
my only opinion saw 100whp more than you're talking about...but, here it is 450whp ACT 6 Puck Sprung, HD Pressure Plate, stock flywheel Slightly stiffer pedal, but not bad by any means (my mustang was harder). Clutch is like a light switch, there's not much slipping...it's either on or off. I would recommend for a daily driven car
I had the Exedy HD in mine and enjoyed it. Very similar feel to stock. I believe that is also what is in Amonsta's car. It is at right at 400 hp and holding just fine. Ben had the Exedy 3 puck for 40,000 miles. It is a very grabby clutch, but still streetable. I think that would be overkill on your application though. While everyone has their own opinion, I don't think you will go wrong with Exedy.
I've had nothing but bad experiences with Exedy, if they won't warranty a clutch for a shop employee then what do you think the odds are they will warranty it for the average joe.
ACT all the way. I have the Extreme PP with the Street Disc and it has held up fine with my 6-speed swap. It is extremely easy to drive on the street and you can slip it like the factory clutch. I have always hated the puck clutches because of the engagement.
I've had their clutches in several cars and I don't think I would ever own one again. They make a nice clutch for the supra if you want to stay with a single disk but their Subaru clutches don't even compare to the ACT stuff.
I have been running RPS Turbo Max clutch for a couple years now at 400whp. Feels like stock, but is slightly stronger. I feel like it's just a stock PP and beefier Exedy disc. Tends to slip with minor abuse though. (drag strip) Just a middle road between stock and a 6 puck which is what I'm shopping for now.
What about clutch masters or competition clutch? What are the opinions there? Given identical conditions, breakin, abuse (or lack thereof) Are these clutches you guys are listing off expected to have as good, better, or worse life than oem? Sent from my Moto Droid using Tapatalk
I like the Southbend clutch I have. It holds great and is very driveable. It is an 8 puck feramic so it is a little hard on the flywheel.
My car came with a Spec Clutch installed by the owner and it shortly gave out around 65k (no clue when it was installed) I ran a XTD (knockoff exedy) 6 Puck on stage 2 power level and it lasted about 15k, and I went with an ACT HD street disc when I did my swap. When we pulled the gf's motor it also had the ACT clutch in it and her car was making over 400 to the wheels without a problem and very streetable.
We have never had a warranty issue with them. That said, we had no issue with Act on a warranty issues either. Andy just personally prefers the Exedy from the construction that he has seen. He has been dealing with Exedy for 15 years and likes their products. I had an Exedy HD in my car for around 80K miles. It would be going back in, but it is going to be too small and will not be up to the demands of the new motor. We have seen a couple ACT Street clutches go out. We had one go out in under 3 months with Stage 2 WRX power. They were good about warrantying it though. The owner chose to install an Exedy instead though and sold the ACT. He is still driving on the Exedy a year later with no issues.
So what's the average "warranty" on these clutches, since that's come up? I had an online retailer tell me that the one's he sold where 90day maufacturer's warranty. And do you really get any benefit from said "warranty", and what's the likelihood of the 95% needing to utilize it?
Southbend Full face feramic/ kevlar. Rated to 500WTQ+ and VERY daily drivable. Not cheap, but like most things you get what you pay for. My wife drives it around the city all the time and has never had any issue with it (although break-in was somewhat prolonged before I was happy with it's feel). Just the tiniest bit of chatter out of first, but EXTREMELY streetable and NOT digital on/off feeling of the pucked clutches. I have no personal experience with Spec but their reputation in the Audi community is absolute garbage. ACT/ Exedy (Daikin) are both excellent options. Exedy is probably cheaper and arguably as good as the ACT.
I don't know to be really honest. But he has been fine ever since with the Exedy HD clutch. It it possible that it was just the previous shop that installed it, the cheap lightened flywheel, who knows. But we resurfaced the flywheel, installed the Exedy and he has been fine ever since....and he is putting down more power now than he was previously. Actually when you get up to the higher hp clutches, the Exedy is quite a bit more expensive for their hyper singles and such than the ACT clutches. That, I believe, is one of the reasons why a lot more people use the ACT when they get into the 500 hp range. For instance, the hyper single I plan on using on mine is $1100. I could PROBABLY get away with their 3 puck (Which is around $650-$700), but it would not last as long and it is not as adjustable of the hyper single.
I dont think the reasons are just the prices. I used the exedy 3 puck clutch once in my Civic race car (early 90's) and it engaged harshed and just never held the power. Switched over to the cheaper Extreme PP with 6 puck ACT setup and it held fine without any problems. I just think a lot more people have had better luck with ACT and high HP cars. Anything below 400whp and I think just about any of the clutches will hold.
Adjustment in the Exedy's makes a big difference on high hp cars. The people I have talked to, it all came down to the fact that they could get the ACT cheaper. One of the main flaws Andy has seen with the ACT stuff is the flywheels they use. For some reason they don't seem to be true from the factory. We have used both without problems. We just seem to have better luck with Exedy. The 3 pucks are a little harsh...but any 3 puck is going to be a bit more harsh than the full face or 6 puck. I am going with the Exedy hyper single in my personal car. I will let you know how that goes.
I have had 3 Exedy clutches with 100% failure rate as well. Not saying they all suck, but Me, Matt, and Doug have all had negative experience with them. ACT however has been quite the opposite. In the end everyone has their own opinion, it just depends on how much experience that opinion is based on. +1 ACT
15 year of using Exedy in a wide variety of platforms...I think Andy has had some experience with them When it comes to high HP cars, the installation and adjustment of the Exedy clutches is critical. If they are not installed correctly and adjusted correctly they will fail. There is a reason Exedy is also an OEM supplier for a wide variety of cars. In fact the OEM Subaru clutch is made by Exedy (Dikon). I would hazard to say Andy has changed more clutches than just about any person or shop on this forum with a number of them being 9 and 10 second cars. When it comes to transmissions or related products, Andy has more experience than anyone I know. He even built a transmission for a local shop that the dealer refused to rebuild. It was a 6 speed AWD transmission that he had to have custom parts machined in order to build it as the dealership no longer carried the parts. New parts were made to his spec and the transmission is now running and driving perfectly. Consequently, Spec, which everyone seems to have bad experiences with is the clutch currently in the 1100 hp Cobra that Andy built for a customer (customer's choice on the clutch). It holds fine and has been good for a LOT of passes in the 9 second range down the 1/4 mile. But we do plan on changing that over when we go to the 1400 hp twin turbo set up.
Just drove home on the new ACT. The difference between that clutch and the worn OEM that I dropped it off with is incredible. I was expecting a noticeable difference, but this is nearly night and day. Thanks for the recommendation guys!!! Is there anything that needs to be done to make sure it gets "broken in" properly?
Errr...you need to start reading on how to break in a clutch. You dont want to glaze the FW. try not to launch it or ride the clutch the first 500 miles or so.
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I've used exedy stage 1 clutch for 60k on my supercharged civic (200whp) with no problems. Now I've got the exedy stage 1 in my sti(280whp). I've had it for 25k and so far no problems. I beat on it everday. However, I might go to the dark side and try ACT. I've heard pretty good and bad things about both. So it's kind of a luck of the draw.