Clutch Choice.

EclipseGST · 04-25-2005

Well I am getting sick of this ACT 2600# clutch I have and I am going to be getting a new clutch this week. This is the 2nd ACT clutch I have toasted in 2 weeks.

I was looking at 4 puck clutches but I have heard so many times that they suck for street driving. I dont drive it every day but when I want to be able to drive it on the street I dont want any problems. I am FWD with LSD and currently have a Evo 16g which will be replaced by a 65lb/min turbo when I change the clutch at the end of the week. I already have all the supporting mods for it except the clutch and that is where I am stuck. I have looked into Centerforce and Zoom, but I am still not sure.

Mike @ QPR keeps talking up South bend's clutches and I am tempted to use one from them but I need more input with it.

I'm looking to make around 400-500whp by the end of the year when I get enought money for pistons and rods. But I want to buy the clutch now so I have less fucking around when time comes to build the motor.

Any options or choices that anyone would suggest would be great. Thanks in advance.

Jake

AJ · 04-25-2005

2nd it 2 weeks? wow, how do you drive it? Do you really slip it out and burn it up?

I have only had experiance with the ACT 2600 and I know when I get another DSM I am going back to it.

**Kracka** · 04-25-2005

You've got problems if you gone through 2 2600's with your FWD in 2 weeks. My Centerforce held fine for the 3 years I used with both the Big 16G and 20G. Are you installing it correctly? Is it engaging properly? Is your flywheel properly stepped?

Matt D. · 04-25-2005

Mike at QPR has put the Southbend DXD clutch into at least one car making the power you're looking to make. The clutch is a 4-puck clutch with a sprung hub. The guy who drives the car, Nsane here on the forum, says it is very drivable. I haven't heard anything bad about Southbend, and that's the same clutch that will be in my car.

EclipseGST · 04-25-2005

I know how to drive... What is happening is the center keeps coming apart when I shift from 2nd to 3rd. Then the springs and metal get all fucked in the pressure plate then the whole assembly is shit. I had this problem last summer with the 2100# plate and street disk. Then this spring I upped it to the 2600# PP and street disk since the other clutch was shot. The the first day at the track I just started breaking everything along with royally fucking the clutch. Here is a pic of what happened the 10th at RF.

The input shaft is fine, the flywheel is fine, step hight is .610 double checked over and over. I put 500 miles on my car before I raced it this last weekend (23rd) just as a precaution and to break in the disk even though everyone says you dont need to do it, I did it anyways. Get to the track make 2 runs and its fucked again. So now I probably will go with a DXD clutch from Southbend. I dont know yet.

**Kracka** · 04-25-2005

ACT has always been known for their exceptionally high quality

I've been saying this for quite a while, and keep in mind that it is my own personal opinion, but no ACT product will ever touch any of my cars.

A//// Guy · 04-25-2005

I just put a southbend in my car. Its still on jack stands but the engagement feels much better already and the pedal pressure is like stock. I hope thats how its supposed to feel... considering the 2600 I had in before felt really heavy and engaged at the floor.

We will see in a week or two how the clutch works out. It looks awesome though.

Also you better make sure that all your dowels are in the holes on the tranny and also on the Flywheel, there is huge thread on Tuners about the problem your experiencing. You might want to look it up. It dealt with the clutch disl coming apart becuase dowels fell out and they didnt notice it... while others say its just ACT that is garbage.

**JET** · 04-25-2005

Wow, the center of that hub sure is a pretty purple/blue! I wonder if they had another bad batch? It is funny how they normally hold fine in a 500+ whp AWD but a 3xx whp FWD they break.

**Shane@DBPerformance** · 04-25-2005

RPS Carbon/Carbon

SlowWhite · 04-25-2005

I have a 2600 in my car right now and it's held up quite nicely, 400whp daily and I've launched it several times and raced at the track. with out any problems.

Maybe it is a bad batch or something. For my HP range and the HP range you're looking at being at should be fine.

There has to be something wrong especially if you only have a 16G on the car right now. have you only been replaceing the disk or are you replacing the pressure plate as well? Maybe it's the pressure plate that's messed up.

I think Nash had a simular problem along time ago and the PP was part of the problem.

**scheides** · 04-25-2005

I have had a southbend DXD for about a month now, and I love it. Pedal pressure is lighter than the act 2100 in my 1g, and I can feel it grab pretty hard. No experience putting down serious power yet, but I've had it broken in for maybe 3 weeks now and I will say it is *really* grabby. I can't say more until I star making more power, I'm doing maybe 230 whp right now, DD.

At-Least-It's-An-Evo · 04-25-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by ecoli

RPS Carbon/Carbon

Other RPS clutches can be had also. We can get you them if you're interested. www.turboclutch.com for most of their clutches and applications.

EclipseGST · 04-26-2005

Thanks everyone for all the advice! Not sure which one I am going to go with yet but it looks like Southbend or RPS will be my choice! I guess it just comes down to the price range and what best fits the application.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SlowWhite

I have a 2600 in my car right now and it's held up quite nicely, 400whp daily and I've launched it several times and raced at the track. with out any problems.

Maybe it is a bad batch or something. For my HP range and the HP range you're looking at being at should be fine.

There has to be something wrong especially if you only have a 16G on the car right now. have you only been replaceing the disk or are you replacing the pressure plate as well? Maybe it's the pressure plate that's messed up.

I think Nash had a simular problem along time ago and the PP was part of the problem.

I get the whole works. PP, clutch disk, and TOB. Between that and resurfacing the flywheel its been $800 down the drain in the last 2 weeks! Dont ya love DSM's. I'm getting sick of it but for some reason something just keeps pulling me back in!

A//// Guy · 04-26-2005

ACT does have a warranty, I ran out of mine otherwise I would be contacting them right away with some type of refund.

**Kracka** · 04-26-2005

I agree with Peter, might as well try. I have no idea how good their warranty dept. is but hey, a new clutch is worth a few telephone calls.

At-Least-It's-An-Evo · 04-26-2005

ACT might warranty it, some people have gotten them to help them out.

John LaCroix has a South Bend clutch with a feramic disc that is rated at some insane torque amount, but people have been having problems with feramic discs fusing to their flywheels. It usually only happens with aftermarket flywheels though.

cudvig · 04-26-2005

I have a Southbend DXD/FZ combo disk, i told mike and josh that i was planning on making around 400 WHP on an AWD so that puts you about the same HP you plan on making. I love the clutch and it feels close to stock. Not a bad price either, I would check them out.

EclipseGST · 04-27-2005

Well I drove up to QPR today and picked up a DXD clutch that Mike felt would suit my needs and goals for the time being! Thanks for everyones input, I am going to call ACT tomorrow and find out if I can get a refund or something of the sort. Maybe a brand new kit that I could just sell on ebay or something. Thanks again.

Jake

Onefast99gsx · 04-27-2005

I bought the SouthBend DXD OFE clutch. It's a step above the straight DXD clutch. The ACT 2600 that was in my car was shit. I wanted to try something different. My car isn't going yet so i don't have a review to give but i just wanted to let you know that someone else out there is going to be using one. It was like $420 with the shipping. Came with the bearing and alignment tool. I talked to SouthBend directly. The pressure plate is actually less than that of a 2600 but the disk is much more efficient than a 2600. Some companies throw alot of clamp pressure at the disk rather than just making a more efficient disk in the first place. It's supposed to be better for a 2g because of the less pressure at the crank to help avoid C.W. That was another selling factor for me.

Raptor · 04-27-2005

That is the same clutch Jake bought, it was an OFE as well. Pretty decent option, very nice clutch.