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The Fidanza clutch thread.

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99gst_racer

Moderator
11,976
1,542
Apr 5, 2003
Coloma, Michigan
OK, I did a little search and didn't come up with much of anything.

I'll be replacing my clutch this winter and I was originally just going to replace it with another ACT. But then I stumbled across the Fidanza clutches.

I'm not sure who is manufacturing them, but they look well built. They have four different kits available for us DSMers:

2.1 - Carbon Kevlar disc
3.2 - Kevlar disc
4.3 - Ceramic disc
5.4 - Sintered iron disc

From what I gathered, each kit uses the same 2300 pressure plate and each one uses a more aggressive friction material to gain more holding capacity. This is a much more efficient method than simply increasing the clamping force of the pressure plate.

These are very affordable, and I have them in stock here, so I'm really considering running the 4.3. If anyone has any input on the Fidanza clutches, or if you've been running one and have an opinion on it, please post in here.

Thanks in advance.
 
Last edited:
Well considering I have no time anymore, I am having a shop put in my new clutch. My new clutch is going to be an ACT2900 PP w/ a Clutchnet sprung 6-puck clutch.

Anyhow, the shop got the old clutch off today, and holy crap. I will post up pics once I get some. The disk is absolutely shot. I have maybe 5k miles on it now. I do do the occasional highway from roll pulls, which I would expect would be a lot easier on a clutch then multiple launches. I have only maybe 8 launches on this clutch since I got it (appx 1 year ago). The disk is trashed. There are chunks of friction material missing. Hell one whole puck has the friction material completely gone off one side. Ceramic buttons missing. I might expect that if I am an avid track goer, and have been launching it at the track for 3 years. But really, 8 launches, about 1 years worth of use, and maybe 5k miles?

The shop I brought it to has been in the DSM game since the beginning (hell I ran into Rau there a few weeks ago). The owner told me basically, no way in hell should the disk look like it does considering the very small amount of abuse it's seen. Even the PP is trashed, looks like some of the missing material is somehow burned into the PP surface.

I'll post up pics in the next few days. But Fidanza will be getting a call from either me, or the shop I bought this clutch from, basically asking them WTF.


EDIT:
while searching around, I noticed something interesting. When I originally bought this clutch, I was seeing a torque rating just shy of 600ft/lbs for it I believe. Now everywhere I look, the ratings are in the mid 400's ft/lbs. What the crap...
 
^ The torque rating for the 4.3 has always been in the mid 400 range. I was told this in person by Shawn Raines of Fidanza (who happens to have a 450 WHP EVO) before I even started this thread. It you were told it was rated for 600+ ft/lbs, then you were greatly misinformed.

You're putting down some pretty good power. I'd venture to say that that might have had a large effect on the premature death of your clutch.
 
Here's my pics of my 4.3

~5k miles, 8-10 launches, 4-5 months of part time use. I'd hardly say I abused this. Mainly just saw from roll highway pulls.

Enjoy:
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Here's my Fidanza 3.2 after about 4,000 miles. ZERO hard launches. ZERO track days. Just street driven. Sometimes with spirit, but NEVER from a dead stop (or even a crawl). I broke the clutch in for at least 800 miles of Los Angeles commuting. I just noticed it slipping one day while accelerating uphill in 5th gear on the freeway. It RAPIDLY got worse. Is it me or Fidanza?
 

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Ouch! Was the step-height correct when installed? Was the clutch pedal adjusted properly?
Looks like a TON of slippage over those 4000 miles :(

Here's my Fidanza 3.2 after about 4,000 miles. ZERO hard launches. ZERO track days. Just street driven. Sometimes with spirit, but NEVER from a dead stop (or even a crawl). I broke the clutch in for at least 800 miles of Los Angeles commuting. I just noticed it slipping one day while accelerating uphill in 5th gear on the freeway. It RAPIDLY got worse. Is it me or Fidanza?
 
Ouch! Was the step-height correct when installed? Was the clutch pedal adjusted properly?
Looks like a TON of slippage over those 4000 miles :(
It was a brand new Fidanza flywheel. It started to slip about 3 weeks before I could give the car a vacation (had to make my other car reliable). I adjusted the pedal according to Jack's Transmissions video. The clutch felt great for a long time & then one day it just started going to crap. I'm guessing that a lot of the damage was caused by normal driving on a worn disk.
 
Im having a problem getting my clutch on the input shaft, i counted the splines on tranny and clutch and they match up, i think the diameter is wrong on the clutch splines. i order the 3.2 and had the same problem and called fidanza they sent me the 4.3 and i went to put it on tonite and same problem it's not large enough to fit on my imput shaft on the tranny.


This is pissing me off, im going to call them tomorrow and see what the hell is going on. Ive checked the imput shaft and it's not twisted i had my friend take the clutch to his house and put on his extra tranny's and same thing wont fit.
 
i order the 3.2 and had the same problem and called fidanza they sent me the 4.3 and i went to put it on tonite and same problem it's not large enough to fit on my imput shaft on the tranny.

Let me get this right, they sent you the 4.3 for free???? because the 3.2 wouldn't fit?
 
After my Fidanza 4.3 broke all the springs within a couple thousand miles, I got an XTD Stage 4 solid 6-puck. It works great, doesn't chatter, isn't grabby, and it held up awesome Saturday night with 15 runs down the 1/8 mile. Most of my 60' times were in the 1.7's and 1.8's and the clutch never slipped or smelled at all. Nice for a clutch 1/2 the price of the Fidanza.
 
Let me get this right, they sent you the 4.3 for free???? because the 3.2 wouldn't fit?



Pretty much, i called and said the diameter of the splines on my clutch was smaller than my imput shaft and clutch was no good so he gave me a free upgrade on clutch cause he said i needed a Ceramic clutch vs Kevlar for a AWD car and i guess for the trouble of having a defective clutch.
 
I have heard that their customer service is second to none, kinda wish the local shop hadn't screwed up my order. They gave me an exedy stage 1 instead (supposedly holds more torque than the 2.1 I wanted) but I really wanted to give Fidanza a try. Now Jrohner has me all interested in the XTD clutches.
 
I have no problems with my fidanza other than the chatter on decel.
 
You guys are not making this easy. I'm in need of a new clutch. I thought about the ACT's but but don't want the heavy pedal pressure and warranty issues. Just looking for an alternative that will perform and at a good price. This one seems like the one but some of the problems are making me wonder.
 
I'm in dire need of a clutch also and these horror stories about Fidanza are discouraging. I've been considering the Fidanza 2.1 clutch kit over an OEM replacement on my N/T 2.4L Spyder GS but I want be sure that when I replace the clutch I won't need to replace it again any time soon.
 
After my ACT 2100 pressure plate fingers somehow snapped off last summer, I replaced it with the 3.2, been on for about 6 months. So far so good, no complaints. No launching, just the odd hard driving for fun, other than that just regular driving.
 
Its good that some are getting some serious mileage on this clutch, but its mileage without launches. I know everyone have different goals, but I need a clutch that will be streetable and will stand up to some weekend launches at the strip.
 
Hi all,

My ACT 2600 just broke some fingers and I was thinking of the 3.2 or 4.3. But after seeing the failure I'm reluctant.

Are there any long term success stories?

What's the verdict on these clutches?

Paul: How's yours holding up? How many miles?

Thanks all,

Tom
 
I have no clue how many miles are on mine right now. If I had to guess, I'd say it's somewhere around 3000 miles. I just made the drive to Norwalk and back this past weekend, and had no issues. And it's otherwise holding up to the torquey compound turbo set-up just fine (although I didn't think it would be doing as well as it is).

Once fully broken in, the 4.3 chatters much more than I would like, but I can adapt. And the pedal feel seems to change significantly with use and temperature change.

I have yet to do any aggressive launching with it, but I will be taking it to the track sometime next month, so we'll find out how the 4.3 does. I'll also know my HP and torque numbers by then too, so if it fails, I'll at least know how much power and what type of driving will kill it.
 
If longevity (and reliability) is my main concern, which clutch would you suggest; Fidanza 3.2, Fidanze 4.3, or something else?

This is for my DD (averaging 15,000 per year) and I'd like a clutch to last at least 2 years. It may see occasional track use.

Tom
 
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