ACT 2600 6-puck vs. Fidanza 4.3 6-puck

[Black99gst]

ok, i have been searching around, and doing my research... i have it narrowed down to 2 for the most part, but def. open to other suggestions. i do have plans beyond the 16g, so before anyone gets a chance to say anything, "No, I'm not wasting my money! i know that's more clutch the then a 16g could even need." now that that's out of the way, i'm torn between the ACT 2600 w/ 6-puck, or the Fidanza 4.3 (also 6-puck)

if anyone has any information regarding either of these clutches, please post it up for me, and im sure, many others will benefit from the info sooner or later so be as descriptive and factual as possible.

here are links to the 2 kits...

Act 2600 w/ 6 puck

Fidanza 4.3

also, found the act clutch to be cheapest from extremepsi, and the Fidanza cheapest at maperformance, if anyone found it cheaper please let me know before i purchase either of these clutches. thanks. oh, and as for flywheels, im going to resurface the factory flywheel

i have read "the Fidanza Clutch thread" and have read of similar issues regarding the ACT clutch as well... im just looking for someone to push me over to one side or the other...

 

[gstryyder]

Fidanza 4.3 is all you will need on your FWD... I prefer it over the act 2600 with any disk any day...

 

[1gDSM4g63]

I know that ACT is the best out there, but I got a bad 2600 that only last a couple thousand miles so I went to the Fidanza 4.3 and it works good and I believe it can hold more torque. Although the clutch is less stiff, I believe something equivalent to the 2100.

 

[gstryyder]

the 4.3 is nothing like the 2100... holds more HP and torgue. the 3.2 is more like the 2100 but it still holds more.. the fidanza clutch pressure plate is supposed to be rated around 2300lbs... and the disks hold some monster torque. that 3.2 will be good for well over 350fwhp... and the 4.3 should be good for over 450fwhp. i mean they tested the 3.2 in all types of race conditions on a 300awhp and 350awhp evo and it held fine... those cars are heavy and umm.. AWD.. those clutches can launch and the 2300PP is all you will need especially with the disks they use. the 3.2 held great on my gst running a 20g...

it holds the power and is less likely to cause walking your crank due to the "lighter" PP then the 2600. even though it holds the same kinda power.

 

[daren_p]

the 4.3 is nothing like the 2100... holds more HP and torgue. the 3.2 is more like the 2100 but it still holds more.. the fidanza clutch pressure plate is supposed to be rated around 2300lbs... and the disks hold some monster torque. that 3.2 will be good for well over 350fwhp... and the 4.3 should be good for over 450fwhp. i mean they tested the 3.2 in all types of race conditions on a 300awhp and 350awhp evo and it held fine... those cars are heavy and umm.. AWD.. those clutches can launch and the 2300PP is all you will need especially with the disks they use. the 3.2 held great on my gst running a 20g...

it holds the power and is less likely to cause walking your crank due to the "lighter" PP then the 2600. even though it holds the same kinda power.

I don't think he was refering to the 4.3, holds similar power to the 2100, I think he was saying the pedal pressure of the 4.3 is more like the 2100

I went with the 4.3 here as well. I do think that crankwalk is over rated but I'm not going to help it along its way running a really heavy pressure plate. That was one of my main reasons for not going with a 2600. For a fwd on street tires either one of these clutches (as you mentioned) will be way overkill. My CFDF held up to 410 whp, 353 ft/lbs on my daily pump gas tune (about 30 more at the track) for 30K & still hads lots of disk material left when I pulled it at 30K. Reason for swapping was because I was over powering it at the track with drag radials. It still didn't slip but I could smell clutch after each run.

 

[gstryyder]

I don't think he was refering to the 4.3, holds similar power to the 2100, I think he was saying the pedal pressure of the 4.3 is more like the 2100

if that is what he meant then... oopss. sorry it is a very nice pedal pressure feel

I went with the 4.3 here as well. I do think that crankwalk is over rated but I'm not going to help it along its way running a really heavy pressure plate. That was one of my main reasons for not going with a 2600. For a fwd on street tires either one of these clutches (as you mentioned) will be way overkill. My CFDF held up to 410 whp, 353 ft/lbs on my daily pump gas tune (about 30 more at the track) for 30K & still hads lots of disk material left when I pulled it at 30K. Reason for swapping was because I was over powering it at the track with drag radials. It still didn't slip but I could smell clutch after each run.

Crankwalk is overrated a very true statement, but it is better safe than sorry, and is proven that a higher PP force is more likely to cause crank walk... As far as what you have to say... I like to hear of people having good luck with fidanza's and putting up good numbers! I have heard alot about that CFDF having a clutch burning smell after hard runs quite often...

Hope you enjoy your new clutch, whichever you choose man!

 

[DSM4me44]

The fact that my ACT pressure plate came apart after only a year of normal driving, makes me wish I had a Fidanza. Instead I was an idiot and bought another ACT. My buddy had a Fidanza clutch and loves it. If you call them, they are super cool and knowledgeable as well.

 

[andy4g63]

I have ACT 2600 with 6 puck ceramic disk, never had a problem. I've changed my old street disk, cause it started slipping. Here is a thread, I found about Fidanza:

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/problem-diagnosis/240420-fidanza-clutch-thread.html

 

[PIMking]

Took out my ACT with broken fingers and 3 piece TOB and put in an Fidanza 3.2. So far I have 100 miles on the new clutch and LOVE IT! Will never go to act again.

 

[Black99gst]

is fidanza's TOB ok? or should i order an OEM?

any venders offering any deals on these fidanza clutches by any chance? or clutch+flywheel combos? thanks!

 

[PIMking]

is fidanza's TOB ok? or should i order an OEM?

any venders offering any deals on these fidanza clutches by any chance? or clutch+flywheel combos? thanks!

Give Chris a call or email at MAPerformance. I got my fidanza from them and they got me a great deal.

I am using the Fidanza TOB but it looks OEM to me.

 

[daren_p]

I believe the one that came with mine was OEM "style" with a plastic sleeve but I still went with OEM to be on the safe side.

 

[Black99gst]

thanks guys!

 

[Black99gst]

ok, well, i have a possible opportunity to go AWD in the Near future... however, i still need this Clutch like, now. so Wednesday is the last day of the semester, and i was going to order the clutch. but then this struck me... with AWD in my possible neer future, could i save the money on resurfacing the OEM flywheel, and pick up the Fidanza AWD flywheel, change out the starter bracket and use the AWD flywheel with the FWD tranny temporarily? (< 1000 miles) is this possible?

 

[daren_p]

I would say no that won't work. The plate would position the starter in the correct position but the starter bolt locations on the fwd tranny are still going to be in the wrong location.

 

[Jeff99GS]

The fact that my ACT pressure plate came apart after only a year of normal driving, makes me wish I had a Fidanza. Instead I was an idiot and bought another ACT. My buddy had a Fidanza clutch and loves it. If you call them, they are super cool and knowledgeable as well.

Oh great I just bought and ACT 2600. Now Im getting worried. why do you think yours came apart? Did you call ACT about it? Was yours a 2600?

 

[PIMking]

mine was a 2100. It came with the car and died from numerous reasons. One I belive it was defective unit. Two It was beat on from the start from the previous owner (500 miles) 3. one trans bolt fell out another broke and I had only one bolt plus trans mount holding the trans on the car so it seperated about a 1/4 of an inch away. The TOB came out in 3 pieces.

But I wouldn't put another ACT in the car.

Thank god I only had about 500 miles on it since I got it and tore the whole car down and rebuilt the car.

 

[1gentalonfan]

if your looking for a nice clutch read my review about the spec stage 3 6 puck. That i know of its the only clutch disc to have a dual spring setup in the hub, and ive launched mine like 30 times at 6k with awd and it just grabs like crazy, isnt very stiff, and is very streetable. Plus it holds 415 ft lb of torque and if you get it from here Spec Clutches

Its only $301 for this specific clutch, or if you want even smoother and more power handling you could go with the stage 3 plus which is the same pressure plate with a full face and handles 500 ft lbs, but costs $419.

 

[rampridersrider]

Oh great I just bought and ACT 2600. Now Im getting worried. why do you think yours came apart? Did you call ACT about it? Was yours a 2600?

I've ran my 2600 for nearly two years now and around 30k miles. I had absolutely TONS of hard launches on it. Probably around 150 or so. I bought it used from a buddie and he bought it from another guy also, so who knows how many years its been around and how many miles/launches its had on it. It finally started giving up on me on hard launches at the track. When I pulled it apart the disc I was using (Stock Autozone disc) was still in good shape with a lot of meat on it, and the pressure plate still looked good too. No hot spots really. So I'm guessing it was just to worn out after so many hard launches and miles. I just picked up a new 2600 plate and Southbend disc. I love the 2600.

if your looking for a nice clutch read my review about the spec stage 3 6 puck. That i know of its the only clutch disc to have a dual spring setup in the hub, and ive launched mine like 30 times at 6k with awd and it just grabs like crazy, isnt very stiff, and is very streetable. Plus it holds 415 ft lb of torque and if you get it from here Spec Clutches

Its only $301 for this specific clutch, or if you want even smoother and more power handling you could go with the stage 3 plus which is the same pressure plate with a full face and handles 500 ft lbs, but costs $419.

I've NEVER seen good things from a Spec. I've seen countless Spec discs seperate with little to no abuse. Some people have good things to say about them, I just don't.

 

[pboglio]

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$405 + shipping vs. $447 + shipping with extremepsi

 

[my4ATEurV8]

ive got a 95 awd with the act2600 act streetlight flywheel and act full face disk. my pedal pressur is a lot stiffer than stock. i think that it is easier to feel the engagement point now and it feells like i think a clutch should feel in my opinion. i got it brand new from a vender here and ive got around 6000 miles on it never been to the track yet but during spirited street driving i shift around 7200to 8000rpm and shift quality along with streetability are very acceptional once you get your clutch adjusted properly. my buddy rick also has the identicle clutch setup on a 97gsx, his dsm link estamated just barely over 500 ft/tq and does launches at 5700rpm. his setup has just under 8500 miles on it and from what i can tell, his clutch is still going strong.
just dont know if i would trust the clutch shifting at 9000 or above.
hpe this helps. its good to see your not jumping at the first deal you come across and your asking questions. good luck