Clutch setup problems. Advice needed please.

[50trimmed1g]

Hey guys, I own a 96 gsx. It has 180,000 miles on the engine and tranny and now my clutch is starting to slip. I am going to be putting on my 50 trim and run a modest 16-18 psi considering the age of my engine. I am really stuck between choosing a clutch that won't induce crankwalk, yet will hold a good 300-325 ft/lbs of torque. I don't want act because the 2600 pressure plate will put a lot of strain on the crankshaft. I am going to go with a kevlar disc. My choices are:
Spec stage 2 (which has a kevlar full disc)
Fidanza 3.2 (which is a 4 puck sprung disc.)
South bend clutch TZ series ( kevlar disc)

Apparently they all have soft pedal feel which hopefully means less chance of C-Walking. Let me know which would be the best for me. I plan on doing daily driving and a launch here and there. I mostly do canyon runs. I am kind of afraid of the 4 puck because my friend has gone through 2 trannies on his evo because of them. Thank you.

 

[twicks69]

If your motor has lasted this long, it is likely that you won't crank walk it.

As for your options, I would go with the South Bend Clutch with the sprung kevlar disk.

 

[RoasT BeeF]

I used to run a spec stage 2 and it does have a stock like pedal feel. I would stay away from a puck disc unless you like to replace flywheels and enjoy coast down gear noise (worse in awd)

Here is a nice link that shows some differences in popular clutch pedal pressures.

RRE's Eclipse Clutch Pedal Effort and Throw Out Bearing Pressure

 

[mochilli]

I just bought a used ACT 2600 PP and street disc. Now i want to clean both with break cleaner....will that be fine? Also, the springs on the pressure plate move a little bit up and down. Wondering how normal this is? The PP and street disc have 8K miles on them...

 

[50trimmed1g]

Twicks69, do you know if the pressure plate on the southbend clutch exerts more force than the spec.I am talking about the hd pressure plate which has the lowest pressure plate load. I have narrowed it down to spec and southbend now. I think the southbend clutch Tz supports arround 300 ft . lbs torque, and the spec about 375. I guess my last question is, why is the southbend kit better than the spec??? Do you think the southbend will put up with launching at say 5000 rpms? Thank you to everyone who has replied.

 

[twicks69]

You will need to contact southbend and spec if you want clamping force information. I have used the South Bend Clutch kevlar disk with an ACT 2600 pressure plate and a Fidanza flywheel.

As for spec, I have seen too many of their clutches fail prematurely, whereas I have seen less SBC clutches fail prematurely.

FYI -- I was holding 550+ torque at the wheels when using the clutch setup I listed above with no problems.

The SBC clutch will definitely hold up to launching.

I just bought a used ACT 2600 PP and street disc. Now i want to clean both with break cleaner....will that be fine? Also, the springs on the pressure plate move a little bit up and down. Wondering how normal this is? The PP and street disc have 8K miles on them...

You will need to inspect them thoroughly to make sure they are flat, and have even wear. Clean them both up with Brake Cleaner, and resurface your flywheel.

Really, I don't like reusing clutch parts from someone elses car. I reccomend using new clutch pressure plate, disk, and resurfaced flywheel with any clutch installation. Otherwise, you will be risking uneven wear or premature failure.

 

[mochilli]

yeah, i dont want to, but i just graduated and im 25k i debt as it is. so ill take what i can get for now - it looks pretty even, there are little slits with sut on the street disc, can i just clean that stuff out?

I got my ACT 2600 clutch set up. I will be getting a new SS clutch line and an extended clutch slave cylinder rod. Do/should i get a new clutch slave cylinder?? Anything else i should know/get while installing my new clutch set up?

 

[damnslowtsi]

SS line is a good idea. You also need a new/rebuilt/in excellent working order master and slave cyls and the proper bleeding of the system. You need a brand new TO bearing. Get a Mitsu one with the plastic sleeve (NSK). Try all that with the standard length slave rod first and see how it works. You shouldn't have problems. The longer slave rod only changes the position of the piston in the bore. Some guys do use it and it helps but most of those cases are caused by worn hydrolics and the longer rod seems to compensate a bit for that.

What else? Check the tech articles here on the site regarding the bleeding process if you are not very familiar. Some guys bleed the slave as well and it seems to help things although it is not mentioned in any manual as far as I know. Check your pressure plate for warpage. Put it on the table with the pressure ring facing up and put a straight edge across. Almost all used PPs are warped and you 'll see that the straight edge touches the ring only on its outer part. It warps kinda like a dish. I cannot tell you what the acceptable numbers are on that since there is no such spec but keep in mind that the bigger the warpage the more uneven wear on the disc will be. In other words the disk's outer part will wear out more. I check some of those and see how big the gap is and go like
If the clutch was heavily used you 'll see heat spots all over the pressure surface that should also be checked for cracks along with your FW. They don't crack as often as flywheels do but it still happens. If you see crack(s), please don't use that PP unless you want it to go Kaboom on you.

 

[RoasT BeeF]

What makes you think you need an extended slave rod?

 

[mochilli]

What makes you think you need an extended slave rod?

someone else told me to to when i was asking what i should get for my clutch set up...i was going by hearsay, thats why i wanted more opinions...

 

[RoasT BeeF]

You shouldnt need one. Extended rods are sort of a "band aid" fix for worn pedal assemblies mostly, but it is not the right way to fix things. All it does is take up additional free play, and puts constant pressure on the TOB which will lead to pre mature failure.

 

[50trimmed1g]

Whoa, my thread from the dead. I actually ended up ordering the South bend clutch with the kevlar disc, I recieve it on monday, install it on friday, and write a reveiw about it on the friday after once it is properly broken in.