Clutch for beginners... what do you guys recommend?

[RTP_EVIL14]

Hi, Just wanna say Sup to all of the fellow members, this is my 1st post btw.

Now, down to business, what kind of clutch do you guys recommend a beginner should buy?

All suggestion are welcome, personal experience are even better.

Thanks in advance.

[aznpoopy]

budget = oem. you can get a kit for under $100 bucks.

otherwise just match it with whatever you're doing with the car. grocery shopping? oem. just having fun? maybe something slightly more aggressive. 300hp ka-t coming up? get something that can handle it now. etc.

i suggest getting a lightweight flywheel as long as you're pulling off the tranny.

[TOMKAIRA93]

if you're going to start drifting recommend you stay with the stock flywheel or something not too light. my 2 cent

[SpeedMonkeyInc]

Originally Posted by TOMKAIRA93

if you're going to start drifting recommend you stay with the stock flywheel or something not too light. my 2 cent

Do you have a reason for saying that? Light weight flywheels rock.

RTP: A full face disk is what you want. Then, like aznpoopy said choose a pressure plate that will handle your goals. Just a one stage upgrade on the pressure plate will make for a nice solid engagement and make the car more fun without having a really heavy clutch pedal.

[OptionZero]

well, a heavier flywheel will not drop revs as fast...advantage during drifting? dunno

[i8yourfwd]

If your from norcal.. alot of the norcal guys reccomend the illegal garage clutch.. or max misawa clutch (same thing)

[NemeGuero]

rotational momentum, keeps the engine revving high longer.

For KA, I'm all for stock KA flywheels.
SR is a different story.

[aznpoopy]

admittedly i don't know squat about drifting.

but for just about everything else (including grocery shopping), lightweight flywheel rocks, even on a stock ka. makes the car 100x more fun to drive.

[SpeedMonkeyInc]

I still have the stock KA flywheel, but the more responsive the engine the better. I don't see how any change in the engine wanting to loose revs faster couldn't be countered with a little more throttle. My only experience was riding shotgun in my friend's N/A KA with a light flywheel. Way more responsive feeling than riding shotgun in my own car. He had no issues at all sliding the car, plus commented that he liked the flywheel a lot.
So butt-dyno comparison only, I still plan to buy a light weight flywheel for my KA-T. Not saying you guys are wrong, everyone is going to like their car to behave a little differently.

[crazyikimasho]

My preference: ACT 6-puck w/extreme pressure plate or Exedy equivalent. Done. This is a stiffer clutch pedal and also almost an on/off switch with no in between. Ive had good experiences with these and they engage well, not too harsh but in daily SoCal traffic can be a bit tough on some people. But I like it.

As far as flywheels go, if you want lighter I recommend chromoly and not aluminum. For starters IMO aluminum is too light and tough to rev match at times not to mention other issues, chromoly is not as light but very effective and durable. Just my .02

Once again as stated previously, when it comes to clutch/flywheels it has a lot to do with personal preference, driving styles and what you are setting the chassis up for (street, drift, autox, etc.).

[m0rex]

Autozone clutch. You can return it if you mess it up, seriously. They have a good warranty on almost everything. I work there and trust me we take about 14/15 clutches that come in. Not trying to adverstise or anything lol.

[OptionZero]

Originally Posted by aznpoopy

admittedly i don't know squat about drifting.

but for just about everything else (including grocery shopping), lightweight flywheel rocks, even on a stock ka. makes the car 100x more fun to drive.

+1 for lightweight flywheel. If you're doing a clutch job, save up and do it.
Sounds fuckin awesome during rev-matching, changes the tone at idle (at least on mine, when i added Dfreaq engine mounts and nismo tranny mount). You need to feed a little more gas during DD traffic, but if you have any fun freeway off/on ramps....damn.

Ask Turdz about the sound on my Fidanza'd NA-KA

as for clutch, RPS Sport/Street is what I rock, very east to drive. got it from SPL Parts (same price everywhere though)
i also heard good things about illegal garage, they can custom make it to your liking and needs

[Tex Willer]

Exedy with std flywheel. For street use

[drew935]

Gees, he can get a ACT stage 2 if he has the money. No need to be cheap with a part like. It's a personal feel imo. Anything but stock should be good.

[CaoBoY]

any more info on these illegal garage clutches? i' ve been hearing good things about them...wheres the contact info?

[DriftKouki]

RPS sport clutch. Had one on my Z32 and now on my kouki.

[EchoOfSilence]

one that works.
clutches aren't the type of part where you can 'upgrade because i'm better at driving now,' they're the 'oh shit i need to upgrade because I'm making more power' type of part, although upgrading early due to a power upgrade in the near future would be wise.

If you're in the LA area, I recommend Action Clutch in Whittier. Google it

[NemeGuero]

Action Clutch for the win!!

[RTP_EVIL14]

Thnx for the info guys, I'm now leaning more into RPS Sport clutch,
Part #: ss-17547-sp and ss-17547-st

But I'm having a hard time on the light weight flywheel. Can't find any, except
SPEC - FW-KA for the ka engine, most of them are for SR20's, which means It will take me a long time to save up for the swap.

[OptionZero]

Fidanza.
search

[ThatGuy]

240mm Clutch from a 1983 280ZX and a 240mm flywheel from a 1993 D21 pickup truck.

Details listed here:
http://www.zilvia.net/f/showthread.php?p=960868

This will be my next clutch when the time comes.

[overb0ost]

just get an ACT stage 2 street/strip
good for 300hp and good for daily driving.

[EchoOfSilence]

Originally Posted by ThatGuy

240mm Clutch from a 1983 280ZX and a 240mm flywheel from a 1993 D21 pickup truck.

Details listed here:
http://www.zilvia.net/f/showthread.php?p=960868

This will be my next clutch when the time comes.

what's the advantage?

[OptionZero]

larger diameter clutch and flywheel to hold more power while using stock parts

whats the stock 240 diameter, like 220 or 200? bigger disk holds more energy and u dont have a superstiff clutch pedal IIRC

[EchoOfSilence]

wow, nice. up to what hp ratings would that hold up to

[Phlip]

Originally Posted by OptionZero

larger diameter clutch and flywheel to hold more power while using stock parts

whats the stock 240 diameter, like 220 or 200? bigger disk holds more energy and u dont have a superstiff clutch pedal IIRC

Stock is 225mm
... and you're right, the pedal feels as stock as the clutch (which was still serviceable when removed) that came out of it. I have been on it for 8 days now and I LOVE it, I will love it even more when it is broken in and I can beat on it a little.

Originally Posted by EchoOfSilence

wow, nice. up to what hp ratings would that hold up to

The stock 83 ZX turbo made 180, but read in that thread, parts cross-reference leads many other higher-horse cars to use the same 240mm clutch, so higher horses can be had with little effort, like say an upgraded Z32 non-turbo stock clutch can take how much? Now how about a slight upgrade from there?

[Maeda]

It's also a very expensive option, and tough to get all the work together for a beginner.

RPS MAX Pressure plate + oem disk. Good to well over 300. Indestructable.
IF you manage to annhilate it, a new disk is about 90 bucks plus some time getting to know everyones favorite smelling fluid, gear oil.

[RTP_EVIL14]

does any 1 has any experience w/ the RPS Sport puck Clutch. Here's my question, is it normal for these clutches to "catch" at very late pts, almost like 1 inch before the full release of the clutch. Please help... I just installed these clutches, and they are so hard to drive..

Thanks

[NemeGuero]

You can adjust where it catches by adjusting the length of the rod on the back of the pedal.

Detailed info on it can be found inside the factory service manual.. but its pretty self explanatory.

[95se]

Originally Posted by aznpoopy

admittedly i don't know squat about drifting.

but for just about everything else (including grocery shopping), lightweight flywheel rocks, even on a stock ka. makes the car 100x more fun to drive.

Does it actually make the car faster or just feel faster because the engine is revving easier but are u losing momentum??