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clutch recomendations....

Posted: June 30th, 2005, 6:08 pm
by 95 rs
ok im looking at getting an ACT clutch and the computer is asking if i want a 4 pad or 6 pad disc???? what 1 do you guys recommend?? cuz i have no clue and they also have a centerforce clutch for 372 cdn and the ACT is 328 cdn what 1 would u guys recommend cuz i seriously have no clue. i havent heard guys talkin about centerforce clutches thats why i thought to go with ACT cuz alot of you guys have them but i donno what ACT to get.... plz help me out

Posted: July 1st, 2005, 2:58 pm
by rukick
My advice is to get a SPEC stage 2 or 3 depending on your HP and Torque. SPECs are the best value for the money IMO. I am putting a stage 2 SPEC on my protege LX. The SPEC stage 3 is a 6 puck (they recently changed it from a 4 puck to a 6 puck). I have heard bad things about ACT and center force. I have heard great things about clutch masters but they are $$$. If you stick with ACT I would get the 6 puck. Which ever one you get this website has great prices for clutches and lots of other stuff:
http://www.horsepowerfreaks.com/price/M ... tch_Kits//

ACT

Posted: July 1st, 2005, 5:45 pm
by forcedairram
My car has the ACT stage II with a 6 puck metallic unsprung hub disk. It takes a bit to get used to but it definately holds good. No complaints out of me.

Posted: July 1st, 2005, 6:15 pm
by 95 rs
it asks if id want it for 200 ft/lbs or 257 ft/lbs so would the 200 be stage 1 and the 257 stage 2?? and thanks for the help i think ill try the ACT and see hoe it goes

Posted: July 1st, 2005, 10:17 pm
by Josh
the ACT is great, as long as you are running a G series trans (what the Pro LX is). the f series trans thats in the car stock will litteraly blow apart with the solid 4 or 6 puck disk. you need a disk with a sprung hub. the differentials are extreemly week, even at 200 HP. one bad launch and its done for. unorthodox racing has a 6 puck sprung hub. very nice, havent had a tranny blow since i got it. almost a year. Bugs here on the forum has a sprung hub a pressure plate he got from another company thats alot cheeper than unorthodox racing. but it works great.

Posted: July 2nd, 2005, 12:04 am
by 95 rs
so im best off not going with the ACT unless i change the tranny?? and if thats the case where can i get an unorthadox clutch cuz i dont wanna change trannies again cuz in january i went through 2 trannys cuz the guy i bought the used tranny off of never tightened the drainplug totally and all the oil ran out and it melt so i was pissed and i dont really wanna go through that again but also when i go to order the clutch it says its made for the mx3 so i donno i think im gonna get the parts guy here to call them and im gonna find out whats going on here but what about centerforce?? would that be sprung hub??

Posted: July 2nd, 2005, 1:08 am
by Josh
a sprung hub is just like the OEM disk with the springs in the center of the disk. all im saying is the trans wont have a long life with the solid 4 or 6 puck ceramic disks, from any company. if you could get a heavy or extreem ACT pressure plate with an oem style disk that would be great. the main thing is you have to look at what your doing with the car. if your doing alot of driving, traffic and stop and go you definatly dont want a solid disk. if its something your driving once in a while then it wouldent be too bad, unless you drive it like a race car. but i perdsionally have completely shattered two differentials in good trannys with the solid disk. the diff cant take the harsh engagement of the solid disk. on the third trans i blew before i swaped to the PRO LX trans, i blew it in Portland and had to drive all the way back up to north of seattle with a shattered diff and no trans fluid in it what so ever, and a slipping ceramic disk. i am glad i only use synthetic fluid.

the center force i have only heard bad things about. the ACT is a great clutch setup, but i would just think twice about getting a solid 4 or 6 puc disk to go along with it. their are several companies that make aftermarket clutches. if you want more options you could upgrade to a 1.8 protege flywheel and get a clutch setup for that. because of the larger diamiter they will hold more power.

Posted: July 2nd, 2005, 2:23 am
by 95 rs
so if im just throwing on a stock 323 gtx turbo and everything a stock disc and an ACT heavy pressure plate should work fine?? cuz i can do that no problem and that would be alot cheaper also... its my daily driver and i just want it to have a few more balls so i can run with thebig boys in this town and not get sluaghtered..... the 3 fastest 4 cyl are a 89 shadow with a stage 3 turbo, srt 4 with stage 2 and wrx sti so yah apparently there a civic with a stage 4 but thats all bs if u ask me so yah thnx forthe help again

tranny problems

Posted: July 2nd, 2005, 8:52 am
by forcedairram
Josh is right the unsprung hub disks are hard on trannys, but mine is in a daily driven street car and i havnt had any problems with it. I did however just blow a diff apart in a pro lx tranny, but only for two reasons neither attributed to the clutch in my opinion. first my car is running about 225-230Hp at the wheels and second i was running 15psi tire pressure on a drag strip when it happened. so you really have to slam it before you worry about breaking the pro lx tranny. I made it through 10 runs before it popped on the start line. I was racing a built mustang 5.0L and still beat him by about 4 cars in the 1/8, diff popping in and out all the way down the track.

Posted: July 2nd, 2005, 3:10 pm
by 95 rs
ok so if im just gonna use my stock 5 spd im best off using the stock disc and ACT heavy pressure plate? or can i use the whole ACT 4 pad disc and pressure plate good for 257 ft/lbs and not blow my tranny up cuz i am trying to do this pretty cheap for now since i just started a new job and just moved back home for now so im trying to find the cheapest way possible to make it go and not break anything else

Posted: July 2nd, 2005, 7:04 pm
by BuGS
Go with a SPEC Stage 3. Got it for cheaper from a guy. I can give ya his Email. Got it for $304 USD and it works AWESOME!!!

Make sure it is sprung hub, and PM me and I will get you the Hook-up.

Posted: July 6th, 2005, 5:42 pm
by rukick
This is a sprung hub (see the little springs):
Image
This is not a sprung hub (no springs):
Image
If you want to know if a particular clutch kit has a sprung hub just look for the springs.
Those little springs provide some give when the clutch engages. Without them the clutch is either on or off with little in between. Without them you will have a much sharper engagement and therefore harder on your tranny. The SPEC stage 3 is a good kit. It is a sprung hub with great holding power. I would not recommend using a ACT pressure plate with a stock clutch. They are not designed to work together. I imagine that a performance pressure plate would destroy a factory clutch. By the way, my friend got a center force and he hated it. It slipped really bad.

Posted: July 6th, 2005, 8:30 pm
by BuGS
rukick wrote:This is a sprung hub (see the little springs):
Image
This is not a sprung hub (no springs):
Image
If you want to know if a particular clutch kit has a sprung hub just look for the springs.
Those little springs provide some give when the clutch engages. Without them the clutch is either on or off with little in between. Without them you will have a much sharper engagement and therefore harder on your tranny. The SPEC stage 3 is a good kit. It is a sprung hub with great holding power. I would not recommend using a ACT pressure plate with a stock clutch. They are not designed to work together. I imagine that a performance pressure plate would destroy a factory clutch. By the way, my friend got a center force and he hated it. It slipped really bad.
Spec Stage III looks like the one with springs but has the 6 pucks on them. The sprung hub is def nicer. I superly recommend it.

Posted: July 7th, 2005, 6:36 pm
by 95 rs
ok so my parts guy called the distributor and well the 6 pad act cluctch is sprung hub and the 4 pad was solid so I think i am gonna go with the 6 pad and the heavy duty pressure plate its a good deal since it ll only cost like 450 cdn

Posted: July 7th, 2005, 10:02 pm
by BuGS
I would still go for a Spec Stage III man. Sprung hub 6 puck for

304.00 USD United States Dollars = 373.799 CAD Canada Dollars

So why spend another $70???

Clayton