[vereak82]

What do most of you Manual cars run for upgraded clutches? and possibly flywheel also what are your thoughts and input guys?

i was looking at the ACT HD street clutch kit??
im running METH and will have full bolts in the near future as well

[bulldog_yyc]

ACT seems to have had the best success here - thats what Ill be going with next time....

[vereak82]

the street clutch? or the 6-puck unsprung unit?
i know the street is rated at 465'ft lbs if i recall

[dzenno]

ACT full face organic, if you can reuse your stock flywheel...otherwise spec stage 2+ and their lightweight flywheel..these are the only options that in most cases worked without issues

[bulldog_yyc]

spec is garbage

[DefactoM6]

Look at SPEC's results on other platforms...their track record is poor at best.

ACT Organic all the way, can't go wrong.

[vereak82]

Originally Posted by dzenno

ACT full face organic, if you can reuse your stock flywheel...otherwise spec stage 2+ and their lightweight flywheel..these are the only options that in most cases worked without issues

where can i find some info on the Spec clutch kits?
are you running a stock flywheel as well?

[vereak82]

Originally Posted by DefactoM6

Look at SPEC's results on other platforms...their track record is poor at best.

ACT Organic all the way, can't go wrong.

ACT is priced pretty fair among others also

[scooby9]

I'm waiting for the day to come when I have replace the clutch but I'm leaning towards OEM as I like the feel and I don't think I'll ever be pushing more HP than Cobb Stg 1.

[stratos_335]

My friend has the ACT organic clutch on his 135i FBO + meth + custom reflash. And yes, it is slipping after 5000 rpm.

He is thinking of purchasing the 6-puck ACT. Would this engage harder? Could it possibly cause a transmission failure?

[bulldog_yyc]

Originally Posted by Cynical

Thanks for that educated insight

Can we get a more detailed technical explanation on why it's garbage?

Lol have you ran a spec clutch before? Their stage 3 plus failed on me within 4 weeks with zero passes on the strip. Their customer service sucks as they left me out to dry. Do you need anymore information?

[BOOST3D]

wait for hpf clutch kit, at least you'll know it will last.

[tibra1]

ACT HD street..good for up to 485ft lbs of torque and wont kill your left leg

[Big Tom]

Originally Posted by stratos_335

My friend has the ACT organic clutch on his 135i FBO + meth + custom reflash. And yes, it is slipping after 5000 rpm.

He is thinking of purchasing the 6-puck ACT. Would this engage harder? Could it possibly cause a transmission failure?

I'm also about to choose a clutch and was looking for the ACT Street (with a organic disc), but now I'm not sure anymore...

Maybe it's better to go for the ACT 6 puck instead?

[tibra1]

Have a read what Mr. 5 wrote regarding ACT puck..its not for the street

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showth...ght=ACT+Clutch

Originally Posted by Mr. 5

That's what is interesting with ACT though.
They only make 3 clutches-

1. Street (organic disc with heavy duty pressure plate)
2. 6 puck (ceramic with heavy duty pressure plate)
3. 4 puck (ceramic with heavy duty pressure plate)

Like I said before, do not get a puck clutch for the street because it will most likely slip prematurely. Every "failure" that I've seen that has been with ACT has been when a person has used a 6 puck for the street and you can't slip a puck clutch. A puck clutch needs to be launched and shifted very quick. If you were to launch everywhere you drove and shifted like a madman then the clutch would last a long time.
The street disc is all you need and uses the same exact pressure plate as the puck clutches.

I'll add this, I just went to the strip and did around 10 runs in 2 hours cutting 1.6 60 ft times with 485 ft lbs of wheel torque and I had absolutely no issues with the ACT street disc.

[R1000K3]

Originally Posted by stratos_335

My friend has the ACT organic clutch on his 135i FBO + meth + custom reflash. And yes, it is slipping after 5000 rpm.

He is thinking of purchasing the 6-puck ACT. Would this engage harder? Could it possibly cause a transmission failure?

This is most probably a specific problem with his clutch. The organic ACT clutch is very strong. I been touring through whole Europe with full load in the car and then been using maximum torque at 19.5 PSI a lot without any sign of slippage. The stock clutch initially begun to slip at 18.5 PSI and after a while it always slipped at WOT.

The ACT clutch has also been used at many digs from zero to high speed and never slipped so far. There are also a number of other users e.g. Mr. 5 who has been using the ACT clutch w/o problems.

[Big Tom]

Originally Posted by tibra1

Have a read what Mr. 5 wrote regarding ACT puck..its not for the street

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showth...ght=ACT+Clutch

Great information!

It seems that the ACT Street is the best option for our cars right now.

[tscdennab]

I also know someone with a slipping ACT clutch. But I don't see a better option right now. I went with an OEM clutch this time but although it isn't slipping, I can smell it after a few drag passes. In the future I think I will go with ACT too, but I don't expect miracles.

[stratos_335]

Originally Posted by Big Tom

I'm also about to choose a clutch and was looking for the ACT Street (with a organic disc), but now I'm not sure anymore...

Maybe it's better to go for the ACT 6 puck instead?

Originally Posted by tibra1

Have a read what Mr. 5 wrote regarding ACT puck..its not for the street

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showth...ght=ACT+Clutch

My friend's car has a lot of dynos due to his custom reflash (430 whp = 610+ Nm on wheels) and he is changing shifts at 7300+ when street racing. And I mean a lot of street racing.

The ACT organic lasted for 9 months and after the first pull he cannot change gears after 6000 rpm because of slipping.

personally I have the stock clutch which is fine so far (FBO + meth) but i'm not sure if it can handle this torque for long time

[Big Tom]

Originally Posted by stratos_335

My friend's car has a lot of dynos due to his custom reflash (430 whp = 610+ Nm on wheels) and he is changing shifts at 7300+ when street racing. And I mean a lot of street racing.

The ACT organic lasted for 9 months and after the first pull he cannot change gears after 6000 rpm because of slipping.

personally I have the stock clutch which is fine so far (FBO + meth) but i'm not sure if it can handle this torque for long time

How much is he boosting?

[stratos_335]

Originally Posted by Big Tom

How much is he boosting?

Less than 17.5-18 psi but don't ask about ignition advance. his tune is very aggressive hitting more than 16 degrees of advance. Maybe it's the fastest N54 in Greece with mine being the second, just FBO + meth.

[bulldog_yyc]

Originally Posted by Cynical

Yea I've ran a lot of clutches. And just because you didn't have a good experience with them doesn't mean they are terrible. Which is why I asked for an educated technical response on why, not your opinionated experience that probably occurred due to your inability to drive.

Understand?

I've watched people destroy a stock clutch on a month old car just because they "thought" they could drive manual and I guess really couldn't.

My 01 e39 full Dinan.... Its clutch lasted 167k. Never did a clutch once- I used to beat the piss out of her daily and the car had Every Dinan part including the SC.

How you shift,
how your leg let's up and pushes down on the petal each time will effect Its life and performance regardless.

1)You are a tool. Are you really going there and assuming I would drop thousands of dollars on a race rated clutch if I couldn't drive properly? Do you go to the drag strip or are you a dinan whore who putts around with a dinan badge on the boot lid?

2)Its not my personal opinion - read up on the internet about SPECS reputation. Let me help you out:
http://forums.audiworld.com/showthread.php?p=13549533
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=102945
http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthrea...clutch-quality
http://www.j-body.org/forums/read.ph...36&t=36636&p=2
http://forum.mazda6club.com/mtx-tran...h-failure.html
http://forums.evolutionm.net/vendor-...ec-clutch.html
http://mustangforums.com/forum/svt-f...h-problem.html

3)I have been driving stick for more than 6 yrs, not that it matters, so certainly I know how to drive. The spec clutch was broken in perfectly, according to the instructions they gave.

4)Since you can't google it for yourself, let me give you a technical breakdown of what happened or you can read it here:
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showth...spec+clutch%22

- stage 3+ installed with brand new oem fly wheel
- worked ok for the first while during break in period - was almost 90% highway driving, no launches. I broke it in properly since I just dropped almost 3gs including install and wanted this clutch to last and have some performance on the drag strip. OEM clutch went out after several track days, was not due to bad driving as you seem to assume (since you're are a tool). Only bad side effect was a ton of clutch shudder while engaging first gear.
- about week 4 - spec clutch would require serious effort to disengage. Same issues as this guy from the link to the audi forum above - let me spell it out for you again to help you out since you are slow:

The cause of the SPEC failure was the pressure plate. The pressure plate had adjusted itself (Self-Adjusting Clutch) which caused the clutch to engage on the floor. It got worse, until eventually it would not disengage at all. Flywheel and disc were fine, but the release bearing wasn't. The plastic buffer ring on the release bearing was cracked in one area, with a piece missing. Also, upon removal of the transmission I noticed that the finger geometry on the SPEC pressure plate was not correct. It appeared to have unequal clamping force. Maybe this is due to a poor heat treatment of the fingers...not sure.

This was the exact failure I had. I would have to ram the shifter out of gear to shift up or down. Also, car refused to go into gear from a stop - took a massive amount of effort.

Here is some more feedback (from bimmerfest link above) describing the same exact issue I had,

I purchased a SPEC stage 2 clutch kit and lightweight flywheel about 45 days ago. Last week, I finally got around to taking my car in to my local mechanic (a BMW only service shop that also services race teams)to have the clutch and flywheel installed. The clutch worked fine for the first 4 days; on day 5 my car became inoperable. It would not go into any gear. It felt as if the clutch was not disengaging. I would push the clutch pedal in and the car would grind its way into gear and feel as if it were 'lurching' forward at a stop with the pedal fully depressed.

I took the car back in to my mechanic to have them examine the situation. They double checked the slave cylinder, which was fine, and pulled the clutch out. Of the 6 allen bolts holding the pressure plate together, 5 had backed out! The mechanic told me that the kit itself was different that any other kit he had seen in a sense that SPEC uses flat washers rather than lock washers for these bolts. Even when properly torqued, the bolts backed out in a few days. There were no special instructions stating to use loctite or to deviate from the standard BMW clutch installation procedure.

I also enquired as to why SPEC uses SAE standard bolts and fasteners rather than metric applications on their European car parts.

Since you are <50 posts new let me give you some feedback from members on E90post to bring you up to speed.

Originally Posted by Mr. 5

IMO, stay away from SPEC.

Originally Posted by GeorgiaTech335coupe

Good luck with spec. From my brothers experience (05 Mustang GT w/whipple SC), Spec is a terrible company. Their clutch was a POS and they did absolutely nothing to fix the problems he was having (his clutch expolded at the dragstrip).

Originally Posted by stealth-twntrbo

I had a SPEC stage 3 on my 92 stealth tt 405 awhp 407 awtq and the pressure plate was junk after 5500 miles it fell apart. Spec wouldnt cover it under warranty. Spec is junk my friends stage 3 on his 240sx rb20 was junk after 6000 miles

Originally Posted by vasillalov

Ok,

Just so that you are aware,

SPEC clutches are notoriously bad. Ask any community out there and they will tell you the same thing. The vwvortex community almost organized a riot 4 years ago because of the flooding and heavy advertising of SPEC clutches. There were many many people with problems with SPEC clutches.

One thing was common: In every single response, SPEC blames the installer. It is their default "polite" answer and they are essentially telling you to go fuck off.

Sorry that you are disappointed, frustrated and disgusted. I'd never put a SPEC clutch in my car even if they beat me with wooden sticks.

Vasil

Originally Posted by Former_Boosted_IS

The thing is their reputation is not just bad here, but everywhere known to man. I am not saying some don't get good clutches, but their reputation is absolutely terrible in almost every single car community. Just google SPEC and you will see the tirades.

Originally Posted by lamia2super

i bought a spec flywheel and clutch and it doesn't work not only has my car been in the shop for 2 weeks because spec messed up the part but now they don't answer the phone and we have no idea whats going on with my car. i cant go back to stock because my clutch is in need of serious replacement

fucking spec! im pissed!!!

they should pay me for all this trouble or give me back my money and let the part be free

Originally Posted by Randall41

Join the club. I had aSpec clutch, flywheel kit installed in my Audi. The worse piece of crap ever. Clutch chatter beyond clutch chatter. Returned to the installer. The kit was returned to Spec. They resurfaced the flywheel and replaced the clutch/pp with a more streetable unit. Now clutch chatter, burning clutch smell trying to get a smooth engagement is just the worse I have ever seen.
Next week Sachs unit will be installed.
Expensive and time consuming experience.

Originally Posted by GeorgiaTech335coupe

Yeah, spec is terrible at customer service. My brother had a spec clutch on his SC'd mustang and it was a piece of shit. The company then blamed their faulty design on a bad install and wouldn't give him the time of day. The install was done by a very well known Mustang mechanic who probably has done 1000s of installs. When the clutch assembly was set next to the stock assembly, they noticed that it was a little shorter, which is why it kept screwing up. Spec doesn't give a shit about you because they are too busy making money off other poor souls. I have only heard bad things about them, especially in the Mustang world.

Are we clear or do you require more "technical" feedback?