Clutches...aye.

[MB38]

1998 Eclipse GSX

Essentially, I'm trying to figure out at which point in my upgrading scheme will I have to replace/upgrade my clutch? My "goal" is 350/400 crank at low/high boost, respectively. I have the approach from the engine side of things taken care of. Unfortunately, as much engine knowledge as I have, it all disappears inside the transmission.

Should I wait until the clutch burns out before upgrading? Should I go with a 2100lb? 2400? 2600? How much pedal resistance am I going to be dealing with? When should I upgrade? 300hp? 350hp? Will I need a new flywheel? So on and so forth. I really don't know jack about the transmission and its strength.

Hopefully somebody here will be able to give me some information. Thanks!

MB38

[turboawdgsx]

Generally the rule of thumb is, when you need it. Of course when I was building up my Eclipse, I strenghtened EVERYTHING first. I hate running into surprises after I just got done installing a new _______. Know what I mean? If you're in plans of SERIOUSLY upgrading your car, you can't go wrong with an ACT2600#.

Rob

[LandoAWD]

2600 is a good choice, although people say it leads to crankwalk on 7bolts. Works damn fine on a 6 bolt, though

Edit:wait, you are in Durham? I'm in Chapel Thrill! Drop me a line on http://www.carolinadsm.com/cgi-bin/ikonboard.cgi or PM me and we could meet up sometime.

[Talon007]

An ACT 2100 or 2600 would be just fine

[MB38]

How much increased pedal pressure am I going to be looking at with the 2100? 2600?

Will they withstand 350 crank hp for a long period of time?

What about launches? I'll take my car to the strip every so often (read: rarely), but there will be many stoplights that I... *ahem* demonstrate the car's power out of. Will these clutches withstand launch pressure, or am I going to be toast after just a few?

Also, the issue of flywheels still stands. Any recommendations?

[LandoAWD]

I run the 2600 and SHOULD (read: no dyno for AWD 'round here) be past 350 mark. I also run a Fidanza flywheel, and love it?

[Talon007]

The 2600 will hold 600+ WHP. The pedal is definetly harder in than the 2100, but you'll get used to it

[MB38]

jesus, 600hp? I doubt i'll ever break 400awhp. My goal is 400 crank

So that noted, would the 2100 be a better option? I'm not looking to have an impossible clutch, just something that won't burn out under that kind of load.

Would a 2100 or a 2400 be more to my liking?

[Talon007]

I think the 2100 should hold 400hp, but most people go fo the 2600, with a street disk

[MB38]

What about 2400s? Safe medium?

Also, cost wise... how much more are we talking for one of these versus a stock clutch?

Also, waiting for the stock to burn out is an ok idea?

[Talon007]

It's either the 2100 or 2600, mabey someone with more knowledge of the 2100 than I can chip in a word...

As for price your gonna half to look around, they will definetly be more expensive than stock, but they hold all that HP. Letting the stock one burn out is fine, just don't let it strand you.

And make sure you throw away the ACT release bearing and use an OE RELEASE BEARING. I just pulled a tranny with a 2600 in it, that the guy used the ACT release bearing

[MB38]

Ok. what I said about my knowledge of the tranny being hazy starts coming into play here. I have no idea what a release bearing does.

[Talon007]

When you step on the clutch pedal, the fliud moves the slave cylinder which moves the release fork, which moves the relase bearing into the fingers on the pressure plate, which then disengages the pressure plate from the flywheel, letting you shift. Make any sense?

[MB38]

it does, actually. All i know is that i'm not about to be the one poking around in there.

Crap. I guess we all have to have *something* done by a shop

[kjewer1]

Almost every single person I know that went with a 2100, for whatever God forsaken reason they chose, has gone to the 2600. Do it right, do it once. If you are FWD and dont care about 60 foot times then the 2100 is fine since the tires will dissipate all of the energy and the clutch will grab easily. If you mean business you'll have slip it a lot, and the 2100 wont take that as well as a 2600 despite using the same discs. On an AWD a 2100 will slip. Its just not worth doing all that labor and spending all tht cash just to have to do it again. I run the 2600 at about 430 WHP, and I like it. I go through them regularly though. I believe I'm on about my 8th one. lol Use the regular street disc. For an AWD do yourself a favor and stick with the stock Fly wheel, if you plan to drag race/launch the car. If you plan to do just about anything besides dragrace/launch the fidanza will be fine. Either way they MUST be cut to a .610 thousands step hieght or the clutch will not work properly. Dont under estimate the importance of this. Be sure your shop or machinist understands this. Make him verify the step height in front of you before you pay. Especially if you dont do your own work. Paying for 2 clutch jobs gets pricey. As far as when to upgrade, when it fails or can no longer hold the power. If you have the cash and want to do it sooner, thats always a good thing. Also keep in mind driving style has a lot to do with how well the clutch will hold power, especially in drag style racing. Hope something in there helps....

Also, for you NC wankers I used to run at Rockingham a couple years back. I woudl drive down to Duke where the ex went to school, and hit the track while I was there. I think I was running mid 14s at the time, and she has a vortech supercharged Si that does pretty well.