Unsatisfied with my Exedy OEM replacement clutch

[KAG]

C/N: Exedy OEM replacement feels and drives like s**t, need opinions on what to do about it.

I installed an Exedy OEM replacement clutch (KSB04) in my BE last week and it actually feels WORSE than the stock clutch did on it's way out :-( (Pilot & throwout bearing were toast on the old clutch, disc didn't look too healthy either) I ordered the kit brand new from a legitimate vendor at a legitimate price. The kit is under a 2 year warranty and everything was right out of the box and installed correctly.

The clutch has a horrible & shuddery engagement, the pedal is almost as light as the hyundai I had to drive when I sold my Jeep, the pressure point is at an awkward point, and it doesn't even feel like it's able to hold the mere 166 torque this car manages to put out at the crank. With the old clutch, I could stand on hills pretty easily by finding the pressure point to hold the car still. With this one, there's no hope at all. I'll admit to saying that it doesn't slip like the old one did, and the rpms drop faster, but Jesus I just can't get a smooth ride out of it. I really expected a better clutch from Exedy.

The reason I opted with the OEM replacement was because I read a lot about how it is the best bang-for-the-buck clutch for a DD according to a lot of opinions on here and the NASIOC drivetrain section. At first I was thinking the ACT Heavy Duty, then the Exedy Stage 1 since it was $200 cheaper than the ACT while being stiffer than stock and using the same clutch disc, but price still became a bigger factor than I had anticipated. The price on the OEM was just too good to pass up. I was also thinking about throwing on a lightweight flywheel, but I wasn't up for the extra $250 and the risk of a CEL. Plus, I'm still not sure how much longer I'm planning on keeping this car (could be anywhere from 6 months to 6 decades).

So, here's what I'm considering:

1. Deal with it and take as a "you get what you pay for" experience.

2. Contact Exedy, see what they have to say about it. Maybe it's just a "bad egg"?

3. Order an ACT pressure plate ONLY - just replace the pressure plate and reuse the brand new disc, TOB, and pilot bearing
3b. Order Exedy Stage 1 pressure plate ONLY (same deal)

4. Enough being a cheapass. Order the ACT or Exedy pressure plate and buy the lightweight flywheel to go with it.

I'm really looking to do something about this as the feel of the clutch is the single most important thing to me in a manual transmission car. It may just be that I'm being anal and am comparing everything on this car to the 6spd Carrera that my dad brought home to let me drive when I was sixteen years old, but even so, this clutch is just not cutting it.

Any response at all is appreciated.

Thanks guys,
Kyle

[xXGTBspecXx]

i say call em and let em know..

[sexystover]

did you checkk the trans snour for wear/grooving?

[AussieDan]

Did you have the flywheel resurfaced? If not, I'd bet that's the problem and Exedy will tell you the same thing (and refuse to replace the clutch).

[KAG]

Thanks for the replies fellas.

Trans snout looked very good - no wear or grooving.

I did have the flywheel resurfaced in my shop. I honestly didn't think it needed it, but there were a few light heat spots and I figured it'd be better to do it rather than not do it.

[rougeben83]

did you adjust the clutch pedal when you put in the new clutch? Call Exedy anyway and tell them about your problem.

ACT HD/street clutch (aka "stage 1") uses the same clutch disk as the Exedy stage 1 kit BTW (literally, they just buy the disk straight from Exedy), to me they're both practically the same. Just get the one that's cheaper.

[decke48]

hydrolic clutch and new clutchs feel like butter for a while. it will stiffen up in time.
heat spots dont machine out usally this might be causing the shutter

[TheAngryPidgeon]

What's the rule of thumb with a new clutch? It's something like 50 starts of avoiding slipping the thing as much as possible prior to driving it normally.

I would definitely contact them if things don't even out in the very near future.

I wonder if Exedy is going through something right now, they included the wrong pressure plate in my Stage 1 Clutch Kit, and forced my mechanic to remove and replace the transmission three times to figure out what was wrong. He had to put the old clutch and flywheel back in so he could get me back out on the road, and he's going to charge me 50% for a clutch job once I get the right parts from RacingInspired.com, but that's still another unexpected $200 out of pocket.

Hopefully I can get them to cover the cost of the labor.

[Huffer]

What's the rule of thumb with a new clutch? It's something like 50 starts of avoiding slipping the thing as much as possible prior to driving it normally.

Taken from an interview with an ACT employee:

Troubleshooting
T: What causes clutch chatter?
S: A high coefficient of friction, bad motor mounts, an incorrectly machined flywheel or faulty pressure plate, spring-centered race disc (aggravates chatter), and contamination (oil, grease, or rust).

Chatter is basically the engine winding up in the mounts as the clutch is engaging and then bouncing off the mounts, disengaging the clutch for a brief moment before engaging again and winding up again. No matter how aggressive a clutch is that would normally chatter severely on a normal street car, it generally won't chatter at all on a car with solid mounts and a rigid disc because there is no wind-up effect.

T: What causes clutch slippage?
S: Oil contamination, worn friction material, inadequate friction or clamp load for power.

T: What results in poor shifting, a shifter with a clumsy feel to it?
S: A faulty pressure plate (won't lift from disc), damage upon installation causing a bent disc, failure to adjust a clutch pedal or cable properly, or poor choice of parts (sintered-iron disc, wrong double-disc setup).

T: Why is clutch break-in so important?
S: We recommend 200 to 300 miles of mellow usage for our street discs. The purpose of breaking in a clutch is to engage the disc in a controlled, consistent manner to ensure the disc, pressure plate and flywheel all make full surface contact. It's also a chance for the friction material to experience normal heat cycles.

[track8]

My new Excedy felt awefully light at first also, now either I've gotten used to it or it has magically stiffened up. It was disconcerting at first but it is holding up just fine, even doing 3rd gear snow donuts. :grin: :grin:

If you go in and redo it I vote for the light f-wheel. I've got the (really light, 8 lb IIRC) Fidanza and like it a lot, especially for rev-matching on downshifts. It took about 10 minutes to get used to driving "normally" with it. Your less talented friends may not agree however.

[Benfolio]

I really wish I hadn't had to rush to replace my clutch when it was out to just to do my rear baffle. I would have gone with a light flywheel (or at least a properly machined one) and a better than Advance Auto Cheap clutch.

Now I got chatter. Especially when cold.

Clutch was worn down to the rivets and the pilot bearing was in pieces inside the flywheel. Had no choice. It was late on a Saturday here at work and I just wanted to get it back together and go home.

[subba]

i am using a excedy clutch OEM Sti clutch, for like the first 5miles it felt weird but after that it started to feel better and better, i love mine i started racing on it @ 400km and now its over 1200km and 0 slippage + smooth shifts etc.

This is the exact clutch i am using, i ordered it from them.
http://www.extremepsi.com/store/custome ... 787&page=1 (http://www.extremepsi.com/store/customer/product.php?productid=18123&cat=787&page=1)

[KAG]

hydrolic clutch and new clutchs feel like butter for a while. it will stiffen up in time.Well, I'll be damned. The clutch has already started to stiffen up :grin:

OK, OK, I don't know for sure if it has or not, and maybe it is in fact just me getting used to it, but I also didn't like my Kartboy short shifter at first either - now, two weeks later, I can't imagine my car without it.

Yeah, the engagement is still a little weird, and it still doesn't feel like it's holding the torque of the motor all that well, but it does indeed feel stiffer. I noticed after driving a 50 mile round trip today, about 10 of those in stop-and-go traffic, that my leg actually began to feel some tiredness. No where near how tired my leg was after driving the Carrera, but significantly more tired than when I first installed the clutch.

It's not the greatest clutch in the world, but for the price, I don't regret buying it. If I get bored with it and feel the time is right to upgrade I'll do it along with the lightweight flywheel. For now, I'm fine with where it is.

Thanks for all your help.












........now I can start dumping money into suspension :twisted:

[DLC]

My OE replacement Exedy feels a LOT better to me than the ACT setup I was using. Less cold chatter, far lighter effort and it's easier to modulate.

I have an Exedy lightweight flywheel, stainless, that was resurfaced. Still one of the most rewarding modifications to the car, IMO.

Contact 'em and see what they can do, or wait till the seasons change to see if it acts better when the weather is warmer.

[KAG]

Thanks for the input, Dave. That's really interesting. The OEM replacement has gotten better and better each day, I'm starting to doubt that I would've liked the ACT street disc / Exedy stage 1 more now.

...and I've still yet to find a BE owner who doesn't like their lightweight flywheel, whether ACT or Exedy. Man, I really shoulda done that...

[KAG]

Oh and a big update: CEL came on today :smt012 No idea what it's for yet, but I'm hoping for something simple like a bad o2 sensor that could probably be causing the everlasting rough idle that I've had. I'm going down to the shop tomorrow to scan it. If it's something serious, like something that could've happened when I pulled the motor, I'm going to be pissed.

Hopes up high :-?

[DLC]

I recently replaced my knock sensor. Getting worse fuel economy, because it's running properly rich, but it does seem to run better. Maybe it's something simple like that.