Hey there fellas!!!

I fanally got around to replacing my stock clutch after 40k....I have been a HKS fanatic for a long time and there really was no hesitation when it came time to buy a new clutch. Yes, yes I know, the Exedy is an AWESOME clutch, but this was my choice to make.

The HKS GD MAX twin disk was VERY pricy, almost $1800, but hey, I will NEVER have to replace my clutch again...ever. My EVO will never see the high HP that the clutch was designed to handle, and the 400-500hp (crank) that I dream of hitting is perfect for this application.

Pros - The twin disks help to reduce the shock load to the transmission and make for an easy streetable clutch...even with a high clamping force. I still have the stock trans, but a rebuild is in the future when needed. Pedal feel is LIGHTER than stock and although the engagement point is narrow, it is just off the floor, making for some quick, snap like shifts. It can be like an on/off switch, or a slipper when you want. Oh yeah, it comes with its own flywheel (chromoly) for faster revs too.

Cons - The kit did NOT come with a clutch alignment tool and the stock one for the stock clutch will NOT work. We had to do the old eyeball trick...a real pain. And it reuses the stock throwout bearing...something I will have to watch, but so far so good. Obviously price is kind of high, but the cost of three stock clutches over the life of the car vs. one HKS clutch kinda balances the $$$ out. Also, the clutch chatter is becoming liveable, but it was unsetteling at first....I knew it would chatter, but it did make me nervous for a while.

Driving - I swapped brake pads too when I did the clutch, so I went almost 1000 miles of slow, easy city driving to nurse the clutch and the pads...then I went to the track. I beat the S H 1 T out of my car...and I had a blast. The engagement of the clutch really brings precision to shifting and smoothness. Heel/toe downshifting with the new flywheel is a breeze and make me look like I know what I am doing. The trans and the car felt like normal after 100 HARD miles in the 2-3-4 gear, high rpm range. Car shifts like butter....before, during, and after the track.

No more talk...enjoy the pics. And ask ?'s please!

-Greed

 

so you bought a new throw out bearing right?? don't tell me you spent all that cash and re-used the stocker. Anyway, nice piece and have fun!

 

It looks to me like there is a replacement TOB in the first pic....

 

Mine took a crap on me after 12K miles - never dragged or launched the car.

I hated the engagement!



Replaced it with the ATS carbon/carbon; much better

 

You still have to use the Mitsu tob. That one you saw goes onto the fingers on the pressure plate as well. It also makes pulling the tranny easier. The HKS unit comes with a rod that you simple unbolt from the outside of the tranny and off comes the tob. No messing with that f'ed up spring assembly. This is one of the reasons i bought the HKS too.

 

it took us 2 hrs to figure that out. me and greedmoto where like "how the F*** does the stock TOB disengage from the clutch assembly"

 

Ha, well i am glad you guy's figured it out. It makes things so much easier like this.

 

Had the origional tob inspected by a trusted trans place. Said it was fine, which is good because they could have sold me a new one. Besides, my stock clutch still had HALF LIFE left (no bs here) and even the flywheel was in great shape, no need to resurface.

Look for another thread on the stock clutch with pics soon...

 

hahahahah...thats why I made you buy lunch!!! Thanks again for the help, man! Couldn't have done it without ya!

 

I had that P.O.S. clutch after 7k miles the thing started slipping
I drove the car hard but never launched. I pulled the trans off
and found the rivets in the clutch pack had broken off. the disks and
flywheel looked brand new. HKS will not stand behind their $hit.
HKS GD MAX sucks. I had a friend who also had one, lasted 5k.
Hope you have better luck, thats an expensive bastard..

 

You can say that again...but I have been a longtime fan and supporter of HKS and its products....not ONE has ever let me down...and I do have quite a few...with more to come.

HKS fitment, durability, reliability, and over quality, IMO, is second to none. But I am extremely biased...just ask any of my friends.

-Vince

 

TBH...the tuners in japan frown upon HKS GD clutch kits. I have had several conversations with many tuners from japan such as Shinich Miyano from Escort Racing and Tadatoshi Wakita from Blast Racing and a few others from Tomei and they ALL say that HKS is not up to par with OS Giken, Ogura, or Exedy. In retrospective it is better than many others on the market but compared to the real deal clutch manufactures...the HKS is not as not as widely used or accepted as the other three I mentioned.

Hope everything works out good however...multiplate clutches are a great improvement over stock and withstand a lot more punishment than a single disc clutch system.

If you have any questions let me know...I could have saved you a few bucks on that clutch too.

 

Next time we meet, we've gotta swap cars & see how our clutches compare:

your HKS twin-disc -vs- my Ralliart 3-puck/pressure plate... (aka Exedy stage 2 cerametallic)




I'll vouch for that - Greedmoto's original flywheel/clutch disc/pressure plate is in excellent condition!
He wanted my TOB, but his wasn't even dusty from disc residue, and I needed that that new 'lil bugger for my install... so I had his inspected & got the go-ahead to re-use it by a very reliable & trustworthy 3rd party.

PS - THUNK!! (one of those 'had-to-be-there' moments)

 

Good luck with a chromoly flywheel on an AWD car..Hope you don't plan on drag racing it..They cannot by any means handle that kind of heat..

 

What are you talking about? I would rather have chromoly over anything else available when it comes to heat! The problem is that you have to put the material in the right spot to soak up the heat. Many of the chromoly flywheels are too thin behind the disc. Even the stock flywheel (ductile iron or forged - not sure) is too thin for that matter. But if you have an aluminum flywheel and the clutch overheats, the steel surface will warp like a potato chip and the high spots affect clutch operation.