Have a factory Evo8. Need a clutch that will last the longest. What do you recommend?

 

Depends on driving habits. How much power do you have and do you launch the car? The ACT clutch I have is one of the cheaper solutions to replacing stock, and still handles plenty of power.

 

I dont like to launch but I do drive aggressively. I heard that the ACT has issues shifting in higher gear + wont last as long as OEM. My car is stock and will stay mostly that way (aside from some BPUs at some point). I opened this thread b/c i couldnt find anything on how long diff clutches last. I dont want to have to keep swapping clutches every 30k or less! Also, i heard that the exedy (single plate) doesnt hold up as long either.

 

I have the Exedy stage 2 ceramic disk and I am one of the most aggressive around. I have put 30K on it so far with no problems and I did not break it in.

 

I have a stock clutch with 70k on it and it still has plenty of life left in it. THis clutch has been launched and driven fairly hard as well. Only reason I'm even swapping it now is because of convenience and the fact that it probably won't hold up to the power I'm going to try to lay down.

Basically, the life of any clutch you use depends on how you drive, plain and simple.

 

So it sounds like i need to get a twin plate ceramic for longevity (with aggressive driving)?

 

I have a stock clutch with over 44K miles on it with over a 100+ launches. But I know how to drive aggressively without abusing my clutch/drivetrain. Longevity of the clutch depends on the driver, plain and simple. The ACT street clutch is like stock, slightly stiffer with more clamping force. Some have experienced lockout trying to shift in higher gears but adjusting the clutch pedal engagement has been known to fix that.

I've had the pleasure of driving a car with a Cusco twin disk setup (same as Exedy), I did not like it one bit. Too stiff and you pretty much had to semi-launch your car to get it to move or else it would bog and kill your engine. That can't be good for longevity ...

 

exedy twin

 

Followup:

Ok, talked with several DSM guys about this (mainly the head tech at the Mitsu Shop).

Apparently, the stock clutches are designed to slip a little to take pressure off of the Tranny. If you put a twin plate clutch in your car, you'll just tear up the rest of the drive train faster.

On top of that, if you put an aftermarket clutch in then something behind it goes, they wont cover it under the warranty!!!

So, my conclusion of this thread is as follows:

1. Dont launch your car!
2. Put in another stock clutch if you still have a warranty!
3. You will get better clutch life with a twin plate ceramic (or something close) but will lose drivetrain life (tranny, Xfer case, etc).

 

sounds about right...unfortuneately

 

If you plan on leaving your car, stock then you might as well get another stock clutch disk, pressure plate and flywheel. If you plan on adding mods or launch then an ACT HDSS kit with streetlite flywheel will do fine. However the ACT will void factory warranty as stated above or any aftermarket clutch kit. The Exedy Stage 1 singple plate disk will look more like a stock clutch, therefore, only a keen eye will tell thats its aftermarket.

 

well i did also hear from mitsu tech that your drivetrain is at risk with aftermarket cluch.....not sur ehow true that is or who has been affected by it.

 

It's true to an extent but even driving the car completely stock in an improper manner will have an ill affect on the Evo's drivetrain. It's mainly due to the higher clamp load the the pressure plate allows and the new disk(s) material which will yield more friction.

 

well, true

 

The best aftermarket clutch I found for keeping the "Stock" appearance is the RoadRaceEngineering Noname clutch. Doesnt have all the pretty paint but sports a higher clamp load.