Hmmmm,

I was just wondering if people who have already switched to aftermarket clutches have the decel noise?

I know that ACTman mentioned that it's probably something else causing the noise, but just curious...

Please state your experience if you already have an aftermarket clutch, and/or if you replaced the TO bearing...

Thanks,

FB

 

When you have a few minutes you can read the honda s2000 tsb 027, don't have the link handy but a google search wil pull up a pdf copy. THe description they give of the devel noise is identical to my decel noise problem. Hondas fix for the tsb was a re-designed clutch disk.

Mine also make sthe same sort of noise at idle in neutral with the ac on adn only with the ac on, if you push in the clutch it goes away (that throw out bearing from my past experience) not sure about the decel noise yet but thaks for the feedback.

 

I have louder than stock noise now with the Exedy clutch, and a brand new TO bearing. Supposed to be one of the downsides of a performance clutch.

 

I hear ya man, I just would not expect a stock car to sound worse than a WRC car ya know...

The clutchmaster setup in my other car was no louder than stock, but the crappy throw outbearing they put in sure as hell was.

Anyway, I didn't want to steer this off course but one of the other guys seems to have had his decel noise traced back to bad TOB, pressure plate and flywheel. Not sure which was the true source of the noise. And lIke I mentioned before, I think the original vibration is in the back faces of the gears, but I think something else is amplifying the vibration to the point of an audible "noise"

I'm anxious to see what ACT comes up with for the evo's cause I loved the ACT I put in my turbo miata, and that one was no louder than stock either.

 

clutch gone with under 4k miles, very little hard driving....

I never had the decel noise

-shahul

 

oh an YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS they screwed up the clutch or bearing or pressure plate...whatever....something

-shahul

 

6200 here, and it's just starting to go. Still engages fine, but it's starting to feel a lot less solid when it sticks. Doesn't "grab" like it used to.

 

JUST Dropped mine off at the dealer for the weekend to address a potential clutch and/or syncro issue..

I couldn't stand it anymore..6300 miles of passionate but not abusive driving..

It's not like it drives bad or anything, it's just un-nerving..

I will post results of service inspection Monday!

 

Well I own a STi, and its taken a moderate ammount of slipping and no issues yet. only 3,500 miles so its not really a comparison.

I find it very interesting that the PP on the EVO actualy has more pressure than the STi. Because when I test drove the EVO its clutch felt like they were using very little pressure and a whole heck of alot of surface area to get the power holding. Maybe its the EVO's style of restrictor but it just didn't feel like there was any real "grab" to the clutch compared to the cars I am used to.

Oh and STi drag launches seem to be best from a 6-7K "drop". Not a sidestep but just quickly and smoothly pulling the foot up off the clutch. Done right, with the right DCCD manual setting you get nice 4 wheel spin till the 30ft mark or so and 1.76x 60-fts. Done wrong, DCCD in auto, or too much lock and you get some nasty wheelhop. A clutch slip launch = slow 60fts so I think you will not see the same clutch issues as the EVO. maybe some new exciting kinds await me though....

 

Anyone have anymore info on that ACT setup?

 

The clutch issue seems like a major flaw. The test drive I took had 2,500 miles on the vehicle and going into fifth was rough (not just me, but the salesman commented that he needed to take it in to the shop because it wouldn't slide into fifth without grinding. As someone in the market, it makes me wonder if it is worth all the hassle of the car always being in the shop.

 

Mine is fine, I can even peels wheels while launching. I guess these cars have a high % problem with their build quality in teh tranny department. Anyway if mine goes, I will just spend the $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ and get teh Twin plate setup, that alone will net better 0-60 times.

I still don't knwo how you gusy destroyed your clutch, My car almost has 5000 miles on it, it did smoke and smell at the beginning, and now seems flawless, no sliping, no nothing. I do wihs it was stronger but seems perfect for a stock unit.


Anywasy go after market, these cars need it.

 

The restrictor will definitely contribute to the feeling of a clutch that doesn't grab. The pedal feel on the other hand has more to do with the mechanical advantage they build into the linkage and hydraulics. Since the clutch is a pull type the operation of the clutch is a lot more effecient. For instance if you compare the pull type EVO to a push type Altima V6 (don't know why I picked that), the Altima is 15% weaker but the EVO takes 28% less pressure plate travel to get it to release. The bottom line is that you cannot always tell how strong a clutch is by the pedal feel.

 

OK, the verdict is in.. sort of.
I recieved 2Cool's clutch and flywheel and had a chance to do some testing. The pressure plate didn't lose any clamp load (still tests 2200lb peak). This should be plenty to hold stock torque and last a long time.
The disc lost .075" of material so it was pretty well gone. However the pressure plate was still delivering about 2000lbs with the disc worn that much. The problem is that when the disc reaches this point of wear the rivets of the pressure plate are designed to bottom out on the flywheel. You will see the rivet in the photo on the right side. Once the rivets bottom out, the pressure plate is no longer pressing on the disc, and the clutch will slip like mad.
You will also notice some of the pulp, fur, or felt like debris that I gathered in a pile at the bottom of the photo. With normal wear you get powder or dust rather than pulp. The rough look of the disc and this pulp tells me that the material was getting too hot for the resin that holds the friction material together and it was melting off rather than wearing off.
In looking at the flywheel and pressure plate I didn't see evidence of long term heating only short bursts of heat. When you have long term heat there is a lot more bluing and warping than this. There are also lots of smaller hot spots, rather than large ones. The thin flywheel (only .350" thick) didn't even get blue on the back side, a common occurance with overheated clutches.

So what's my conclusion? Because the clamp load should be sufficient according to calculations and the pressure plate has a wide working range that seems perfect, I am a little curious about the friction material and it's ability to tolerate heat or it's coefficient of friction. However, past experience and feedback with this material has been pretty good. The size of the clutch should be plenty adequate with an organic material. I am wondering if changing to another material will improve the situation. I am waiting on some 240mm linings right now that I can adapt to the EVO for experimenting. They will here in about 6 weeks. The friction is fairly high and I know they handle heat pretty good so it makes a good comparison.
A stronger pressure plate will only make things better as well even if it's just compensating for the disc. When a clutch gets hot, the melted resin becomes almost like a lubricant so a extra clamp load will compensate for this lack of friction.
Definitely remove the restrictor for spirited driving. This would be one reason for excessive heat.

Questions I have for you clutch victoms are:
1. Do you usually smell the clutch when it slips?
2. Does it slip uncontrolibly at full boost or just a little as you engage the next gear? I am assuming that boost drops off for a moment as you engage the next gear.
3. When you remove the restrictor, what change do you feel? This should make a big change during rapid clutch engagement under power and none at full load.
4. Does the clutch seem to wear out too quickly, slip too long during engagement, or not hold peak power?

 

ACT, I've driven pull type clutches before, although the 03 WRX is the only one I've really used for very long. It just really felt like it was soft in clamping.