Hi,

Does anyone have any experience with the Exedy Stage 1 HD Organic (05083HD)? Most of the threads about it are from 10+ years ago. I saw it's rated for 472 ft-lbs (Exedy's ratings are at the wheels) vs ACT's 615 ft-lb flywheel rating for their ME2-XTSS (the other clutch in looking at, 615 - 21% drivetrain loss works out to 486 ft-lbs at the wheels), so it's surprising it's not more common.

Given the choice what would be a better clutch, the ACT XTSS or Exedy Stage 1 HD? My car is running a stock flywheel and will end up with a little over 400 ft-lbs (FP54 Green/BBK Full equivalent 20G on a built 2.0 MIVEC with GSC S2s and E85). A Exedy twin seems like a waste at my power level and costs twice as much. It's going to be mostly a street car with a few track/autox events a year.

 

I ran the ME2-XTSS for a few years on my 10:1 2L making over 400ft-lbs@wheels. Pedal is fairly stiff, but it was easy to drive so I would recommend this clutch. Never had slippage issues, but I don't launch my car although I do jam the gears pretty hard. No problem shifting at 9K rpm so just make sure you wire brush the splines on the tranny to get them clean and then apply some lithium grease (or purple stuff they provide) to the splines so the disk slides freely and wipe off any excess grease. Downside was the clutch was worn down after~30K miles so I upgraded to the 6 puck ceramic disk. The 6 puck is easy to drive and has much higher torque rating, but DO NOT get the 6 puck if you live in an area with hills. It does not like to be slipped much so after a few slips it heats up and grabs making it hard to get started.

 

On a side note, an Exedy twin will cost around $1200 if you shop around. It's not that much more expensive than the mentioned clutches if you factor in the price of a flywheel.

 

This has been my experience too. It drives very well and it's quiet, but it HATES hills. You can probably slip it 3 to 5 times in a row in uphill traffic before it's game over and starts to grab harder and change it's friction characteristics. After that you have to grind it to death going up hill. Automatics live and breath for uphill traffic .

 

I think those options are not equal... I think the ACT HDSS is closer to the exedy one... The XTSS has a harsher engagement and pressure plate. I had the HDSS for about 2 years and it had excellent driving manners. It had slightly harder engagement than the oem but it held fine at 386whp and 412 ft/lbs torque.. But i never launched the car

 

Yeah I've been doing a ton of research. Exedy rated the clutch kit at 590 ft-lbs flywheel and 472 ft-lb wheels but a few people have reported it slipping at around 400 ft-lbs or not handling launches well at all. I think it is closer to the HDSS in performance, maybe a mild step up from it but definitely not close to the XTSS.

I think it's gonna come down to either the XTSS or HDG6 (HD Pressure Plate and 6 Puck Sprung), with the XTSS having a more streetable disc (more willing to slip in traffic) but possibly more prone to lockouts (either due to heavier pressure plate or more rotating mass).

 

On my third ACT clutch setup and never had lockout even shifting at 9k+ rpm on the 2L. Currently shifting at 8.5k rpm on the 2.15L no issues. Clean the splines thoroughly with a stainless wire brush and add the grease to make sure the disk moves freely on the splines of the shaft then wipe off excess.

 

I had the exedy stage 1 after my original clutch gave out. It felt like stock but didnt last very long. Less than 20k miles. I wouldnt recommend it but i havent tried the ACT yet.