i think its my clutch. the ******* thing blows. i did learn to drive stick on this car.. but i picked it up pretty quickly. anyways, lately, when i do some spirited driving, my car doesnt seem to grab second gear well anymore when i rev out first. if i take first to like 5000 then shift quick into second, the car will "bang" into gear and give you a kickback. but, if i take first all the way, then shift to second, the tach shows the rpms stayin at ~6900-7000 for a second, then drops down to the appropriate rpm for second. im pretty positive im not spinning tires when i do this. thats a symptom of bad clutch right? is it time to replace?

 

You're right. Your clutch isn't grabbing, which is a sign that it is getting ready to pop. Time for an upgrade.

 

easiest way to tell on a car is to redline it and drop it into the next gear. 1-2 being the best.

the clutch will last you a while but that's if you drive normal and conservative. i wouldn't be surprised if it lasted another year or two.

but for spirirted driving, you need a change.

 

yeah man i figured. for normal street driving, clutch is fine. only when redlining and such it has its problems.

i want to change it, but im already saving for the smsp header so i dont think ill have the money. the labor for installation is what really would kill me. i could have access to a lift, but ive never dropped a tranny before or even messed with anything liek that. the extent of my mechanic ability is probably a valve adjustment and replacing an alternator.

id be replacing with a honda oem clutch so i dont move out of STS for autocrossing. what parts would i need? clutch disk, pressure plate, throwout bearing? do i need to replace the master and slave cylinders?

 

no, you don't need to replace the slave and master cylinders. unless they're shot or leaking.

hmm, oem. do the sts rules at least allow for a stage 1 upgrade. or how would they know?

or maybe just go with an aftermarket disc and leave the oem pressure plate. the stock pressure plate holds up pretty well.

dis, pp, bearing and you're good. you also need to resurface the flywheel.

 

Replace it yourself! It's very time consuming the first time you do it, but it gives you great experience. If you have a helm's, a decent set of hand tools, and jackstands, you can replace it yourself.

Look here... http://www.preludeonline.com/showthr...threadid=59585

 

well technically there is no way for people to find out if i were using a diff clutch. unless they drove the car of course. but i dont feel right cheating ya know? especially within the autocross crowd, who have been nothing but great supporters. its not the teenage punks that you see all in the street racing scene. more respect at autocross events.

believe me i have thought about an exedy clutch and a lighter flywheel and just moving to DSP. i think anything other than stock is illegal for STS. when its not mentioned in the rules it usually means its not allowed.

ok so ill need to resurface the flywheel. dont know where i would get that done but im sure i could ask some people. how time consuming are we talking about? a full day? two? the axles have to come out right? would it be better if i do it on jackstands or should i use a lift? i have the helms.. i can probably get some more tools. im seriously considering this myself. my friends think im nuts.

 

plus, if there ever was controversy, the competitors in the class could protest me, and i would get moved out of the class. i dunno maybe ill move to DSP and go with aftermarket. but race tires are expensive.

 

A machine shop can resurface your flywheel, it usually costs around $30.

Plan to have your car down for a few days if it's your first time. The first time I dropped mine it took around 7 hours just to remove the tranny! I went slow and followed the manual. You get a lot faster the more you do it.

Unless you have a lift, you will need someone help you put the tranny back on the block. It's nearly impossible to do by yourself on jackstands.

The factory clutch is a good choice if you are basically stock and don't want to move up in the autocross class.

 

Well when you get an SMSP header and put that on you are going to have to move up to DSP you know. And when that happens you may be wishing you used an aftermarket clutch.

 

oh? im pretty sure a header is allowed in STS. is it because it is a custom header?

 

One crude clutch testing method that works...

Engage the parking brake, but the car in first and feather out the clutch. If the car stalls out, your clutch is probably alright; if the car doesnt stall then your gonna need a new clutch.

-jordan