I just bought (yesterday) an 88 CRX Si with a B18c motor with toda cams, Hondata etc. etc. I have been driving clutch cars and rev matching downshfts 90% of the timefor thirty years. The clutch on the car is whooh, like a light switch, and if you don't do it just right (on day two I am pretty good with it) you get chatter. It just seems like more shock than is necessary through the driveline. The clutch is an ACT 6 puck "unsprung" with MABA pads? YS1 tranny, lightened flywheel 7.8lb. Clutchmasters. Is there something more mechanical friendly to the drivetrain that is not be mush either? Or or their other considerations? This car is just to do DE track work (full cage going in)but I can drive it to the track. That is the purpose if that helps. If you wouldn't mind I would like some opinions in that I think a different clutch/pp may be in order. Thanks in advance.
Barry H.

 

Just get a ACT street disk and you will be ok.

 

I liked the Exedy Organic "Race" unit I had in my Si. I'm sure that thing would suit your needs just fine.

 

hmm. I'm building a similar car and plan to use a similar clutch setup. are you sure its chatter from the clutch?

 

If you are looking into other options for clutches I would definitely recommend looking into whether or not RPS has an application that meets your needs. You will find that the product quality of RPS is top rate, as is the company.

 

Unsprung discs suck for street use. Any full faced organic street disc/street PP setup will work fine for a mostly stock motor. ACT, Exedy, OEM.

I've got 65K on my clutch, and something is rattling. I might go with an ACT replacement, Karl had really good luck with his.

 

I have never had a problem using OEM disks. The ITR is the cheapest B series clutch from the dealer. I really hate the use the unsprung hubs, save those for the damn drag racers.......

 

Apex CRX, yes it is clutch chatter believe me. I took the car over to a friend's house sunday when I bought to show him and to look at the custom cage he just had done in his ITA BMW he is building up from scratch (I am going to use the same cage builder). He said my clutch set up was more finicky than his race clutch on his ITS BMW and I would agree. I have driven his ex-ITS car on track. After thirty years of "heel-toe" I operate three pedals at once instinctively so my clutch skills are up there. My friend said the same thing. Too much unecessary clutch chatter. I can only guess the clutch that was put in saved some rotational mass. It's street driveability for first gear well, just plain sucks. Unless you get it just right and I am getting consistent at it, you get a little chatter or worse. Thanks for the input folks.
Barry H.

 

hmm I do remember on my old ACT setup it would chatter like a ***** and scare old ladies. I had to rev up to 3-4k in first gear!! I hope my new setup will be ok. It'll be a 6 puck solid hup HD pressure plate and 8 lb flywheel. I'll let you know how it goes

 

You should be fine with an OEM clutch- you have a mostly stock build engine with some cams in a car that weighs ~600# lighter than the donor car that the clutch was designed for. That is a significant amount of less weight that the engine is trying to accelerate so the chance of slipping should be reduced a lot.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by apexinghonda &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The clutch is an ACT 6 puck "unsprung" with MABA pads? Or or their other considerations? This car is just to do DE track work (full cage going in)but I can drive it to the track. That is the purpose if that helps. If you wouldn't mind I would like some opinions in that I think a different clutch/pp may be in order. Thanks in advance.Barry H. </TD></TR></TABLE>I am curious about the ACT disc since you say it has MIBA pads. We don't use MIBA pads, but another friction manufacturer. Was this disc relined, or is it another manufacturer who uses our components? We don't get too many complaints about our discs being that rough. Some will even use them on the street on daily drivers, but we don't recommend it. On some vehicles it is smoother than others. You would probably be better off with our performance organic disc as long as the pressure plate has enough clamp for the job.

Four things to remember when it comes to harsh engagement. 1. Higher friction materials will give harsh engagement. 2. Chatter is the engine moving in the mounts so soft mounts make it worse, solid makes it better. 3. The same is true with the disc - solid race discs are smoother than spring center if all else remains the same. On street discs that are not aggressive, both spring and solid center will be smooth engaging. 4. A faulty pressure plate or crappy flywheel or flywheel surface can also cause bad engagement. If you take off the clutch and the pressure plate shows heat marks mostly on one side, that's the problem. I hope that helps.

 

I'll second (third) the nomination for the OEM Type-R clutch. Love mine. No problems. Very smooth, never slips, nice peddle effort. Almost like Honda spent some money developing it. It's probably not the choice for drag racing or a blown car. But for the track, I'd buy another one in a heartbeat.

Thawley

 

Thanks Dirk. Since I bought the car I can not comment on the marba (sp?) pads on the clutch. I understand it is a higher friction material and that is part of the problem. Maybe something else too. It has stiffer engine mounts. When I yank it apart we can see if something else is causing an issue. It has an ACT PP. I have thought your organic hp clutch with the PP that is in there (provided it is not damaged) would be good (supposedly 190fwhp/133fwtq on this motor). The car is being built up with about 80% road course use and about 20% street (mostly driving to the track) in mind. With no A/C and me being in the south, it can't be for much else! I instruct for four different organizations hence the dedicated track car. I will probably call you guys next week. I will also try to get some particulars on just what ACT PP went in. I think the flywheel is a Clutchmasters lightened (I am new to Honda stuff, ex-supra guy). Should I ask for you?

Again thanks to all who have thrown in their two cents. I am trying to get this car sorted out right for my preferences. Thanks.

Barry H.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by apexinghonda &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> I think the flywheel is a Clutchmasters lightened (I am new to Honda stuff, ex-supra guy). Should I ask for you? Barry H. </TD></TR></TABLE>An aluminum flywheel can make engagement pretty harsh as well, because the surface is never really flat. The high spots of course see the most heat, and the heat makes these spots expand, making them higher. The high spots make for clutch chatter. No matter what though, a puck disc is not going to be a smooth as a street clutch of course. You can give me a call on Monday if you like. I usually don't normally take calls if I am out in the shop or if someone else can handle it, but I will promptly return the call if you leave a voicemail and I happen to be out of my office. I just cannot get any work done otherwise. Our number is 661-940-7555 ext. 213.