need some help picking out a clutch to go with my 2001 itr. basically, i've succumbed to the "ats final drive" bug. after reading chris93si's latest review, the privilege to have piloted #234 (thx yoshi ), and grm scott's sandmracing.com review, among others, i've decided to get one of these put in along with a lightweight flywheel (4.1kg). basically since we'd be dropping the tranny, i figured replacing the tired clutch would be a nice one shot session.

here's some specs on the car. hopefully it'll give you an idea of what's in the car and what i use the car for.

transmission:
stock gearing
stock lsd
toda lightweight flywheel
ats 4.928 final drive

motor:
b18c5
exhaust bolt-ons; header, b-pipe, muffler 2.5" application

car usage:
daily driven
spirited driving
2-3 hpde's per year

so far, i've come up with these clutches. i'm assuming since i'm not putting out much more power than stock, i wouldn't need any higher pressure clutches. i've been doing some searching and am still not getting a good idea in what to look out for.

oem --> simple is better right?
spoon --> balanced oem clutch...slightly better clamping?
???

would like to get some suggestions from any of you on what to run given my application. any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

thanks!

kepani

 

YES! You won't regret it I promise joo! The Toda flywheel is a big time fun mod too

As for the clutch, Exedy organic works great for me. Feels like stock just a little better and if it stood up to Yacks abuse in the hatchcrap it has gotta be good

 

chris, i think i speak for everyone in the itr board; your threads are CONTAGIOUS!

kepani-who says thx for the im too.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by kepani &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">chris, i think i speak for everyone in the itr board; your threads are CONTAGIOUS!

kepani-who says thx for the im too. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Hehe the good thing about this forum is that everything has been tested by someone else so you can make decisions based on what other's have had. Between this and Yack's recommendations it's been a while since I've bought a mod I didn't like. I just try to pass on the good stuff to everybody else

&lt; Can't wait to read Kepani's review

 

I've had pretty good luck with the OEM clutch.

-Mildly built motor with all the bolt-ons
-Mugen LSD
-JDM final drive
-Stock gearing
-JUN flywheel

Car is auto-crossed frequently and tracked occasionally. I'll most likely replace with a stock clutch disc when the time comes.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Bbasso &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I have the XTSS and the Comptech Al FW for over a year, If I were to do it again I would get the HDSS- reason I don't have the modulation I would like to have in the XTSS for the track and the street. Basically I want a softer pedal with the grab of the XTSS.

Get the lightest FW you can afford. There is nothing negative about it.
Get a decent clutch but going all the way is not needed in a sub 200whp R.</TD></TR></TABLE>

 

stock works fine for me.
just inspect the disc springs everyonce in a while to make sure they are not wearing thru.

at ~65,000 miles I pulled the tranny and swapped the release bearing (2nd time) and looked at the disc... the springs were showing wear (friction material looked wonderful) so I purchased a used ITR (low mile) disc and swapped it in.

 

hey jay this is denny. get the ACT XTSS. its really great. even though u have a pretty much stock motor, i think you should love it. clutch is about 30% stiffer and grabs like no other. i have had it on my car about 10k miles and no problems what so ever.
dont get the HDSS. its junk
its very to drive in traffic also. you will get used to it in about 30 minutes of driving.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by TurblowR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
dont get the HDSS. its junk </TD></TR></TABLE>

I'm never reading or taking your advice ever again. That was just a stupid comment.

 

I've used the Exedy organic in a couple of cars and it's always worked out great for me.

 

I may look into an Action clutch when my time comes.

 

Excedy Ceremetallic

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by BrewCityR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I may look into an Action clutch when my time comes. </TD></TR></TABLE>



I don't really like my 1MD. Shakes the car too much during engagement. It's unsprung

It holds my 220 ft-lbs of torque, I suppose. And it drives smoother when hot (not warm). The pedal pressure feels lighter than stock, that's kinda nice too.

YMMV,

-Chris

 

I had the ACT HD setup, and it was ok, but I like the Clutchmasters Stage II much more. Way easier pedal pressure, which while not as "race car" feeling, is definitely more welcome in daily driving and rush hour. It grabs just as well it seems, although I think the clutch engagement happens at a slightly higher pedal height (meaning more pedal travel overall for the CM, though not much).

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by KOALA YUMMIES &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

I'm never reading or taking your advice ever again. That was just a stupid comment. </TD></TR></TABLE>

compared to the XTSS. i can say this because i have had both.

 

I need a clutch soon too and am mostly stock as you are Kepani. I'm going OEM clutch & pp with either Fidanza or Toda fw..

 

i just did what your planning on doing. i was going to replace my clutch with the Exedy organic piece but i ended up keeping my stock piece.

the ats , cusco fw on stock clutch is working out great.

how many miles do you have on the stock clutch.

i only had 30k on the clutch so i did feel like replacing a prefectly good clutch.

best part you dont have a break in period with your old clutch.

i did how ever replace all my bearings.

 

of course! i'll have to conduct a "chris93si" mandated performance part review!

opie, go for the toda.

i appreciate the suggestions thus far! i'm hung up on either oem or maybe the exedy that many are raving about. i've never driven an itr with a non-oem clutch (that i can remember), so am wondering about increased pedal effort. it sounds like the exedy and oem are similar in pedal effort.

another thing:
some have recommended replacing the pressure plate, throwout bearing, pilot bearing, and fork. do the clutch kits come with most/all of these parts along with the disc? as for the pilot bearing, the toda does not come with one. is the pilot bearing a generic part, or is it specific to each setup?

kepani-who's a clutch newbie among other things. :s

 

If you want a stock feeling clutch that grabs with a strong bite, get a clutchmasters stage 4. It might actually feel softer than stock!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by TypeR 599 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">If you want a stock feeling clutch that grabs with a strong bite, get a clutchmasters stage 4. It might actually feel softer than stock! </TD></TR></TABLE>

The stage 4 is awsome, so is the stage 3. Pefect pedal feel for daily driving, and nice bite for HPDE and hard driving. Ive had my stage 4 for about 2 years, many HPDE events, 200+whp during all those events, and driving 10k+ miles per year and its still going strong.

 

Jay,

I've used both the Toda and Spoon clutches. Currently, im running on the Toda clutch and flywheel combo. The Toda clutch is made by Daikin(Exedy...and looks identical to an Exedy street), however, the pressure plate puts down a slight bit more clamping force than an Exedy street-organic. The Toda clutch disc is identical to an Exedy street-organic. In regards to the Spoon clutch, the outcome is almost the same. Pressure plate resembles an OEM ITR piece, however puts down a bit more clamping force....disc is identical to the OEM ITR piece. Therefore, get a stock disc, pilot bearing and release bearing(all B-series hydro bearings are the same) and try to get either a Toda pressure plate or Spoon pressure plate. If I recall, you can purchase the Spoon pressure plate seperately, but not sure about the Toda piece. No need to replace your clutch release fork.

If you need any parts, just hollar. I can bring them home from work. On a side note, the 97-00 Prelude clutch disc is the same as an ITR....crazy huh!

-Brandon

 

Can't beat OEM quality and price.

 

Opie, I had the same choice of flywheels recently, Fidanza or Toda. While everyone who has the Toda loves it, and I'm sure it's great, I went with Fidanza (which I absolutely love) for one reason: removable friction surface. Just buy a new one for $40 or whatever, don't need to get the FW resurfaced or anything, whereas the Toda you WOULD need to get resurfaced, and would have a hard time of it due to the metal type. That only matters for long-term use though, and again, I'm sure the Toda is great.

 

That's interesting, what is it secured with? Nuts and bolts, screws, or zip ties?

 

Zip ties and duct tape, nothing but the best I think it's little hex-head bolts, but I might be remembering wrong. Whatever it is, looks very secure.