Since there seem to be so many questions running around regarding lightened flywheels and the such. These are my comments after my first day of driving.

For reference, it's a '00 GSR, 22k miles, Comptech Intake/Icebox, DC SS Cat-Back, 18 Deg. Timing, plus suspension stuff, stock wheels + tires.

First note is that the clutch pedal is noticably stiffer. Not annoyingly so, but it's how a performance clutch in my mind should feel. ACT claims 30%-50% (I think) stiffer pedal feel. That seems quite right. After the engine warmed up, I reved the engine up. The inital slight hesitation from idle to 1k is gone. On a good stab of the throttle, the RPM jumps... 4k comes quick. It is however not as quick as I expected. Nice! The car seems to start quicker. The idle is unchanged.

First drive I was prepared to stall the car. It is very easy to get use to. The change in engagement, once you're past the extra effort to depress the pedal, is very little. I drove the car through stop and go city traffic for the first 5 miles. There was no stumbling, no hesitation, no bogging. It felt wonderful. The only thing I was doing was reving higher to accelerate from a stop than I usually was. Expected. This flywheel is totally streetable. I had no problems right off the bat. I'll only get more use to it.

Freeway. My intrepation of the 200-300 mile break in period means don't bash hard shifts on it, and don't launch. I shifted very easily, but felt compelled to run to the high 7k RPM's. The car simply seems to rev faster through all the gears. It's tough to tell if it's faster, cause I can't shift hard and I didn't go to redline, but once engaged, and I step on the pedal, the RPM's simply seem to climb faster. 1st - 3rd seem to have the best increase. I haven't gotten a chance to go over 90mph yet. (Damned cops on my freeway).

I can't wait till the end of the week to get some miles on it, so I can bash on it. I will offer another review when I have some milage on it. Enjoy!

Cliffs Notes: New Flywheel/Clutch/PP. Very Streetable, very noticable quicker revs. Stiffer Pedal, not as crazy as I expected.

 

Thanks for the review!

I gotta question. I just installed a new flywheel but have kept my Exedy clutch. Do I need to break it in again to mate to the new surface, or will it be fine?

 

I would think yes, simply because you have to mate the clutch to the new flywheel surface. Gotta get the two surfaces working together to have propper functionality.

 

I've noticed people tend to talk a lot about the exact weights of flywheels, but never seem to mention the weight of the clutch. Since the pressure plate is bolted to the flywheel, doesn't it contribute just as much to the revving as the flywheel itself? I hadn't thought about this until I hefted the (failed) clutch parts that just came out of my car -- they seem pretty heavy to me, perhaps heavier than an 7 pound flywheel.

So what about aftermarket clutches? Are they different weights than the OE? The Exedy I put in looked beefier than the OE that came out, but I didn't have an opportunity to compare their weights.

 

That's one thing I wish I did as I look back now. Compare the weight of the Clutch/Flywheel/PP new with the stock unit. Of course droping 11 lbs from the flywheel is gonna help, when if your clutch weighs 2 lbs, and the PP weighs 12 pounds, the percentage weight saved is not as great. It is a savings though...

 

Maybe I'll weigh the OE parts with my bathroom scale tonight...

 

That's why you hear about triple and twin disc clutches which have PP's significantly lighter than stock. I recall it brings the total weight from around 50 lbs for a stock fw, pp and clutch down to 28-25 lbs for fw, pp and clutch.

Multi discs are nice too because you get awesome power handling yet the clutch is still streetable. I can't wait til they make them for Hondas...

 

I have my stock pieces... I can weight them tonight too... Here's a question. The ITR Flywheel is lighter than the GSR. How about the Clutch and PP? Do they weight the same?


[Modified by reefer_bob, 1:55 PM 4/9/2002]

 

Okay, according to my bathroom scale, which only has a 1/2 pound precision
(i.e. it rounds everything off to the nearest 0.5), here are the weights of
my OE clutch parts (with 40k miles on them):

clutch disc 2.5 lbs
pressure plate 9.5 lbs
total12 lbs

Someone on here said the OE flywheel is 15 lbs.
So, 50 lbs for disc+plate+fly seems high to me.

[edit: had to delete the html table attempt]


[Modified by 98R-1003 US, 9:56 PM 4/9/2002]

 

when I bought my Exedy clutch and pp, they claimed to have a low moment of inertia. I never weighed the Exedy clutch or pp though, so I don't know how it compares to stock. Anyone ever weigh such aftermarket parts ?

 

Wow 9 pounds, the PP sure felt alot heavier than that, like around the weight of my stock flywheel.

I'm pulling the numbers out of memory, and it might have been for a different car. M3's have 26 pound flywheels...

 

thanks !

 

Uh, 12 + 15 = 27lbs... Check that math yo!

I always thought the ITR Fly was 16, and the GSR was 18... I'm gonna go home and weigh my clutch and PP on an accurate scale. I shall report back tomorow.

 

It was DarksideDC4 who said 50 lbs (up above) -- I was saying the same thing you are: that 12+15 doesn't add up to anywhere near that heavy for the stock parts. It's more like, uh, 27 lbs, which is the same weight he gave for a "lighter" multi-disc replacement.

 

Cool. Now can someone weight the ACT clutch and pressure plate.