W58 clutch replacement question

[MPR]

Did some research and by the sounds of it, the popular choice for replacing the oem clutch is to use an ACT (4 or 6-puck?) sprung ceramic disc with the oem flywheel and PP.

I just want to confirm with others who have done this...

I have a basically stock 7MGE with the only mods being intake and full exhaust (2.5" and planning to add an OBX header soon as well). So it's still essentially stock. I'm not planning to go turbo or anything. It gets driven mainly on the street and occasionally I indulgent in some spirited driving, but nothing crazy like rev-limiter clutch-dump launches or anything like that. (ignore the picture in my sig... That was a one-time thing...lol)

Will this setup work well and hold better than compared to just an oem organic disc replacement with stock flywheel and PP?

Thanks,
Mike.

 

[suprarx7nut]

Do not get a 4 or 6 puck. That's a horrible choice for an na that's not raced. Get a full face clutch from act, competition clutch, etc. Or even just a generic aftermarket would be fine.

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[MPR]

Do not get a 4 or 6 puck. That's a horrible choice for an na that's not raced. Get a full face clutch from act, competition clutch, etc. Or even just a generic aftermarket would be fine.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

I had a 3 puck ceramic exedy clutch in my civic which was really heavy and had an on or off engagement which most people couldn't drive without stalling 6 times. I learned and adapted to drive it perfectly smooth right away, no problem. It only squealed and chattered occasionally when cold and I adapted my driving style to minimize this.

So if drive-ability is your concern, I'm used to ceramic clutch characteristics and it won't bother me. The car may see the occasional autocross and lapping day, so I want something better than just oem. (That is if oem/organic will not stand up to this... which is what I fear.)

Are there any other reasons you are saying not to go with the ceramic?

 

[suprarx7nut]

I had a 3 puck ceramic exedy clutch in my civic which was really heavy and had an on or off engagement which most people couldn't drive without stalling 6 times. I learned and adapted to drive it perfectly smooth right away, no problem. It only squealed and chattered occasionally when cold and I adapted my driving style to minimize this.

So if drive-ability is your concern, I'm used to ceramic clutch characteristics and it won't bother me. The car may see the occasional autocross and lapping day, so I want something better than just oem. (That is if oem/organic will not stand up to this... which is what I fear.)

Are there any other reasons you are saying not to go with the ceramic?

There are Kevlar and other clutch materials available in a full face design that will handle plenty of abuse in a ge. It makes no sense to get a puck clutch for a low power car like the na.

Its not cool to chirp around parking lots and have to Adapt to minimize embarrassing engagement when there are perfectly good full face, ultra smooth clutches available that can handle all the street use you throw at it.

Why make life more difficult?

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[MPR]

There are Kevlar and other clutch materials available in a full face design that will handle plenty of abuse in a ge. It makes no sense to get a puck clutch for a low power car like the na.

Its not cool to chirp around parking lots and have to Adapt to minimize embarrassing engagement when there are perfectly good full face, ultra smooth clutches available that can handle all the street use you throw at it.

Why make life more difficult?

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

The clutch I had in my civic wasn't so bad that it forced me to struggle around parking lots etc. It simply became second-nature as I just adjusted my driving/shifting habits. It didn't make it more difficult to drive at all, other than the pedal was heavier. Since I will be keeping the stock PP the pedal wont be any heavier, so it wouldn't be an issue in this case.

However, if there are full face clutches that will take moderate abuse on a stock GE and will have the smooth engagement of an organic disc, then maybe I'll look for one of those instead.

We had an unorthodox racing full kevlar unsprung race clutch in our MK1 turbo MR2 (making between 200-250whp) and it could not stand up to the pounding. Mind you, that car saw nothing but autocross and lap attacks. Not really a fair comparison. When it did work, it worked well.

It's been my experience in the past that even with brand new oem style/organic clutches, they don't always grip and hold the way a ceramic does. For example on fast up shifts, they would still allow a little slipping intead of just engaging and gripping immediately. I would just hate to buy an oem style clutch and find it gives me "soft" shifts when I want to hook, if you know what I mean...

Thanks for the advice though, I'll take a look at some of the clutches you suggested.

 

[Typhoon]

Full, conventional clutch plate with a slightly heavier pressure plate. Friction materials have made huge leaps in the past 10-20 years, ceramic/puck clutches are for bench wanking on a street car.

 

[hvyman]

Stock clutch is more than enough and a full kit from champion toyota is like 220$. Or maybe less.

6 pucks and stock pressure plates suck. Horrible combination. Better off with a stiff pressure plate and a full face disc.

 

[MPR]

Stock clutch is more than enough and a full kit from champion toyota is like 220$. Or maybe less.

6 pucks and stock pressure plates suck. Horrible combination. Better off with a stiff pressure plate and a full face disc.

What is it about the stock PP and ceramic disc combination that makes it horrible?