I've read most (if not all) of the other "Clutch" threads like this one (http://www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?t=48934) and have yet to see this specific question answered, so here goes:

I will soon be adding a Unorthodox Racing aluminum flywheel, and know it's a good idea to replace my stock clutch while the tranny is dropped to replace the flywheel. While I hate to replace a perfectly good factory clutch, I know I'd be better off doing it now as I'm apt to fry the old one when I soon add FI. :D

Problem is, I don't want to mess up the clutch pedal feel from what it is now stock. I've had high performance clutches before, and found them to be considerably stiffer. Not only do they make it hard to drive the car smoothly, but they can be generally unplesant to drive and live with.

So, can anyone suggest some good units that are stronger than the factory unit but are not much stiffer than the stock clutch? Thanks... :)

I have used Spec clutches in my RX-7 and the pressure was the same as stock. The ACT clutches tend to have a stiffer pedal.

Jason
www.rx8store.com

I have used Spec clutches in my RX-7 and the pressure was the same as stock. The ACT clutches tend to have a stiffer pedal.

Jason
www.rx8store.comThat's helpful Jason, thanks. We may be talking soon. :)

Any other suggestions folks?

I was having the same concern, Omicron. I even looked at Jason's Rx8 store Spec level clutches. All the same, I haven't been able to find an aftermarket clutch for less than $500, so I figured I'd just stick with the factory. <shrug> $800 in a year is about the same as $500 now, if you look at it from the "future value" of the 500 bucks you'd save sticking with the factory clutch.

Plus, you may never have to replace it. Worth the gamble for me. :)

--Landon

I was having the same concern, Omicron. I even looked at Jason's Rx8 store Spec level clutches. All the same, I haven't been able to find an aftermarket clutch for less than $500, so I figured I'd just stick with the factory. <shrug> $800 in a year is about the same as $500 now, if you look at it from the "future value" of the 500 bucks you'd save sticking with the factory clutch.

Plus, you may never have to replace it. Worth the gamble for me. :)

--LandonYeah Landon, I may just do that. Probably will, but wanted to explore my options.

Cost of the clutch isn't all the cost though. At least with a RWD car the labour isn't as bad as a FWD................

I would say wait if you are thinking of a new clutch. There should be a bunch of choices out by this summer.

Jason

Cost of the clutch isn't all the cost though.................

That's why I said $800 a year from now, versus $500 a year from now. (assuming an ~ $300 R&R)

As Jason has noted, there may be choices that are even cheaper than we have now come summer, so it may be even MORE beneficial to wait. Labor for r&r of a clutch isn't soooo expensive to warrant jumping into a $500 purchase without many options.....for ME, anyway. Plus, I'm in the same boat as Omicron, I don't want my left leg to be 3x the size of my right. ;)

--Landon

Cool, thanks for the help everyone. :D

Omicron,

Have you thought about the Mazda Speed units that they have here :

https://www.rx8garage.net/?page=shop/browse&category_id=2f34f8bf003a5f27bed2e8dfe0b6f33a&PHPSESSID=513d27b713040f15de6fbd929754b1d8

I;m thinking that eventually I will have to get a beefed up tranny too.

For what its worth, the ACT Street/Strip clutch I had on my RX-7 was only slightly stiffer in feel than the stock clutch. Now, I think the stock RX-7 clutch may have been a bit stiffer than the one in the RX-8 but it was in now way difficult.

jds

For what its worth, the ACT Street/Strip clutch I had on my RX-7 was only slightly stiffer in feel than the stock clutch. Now, I think the stock RX-7 clutch may have been a bit stiffer than the one in the RX-8 but it was in now way difficult.

jdsYeah, as I recall that's what Charles Hill said about the ACT clutch in his RX-8.

Omicron,

Have you thought about the Mazda Speed units that they have here :

https://www.rx8garage.net/?page=shop/browse&category_id=2f34f8bf003a5f27bed2e8dfe0b6f33a&PHPSESSID=513d27b713040f15de6fbd929754b1d8

I;m thinking that eventually I will have to get a beefed up tranny too.Yep, I've thought about them. Only thing is that I haven't heard anyone discuss them and how much stiffer they are than stock. But thanks! :D

The ACT Extreme clutch did take a bit of getting used to but a few days later I didn't even notice it anymore. The thing that has started to happen, though, is the throwout bearing is making some noises after hard runs. I thought I saw a heavy duty version but I have yet to do a search for it. Before long I may switch to a six puck sprung disc so I'll replace the factory bearing that came in the clutch kit from SR. Since Exedy is the OEM supplier for the RX-8 I would be confident in any replacement clutch they might offer if I decide to try something different. Plus their office is not far from my home in the event I have any problems.

Charles

Well, it looks like the OEM throwout bearing is only about $32 bucks at RX8Garage (here (http://www.rx8garage.net/?page=shop/flypage&product_id=254&category_id=2f34f8bf003a5f27bed2e8dfe0b6f33a&PHPSESSID=513d27b713040f15de6fbd929754b1d8)), so I wouldn't imaging a heavy duty one would be that much more.

Hate to say it but Mazdaspeed product is so overrated. They use to be the big thing when the RX-7 came out, but now I cant give that stuff away. Mazdaspeed makes some quailty stuff, but when your looking for performance gains its not going to happen. Plus their stuff is so overpriced.

Omicron,

Have you seen where RB has stated that they are almost completing their pressure plate & clutch disc setup. I would love to see what they come up with.

Jason,

Since you are probably one of their big vendors what have you heard (that we may have not on this) ? Will you be selling it ?

Hate to say it but Mazdaspeed product is so overrated. They use to be the big thing when the RX-7 came out, but now I cant give that stuff away. Mazdaspeed makes some quailty stuff, but when your looking for performance gains its not going to happen. Plus their stuff is so overpriced.Does this mean I can have anything you've got that's Mazdaspeed for free??!!?? WOO HOO!!!! :D

Seriously Jason, I know what you mean. But I wouldn't discard MS stuff either, especially since it doesn't void the warranty.

Now, shall I PM you my address for all the free Mazdaspeed stuff you can't give away? ;)

Omicron,

Have you seen where RB has stated that they are almost completing their pressure plate & clutch disc setup. I would love to see what they come up with.Yep, RB would be a viable option... :) and I did see they are working on one. But what I was after in this thread is how stiff the clutch pedal effort is for existing replacement clutches. I suspect the RB one will not be any worse than stock, but I'd still like to know what current ones are like.

The MS clutch has to be better than the stock one. Otherwise, why would the company produce it? I really wonder if its worth the money...

I was having the same concern, Omicron. I even looked at Jason's Rx8 store Spec level clutches. All the same, I haven't been able to find an aftermarket clutch for less than $500, so I figured I'd just stick with the factory. <shrug> $800 in a year is about the same as $500 now, if you look at it from the "future value" of the 500 bucks you'd save sticking with the factory clutch.

Plus, you may never have to replace it. Worth the gamble for me. :)

--Landon

http://rx7.com/store/rx8/rx8drivetrain_clutch.html 399.99 for a Bonez

I received my Bonez clutch disk/plate today from the site mentioned above. I'm not sure why it's called Bonez, the pressure plate is made by ACT and the disc is made by EXEDY.
I'm having a shop put these in along with the RB flywheel. Greddy turbo kit will be a couple weeks after that.

Also, Racing Beat has posted 3 clutch disks that work with the 8. They're the same as the ones for a 87-95 RX7 turbo. I believe only 1 can be used for street driving, other 2 are recommended for racing only.

Having read all the treads on clutches , i still dont know whats the best aftermarket clutch for our cars.

cheers
michael

Add to that the fact that most of these kits mix companies..."bonez" and "rb" both do. Phewww

I couldn't remember where I posted my comment about the throwout bearing but I finally found it on this thread. Check this out;

In the past I had made comments about how it seemed my t.o. bearing wasn't handling the higher plate load of the ACT Xtreme Duty plate. I was wrong. The entire system is working fine. I also put up a post, somewhere, listing several ACT applications and, more importantly, the cross-referencing of the factory RX-8 plate and disc combo. There are several other Mazda models which use the very same plate/disc as the RX-8.

With regard to specific application(s) my opinions are these:
1) The factory clutch is probably good for 300 fly h.p. but not much more than that. I base this on numbers provided by ACT.
2) If you are not going to achieve serious power levels or race your car, the street duty clutches are going to be fine.
3) Any reputable company, such as ACT, Clutchmasters, Exedy, or similar will be fine for your 8.
4) Be realistic about your power levels and clutch needs. Just about nobody on this board has a need for a 4-puck, 6-puck, ceramic/metallic, sintered iron, or other exotic material disc. Anyone who is making enough power to need these ain't posting up here because they are too busy running a racing team and schedule.

BTW, the noise I heard that I thought was my throwout bearing? That was the second-rate quality belt provided in the SR pulley kit. I matched the belt up with a higher-quality one from NAPA and made it about 3/8-1/2 shorter while I was at it. Not a hint of noise even after several 9,500 rpm passes and two days of 6,000-9,000 rpm beatings on the engine.

CRH

I got the ACt unit from Jason. I was going to do the Rb unit, but they told me if I was looking at 260-275 whp it might not be the best unit as they are not sure if it will handle that level hp. Mazdatrix is selling the Centerforce unit. I went with ACT as they have such a good rep. across the board on their products. I know a few people who have ACT on their other cars & absolutely love them.

I used to run an ACT clutch on my old car and made 7 consecutive(hot laps...3 minutes max between runs) high 11 second passes (maybe a couple of 12.0's) :) with an ACT 6 puck clutch and it never missed a beat. Even with a decent burnout before every run. Sold me on their product right there. I also had plenty of opportunities to deal with their techs regarding clutch configurations for that car and they were always extremely helpful. The customer service was great for me.

Well some friends of mine installed the ms clutch+cover+fly and they are very glad with that parts..Well i already have a ms flywheel but i could change it if i am going for hte sr kit which already contains a flywheel...

But which kit is better??I mean i am always dcs off and making serious game with the tail everywhere i can and i always hit reds and trying to start immediately form a stop but which is better??extreme or heavy?Or should i go with ms clutch+cover???I mean i want the best from my car performance and i want the best laps offcourse...Also i m planning for this year somewhere arround 270-280crank and in couple of years over 300whp(I hope offcourse)

p.s Has anyone weighted the act clutch+sr flywheel together??either the extreme duty or the heavy duty???I am very interested in weights....

Well some friends of mine installed the ms clutch+cover+fly and they are very glad with that parts..Well i already have a ms flywheel but i could change it if i am going for hte sr kit which already contains a flywheel...

But which kit is better??I mean i am always dcs off and making serious game with the tail everywhere i can and i always hit reds and trying to start immediately form a stop but which is better??extreme or heavy?Or should i go with ms clutch+cover???I mean i want the best from my car performance and i want the best laps offcourse...Also i m planning for this year somewhere arround 270-280crank and in couple of years over 300whp(I hope offcourse)

p.s Has anyone weighted the act clutch+sr flywheel together??either the extreme duty or the heavy duty???I am very interested in weights....

No need to swap out your MS flywheel if you already have one. That is the pricey part of the package already. You can get the ACT pressure plate & disc (what SR includes in their package) part over at RX8store.

which one though??extreme or heavy?????

The one over at rx8store is the heavy duty version. In talking with jason, it is based on torque rating. the heavy duty version can take up to 400 lb.-ft. of tq, which our RX8's will never generate even close to that. I plan to go to about 9-10 lbs. of boost & it will be more than fine.

Well i have my car as a daily driver...I know you have an act..Can you provide some infos my friend??Do you lose any rpms in engaging-deisengaging??So the only difference if i understand well what you are saying between the heavy and extreme is how much torque they can handle??No difference in disengaging speed-driveability etc between these 2 sets???
Can you provide more info on your set??Driveability?Is it easy to drive arround town?park your car??I am asking these cause i have my 8 for a daily driver...

I want to make the best laps and start from stop as fast as possible without loosing time...

I appreciate all your help...

Act Heavy?Act Extreme?Spec Stage 2?Mazdaspeed??

What a dilemma...I ll drive this weekend an 8 with Mazdaspeed and if the difference is big i ll go fot them and what the f...I can't risk my daily driver car if its very very difficult to park it or move at low speeds arround otwn or when you are in traffic....

If you are only going to go to 270-280 hp (crank) the Racing Beat pressure plate & clutch disc might be a good alternative. Clutches in general give a certain amount of clamping force. In general, the more clamping force, the more it affects driveability. i.e if the clamping force is increased 50% (ACT Heavy Duty) vs. 100% (ACT Extreme Duty), the heavy duty version will be a bit easier to drive. Usually with more clamping force they might switch materials sometimes (gets hotter, so regular clutch materials are not durable enough). In general, the heavy duty clutches aren't much more difficult to engage/disengage than a stock clutch, but once you get to the extreme duty or even pucked clutches the degree of difficulty increases.

The level of torque is how ACT wants to rate their clutches. 400 lb.-ft. (for a Mazda RX8) is a lot more then we will ever generate. In reading the descriptions of the clutch packages, the heavy duty will give you 50% more clamping force, the extreme duty 100%, the pucks probably in the 200% range.

Well i ll drive the ms clutch on sunday so i ll know better...and i checked the spec stage 2 as a good option two...