army_rx8

well i got my RB pressure plate in (those things are damn hella heavy)..which really turns out to be an Exedy pressure plate (not that i'm complaining)...i shoudl have my racingbeat cltuch (along with a new throwout bearing) on thursday..so hopfully i can get them installed then:D shoudl go great with eeh MS flywheel i just picked up. (wanted to put it all in at once..save some money). I'll let you guys know how it goes.

ms flywheel shoudl give me some nice added acceleration (in the lower gears)...the clutch and pressure plate aren't really required...but i might as well add a better one while i'm at it..so when (corssing my fingers) i get a turbo i won't have to upgrade anything drivetrain related (maybe a re-amemiya lsd...but those things are expensive...oh and i'm not gonna make that much hp with a turbo..i only want a lil more umpf...not back to teh future power)

Fanman

Interesting, I didn't even know that Racing Beat was selling their pressure plate/clutch disc combo yet. It just said coming soon on their website. How much was it ? I was actually thinking about either getting the MS units or the ACT units.

I agree with you that you might as well do it all at once. I put my flywheel in a while ago, but that required me to drop the tranny. If I want to beef up everything I will have to drop the tranny again. Should have done it all the 1st time, but back then there weren't any upgraded discs or pressure plates.

army_rx8

it asn't much at all. like half the price of the mazdaspeed clutch/pressure plate. yea it sucks there really wasnt' much out in the way of clutch/pressure plates for our car for the longest time. glad i ended up waiting to get the flywheel

yea racingbeat just put it on their site it's under the clutch section for the rx-8 (think it's only been there for like a week or two). hehe but you might have a reason to upgrade the clutch.."mr. i have a turbo":p i'm just wishfully planing ahead. adn hoping that i too may one day have one:D

Fanman

For some reason when I go to their site it seems like all the tabs in the left corner have disappeared. The stock clutch is made by Exedy. What are the claims on the RB unit. Stronger ? More holding power ?

army_rx8

stronger..pressure plate has more holding power (the pressure plate from RB is an exedy btw)..not sure who makes the clutch that rb sells as it won't be here until thursday but i'll let you know (i'm guessing exedy as well)

even though no one cares the throw out bearing i ordered from rb is a mazda part :D

pbuck1

Please let me know how it all work out for you . My techs are telling me the same thing I have my MS flywheel sitting on the shelf at work and there telling to do the clutch at the sametime to save the money .
Good luck
Pat

army_rx8

well i got the clutch and throw-out bearing today from RB today. hehe the clutch is made by clutchnet (made in the usa baby)..loks like a great clutch...and pretty damn beautiful if i migh tadd...but i'm wierd liek that:p having them all installed on thursday. keep you guys posted. oh and all teh stuff from racing beat was an awsome price..at least from what i've seen online at other venders.:D

army_rx8

okay had everythign installed for a god price at teh local rotary performance shop. made a very nice difference in teh acceleration. she takes a lill more to get used to now, not just b/c teh flywheel is lighter but the pressure plate clamps down with more force. but it only took me about a day and 1/2 to get used to her.:D

if oooooonly she cam efrom teh factory like this hehe

Charles R. Hill

iTrader: (7)

Some interesting info from ACT:

1) The pressure plate part numbers for the RX-8 are MZ-010 for a 34% upgrade and MZ-010X for an 80% upgrade in clamping force.

2) These part numbers also match the plates used in the '88-'92 626, '88-'91 929, '88-'92 MX-6, '86-'92 RX-7 Turbo, and '87-'89 Truck(carb only). All of these models use the 240mm disc/plate combo.

3) The disc applications that match the RX-8 are the same as above and the part number from ACT is MZSD069. This disc is used in either the Street or Extreme Duty applications. For a race-only app. use the 4224008 or 6224008. These are the 4-puck and 6-puck discs, respectively.

It should also be noted that ACT has decided to take the more intellectual approach and begin rating their discs on two measurements. They now list the torque and rpm ratings separately.

I recently installed an ACT Prolite on rxeighter's car while in Atlanta and found it to be a very nice piece. I have an SR Motorsports/Indigo Racing flywheel on my own car, which is also a very nice piece.

Therefore, if you find that your favorite manufacturer makes a performance plate/disc for one of the above listed models you now know which ones will swap into your RX-8.

CRH

army_rx8

yea the ones from racing beat would also fit on teh fc3s and the fd3s (rx7's 87-95). so apparently the clutchs / pressure plates are interchangable.

i didn't go for the 6 or 4 puck design myself. she is my daily driven car. and those clutchs wear down the flywheel faster. talked to Jim Mederer at racing beat and he said for what i plan on doing with my car the Sport/Strip HD Disc was the way to go. which is what i was leaning towards.

Charles R. Hill

iTrader: (7)

I agree, army, anything heavier than what is comparable to ACT's Extreme Duty will be overkill for the street. I have the Extreme and it is pretty heavy and rated for 443 lbs. of torque/9500 rpm's. It will take loads of abuse. The factory disc/plate combo is said to be rated for 250+/- lbs. With this in mind I would say that the factory combo is probably good for a handful of upgrades and a modest(50 H.P.) shot of nitrous. With the stock engine kicking 160 lbs of torque we have a bit of room to grow. The curious thing is that most of the components on the RX-8 are much heavier-duty than needed for street use, despite the criticisms from others on this forum. I went to Road Atlanta last weekend and met up with a bunch of other RX-8 owners. Most of them were running stock drivetrains, brakes, and cooling systems and none of us had a hint of trouble after beating our cars hard for 30 minutes at a time, three times a day. The better drivers were able to hit 125 mph on the longest straight, which ended with a hard left turn, and nobody complained about brake fade or slipping clutches.

In addition, every instructor who rode in an RX-8 had tons of praise for the car.

Anyway, that's the best info I have, yet, on the clutch situation.

CRH

Nemesis8

iTrader: (3)

There is a reason for this. The secret is buried in the parts manual. I friend showed me the page, now I just have to find it. Give me a few minutes.

Nemesis8

iTrader: (3)

Part #23-701

Why does this say turbocharger on it?

Delete the .txt and open the PDF

rxeightr

My first choice was the Racing Beat Flywheel, and MazdaSpeed Clutch & Pressure Plate.

When I ordered my RB Flywheel, they told me they are working on a lighter, lightweight flywheel, however it will not be available for a few months. As it turned out, when Charles Hill & I were getting ready to install the RB Flywheel, they sent me the wrong one, as it was too small diameter for the RX-8 (it was for the non-turbo RX-7).

Charlie at Mazcare hooked me up on the spot with an ACT Prolite Flywheel, which as Charles said, looks great. And it performs even better.

The MS Clutch is stamped Exedy.

I am in love with my new setup -- thanks again to Charles Hill for his major assistance in helping lead the install.

Fanman

Just ordered the ACT pressure plate & clutch disc a couple days ago from Jason over at RX8 Store. Hopefully I will have it on my car somewhat soon. I have a sneaking suspicion my stock unit will go soon. I talked to RB, as I was going to get their unit, but they said it might not be a good idea if I plan on going over 280 hp at the crank. I'll let people know my impressions soon. & I'll take pictures.

army_rx8

^^^they said it may not be a good idea if you go over 280 at the crank? which clutch? b/c they told me it'll be fine for what i plan on having done.....(i.e. turbo). hmm interesting.

Fanman

I told them that I had a turbo on my car & that i had dynoed at about 240 whp, but I was planning to turn up the boost to around 9-10 psi hoping to get to 275-280 whp. They told me that that (240 whp) would be about 280 at the crank & that the units are rated for around there, but anything more these units would not be good for. I was look at the street/strip unit w/ street/strip clutch disc. I'm a big believer in RB products, so I went to them first. At least they were very honest with me. I can appreciate that.

army_rx8

^^AHH..okay i told them i woudl eventually turbo my car but only get about 240-260ish hp to the wheels. so they said that the street/strip disk/pressure plate woudl be fine for what i wanted. but since you are planing on turing up the boost tha twousl make sense why they said it would be too good of an idea for you. now i get it. was a lil oworried for a sec.

yea i love rb as well. great stuff great guys.