Hi guys, I installed the ACT Prolite and ACT Street Clutch on mine, and I'm experiencing the same rattle at low RPMs! Could it be the pilot bearing? I damaged my first pilot bearing, but I used a different technique the 2nd time around and it went in much smoother -- I didn't have access to the Mazda SST required to do this properly. I remember it was a major pain in the *** replacing that sucker. Did you all replace it as well?

-jc

 

does the clutch make that much of a differance? or is it.. since you already have the tranny dropped for the flywheel, might as well hit two birds with one expensive stone?i was considering the ms Flywheel... but do they have a clutch?

 

Yes, MS has a heavy duty clutch for the 8. I have the MS clutch + flywheel, and starting off slowly on inclines is somewhat of a pain...

 

didnt replace the pilot bearing in mine, or in Speeddemons....we did replace the pilot bearing in Cesaralaniz's.......but Speed is the one with the rattle.

 

An update on the rattle :
Took the mechanic for a drive - they think it is due to the heavy duty clutch/LW fly combination somehow allowing gear noise to increase . Possibly the stock clutch has more cusioning & damps out this noise/vibration normally. He suggested a heavier oil .
Does not seem to be something to worry about anyway.

 

we put in Royal Purple....did you put in stock fluids?

as for the rattle, nope, he still hasn't had time to get under there.....

 

have got redline in mine

 

should be fine then....what would be the "thicker" alternative?

 

NO you do NOT want thicker. 90 wt is high enough. next step up is called grease.

 

good for frying chicken, but not flywheels.

 

got this response from ACT re the noise ........


Originally Posted by ACTman
If is more of a rattle then it is probabably gear noise. Gear rattle is caused by the torsional vibrations (rotational pulses) of the eccentric shaft. Normally the heavy weight of the flywheel and the springs in the center of the disc dampens out most of it. There are two reason for this and both are related to the parts that you installed. First of all the springs in our disc are heavier and allow for less rotation than the stock RX8 disc which is exactly what you need for performance use. Secondly, the flywheel is significantly lighter so more torsional vibration gets to the clutch than normal. If it is torsional vibration, you don't have to worry about any problems associated with the noise.

 

interesting,

and this is the heavy duty, or the extreme??? i forget... that is on my to buy list right now..

also how good is it????

beers

 

This is the heavy duty - I think I said it before but I really wouldn't recommend the clutch & flywheel combo unless you plan on dragging or turbo .
Cons
Clutch is stiffer - was really noticable after a day of snow skiing last week !
Adds to difficulty in light throttle takeoff
Requires more pedal travel than stock so you end up close to floor on take up
May be contributing to jerky ride at low speed light throttle
May get the rattle I have

Pros
you can give it s**t
very positive engaugement

Would still get the flywheel though

 

have the flywheel already... just trying to figure out the clutch...... and yes sc is in the future...

beers

 

while all the cons are there - none of them are majors & I think you will have same issues with any HD clutch you get .

 

so all in all.. whats the best flywheel to get ? i was thiking about going for the mazdaspeed rx8...this way it wouldnt really void my warranty...but would the performance of the mazdaspeed flywheel be worse than RB or ACT? or would it feel about the same?

 

honestly, I think any of the choices would be good. With regards to the warranty, you do realize that the dealership will have to install this for you...yes? With the cost of the part, and installation, I think there may be better ways to spend your money....just my thoughts.

 

yeah i understand that.. its a lil pricey.. but i dont want it to mess up the warranty i have on the car if i go for something not through mazda u know what i mean? this way if somethin goes wrong with the car im still covered...

 

All you guys who worry about your warranty so much .........
I have an engineering background & one thing that I know about machines is that if they are going to break through some fault (read warranty related) -they generally do it very early in their life .
So unless you abuse the car the chances of it breaking before the warranty is up are pretty small .

 

well i read all twelve pages of this thread but i still can't find what im looking for. i'm looking to get prolite flywheel but one thing that is holding me back is that everyone says its really expensive to get it professionally installed. i dont really have much of ANY mechanical background so i was wondering around how much it would cost to get it installed?

 

its about a 4 hour job...without any delays...a shop may charge you up to 6 maybe.....so it depends on the hourly rate of the shop you go to. 200-300 I estimate?

 

wow, thats a quite expensive installation. anyways, would it be better to take it to a dealership to install the flywheel or juss to a shop?

 

where are you located...we've done three now,,, we may be able to help?

No, dealer is not necessary.

 

by the way, just so everyone knoes...warranty on clutch parts is only for 1 year anyway......

 

FYI, I had the Mazda dealership install mine and check with corporate to make sure it would not void warranty. They charged the same as any other mechanic except this way I have documentation from the dealership. FYI.

i have the Exedy Clutch and ACT flywheel combo. The lighter ACT one. I absolutely love this setup. I must say it's one of the best mods i've done to my 8.

Thanks, rishie