stage 2, clutch and detonation....
 

I may be getting an 8 in the near future and I would like to get the stage 2 combo (high flow cat, midpipe, and catback). I have two questions on this:

1) How much torque can the stock clutch handle? Do you need an upgraded cluch with the stage 2 combo?

2) With runing the engine leaner, is there any risk of detonation? Is it recommened to use a higher octane gas
(93 or 94) with this set-up?

Thanks in advance.

-Matt

Supposedly the clutch can take quite a bit, but installing a new clutch and flywheel sounds like a worthy upgrade to me.

As for the detonation, there's a thread around here with that. Someone suspects that too many upgrades (Intake, Exhaust, CZ - possibility that two are OK but all three causes problems) could make it a bit too lean, possibly leading to early detonation. But even if that were the case, I'd take CZ over an Exhaust or Intake any day. Cheap, easy to install, improved performance, easy to remove / disable...

Re: stage 2, clutch and detonation....
 

1) No one actually knows how much torque the stock clutch can handle. It is very dependent on situation. Hard launches in a drag racing application will kill many clutches of even a higher performance variety fairly quickly. Regular street driving, even in a high horsepower car that gets on the gas hard every once in a while, would last quite long. Hard launches and power shifting (not using the clutch) are the hardest on the clutch disk and pressure plate. Common sense and lack of abuse will keep even the stock clutch working for a long time.

2) It depends on the tuning of the car. If the timing split between the leading and trailing spark plugs stays at lest 10 degrees apart, it can not detonate. Not even on 87 octane. It will just lose power. Any naturally aspirated rotary that detonates has a timing map that is far too agressive. Remember that just because it is agressive doesn't necessarily mean it is the most powerful way to do it. I do not know how Canzoomer tunes his systems. He does spend lots of time and effort on his maps and testing though so I hope he addresses this. He is quite thorough.

SInce I drive in stop and go city traffic alot- I may need a clutch sooner than most. The manager of of my dealer mentioned that since the clutch was easily accesible- it would be fairly cheap to replace- about $450 total- anyone know?

Thanks guys... I currently have a 95 rx7 and running lean is a big concern for any aftermarket setup. I guess with no turbos, there is a lot less worry with leaning out the car. As far as the clutch goes, I guess we'll just have to wait and see how long everyone's lasts!