Hey guys,

Just had my clutch swapped out in my 2003 G35 Coupe…went with an Exedy Stage 1 clutch and JWT Jim Wolf flywheel, unfortunately, first impressions on the clutch haven’t been so great. When getting into first, second, or reverse gears there a lot of chatter. What I mean is there a lot of vibration in the entire car, is that normal? It’s especially bad when you’re in traffic or trying to maneuver in a parking lot, just a ton of vibration with light throttle and the clutch not fully engaged.

I know it’s slightly more aggressive than a stock clutch/flywheel combo and I was prepared for additional noise…but the vibration and shaking is driving me crazy. Any ideas?

Thanks!

 

I have the same clutch and it chattered too. Now its causing me problems and I gotta replace it after like 15000 miles. Its the tob i'm pretty sure, and now when I start my car the tob makes a grinding/howling noise.

 

My first guess would be the aluminum flywheel. How many miles do you have on it? There's another chance it's not broken in yet. However, Exedy's stage 1 uses an organic disk and those break in very quickly. So probably not.

By chatter, do you mean upon engagement? Like it's jerkey? Or are you taking about the noise at idle or when it's in a low gear, after your foot is off the pedal?

 

70 miles on it so far…It’s really jerky when I’m in the process of engaging the clutch, the noise isn’t bad otherwise, just really jerky when changing gears, especially 1st and reverse, all on pedal though.

 

Yeah it sounds like it isnt broken in yet. Mine took around 300 miles to break in and 750-1000 miles to fully break in.

Good luck to ya!

 

Break-in is simple. The best way to break in a clutch is to drive like you're in a parade. No WOT, no agressive starts. Give it 5-600 miles. It should get better.

That being said, losing the DMF will change the characteristics of how your clutch engages and reacts during your normal driving.

 

Thanks for the responses! I’m doing precisely that, no WOT, hard starts, etc. I’m hoping it gets better!

Sorry, DMF is…dual mass flywheel?

 

Check out this post - did you match up the dimple on the fly and on the car..

https://my350z.com/forum/4187263-post2.html

 

Yuppers!

 

Get your rev's up a bit higher when starting out in 1st,
It may take a little time for you to get accustomed to the lighter flywheel, but you will be fine once you have...

 

Not a good combination.
JWT clutch plus JWT flywheel is a better choice.
Exedy clutch plus Exedy flywheel is a better choice. Why members mix brands is beyond me.

 

I had the same issue with the comp flywheel and stage 4 clutch; you learn how to engage differently to avoid the clatter/shaking. And when I say clatter/shaking, I mean if you do it wrong the car goes into convulsions. Hint is higher RPM's going into 1st and zero slip going between gears. Either rev match or power shift, no in-between. Don't count on break in making any difference with the light flywheel.

I still get a kick out of watching other people try to drive it. Even a seasoned MT veteran looks like a silly noob trying to engage it the first few times. I can't count how many times people have asked me if something is wrong with the car. It isn't the silky smooth Honda clutch people expect .

 

completely wrong, both are perfectly compatible with one another

lots of things can cause what the OP is experiencing, 9 times out of 10, it's the driver simply getting used to driving this car with a lightweight flywheel

 

See my post in #8...I have JWT and theres NOTHING like whats specified below..

I only hear the chatter when I let off the clutch in neutral...I dont get no shaking or what not or anything like that.. If thats what chatter is - I dont have ANY...and I have JWT clutch and fly.. Even right after I installed mine..

 

+1 Good advice there.

I have an HR and just did an Exedy stage 1 clutch and flywheel. There was a LOT of chatter. The guy who installed it has worked on family cars for 15+ years (Porsches, RennTech MB's, etc... he's not a noob). But there was so much noise, that I took it to a dedicated race tranny shop for a second opinion. They told me to continue going easy on it and bring it back in 2 weeks if it didn't get better.

Like you said no WOT. I think I did 600 miles of "around town" driving and about 300 of highway, all shifting before 4K. It smoothed right out, and now feels/sounds great. Its a long break in period...sucks, but the piece of mind afterward is great.


Like everyone else is saying. Give it a good 500-700 miles of "shifty" driving and see where you stand. GL

 

I have no chatter upon engagement or idle clatter. A very faint (gear roll over) sound in first gear ONLY if I bog the engine upon taking off and only under 2K RPM.
Stage 4 clutch and single mass flywheel

 

Hello, I'm new to the community glad i found you guys speaking on a topic directly related to my set up and similar issues. I'm a long time Nissan enthusiast I have had my 06' G35 6MT for going on two years now, 125,000 miles on the odometer currently.

I had an Exedy Stage 1 organic disk kit and 18lb chromoly SM Flywheel install around 600 miles ago and I gotta say I am not happy with it so far. I paired this upgrade with an aluminum driveshaft and although the clutches driveability has improved a bit... I cant help feel that something is wrong here. I have had a stage 1 exedy kit with the stock flywheel in my S13 with an SR20 swap for 6 years or so and I never had issues with engagement.

The G just shutters violently into 1st and as mentioned its impossible in reverse and at 600 miles I have ventured into a couple downshifts and the whole car shutters then too. I have gotten use to getting out of gear at a higher RMP and engaging on the uprev with no or very little slip finding the "sweet spot" BUT without being able to downshift though gears without rev matching makes the car not nearly as fun to drive.

Should I expect this will smooth out over the next 400miles or is that just the characteristics of this kind of clutch set up on the VQ cars? Or do any of you think I might have a defective pressure plate, throwout bearing or bad install... I went chromoly to retain some driveability but the flywheel does sound like a cement mixer at low RMP; not that bad though... It does turn heads I have read it does quite down too over time.

Any advise would help! These aren't cheap mods to mess up

 

I went from the OE to a JWT setup, and it is just as quiet. After a hard drive on a hot day, there is some chatter at idle and sub 1500 rpms.

Unless it is installation error, I am very confused on this chatter people keep talking about.

 

So this doesn't seem to be a popular thread or its just really old, but I would just like to an update; I am at about 1000 miles (approx. 750 street 250 Highway) now and it has smoothed out considerably; I assume the bearable noise and vibration I get at this point is normal for a lightweight flywheel and drive shaft set up since there is so much less dampening inertia... I hope this post is helpful and definitive for anybody Google searching (how I found this write-up) for solutions to this issue, don't run out and replace your clutch; as others have said give it 1000 miles and see where you stand.

 

About to upgrade to jwt clutch n flywheel from one our vendors. Seems like breaking it in is the issue of all the chattering.. Afterwards, I'm told by many "it's not that bad" thanks for this thread