Alright fellas, I don't know much about clutches, so I'm hoping I have some kind souls to give me some information/suggestions. Right now my clutch slips when I try to get on it and accelerate relatively quickly. Then, usually after pretty normal driving I can smell burnt clutch when I get out of the car. So I'm hoping I can find a clutch kit for a decent price. I'm a poor kid hoping to spend no more than like 400-500. I know it may not be much, but it's all I can afford.

Now for performance, all I have is a HKS replica exhaust and a cai. I think I'll look into an aftermarket computer for it in the future too, but thats a little ways away.

So, please send me any info/suggestions/links for good clutches for good prices! I want to get a new clutch ordered as soon as possible, but I don't want to order a clutch without really knowing what I'm looking for. Thanks in advance!

 

Above: A clutch that looks like the OEM clutch will perform similar to the OEM clutch. Manufactures generally refer to this as Stage #1. You can also call this clutch street friendly.



Above: Misinformed members often buy a clutch with a clamping capacity that exceeds their needs. Thinking is that if it can hold say, 400 pounds of torque, than it must be "better." The result will often be an aggressive clutch that is a pain in *** to operate for a daily driver.

NOTE: If you are shopping for a flywheel and clutch, I recommend that you buy a flywheel and clutch from the same manufacture. They are designed and tested to work together.

 

Thanks for the response. So you're saying I should go with a stage 1, close to stock clutch? I definitely don't need a performance type clutch, since I do drive my Z daily and I'm not looking to make an assload of power.

I think I know what you mean when you say members buy clutches that are a pain in the *** for daily driving. When I bought my Srt4 it had a stage 3 clutch in it and it had so much resistance that it was no fun to drive in a lot of traffic.

You said something about buying a flywheel with the clutch, do you think it'd be necessary to get a new flywheel with a new clutch? On this note, what do I need with a new clutch? Will buying a clutch kit be sufficient? Thanks.

 

^ like davidv said, stick with street-friendly clutch. Do a research and find which clutch will fit in your budget. Stay away from ebay clutches and don't let the cheap prices fool you. You will most likely drop your transmission once or twice if you are normal driver just like 90% of us, so pick wisely.

Also, it would be a good idea to replace rear seal, throwout bearing, some kind of bushing (i forgot what it was called) while your tranny is dropped.

Also, it wouldn't be a bad idea to make sure yourself, your friend, or the shop that's working on your car have the alignment tool.

 

Only way to know if the OEM flywheel is worn damaged is to inspect it. Problem is that if the flywheel must be replaced, the car is down until you find a new flywheel.

Local shops often stock and install clutches.

Shops may also have a surcharge for BYO parts. Maybe labor plus 20 percent. If a clutch install is 200, you pay 240. Members will often shop the internet for a good price only to find that the final price is more than from a local shop.

Check your regional forum for a shop that sells and installs clutches.

 

Alright, thanks for response. I'll start looking into some sites, see what I can find. Any brands you guys would recommend?

 

theres a great diy thread on clutch and flywheel replacement on here. if you are a little mechanically inclined it shoud save you a couple hundred dollars to do it yourself if you want to go that route. i just used it to install my jwt clutch and flywheel combo and it wasnt too bad. cant waint until the breakin period is over

 

If I was to do this all over again,
I'd still stick with OEM combo. Like mentioned earlier, same brand clutch/flywheel is more recommended. But then again, if you had searched, you would have found out that several members who attempted a different brand clutch/flywheel combo has had no problem with their setup.

Budget is your biggest problem if you add flywheel to your list as it seems somewhat impossible to find a clutch/flywheel for $400~$500. I would keep my eyes on local junkyard, slidegood.com, or even craiglist to find used OEM flywheel with low mileage. Any shop can resurface flywheel. I believe G35's flywheel also fits 350Z.

 

Keep it simple bro. act light weight flywheel and an oem exedy clutch. I paid 3 and change and $250 for install. other than a little clutch chatter from the flywheel once in a blue I'm completely satisfied

 

the oem flywheel can't be resurfaced, so most likely you'll will need to also get a flywheel with your clutch, and you also need to fit in an install unless you can do it yourself

 

So you just bought a clutch and flywheel separate? You didn't buy like a clutch kit or anything?

It's good to know that the flywheel can't be resurfaced. My dads a diesel mechanic and he's always helped me when I needed it with anything mechanical, but he figured I could just get a new clutch and have my flywheel resurfaced.
I planned on doing the clutch myself too. Well, I mean I'll just be helping...Lol. Like I said my dad can do it, and one of my friends just got certified in some mechanical field in college, and he told me he'd do it for me, so we'll see. I have no intention of paying a shop to do it.

Thanks for the responses guys.

 

Exedy makes good clutches, usually like 200-300

 

Why can't the stock flywheel be resurfaced???

 

nope

 

Nope is not a valid answer....Lol

By the way, I figured out why the stock flywheel can't be resurfaced.

Here's another question though: Has anyone tried the F1 Racing flywheel? Since the prices are so low on these I'm thinking about buying one. Well, its a package deal that comes with an Exedy clutch kit and the F1 Racing flywheel on ebay...I know I know, ebay...Well, I absolutely NEED a new clutch soon and I know Exedy is a pretty good brand. If I could I'd go with a JWT or ACT clutch kit and flywheel, but I just don't have the money for it. Anyway, back to the question. If anyone has used this Exedy/F1 Racing combo let me know how it works for you.

Here's the link:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/EXEDY-OEM-CL...ht_3275wt_1270

 

Dual mass causes this.

 

Yupp, I figured that out. Thanks for answering the question though.

 

I had to recently change out my clutch, bought an Exedy for about $250 IIRC.

And, our dual mass flywheels CAN be resurfaced. Mine was, and plenty of other peoples have been. The main issue is finding a shop/machinist who has the tool/skill to do it. My shop is a German tuner and most, if not all BMW clutches have dual mass flywheels. It was a walk in the park for my guy to refinish mine, he does several a day. If you have hotspots etc though, you are better of buying a new one.

 

Good advice here.

I'd also suggest an OEM level or Stage 1 clutch. Exedy is great, and my choice on my personal cars. PM us for a price.

 

I wouldn't go too cheap on getting a clutch and I would highly recommend replacing the flywheel. I understand it can get a bit expensive but if you consider if whatever you get ends up crapping out and causing other issues, you'll be worst off then you are now and end up spending even more cash. I've heard good things about exedy. I've installed one for my buddy's STI and it turned out great. good luck!!