Howdy everyone! I recently had the Tilton Clutch/Flywheel (Street Version) installed and would like to submit a review.

Details

If there is anyone left who doesn't know, the Tilton Rally Clutch/Flywheel is an ultra high performance Clutch and Flywheel combination. The Tilton Flywheel is marked by its ultra light weight. The factory clutch/flywheel combo weighs 56 pounds. The Tilton weighs 16 pounds. The lighter rotational mass of the clutch helps deliver more of the factory power to the wheels.The clutch was $1400 from Performance Nissan Parts.

The Tilton was added to the following mods on my car:

3.9 Final Drive
LaBree Resonated Test Pipes
Ultimate Racing Y-Pipe
UR Crank Pulley
TS ECU.

Install

Labor was free since I was having some warranty work done after my factory clutch died. But, it took the dealer about 6 hours to install. Multiply that by your local labor rate and you'll get an idea of the install price. The install is not exactly a direct bolt in replacement. As it requires a pedal stop, milled flywheel bolts and an modified throw out bearing. Due to these factors, I would suggest any buyers get the number to Performance Nissan and give it to the installers so they can call with any questions. (The milled flywheel bolts will not be necessary for most people, but Performance was out of stock. So they sent me factory bolts and I had them milled 3mm.) The instructions that come with the kit are weak for all but a very experienced high performance shop. I still have no idea how to put the pedal stop on, even after it was explained to me.

Driving Impressions

I think a lot of people have questioned the daily liveability of this modification. But, I found the clutch pedal feel and use to be very near stock. The throw is shortened, but it was not intrusive to me at all. The clutch requires a little more pressue to push and hold, but again, it is only a small amount more.

The clutch slips very near stock levels but in general is grabbier and I had very little problem taking off normally. The one thing that did require some getting used was modulation of the gas. Since the engine revs up so much quicker it is easy to blip the throttle and have the engine go to 3500 rpms just trying to take off from a stop light. That is my only driveability complaint. It will take some time to get that right.

The second thing I noticed after the pedal feel is the noise. Below 2500 rpms, its noisy. I was somewhat prepared for the noise having recently driven a Z with a lightweight flywheel, but it is pretty loud. Once you get past 2500 rpms the car sounds exactly the same as factory. But at idle with the clutch out there is the cement mixer sound. If you hold the clutch in, say at a stoplight, it is quieter, but it makes a different noise. It sounds like two pieces of sandpaper being rubbed together. Also, while driving, if you are in too low of a gear below 2500 rpms there is a very low growling noise as well. This noise is not Tilton specific I am told and that all lightweight flywheels have the noise to some extent.

Power

The good news is that the Tilton lives up to its performance reviews. The tach needle swings through the rpms like its a turbo. First and second gear are now a battle with the steering wheel as the rear end of the car fishtails upon hard acceleration. This happens not by dumping the clutch, but just pressing the gas to the floor from a roll. I literally have to modulate the gas or the tires will break loose. I'm running 295 Toyos and they barely provide enough traction to keep the car on the road. I think my next upgrade will be the ATS Carbon LSD, because the factory LSD is struggling to keep up. If the car breaks loose in 1st, it goes right to redline in less than a second. I took some video of the car in action. They are posted at the bottom of the page.


A Trip to the 1/4 Mile

Today I went out to Byron Dragway and ran some 1/4 mile runs. It was 54 degrees and sunny.

Here are my times best to worst;

13.38/102.91 60'-1.99
13.46/104.23 60'-2.08
13.46/103.69 60'-2.05
13.57/102.54 60'-2.10
13.63/102.47 60'-2.13
13.68/104.19 60'-2.16
13.71/103.88 60'-2.21

First thing I noticed was that I've never trapped over 102mph before. And I could really only find about two runs to compare to previous outings because my times were significantly faster. My previous best was;

13.64/101.43 60'-1.96 vs Today's 13.63/102.47 60'-2.13

13.74/101.52 60'-2.08 vs Today's 13.71/103.88 60'-2.21 (That's 2.3 mph faster with a slower 60'!!)

My personal opinion is that with some DR's this car is in the high 12's without a lot of fuss. I probably could have gotten down to 13.1 without them, but I just got sick of flogging my car. I beat it pretty hard this year and even blew up the clutch. So, I gave the old gal a break.

I also had my datalogger hooked up and recorded some 0-60mph. The fastest logged 0-60 was on the 60' of 1.99. That netted me a 4.85 second 0-60. My previous best 0-60 was 5.1 seconds also logged with my datalogger.

Overall Ranking

I would rate this mod a 10 out of ten on power. 7 out of 10 on noise. Overall, I'm pretty happy with this modification. I mostly track my car and unfortunately, I will not be able to give a track review until my next track day. Which won't be for some time now since winter is setting into the Midwest. But just from bombing around corners in town, I think it is going to be amazing. Thanks for reading and here is some video for you.


First Gear Roll
Another First Gear Roll
Tach
2rd Gear then 3rd gear

PS. I'll try to get the timeslips posted, but I have to get them scanned first.

 

sounds awesome!!!

can't wait to see what it's like on my baby -- parts are scheduled for delivery on thursday, appt. at the shop on friday. hope the techs are too confused by the work! guess i'll have to go search down Jason's # and make sure that they've got it before i let them near the car w/ a tool

 

Thanks for the review and video clips I will love to have this mod early next year along with some gears for the race course

 

thanks zillinois

Great review, but do you have a video of the noise/chatter?

 

Thanks for the review. Glad to see that shes back together. Now youre gonna need some Hoosiers to get that power hooked up.

 

Would you recommend this mod for a daily driven Z?

 

incredible... thanks for the detailed post and video clips!

this sounds like an incredible mod!

between the lightened flywheel and 3.9 gears, which one would you say was the "better" mod?

 

. (ignore - was asking another question but didn't read your post properly)

 

Thanks Brian, I'm really looking forward to getting her out on the track next year. It nice to have my car back. Two weeks can seem like an eternity.

 

Actually driving the car would not be a problem even in heavy traffic or around town. Its just personal preference on the noise issue. It would attract attention. If you can handle that, then daily driving would not be a problem.

My Z is red with yellow overlayed headlights, lowered and on 295 tires. It already attracts attention. So what's a little more.

 

I think the 3.9 is better for people who want maintain a factory feel or remain stealth. The gears are awesome and really pull you back in the seat. Its just that the car doesn't drive any differently. It just pulls harder.

The Tilton is for the guy who want's to take a shot at the modded EVO down the street. The Tilton transforms the car more. You have to noticeably change how you drive. The throttle blips quickly, the clutch pedal feels different etc. You loose the stock feel.

 

I will post one tomorrow afternoon.

 

This is the full street clutch on your car. How much different is this from the semi street clutch? How much power will this clutch hold? Thanks

 

I've been wanting to hear the whole transmission chatter forever now - looking forward to the sound clip

I'm getting both these mods at the end of the month

 

The semi-street does not slip as much. Its very difficult to take off from a start without killing. I've seen posts of people who have taken the early version of the Semi-Street off due to driveability. That is not a problem with the Street.

The Street version will hold 300+ to the wheels. I'm not sure about the Semi-Street.

 

The semi-Street will hold over 600hp. and it is VERY hard to drive day to day.

 

Here's a vid of the noise. In the video, when I press the clutch in then you hear it.

Clutch Noise video

When its warm it makes another noise as well. When the clutch is let out, it sounds like a diesel engine. Of course, I could not get it to do that while i had a video camera aimed at it.

 

i take it the intermittent noise on the video is when you push the clutch in?

 

With the 3.9 gears, what's the RPM when cruising at 60 mph in 6th? Don't you lose some top speed?

 

Thanks for the noise video. I think I can live with that.