Alright guys, I have been digging around the forums for info on clutches and flywheels and have found a ton of info. The only problem is it’s all over the place and often contradictory. I'm creating this thread to set the story straight once and for all -- and all in one place…

Tell me what you like and don't like about your aftermarket clutch/flywheel combos.

- What brands are the clutch and flywheel?
- Is the flywheel noisy? (seems to be the big question)
- How bad is the loss of torque off the line?
- Does it engine rev too fast?
- Was shifting affected?
- How does the new pedal feel?
- How many miles are on your clutch/flywheel?
- How much did you pay?
- Where did you buy?
- Was it hard to break in?

Add whatever you like and let’s see if we can get a good reference thread created on this topic! Thanks in advance for all your help!

 

Interesting...here goes...

1)What brands are the clutch and flywheel? JWT Clutch/Flywheel Combo

2)Is the flywheel noisy? Chatter is significant at idle to 2500 RPM. After that, it goes away.

3)How bad is the loss of torque off the line? Well initially it took some getting used to when starting off the line (i.e. getting used to the new clutch slipping characteristics when starting from a stop), but I don’t think the change was that significant.

4)Does it engine rev too fast? No, to be honest, I expected more. I think (no I know) that this was just a case of my expectations being too high. The biggest advantage to this setup is the increased shifting speed/accuracy. Yes, the combo is totally streetable, but next go I am going with the Tilton setup

5)Was shifting affected? As mentioned above, I think this was the biggest perceivable gain is adding the JWT Clutch/FW. Before the change, you had to make a conscious effort to shift fast. With the new setup, fast shift are the norm, and feel completely natural

6)How does the new pedal feel? Initially, the engagement point was way close to the floor, but after a week it settled back very close to stock. The pedal effort is similar to stock.

7)How many miles are on your clutch/flywheel? Around 5,000ish

8)Was it hard to break in? No, I just drove around like normal for about 300 miles.

 

JWT Combo
Noisy- Yes, and its gotten worse over time
TQ- if you start easy @ low RPM it is noticable, if you start a little higher it feels great
Rev - not as noticable till you are higher in the rpm once there it revs much faster than stock
Shift - much more fun to rev-match and downshift lots faster
Pedal - mines lighter than stock
miles - 40K on setup
pay - i dont remember that was 2003, directly from JWT
break in - i just drove around like normal. I think it broke me in to the feel more than I broke it in to the car. LOL

 

Great info guys. Thanks! Looks like you are both pretty satisfied with the JWT clutch. I like the stock feel. I'm not really into spongy clutches. As for the flywheel I'd like something that is not too loud. Any suggestions?

 

Apologies in advance for going OT...

I will eventually be in the market for a clutch/flywheel upgrade and have of course considered the JWT. After reading this post, I'm curious about the complaints of clutch chatter. Can someone either briefly explain or point me to further reading on this topic? I've never heard of it before.

And back on topic - some people have mentioned that the JWT is harder to drive since the clutch grabs harder, or slips less easily. Any truth to this? Was it hard to get used to if so?

 

Really mine only chatters when its is over loaded (low speeds in too high of gears) or sitting in N with the cluch out, which makes driving it easy and short shifting not ideal because it does make noise.

the cluch does grab quick and hard but it takes no time to get used to and would be the least of my worries.

 

Sial: It seems that most aftermarket setups have some degree of chatter due to the fact that the stock flywheel is a dual mass, and most aftermarket units are single mass. If you do a search for flywheel chatter or similar keywords you will find a lot of useful info.

Regarding the JWT combo being harder to drive, I agree with VandyZ. Based on my personal experience with the setup and what I have read from others the JWT combo is the most streetable aftermarket setup around, with maybe the only exception being the Nismo setup. Although the JWT clutch has different slipping characteristics, it really take no time to get used to at all.

 

how does the JWT setup effect the highest mph per gear? the lighter flywheel allows more hp to the wheels so can anyone say the average gains and times?

 

Doesn't max speed in a given gear depend entirely on the gear ratio? It seems that the clutch/flywheel wouldn't have anything to do with this.

A lightweight flywheel revs faster, but I don't believe this actually increases power. Am I wrong?

 

I believe the lighter flywheel will increase RWHP. The extra energy that was going to be used to spin up the heavy flywheel is now transferred to the rear wheels for improved acceleration.

 

May be true, but how much power can realisitically be gained? 1 or 2 RWHP?

 

Companies like RPS claim up to 20 rwhp. I'm sure that is a little exaggerated, but I’ve heard the difference is noticeable. That would lead me to believe that it is at least 10 rwhp.

 

I would say that the higher speed at any given RPM is unchanged. The time it takes to accelerate to that given speed may decrease...