Hi all,

Just had the local Nissan dealership install a new clutch and flywheel for me. I am taking it back in tommorrow morning ,as under load (meaning going up a hill in 4th, 5th, noise more noticable in 5th) , there is a loud metallic sound in rhythm (sounds like 2 pieces of sheet metal banging together rapidly). It also does this when engaging in 1st or 2nd on an uphill. I was wondering if anyone had any insight on what might be causing this? Also, there is a very noticable vibration and chatter in the clutch when engaging in 1st gear, less noticable in 2nd. Is this normal for a new clutch that just needs to be broken in? I was very gentle on the way home, more so once I heard the noise. Newbie as it comes to the mechanical ins and outs (why I had nissan doing this part replacement)

Flywheel = Fidanza
XTD Stage 3 clutch

Any thoughts on what might be causing this would be helpful. I don't want the dealership selling me a bundle more of stuff I don't need.

Thanks

 

Your light weight aluminum flywheel will cause transmission gear chatter noise you are hearing. This is normal for all Lightweight 350Z flywheels with the exception of the Southbend DXD flywheel and will not hurt anything except maybe your ears

The chatter or shudder on take off is the 6 puck clutch you bought, This is also normal for what you have.

 

Thanks for the insight. So while in gear, and going up a hill, that chatter noise is the tranny gears? The sound it makes in this situation reminds me of a heat shield vibrating in a very loud manner. Just sounds very strange, not the sound I expected.

 

You should consider searching. There are numerous threads about this. Does it happen most when you are low in rpm(under 2500) and under load? If so then its the lightweight flywheel making chatter noise. Perfectly normal.

 

Damn man,, you nailed it,, 1500-2500 RPM only... forgot to mention it in the initial post. Ok,, well still gonna go back in to have them doublecheck their work, but if they say it normal too, I guess that it is what it is. Does this dampen over time as the clutch breaks in?

I expected chatter, (I have read numerous posts commenting on this), but that loud banging sound was disconcerting, and not something I had read about.

 

After a few hundred to thousand miles it might start to get better or go away after the surfaces mate. Once the clutch surface wears a bit on the new flywheel there should be less noise. Not always though... depends on the materials used. A stage 3 clutch is pretty serious though, pretty much a racing part only, and you have to expect some noise with hardcore racing parts.

 

What you are describing is the noise of your lightweight flywheel. You went from a dual mass fly to a single mass lightweight, it will make a lot of noise you are not familiar with but will have to be.

 

Thanks for the responses,, went down to the dealer and as I expected, because of your reponses last night, they said everything was installed correct and the flywheel was the cause of that noise... I drove her differently today, paying closer attention to gear selection. Before I would just torque through where I coulda/shoulda been downshifting,, after the downshift today,,, no more noise. OEM = lazymans clutch. Thankfully the upside of this install is very apparent in the way it revs up now,, much quicker response. Can't wait to get the clutch broken in. The other thing is this setup feels lighter as it comes to pedal pressure vs oem. I thought it would get a bit heavier. Overall, feel like I am driving a totally different car. Trying to grab 1st gear is more finnicky than ever, and I'm trying to be gentle. My only other qualm at this point.

 

Lighter pedal than stock usually relates to there being less clamp load than stock which is normally what you get from Ebay.
Ceramic puck style clutches don't require much break in, After 30-50 miles they are broken in.

 

^ good info...

 

yeah i'm not understanding why the pedal would be lighter, custom can you elaborate? I was under the impression a 'heavier duty' clutch would have increased clamp force?

 

Your stock clutch was worn so it can feel stiffer as they ware out.
As a disk wares clamp load increases which in turn makes the pedal feel stiffer.
Now you have a new stock style pressure plate with new disk so it feels lighter and or a cheap knock off of the stock style plate with less clamp load than a stock one. Did it say "Made in China" ?

The ONLY thing in that kit that makes it hold any more power than stock is the Ceramic style puck disk which don't drive all the great as you have figured out. Ceramic has a higher friction coefficient than the stock style organic linings so it will hold more power than the stock clutch with the same clamp load.
Ceramic has a short life span and is basically idiot proof as you can abuse the crap out of it and it will still work until it is worn out, At least high grade ceramic pucks are.

There is a BIG difference between an "Ebay" clutch and "Real" performance clutch.

Some popular performance clutch dealers use a Stock disk and just upgrade the pressure plate.
Some use old out of date pressure plates and make you change your flywheel to use theirs.

Some use premium grade linings, Fully upgraded pressure plates, forged retaining hubs OE bearings ect with their kits and you can get them by clicking my sig


Goes back to you get what you pay for.