clutch decisions ~

[mito]

Here comes the day my car sends me to the broke house again, time for my car to receive a new clutch, it's slipping and seems to feel quite odd these past couple of weeks. It all happened after a hose had got loose and was causing all my clutch fluid to leak, got it all fixed up and booked a service whilst it was there.

I've been searching and asking sales representatives whats best for my na6, I'm only looking to keep it going with NA power. The options that I've came across are xtreme clutch kits, i grabbed the prices and variations from the mx5 mania as a guide to which one is best (more expensive) and which is the cheapest.

1.6 Standard Kit $268.00
1.6 Heavy Duty $335.00
1.6 Button Kit $455.00
1.6 Cushion Button $510.00

the option that ive been recommended to go for are the exedy clutch kits

1.6 Button Clutch $530.00
1.6 Cushion Button $570.00

now I dont know if its worth paying the extra money to go for the exedy range or stick to xtreme or any other options?
I've read through a few forum topics here saying which is better and whats cheaper but its all been dated a few years back or the topic is not related to what my situation is aka NA power.

While my cars having the new clutch installed im also planning to install a new flywheel, which seems like a good idea since im paying for all the labour.

from mx5 mania -
xtreme lightweight flywheel
Alum 1.6 - 3.6KG $675.00
Chrom 1.6 - 5.3KG $495.00

is the alum that much better to buy or chrom for the price?
would really like to know what would be best suited for me.

My na6 is my daily and will be using it for some twisty cruises and every now and then thrashing.
I dont want to buy the most expensive unless its worth it, in regards to longevity and feel.


Hoping some experienced and knowledgeable people can help me out here as I know this seems to be an expensive upgrade.


Cheers
Jaime

[Old Dude]

What about the Exedy sports tuff at $390, for what you want the others are over kill, but I would also check to make sure that the feel is the same or close to what you are used to or you might end up regretting it.
Ask your self how long has the standard clutch lasted with the way you drive, if its a reasonable time that should give you some indication as to what you need, if you've worn it out in 6 months go for something more heavy duty, with the fly wheel at the least get it machined

cheers
Dale

[vrmmmpshhh]

xtreme heavy duty is $260 and chromoly flywheel is 360ish i know because i called them yesterday. they aren't that far from me.

[bensale]

You really, really, really don't want a button clutch... The standard or HD Excedy will be fine for a standardish N/A mx-5. Provided it's bedded in properly the standard one will still bite really nicely.

You also in my opinion you don't want a light weight flywheel, just machine the existing one. Some people swear by them and a light weight one will make the car feel more revvy... but it's at the expense of low end and mid range torque. Being honest we don't have enough torque as it is so maintaining the inertia that the heavier flywheel brings will make the car actually faster in most situations and nicer to drive. I think Mazda with the NA6 got the balance of weight pretty right, the super light ones are in my opinion compromised.

Button clutch + light weight flywheel on a daily street car... Definitely wouldn't go there!! Save your money, the new standish stuff will still feel 1,000,000x better than what you have at the moment and save you a lot of money.

[hks_kansei]

As Ben said.

I can recommend the Exedy Standard, Pam has one in her car and it feels great.

If you are intending on giving the clutch a hard time (skids/drift/etc) then it might be worth the extra for the Exedy HD.




btw, don't get a Valeo clutch. It's cheaper than the others..... but it's pretty average.

[project.r.racing]

for the application, cheapest clutch and stick to the standard fly.

[CQYD]

As Ben said.

I can recommend the Exedy Standard, Pam has one in her car and it feels great.

If you are intending on giving the clutch a hard time (skids/drift/etc) then it might be worth the extra for the Exedy HD.




btw, don't get a Valeo clutch. It's cheaper than the others..... but it's pretty average.

Second that. if you plan to do any sort of motorsport, valeo clutches don't last long at all.

For the opening post, if you are prepared to spend around $1000 just on parts, then have you condsidered the clutch and flywheel combos from the states? Goodwin Racing have some decent kits. Since you will be paying for around a full days labour, you don't want to be doing it anytime again soon.

[mitch_f1]

Where is everyone getting their clutch kits from? Where is the cheapest place in sydney for a HD exedy?

[hks_kansei]

Second that. if you plan to do any sort of motorsport, valeo clutches don't last long at all.

Hence why next time I'm going to an exedy.

The Valeo is really annoying, the friction point changes depending on temperature and when hot it shudders slightly.

It's just a generally crap clutch.

[wassup]

My car is currently with Mania for a clutch replacement. I too am sticking with stock NA power and im wanting to maintain stock feel. It was recommended to me by Mania to steer clear of the Extrme standard and go with the Daikin based on their experience.

Based on my own reasearch I second other comments regarding the stock flywheel. I believe Mania replace the flywheel with another refinished one.

And dont forget to replace the rear main seal!

[Aussie Stig]

You really, really, really don't want a button clutch... The standard or HD Excedy will be fine for a standardish N/A mx-5. Provided it's bedded in properly the standard one will still bite really nicely.

You also in my opinion you don't want a light weight flywheel, just machine the existing one. Some people swear by them and a light weight one will make the car feel more revvy... but it's at the expense of low end and mid range torque. Being honest we don't have enough torque as it is so maintaining the inertia that the heavier flywheel brings will make the car actually faster in most situations and nicer to drive. I think Mazda with the NA6 got the balance of weight pretty right, the super light ones are in my opinion compromised.

Button clutch + light weight flywheel on a daily street car... Definitely wouldn't go there!! Save your money, the new standish stuff will still feel 1,000,000x better than what you have at the moment and save you a lot of money.

Great comment Ben. I love when informed opinion goes against spending cash to get a car which while tough drives worse on the street than the already good lower cost standard setup.

Also if you muck around with the clutch flywheel combo you will be living with it for a long time.

[mito]

yeah I was leaning more towards the exedy sports tuff, where did you find it for $390 by the way?

i thought if i do get a new flywheel it would most likely be xtreme thats why i wanted to go xtreme clutch too.

yeah mania told me the same to go for the daikin rather than the xtreme.

so from what i gathered exedy > xtreme clutch ?

is there any other flywheels worth buying that arent xtreme ?

[Mr_Q]

I'd also advise against going with a lighter flywheel unless you've already dríven and liked an NA6 with one. It doesn't really add anything to the car and it will just come down to personal preference whether you like it or not. If you're not sure then you're just spending money on something you may hate and be stuck with for quite a while or have to spend more money to undo.

[manga_blue]

I mentioned elsewhere on the forum this week that I've had an Exedy Sports Tuff clutch in for a few years in a lightly modified NA8. It's an excellent clutch to use in traffic, twisties and motorsport: 40,000kms and 40 track days and still good. Light, precise and tough. For your use that would be the very top of the range that I'd be looking for. One or two steps down towards Exedy's HD or standard clutches might also suit you just as well if you don't do much motorsport.

Forget about superlight aftermarket flywheels. They won't do anything much except make it harder to drive around town. If you really want to go a bit lighter then you can have some of the lip machined off your old flywheel. It will need a surface grind to clean it up before you fit a new clutch anyway. Taking some of the outer lip off the flywheel at the same time would maybe add $10 or $20 to the machining bill.

[marty085]

Cheap OEM exedy clutch:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Factory-Clu ... _870wt_905

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mazda-Miata-Fac ... 500wt_1112