Southbend Clutch Review and Availability from EQ!
 

As some of you guys know, I picked up the SBD BRZ a few weeks back as a fun project car for the shop. I'm loving the car overall, but some improvements had to be made to the setup.

First and foremost, the car came with an Exedy clutch installed and I really disliked the predal feel, vague engagement point, shutter, and worst of all, the difficulty of getting into gear from a stop. We played the the adjustment quite a bit and were only able to slightly improve some of the issues. After reading about similar issues with a lot of other exedy users, I contacted Exedy with the problem. Their response (or lack there of) made it clear that I needed to find a better clutch solution for the car. So I called around some of the clutch manufacturers we have used in the past and settled on Southbend Clutch.

We have been using Southbend on WRX's for many years and have always been very happy with their product, so after a chat with them, we had a couple clutches on the way to try. I got the stage 3 daily for my BRZ and a stage 2 daily for Neal's FRS. We installed my clutch last week and I've been putting it through the break-in since.

The feel of this clutch is night and day compared to the exedy! The engagement is firm, but very smooth with a very consistent engagement point. The pedal pressure is definitely stiffer, but the throw is nice and short which makes for a very satisfying driving experience and very quick downshifts. There is also no issue getting into gear anymore.

So now that we have confirmed the vast improvement over the exedy, we are officially offering this clutch to our customers. We can provide package deals for the clutch, choice of flywheels, and install labor. We also cary Motul fluids for flushing your transmissions at the time of the clutch service.

Please PM or give us a call for pricing and availability.

Thanks
-- Ed

Test drive available with either cars?

Sure. My car is always available for test drives :)

My Southbend clutch is still doing great after a lot of abuse and power :)

I have a Southbend clutch lying around from a purchase a while back. How much would you guys charge to have it installed? Would it be worthwhile to get an aftermarket flywheel too since the tranny is coming apart?

Thanks,

.ck

I believe all the southbend kits came with a flyhweel. If you don't have one, it would definitely be a good idea to get one and I'd be happy to get you a price on that as well. Sending you a PM now with pricing :)

Thanks
-- Ed

How are these clutches working out? I've had an ACT stage 1 fail and now my Exedy stage 1 is starting to slip with only 30k miles and 220tq. There seems to be very limited info on South Bend Stage 2 experiences but from what I can they are all positive. Thanks for the feedback.

I have had 2 ACT clutches give me problems of locking me out of gear. I am installing a south bend tomorrow. Hope 3rd time is a charm.

How is your clutch doing?

So far so good. Only about 150 miles on it.
It's my girlfriends frs and have not driven it myself. I am so bad with the engagement point on that car, I don't want to drive it until after it is broken in.
She says it feels lighter than stock. But I think the ACT was so bad that it felt like an extreme plate. and in contrast the southbend is light as a feather.

Using all of my karma for this revival.

How many people are using the South end clutches and with what torque through them?
Just bought the stage 3 DD because as much as I love my Exedy stage 1, I want to future proof myself a bit more and have a clutch that should hold 350wtq without a sweat on the street.

I just bought the stage 2 for my Edelbrock SC'ed BRZ that is a DD on account of multiple people telling me to get it - will be going in over "winter" and I can then report back on it. From what I have heard and read so far it has been nothing but an amazing clutch so I am real stoked because my clutch is starting to slip in 4th-5th-6th real bad

I'm excited for mine to show up. My original build plan was to keep the car at a "safe" low 300s. My thinning hair and my nephew growing out of Fortnite have reminded me that life is too short for whatiffs. Mid 400s it is

Hahaha, absolutely! I can't recall what the power level is for the stage 3 or higher, but the stage 2 is 350 which is more than enough for me, and from what it sounds like it won't be super stiff or anything like that either.