Review: South Bend Stage 2 Clutch & Flywheel
 

I just finished up my install last night of this clutch in my BRZ, so I wanted to get a review thread going since I haven't seen a lot of people using this setup.

Installation Time: 4.5 Hours (See below for everything installed)

Installation Difficulty: ***

Installation Items:
- South Bend Stage 2 Daily Clutch (315 ft lbs Rating)
- South Bend Flywheel (20lbs)
- Whiteline Positive Shift Bushing Insert
- Whiteline Differential Bushing Inserts
- Motul 300 75w90 Transmission Fluid

Previously Installed Drivetrain Items:
- Kartboy Shifter (Reverted back to stock during this install)
- Kartboy Shifter Bushing (Retained)

Unboxing:
This kit came packaged well, and was comparable to all other kits I've seen. The clutch and flywheel came in separate boxes, and had expandable foam protecting them during shipping. The clutch disc itself was an Exedy part number, and the flywheel looked identical to the factory unit minus a step on the backside. Weight was almost exactly the same between the two.

Hardware:
The clutch kit included:
- Clutch Align Tool
- Pilot Bearing
- Throwout Bearing
- Pressure Plate
- Clutch Disc
*OE mounting bolts were reused as none were provided

The flywheel included:
- Flywheel
- Pilot Bearing (Already pressed in)
- Dowl Pins (Already pressed in)
*The flywheel lacked any coating on it, so it did have light surface rust
**OE mounting bolts were reused as none were provided

Installation:
Overall, it went smoothly. There's not really much to say about a clutch/fw install. My main comments would be that the dowel pins in the flywheel were pressed in nice and straight, and the pressure plate lined up perfectly. No issues with dowel pin alignment.

Old Clutch:
I was shocked to see the condition of my old clutch and flywheel. I have just over 66,500mi on the clutch at the time it was removed. Of that mileage, I have about 30 autocrosses (so about 120 launches), 4 track days, and a lot of hard driving overall. There were no hot spots on the pressure plate or flywheel, and the clutch still looked like it had some decent life left. With that being said, the reason I pulled it was to make way for the Edelbrock setup since it will inevitably make more power once its tuned.

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d2...ps8xpaa2eu.jpg

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d2...ps9p7xl9if.jpg

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d2...pshxpguznm.jpg

New Clutch:
The new clutch looked nearly identical to the old clutch, with the exception of the red pressure plate. In fact, they looked so much alike, I had to look at the discs to verify the part numbers were different as they were both Exedy. They were different =] Same goes for the flywheel, it looks just like OEM, down to the surface finish. So I didn't get any pics until it was all installed.

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d2...psipqlmc6o.jpg

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d2...psqdkogffx.jpg

Pedal Feel:
SOFT! The pedal feel is so soft, I can't believe this is going to hold 315 ft lbs of torque! To put it in perspective, this pedal feels like stock, or possibly even a tad bit softer! Wow! That's nice for daily driving, but the feel makes me lack confidence in clamping capability (even though the two aren't necessarily related) based on other aftermarket clutches I have felt.

Engagement Point:
With the use of the South Bend Flywheel, the pedal engagement point is the same as factory. Engagement starts about halfway up and is fully released by about three quarters of the way up.

Engagement Feel:
This clutch engages like factory. It is not harsh, there is no shudder, it feels just like OEM clutch characteristics.

Noises:
There is absolutely no noises present with this kit, which is a fantastic relief after the past few clutch installs I have done. The throwout bearing is silent, and there is no chatter thanks to the near OEM weight of the flywheel.

Initial Impressions:
So far I have only put about 20mi on this clutch out of the 400mi or so I plan to use for break in. My initial thoughts are that it drives very very tame, exactly like the OEM clutch. If this clutch holds the torque it claims (or even close to it) this will be the first aftermarket clutch I have driven that behaves so well given the increased capacity. And for that, I am very thankful!

I will have to update once I get some more miles on it, and some events.

Post 1st Event Impressions:
Now that I have some miles on this clutch, I have started to noticed a recurring unpleasantry that is low speed shudder. As you are taking off from a stop, or moving up in heavy traffic, the whole front of the car will shake violently with the clutch partially engaged. The only way to combat that is to raise the RPMs to about 2,000rpm which is higher than I am used to for taking off. I have also noticed that this issue gets worse the longer/harder I drive the car. I purchased this clutch for its full face, daily characteristics, however it behaves as aggressively as a pucked clutch.

Did you remove the Kartboy shifter because you prefer the stock throw?

Also do you still have the clutch assist spring installed?

Look foward to hearing how this handles the blower!

I removed the Kartboy for a few reasons:
1) I couldn't use my Raceseng reverse lockout on the kartboy
2) It rattled intermittently, especially at higher RPM
3) The 1-2 shift was terrible, and often locked me out at high RPM shifts, which is something I never had an issue with on the stock shifter.

I do still have the clutch assist spring installed. Given how soft the pedal is, I may try it without the spring, and see how it feels. The soft pedal isn't really a bad thing, its just one of those mind games for me. The softer the pedal, the less it 'feels' like its clamping.

I'm looking forward to seeing how it does with the Edelbrock as well. I knew there would be a break in period, which is why I didn't install this at the same time as the blower. My only regret there was that the clutch slave cylinder bolts are a lot tougher to access with the blower in the way, but it was still manageable.

You are right, it's not going to hold it. I have about 230 ft lbs and it's barely holding, on good tyres (245) I have to launch off-boost to prevent clutch slip so it makes my 1st gear painfully slow. I would not recommend this clutch for a forced induction application.

What did you do for your break in period?

I'll report back sooner rather than later, as this thing will be abused. A lot.


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300 miles of city traffic, avoiding WOT.

I went with the Stage 3 DD from South Bend. I am pushing about 370 ft lbs of torque. I have not had any slipping or any issues at all. I had the ACT (which was terrible) prior to moving on to South Bend. I have about 2k miles on it so far and I love it. My wife can drive the car with this clutch...so easy.

Update:

So it's been a week since I have installed this clutch, and have finally made it out the break in period.

This clutch feels very similar to the OEM in regards to pedal feel and engagement point, so it drives just like my stock clutch did.

There are no noises present ad idle or while driving from this clutch, which is nice given my experience with other aftermarket clutch/flywheel combos.

The only downside I have found to this clutch (so far) is heavy shudder in stop and go or low speed situations. As you are taking off in 1st, if you are at a low rpm (sub 2k), and you start to slip the clutch, the car will shudder pretty aggressively until you achieve full engagement. This is something that is not really bad or noticeable in everyday driving, but it is much more apparent during rush hour traffic scenarios.

Overall, I would still recommend the clutch as a good buy. I will update my findings once I get a tune and start to make some more power!

Glad someone else has the same setup and posted a review. I was worried about the soft pedal feel too, got me questioning if there was anything wrong with the setup. To be honest, I dont like the feel. I have the same concern about this holding the same amount of capacity; expected the pedal to be heavy.

+1 on the heavy shudder and low speed, feels pretty gnarly at times. Might move up to the competition, hoping the springs on the clutch are heavier.

.ck

Please stop back by and share your experience with the competition version. The shudder is getting progressively worse as I put miles on the clutch. It is still holding the power even with a tune, but I am starting to question the "Daily" description with how bad the low speed shudder is.

I'm not really sure if there's any material comparison, but it took me nearly 1600 miles of driving in DC (horrible traffic) to break in the SB clutch on my Golf R. Before that it would slip like mad. Now it holds over its rated capacity without complaint. If I remember right, they even tell you that it takes 750+ and not to go ham on it until then.

My Kartboy did this to me too at autocross. I never could figure out what it was catching on or why.

Why did you stick with a 20lb flywheel instead of a lighter one?

All the light flywheels I had ridden in previously in BRZs made some loud chatter at idle. So I was looking to keep it quiet.


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Any updates on your cluched? You mentioned the shuddering at low rpms and stop-go traffic. Has it subsided or stayed the same/ worsen? Thanks!