PSA: ACT vs EXEDY street clutches

[evan]

Originally Posted by industrial

The fact that ACT wants the clutch back means what? They want to see what/if anything is wrong before they warranty a part after the OP shit all over them prematurely to the world. That sounds absolutely reasonable to me. I would've at least waited to see if ACT would be scumbags or if they found something wrong before blowing it all over the internet like its a scientifically proven fact.

People today are so quick to speak out. What happened to critical thinking? The scientific process? This forum (to be fair, most forums) reminds me of idiotcracy more often than not. I'm not calling anyone an idiot but it's just the anti-intellectual, mob mentality that exists.

How about some hard facts of what went wrong before making a big deal about ACT. Is that SOOO much to ask? As an owner of their products, I'd really want to know if there is something to watch out for.

The stuff from 8th gen is interesting but not really applicable since it's a different problem specific to HD PPs on that platform.

I have a right to be opinionated about anything at all, just as you do. As such, if I pay for something with MY hard-earned cash and the manufacturer produced garbage, I have a right to state as such. As I said earlier, I only present my experiences and opinions. What you do with that is up to you. I'm not a fan boy. I go with what works.

[w00t692]

Originally Posted by industrial

The fact that ACT wants the clutch back means what? They want to see what/if anything is wrong before they warranty a part after the OP shit all over them prematurely to the world. That sounds absolutely reasonable to me. I would've at least waited to see if ACT would be scumbags or if they found something wrong before blowing it all over the internet like its a scientifically proven fact.

People today are so quick to speak out. What happened to critical thinking? The scientific process? This forum (to be fair, most forums) reminds me of idiotcracy more often than not. I'm not calling anyone an idiot but it's just the anti-intellectual, mob mentality that exists.

How about some hard facts of what went wrong before making a big deal about ACT. Is that SOOO much to ask? As an owner of their products, I'd really want to know if there is something to watch out for.

The stuff from 8th gen is interesting but not really applicable since it's a different problem specific to HD PPs on that platform.

The default kits for that car are sold with the HD PP. You actually have the option for the extreme pressure plate which has an even higher clamp load.

Either way, ACT isn't the only company i'll trash talk their clutches. Competition clutch are also complete garbage.

[mike the snake]

I just did a search, for ACT clutch failures, and there are a few.

I searched for Exedy clutch failures, and found just as many.

I think if one has a problem with a product, and switches brands and has that product work fine, that it is premature to simply conclude "product A sucks and product B is great".

Stating experiences, like "I used product A and it crapped out, switched to product B and things work great" accurately describe the situation.

Stating that "Product A's company sucks, stay away, I had one and it crapped out" and "product B's company is great, I got one and it works like it's supposed to", well, is that really the situation? Or is the situation possibly that simply you got a dud, switched brands and got a good part?

[Pneub]

I have the exact same problem with the ACT clutch. Twice now I've put one in and twice after a few thousand miles I wasn't able to get into first. Going to switch to Exedy now.

[mike the snake]

I just installed the ACT Streetlight clutch on my BRZ.

I sure hope I don't have any probs with mine.

The second I begin having trouble getting into gear though, I'm not waiting, I'm going to replace the clutch immediately.

[chadstyle]

This thread is all that is wrong with the 86 community. It's sad that people post just for the sake of arguing. It just continues to get worse and worse...

To the OP, glad the Exedy clutch solved the problem! Sorry if I missed it (maybe I was blinded by the f bombs..) but which model Exedy clutch are you currently running? How bad is the chatter/noise?

Thanks!

[Dustin]

Plan on installing mine in a couple of weeks. I've ran ACT products before with 0 issues. We'll see how this goes.

[evan]

Originally Posted by chadstyle

This thread is all that is wrong with the 86 community. It's sad that people post just for the sake of arguing. It just continues to get worse and worse...

To the OP, glad the Exedy clutch solved the problem! Sorry if I missed it (maybe I was blinded by the f bombs..) but which model Exedy clutch are you currently running? How bad is the chatter/noise?

Thanks!

I'm running their stage 1 kit (Model: 15805FW). Chatter/noise is within acceptable range. Just within the range of many other aftermarket clutches I've ran on other platforms. With little gas off the line, the chatter is minimal. Give it a little more throttle before fully engaging and it goes away. I only slip it from a dead stop. There is some noise while cruising at nominal speeds in 4th-5th gears, but I also have Perrin motor mounts, tranny mount, rear shifter bushing, short shifter, cf driveshaft, etc. It's not OEM quiet, but I can't expect that.

[Ozzman]

Originally Posted by evan

I'm running their stage 1 kit (Model: 15805FW). Chatter/noise is within acceptable range. Just within the range of many other aftermarket clutches I've ran on other platforms. With little gas off the line, the chatter is minimal. Give it a little more throttle before fully engaging and it goes away. I only slip it from a dead stop. There is some noise while cruising at nominal speeds in 4th-5th gears, but I also have Perrin motor mounts, tranny mount, rear shifter bushing, short shifter, cf driveshaft, etc. It's not OEM quiet, but I can't expect that.

How does the clutch pedal feel with the Stage 1 vs stock?

[evan]

Originally Posted by Ozzman

How does the clutch pedal feel with the Stage 1 vs stock?

It's as light as stock. In fact, still too light for my tastes. I hate hydraulics and wish manufacturers still used cable-operated clutches like the old terminators. I also have a stainless steel clutch line and I don't feel like that really did anything to change the hydraulics feel/operation. The SS line was a shot in the dark attempt at trying to resolve the issues with the ACT assembly.

[Ozzman]

Originally Posted by evan

It's as light as stock. In fact, still too light for my tastes. I hate hydraulics and wish manufacturers still used cable-operated clutches like the old terminators. I also have a stainless steel clutch line and I don't feel like that really did anything to change the hydraulics feel/operation. The SS line was a shot in the dark attempt at trying to resolve the issues with the ACT assembly.

That's disappointing, The Exedy stage 1 I had in my old Honda was significantly stiffer that stock.

[evan]

Originally Posted by Ozzman

That's disappointing, The Exedy stage 1 I had in my old Honda was significantly stiffer that stock.

I think aftermarket hydraulics will fill that gap for this platform. On my old f-body, I had an upgraded master and slave from McLeod. It was so stiff, a 30 min drive around town was like a leg press session at the gym.

[w00t692]

Originally Posted by mike the snake

I just did a search, for ACT clutch failures, and there are a few.

I searched for Exedy clutch failures, and found just as many.

I think if one has a problem with a product, and switches brands and has that product work fine, that it is premature to simply conclude "product A sucks and product B is great".

Stating experiences, like "I used product A and it crapped out, switched to product B and things work great" accurately describe the situation.

Stating that "Product A's company sucks, stay away, I had one and it crapped out" and "product B's company is great, I got one and it works like it's supposed to", well, is that really the situation? Or is the situation possibly that simply you got a dud, switched brands and got a good part?

This is called anecdotal evidence. It's one person's experience, not really a big deal.

It's no brainer that the ACT PP clamp loads will cause issues though, And is the main reason i dislike them.

It's just not the first time i've seen issues with ACT clutches before. They rarely get the clutch geometry correct, which is probably why the OP was having issues.

[evan]

Originally Posted by w00t692

This is called anecdotal evidence. It's one person's experience, not really a big deal.

It's no brainer that the ACT PP clamp loads will cause issues though, And is the main reason i dislike them.

It's just not the first time i've seen issues with ACT clutches before. They rarely get the clutch geometry correct, which is probably why the OP was having issues.

I appreciate your comments on this whole ordeal. Thanks. One thing I would like to note is that if I spend X dollars on a clutch assembly and X dollars in labor to install and I have a negative experience with it, I'm probably not going to buy into that brand again (or at least not for a long time). It's a risk aversion technique. I'm not going to blow my dollars again on something that didn't work. If I was a millionaire or an R&D shop with deep pockets, sure, I'll play around all day long. I'm but one guy with a limited budget (of course even that is relative). To reduce my risk and have a better chance at a more positive outcome, I have to switch brands. The fact that it solved my problem lends greater credence in my mind to the brand that worked. This is normal and frequent human behavior. I expect nothing else. I see this all the time in the engineering space with multiple suppliers. Suppliers have to be serious about QA. It's not 1959 anymore. You play with quality and the whole world will hear about it. QA costs money and that's ok. Better to pass the additional cost to the consumer and increase the likelihood of post-sale satisfaction. There are far too many manufacturers that play a numbers game. For example.. We sold 100 widgets. 20 widgets are likely to be fucked up. That's an 80% satisfaction rate. We can deal with the other 20% who are upset because our lower costs and shorter time to market will allow us to saturate the market and generate more revenue. Who cares about the 20% right? What if that 20% was you?