Impossible to get a smooth start.

[Wingnutt]

First let me apologize for the negativity of my orignal post, its just been a rough day.




To give a rundown of the chain of events.

TOB took a hot heaving dump, so as it is written by the gods you never replace JUST the TOB, if you are "in there" just do a clutch job.

Also as written by the gods... FOR EVERY CAR EXCEPT THIS ONE APPARENTLY.. you never replace.. you upgrade.


So the first clutch job was with a ACT Pro lite flywheel and ACT street somethingorother clutch kit, regular organic, nothing crazy.




After that I noticed the god awful clatter/vibration in the 1800-3000 rpm range and she shuddering on take off.


so convinced it was the clutch (it didnt do it stock) I bought a new clutch kit, this time a McLeod Street Tuner kit a Verus Forged clutch fork .. why is this shit blue?



also a different flywheel, which I cant find now but basically it was a aluminium flywheel with a replaceable friction surface, reminded me of the Findanza FW I had on my old GSX.






Anywho that didnt help the situation.. AT ALL, and mind you Im paying a shop $500 a pop for the work so this is adding up.







So, Im not looking into getting a SC or any FI setup, the car has some bolt ons and (a ECU tune, equal length long tube header, intake manifold spacers)



Should I just get OEM shit and have that put on there?

[bcj]

Thanks for the rundown. That helps.
In my opinion, yes, it's the aftermarket stuff.

My understanding is that lightweight flywheels are useful for racing when when RPMs are up over 5k.
For street use they're pretty awful.

[Turdinator]

Lightweight flywheels cop a bad wrap in my opinion. They do add NVH and do make the car (slightly) harder to get off the line but not by anywhere near the amount people would have you believe.

Anyway back on topic, my guess is OP's problem is a combination of engine mods, tune and his brand of clutch. A bad tune can be rough off idle especially once you've changed the headers. With clutches I wouldn't recommend anything but Exedy if you are looking to upgrade. Going back to stock clutch and flywheel would be the easiest step to take.

[Ultramaroon]

10/10 thread

Lightweight flywheel will make it a bit more twitchy but it seems like that ACT clutch is universally hated.

Stock clutch is rated for the strength of the transmission. I suggest keeping it.

stock engine mounts start out squishy and get worse over time. STI mounts are the sweet spot, IMO.

Look for slop at the outboard CV joints. That's where all my driveline play lives. Play is amplified because it's downstream of the final drive. I've been threatening to replace my output shafts for years but it really only bothers me when I hoon. Tcoat will back me up.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by Wingnutt

Should I just get OEM shit and have that put on there?

Yes.
Contrary to popular opinion not every aftermarket piece is an upgrade.
Parts that may squeeze out a 100th of a second on the track don't always translate into a good street car.

[Capt Spaulding]

Originally Posted by Wingnutt

First let me apologize for the negativity of my orignal post, its just been a rough day.


After that I noticed the god awful clatter/vibration in the 1800-3000 rpm range and she shuddering on take off.


Should I just get OEM shit and have that put on there?

My stock clutch has NEVER chattered, so no, they don't all do this. You should be able to feather the clutch and release it completely without touching the gas. Smooth as a baby's tushy.


I recommend replacing everything with OEM. The exceptions are the Verus clutch fork and pivot - keep those.

I know that may not be what you want to hear, but too much aftermarket shit is just that.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by Turdinator

Lightweight flywheels cop a bad wrap in my opinion. They do add NVH and do make the car (slightly) harder to get off the line but not by anywhere near the amount people would have you believe.

Anyway back on topic, my guess is OP's problem is a combination of engine mods, tune and his brand of clutch. A bad tune can be rough off idle especially once you've changed the headers. With clutches I wouldn't recommend anything but Exedy if you are looking to upgrade. Going back to stock clutch and flywheel would be the easiest step to take.

Lightweight flywheels serve a specific purpose and do a great job when looking for that little extra.
They can be horrible in day to day street driving though.

Any clutch but Exedy? I haven't heard anything bad about them. Now the ACT clutches are a whole different story. There is a reason "is it ACT" is one of the first questions asked when people have clutch issues.

[NoHaveMSG]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Yes.
Contrary to popular opinion not every aftermarket piece is an upgrade.
Parts that may squeeze out a 100th of a second on the track don't always translate into a good street car.

You trying to say that just because the car feels different, it didn't improve?

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by NoHaveMSG

You trying to say that just because the car feels different, it didn't improve?

[soundman98]

every stoplight, rev to 6k, dump clutch.

bet it won't chatter anymore.

[Ultramaroon]

Originally Posted by NoHaveMSG

Even with the stock clutch master cylinder.

[NoHaveMSG]

Originally Posted by Ultramaroon

I was wondering if you would catch that lol

[radroach]

@Wingnutt I had the same sort of issues for years until I fixed my floppy mounts, reinforced them with the "positive traction kit" and "positive shift kit"s. Though, you might consider refreshing all the bushings in the driveline if you have the scratch for it. These kits definitely make the car stiff.

Another thing, I finally removed the clutch spring after driving with it for 7 years and it was a big improvement! Also spent the afternoon adjusting the clutch engagement, turning the rod a quarter-turn at a time until engagement was right.

Takeoff now is intuitive and easy to manage, I don't have to clench from having vague feedback or response, I have fewer transmission issues like being balked out of gear, shifting is crisp, and the car is notably louder and more resonant.

[CrowsFeast]

Originally Posted by Turdinator

Lightweight flywheels cop a bad wrap in my opinion. They do add NVH and do make the car (slightly) harder to get off the line but not by anywhere near the amount people would have you believe.

Anyway back on topic, my guess is OP's problem is a combination of engine mods, tune and his brand of clutch. A bad tune can be rough off idle especially once you've changed the headers. With clutches I wouldn't recommend anything but Exedy if you are looking to upgrade. Going back to stock clutch and flywheel would be the easiest step to take.

Lightweight flywheels are fine. My old golf I went from the stock dual mass flywheel (22-26 lbs, something like that) to a single mass 11 lb flywheel. If you really paid attention you could notice it was a little rougher due to being single mass. You did need to keep the revs a hair higher and/or slip the clutch longer since there was less rotating mass.

People like to hate on them because they're unnecessary and give minimal gains but they don't inherently cause the issues people like to attribute to them. A poor quality one *could* potentially have an uneven friction surface which would be rougher, but I think it's unlikely to find one bad enough to be significant.

I did find the clutch in these to be a little more difficult to get used to than most other cars I've driven, but it still shouldn't have crazy vibrations getting going unless you're not giving it enough gas. I came from an E46 BMW.