what made me laugh this weekend was i was in erballs car thinking wow, this car is so quiet. then i hear him talking about how the smf is so loud and the engagement is rough. that solidified in my head that different strokes are for different folks and i'll just stop telling people that the smf is worth it. i guess i just have a different tolerance for that kind of thing, especially since i'm the only one in my car 99% of the time so other's opinions don't effect my purchases. but the best bet is to sit in a car with it and make your decision then.
6
Aftermarket Clutch Life (incl. Poll)
- Thread starter CeD1
- Start date
BIG FAT UNCLE PAULY
Ready to race!
Bought the Clutch Master FX400 8 PUCK 17375-hdcl-shp last December and had it installed at 20K miles. Now 9K+ miles later, needed to replace as it was slipping in 2nd and 3rd in stock mode. Before I bought this clutch kit I called the tech. dept. at CM and asked a lot of questions. Was told the FX400 was not recommended for daily driver but best for racing and that ceramic would wear quicker as daily driver. Was told that Kevlar would last much longer. Ignoring this, I bought it thinking the FX400 was the right choice since I was tracking the car a few times a year.
My daily commute to work is only 6.5 miles in stop and go traffic (no freeway driving). I think this plays into the quicker fail rate for some of us. Clearly I made a bad choice in selecting this clutch.
I'm 53 and had 11 vehicles (cars/trucks), 7 of which had manual transmissions. This GTI is the only car I had the clutch wear out (two now). Most of my vehicles with manual trans. had 120 - 150K miles when I sold them and all had original clutches still working. I think I've learned how to drive manual trans car by now.
Two things different with the GTI: Only car with manual trans. I ever modified and only car with manual trans. I tracked, autocrossed and street raced. I am hard on this car and the clutches/trans. also.
Just had the HST RSR installed with resurfaced OEM flywheel. Hopefully this is the wiser choice given my driving habits are mostly short trips under 10 miles and track days are only a few per year.
My daily commute to work is only 6.5 miles in stop and go traffic (no freeway driving). I think this plays into the quicker fail rate for some of us. Clearly I made a bad choice in selecting this clutch.
I'm 53 and had 11 vehicles (cars/trucks), 7 of which had manual transmissions. This GTI is the only car I had the clutch wear out (two now). Most of my vehicles with manual trans. had 120 - 150K miles when I sold them and all had original clutches still working. I think I've learned how to drive manual trans car by now.
Two things different with the GTI: Only car with manual trans. I ever modified and only car with manual trans. I tracked, autocrossed and street raced. I am hard on this car and the clutches/trans. also.
Just had the HST RSR installed with resurfaced OEM flywheel. Hopefully this is the wiser choice given my driving habits are mostly short trips under 10 miles and track days are only a few per year.
Cryptic19111
Go Kart Champion
Yep, can't over clutch or over cam in a street car.. just causes problems
This, exactly why so many fx400 failures. Mine has never sliped 28k on it. It has failed but due to wear and high power on the spring hub. 600chp is a bit brutal.
Fx850 Next....
jansonchan226
Banned
You had to get yours resurfaced? how bad was it? Slipping in stock mode is pretty bad...
BIG FAT UNCLE PAULY
Ready to race!
I had 20K miles on the VW OEM DMFW when I stored it in basement and went to the FX400 with SMFW. The shop owner and I looked the OEM DMFW over and decided having it resurfaced was the safest way to go. Might have reused DMFW without resurfacing but playing it safe can save cost later on.
The friction surface has spiral micro grooves cut into it like an old LP record. Slipping clutch plate can cause wear and thermal hot spots (blue in color) which become smooth and loss the gripping power.
Most shops will recommend replacing DMFW but will want to resurface one being reused. Better to do it right once.
jansonchan226
Banned
That is true, especially when the job cost so much. I have 26k kms on the clutch, haven't looked at it yet, if there are blue spots on it when they take it out I am sure I will get it resurface. there are soo many things to be aware of, TOB, clutch fluid, resurfacing flywheel, if drop subframe (collar kits) might as well install WALK lol.
T is for TURBO
Ready to race!
Kevlar disks are tits. :tweetz: