Bu11dogg2
10-08-2009, 09:14 PM
- Just like suspension upgrades, clutch upgrades need to be chosen carefully.
Hopefully this write up will help you make an informed decision
There are a few reasons why SOA puts a certain type of clutch in your car:
1. Comfort. The clutch needs to be light on the left foot and needs to engage easily. Not everyone who drives a subaru wants a beefy clutch or knows how to handle one.
2. Reliability. The metals used in the OEM clutch are of decent qaulity are are cheap. Go figure.
3. Protection. These 2.0/2.5 turbo motors can pack a mighty punch. The OEM clutch will slip before casuing transmission damage (usually). The last thing SOA wants is owners breaking transmission gears. It's harder to prove negligence on a car with a busted tranny then a car with scorched flywheel.
With that being said....
If you drive your subaru in a conservative manner and operate the shifting correctly your clutch will most likely last the lifetime of your ownership, usually up to 70k or more.
For the rest of us who like to occasionally see how fast we can get to 60.... 80....(we won't go there) a clutch upgrade or replacement might be needed.
How does a clutch work?
http://www.clutchwizard.com/images/clutch_components.png
Take a look at the picture below. It represents most clutches produced today
As you can see there are 6 distinct parts
1. Throw out fork
2. Throw out bearing
3. Clutch pressure plate assembly
4. Clutch disk
5. Flywheel
6. Pilot bushing
The majority of clutch problems come from the clutch disk and flywheel damaging each other.
The Flywheel is a metal plate that 3 main functions
1. It acts as balancing weight for the engine and reduces vibrations caused by the firing of the pistons
2. It acts as the connecting plate between the engine and the transmission
3. It also connects to the start motor (hence why your car needs to be in neutral when you start it!!)
The clutch plate has 4, 6 or 8 friction disks on that when depressed against the flywheel make the tansmission move, which in turn sends power to the wheels.
When you depress the clutch, the throw bearing releases the clutch plate from the flywheel and allows you change gears. When you engage the clutch it is pushed against the flywheel and the friction plates grab ahold of the already moving flywheel and sends power to the transmission.
Why do Clutches go bad?
There are few reasons why clutches go bad:
1. Aggressive driving. Constant launching, quick power shifting or excessive down shifting will wear out your OEM clutch faster then Murphy20212 can drink IPA.
2. Bad shifting habits. Riding the clutch, dogging the clutch, multiple bad uphill starts, teaching new drivers, ect ect.. All of these can cause a clutch to go bad.
3. You get a bad clutch. It happens.... not very often.... but it does. Maybe the mechanis at SOA was hungover and put a bent fork or a damaged throwout bearing in your car. Maybe the metal was bad in the flywheel. Either way SOA should cover this if your car is under warranty.
Generally... when a clutch slips it is caused by only a few things
1. Worn clutch plate friction disks. This will happen in high mileage cars or heavily modded cars with high low end torque.
2. Scorched Flywheel. This is caused by overheating the flywheel. This is usually accompanied with a worn clutch disk and is cause by aggressive driving. The intense heat changes the rigitity of the metal and renders the flywheel usless.
3. Warped Flywheel. This also caused by overheating. A warped flywheel will ruin your clutch disk.
In some cases, the flywheel and or the clutch plate can become so hot that they greande This can damage the engine,tranny or tranny casing.
What causes me to not be able to shift, or make shifting hard?
99.99% of the time it's a bad throw out bearing or fork. Both these parts are relatively cheap, but labor to install them will bite you in the arse.
When my clutch goes bad do I need to replace everything?
The easy answer to this is no. but... without opening up your clutch and actually looking at it there is no way to tell.
If the flywheel is scorched, then your clutch plate will be bad too. if your clutch plate is raw, then your flywheel will be bad too.
If you are a conservative driver you may get away with just replacing your clutch disk and having your flywheel resurfaced. IT IS IMPORTANT THAT IF YOU GO THIS ROUTE YOU GET YOUR FLYWHEEL INSPECTED AND RESURFACED!!!!
If you upgrade your clutch to a non OEM version or size you will need:
1. Throw out fork
2. Throw out bearing
3. Clutch pressure plate assembly
4. Clutch disk
5. Flywheel
6. Pilot bushing
Your best bet is to ask the vendor who is supplying the product what you will need.
Ready to buy?
There are a few questions you need to ask yourself before you upgrade your clutch. These are VERY important to ask yourself before you spend hundreds of dollars.
1. What kind of driver am I? Conservative, Average, Mildly Aggressive or Aggressive.
If you answered Conservative, then a OEM replacement is probaly your best bet. If you plan on making a monster build or competing in Rally/auto-x/drag then you will need to upgrade.
2. What is MY comfort level for a clutch.
Upgrading your clutch will COMPLETELY change the feeling of your clutch pedal, your launching (power or slow) and NVH (noise/vibration/hardening). If you go from an OEM 4 puck to a drag racing 6 puck you will have to relearn your clutch.
Clutch chatter, engine vibration and launch will be harder and the clutch engage faster and hold more power.
Upgrading your Transmission mounts and Engine mounts will reduce NVH and are generally inexpensive.
Many cluth packages offered are the virtualy the same as stock in weight and size but offer better metals and better qaulity. These are generally more expensive and will give you a closer to stock feel with added performance.
3. How many puck? your car comes with a 4 puck, sort of it more of a friction disk then anything. If you upgrade to 6, 8 or hardened 4 you will feel a big difference come game day. 6 or 8 puck is not the best choice for daily driving and requires bit more rpms to catch.
You will however gain a "sweet spot" that will be your bread and butter on race day
4 puck
http://media-images.rpmware.com/group-0cd612b0-4824-4731-be88-04fa2579baee-350.jpg
6 puck
http://www.advancedclutch.com/prod_images/disc_G6_lg.jpg
4. What weight flywheel? your stocker is between 19lbs and 32lbs Some places offer as light as 11lbs.
One thing to remember is that the flywheel acts a balance for your motor. If you go to light you throw off your engine and have a ton of problems. 14-20lbs should be fine. Remember also that a lighter flywheel = faster drop in RPM's between shifts.
Multi Puck or Full Face? Be it the multi puck or a full face (OEM style) you will feel a difference after install. The multi puck disc will usually be a high performance upgrade. They have a more aggressive friction material and will wear the flywheel faster. Below are a few examples.
4 puck
These two discs appear different? That is because they have a huge difference! The Left disc is an unsprung hub design. Simply put this clutch is not a street clutch. It is the strongest in design. Lightest weight and THE most aggressive engagement. I Would Not Recommend this design on a daily drive kind of car.
The disc to the right is a sprung hub. The design is a torsion damper. It absorbs twisting force from the engine and drivetrain during up shifting, down shifting, on to off throttle, take off etc. Pretty much any time you do anything, but don’t take that literal LOL.
6 puck
This Six puck below is just another example of a disc design. This clutch likely has a higher clamping load but really without being the manufacture I don’t know exactly why it is 6 puck vs 8 puck vs 4 puck.
The key thing to remember is comfort. If the weight in the pedal increases by 5 pounds with your new clutch will you be comfortable in traffic? Also remember that gas mileage will suffer to because your shifts become stiffer and at higher reps. Stickier clutch = More load on the motor AND transmission. With a 6 or 8 puck clutch you can easily grind your tranny teeth down to the nub.... so launch carefully
Installation
1. Can I do this on my own? The easy answer in no. This is not an easy task by any means. Even experienced techs can find themselves cursing and screaming well into the night. I recommend you seek a professional who will warranty their work.
2. Where's a good place to go? Your best bet is to have a professional do the install. A certified Subaru tech at a dealership or a certified tranny tech is your best bet.
3.How long will it take? I would plan on renting a car many shops charge it as an 8 hour or more job. Whether they complete it in 8 hours or not that's what you will pay for.
4. How much will it cost? Ever heard the old saying "you get what you pay for" well... you do. Expect to pay anywhere from $600-1600 for labor and anywhere from $100-$2000 for parts.
I hope this helps you out!
if you have any questions, please feel free to PM me or one our Vendors!
Hopefully this write up will help you make an informed decision
There are a few reasons why SOA puts a certain type of clutch in your car:
1. Comfort. The clutch needs to be light on the left foot and needs to engage easily. Not everyone who drives a subaru wants a beefy clutch or knows how to handle one.
2. Reliability. The metals used in the OEM clutch are of decent qaulity are are cheap. Go figure.
3. Protection. These 2.0/2.5 turbo motors can pack a mighty punch. The OEM clutch will slip before casuing transmission damage (usually). The last thing SOA wants is owners breaking transmission gears. It's harder to prove negligence on a car with a busted tranny then a car with scorched flywheel.
With that being said....
If you drive your subaru in a conservative manner and operate the shifting correctly your clutch will most likely last the lifetime of your ownership, usually up to 70k or more.
For the rest of us who like to occasionally see how fast we can get to 60.... 80....(we won't go there) a clutch upgrade or replacement might be needed.
How does a clutch work?
http://www.clutchwizard.com/images/clutch_components.png
Take a look at the picture below. It represents most clutches produced today
As you can see there are 6 distinct parts
1. Throw out fork
2. Throw out bearing
3. Clutch pressure plate assembly
4. Clutch disk
5. Flywheel
6. Pilot bushing
The majority of clutch problems come from the clutch disk and flywheel damaging each other.
The Flywheel is a metal plate that 3 main functions
1. It acts as balancing weight for the engine and reduces vibrations caused by the firing of the pistons
2. It acts as the connecting plate between the engine and the transmission
3. It also connects to the start motor (hence why your car needs to be in neutral when you start it!!)
The clutch plate has 4, 6 or 8 friction disks on that when depressed against the flywheel make the tansmission move, which in turn sends power to the wheels.
When you depress the clutch, the throw bearing releases the clutch plate from the flywheel and allows you change gears. When you engage the clutch it is pushed against the flywheel and the friction plates grab ahold of the already moving flywheel and sends power to the transmission.
Why do Clutches go bad?
There are few reasons why clutches go bad:
1. Aggressive driving. Constant launching, quick power shifting or excessive down shifting will wear out your OEM clutch faster then Murphy20212 can drink IPA.
2. Bad shifting habits. Riding the clutch, dogging the clutch, multiple bad uphill starts, teaching new drivers, ect ect.. All of these can cause a clutch to go bad.
3. You get a bad clutch. It happens.... not very often.... but it does. Maybe the mechanis at SOA was hungover and put a bent fork or a damaged throwout bearing in your car. Maybe the metal was bad in the flywheel. Either way SOA should cover this if your car is under warranty.
Generally... when a clutch slips it is caused by only a few things
1. Worn clutch plate friction disks. This will happen in high mileage cars or heavily modded cars with high low end torque.
2. Scorched Flywheel. This is caused by overheating the flywheel. This is usually accompanied with a worn clutch disk and is cause by aggressive driving. The intense heat changes the rigitity of the metal and renders the flywheel usless.
3. Warped Flywheel. This also caused by overheating. A warped flywheel will ruin your clutch disk.
In some cases, the flywheel and or the clutch plate can become so hot that they greande This can damage the engine,tranny or tranny casing.
What causes me to not be able to shift, or make shifting hard?
99.99% of the time it's a bad throw out bearing or fork. Both these parts are relatively cheap, but labor to install them will bite you in the arse.
When my clutch goes bad do I need to replace everything?
The easy answer to this is no. but... without opening up your clutch and actually looking at it there is no way to tell.
If the flywheel is scorched, then your clutch plate will be bad too. if your clutch plate is raw, then your flywheel will be bad too.
If you are a conservative driver you may get away with just replacing your clutch disk and having your flywheel resurfaced. IT IS IMPORTANT THAT IF YOU GO THIS ROUTE YOU GET YOUR FLYWHEEL INSPECTED AND RESURFACED!!!!
If you upgrade your clutch to a non OEM version or size you will need:
1. Throw out fork
2. Throw out bearing
3. Clutch pressure plate assembly
4. Clutch disk
5. Flywheel
6. Pilot bushing
Your best bet is to ask the vendor who is supplying the product what you will need.
Ready to buy?
There are a few questions you need to ask yourself before you upgrade your clutch. These are VERY important to ask yourself before you spend hundreds of dollars.
1. What kind of driver am I? Conservative, Average, Mildly Aggressive or Aggressive.
If you answered Conservative, then a OEM replacement is probaly your best bet. If you plan on making a monster build or competing in Rally/auto-x/drag then you will need to upgrade.
2. What is MY comfort level for a clutch.
Upgrading your clutch will COMPLETELY change the feeling of your clutch pedal, your launching (power or slow) and NVH (noise/vibration/hardening). If you go from an OEM 4 puck to a drag racing 6 puck you will have to relearn your clutch.
Clutch chatter, engine vibration and launch will be harder and the clutch engage faster and hold more power.
Upgrading your Transmission mounts and Engine mounts will reduce NVH and are generally inexpensive.
Many cluth packages offered are the virtualy the same as stock in weight and size but offer better metals and better qaulity. These are generally more expensive and will give you a closer to stock feel with added performance.
3. How many puck? your car comes with a 4 puck, sort of it more of a friction disk then anything. If you upgrade to 6, 8 or hardened 4 you will feel a big difference come game day. 6 or 8 puck is not the best choice for daily driving and requires bit more rpms to catch.
You will however gain a "sweet spot" that will be your bread and butter on race day
4 puck
http://media-images.rpmware.com/group-0cd612b0-4824-4731-be88-04fa2579baee-350.jpg
6 puck
http://www.advancedclutch.com/prod_images/disc_G6_lg.jpg
4. What weight flywheel? your stocker is between 19lbs and 32lbs Some places offer as light as 11lbs.
One thing to remember is that the flywheel acts a balance for your motor. If you go to light you throw off your engine and have a ton of problems. 14-20lbs should be fine. Remember also that a lighter flywheel = faster drop in RPM's between shifts.
Multi Puck or Full Face? Be it the multi puck or a full face (OEM style) you will feel a difference after install. The multi puck disc will usually be a high performance upgrade. They have a more aggressive friction material and will wear the flywheel faster. Below are a few examples.
4 puck
These two discs appear different? That is because they have a huge difference! The Left disc is an unsprung hub design. Simply put this clutch is not a street clutch. It is the strongest in design. Lightest weight and THE most aggressive engagement. I Would Not Recommend this design on a daily drive kind of car.
The disc to the right is a sprung hub. The design is a torsion damper. It absorbs twisting force from the engine and drivetrain during up shifting, down shifting, on to off throttle, take off etc. Pretty much any time you do anything, but don’t take that literal LOL.
6 puck
This Six puck below is just another example of a disc design. This clutch likely has a higher clamping load but really without being the manufacture I don’t know exactly why it is 6 puck vs 8 puck vs 4 puck.
The key thing to remember is comfort. If the weight in the pedal increases by 5 pounds with your new clutch will you be comfortable in traffic? Also remember that gas mileage will suffer to because your shifts become stiffer and at higher reps. Stickier clutch = More load on the motor AND transmission. With a 6 or 8 puck clutch you can easily grind your tranny teeth down to the nub.... so launch carefully
Installation
1. Can I do this on my own? The easy answer in no. This is not an easy task by any means. Even experienced techs can find themselves cursing and screaming well into the night. I recommend you seek a professional who will warranty their work.
2. Where's a good place to go? Your best bet is to have a professional do the install. A certified Subaru tech at a dealership or a certified tranny tech is your best bet.
3.How long will it take? I would plan on renting a car many shops charge it as an 8 hour or more job. Whether they complete it in 8 hours or not that's what you will pay for.
4. How much will it cost? Ever heard the old saying "you get what you pay for" well... you do. Expect to pay anywhere from $600-1600 for labor and anywhere from $100-$2000 for parts.
I hope this helps you out!
if you have any questions, please feel free to PM me or one our Vendors!