Looking for suggestions on a clutch setup

[georryan]

Ok, so I'm looking at getting a new clutch since I'll be pulling my tranny soon.

I'm going to get an exedy lightwieght flywheel, and I'm trying to figure out what clutch to get. Given the option of an organic stage one clutch or a ceremetalic single plate clutch which would you get?

I'm thinking of getting the flywheel/clutch seperately or just going with the hyper single plate kit. I'm just not sure what difference I'll be getting between the two. I've never dealt much with different clutches and am not sure what I should expect.

Also, would the stage one organic clutch handle the kind of horsepower an sti puts to the wheels? I don't plan to have that soon, but I'd like to have it one day. Would I be looking at a new clutch at that point?

-Ryan

[vrg3]

It wouldn't be that big a deal to change clutches again when you get up to the big numbers. Clutch jobs are easy in the big scheme of things.

So for now, I guess the questions are: How much torque do you expect to be making in the near future, and how much do you value easy driveability? An organic stage one clutch is most likely a stock WRX clutch kit but with a stronger pressure plate. That means it should exhibit excellent driveability even when cold or when launching gently. The cerametallic would be a little juddery and chattery but would grip better.

If it were me, I'd probably stay with the stage one until it was proven to be completely unnecessary. It'd be easy to drive and would also help protect the transmission a little.

You'll love the flywheel.

[georryan]

Well I have a vf8 all ready to go in as well as an AWIC. So I'll be making 200+ hp and I have no clue on torque. If Phil's numbers are anything to compare to I'll be making good torque, but the vf8 will make less power than the td05.

At what point should the organic clutch be replaced?

[vrg3]

Hm. I'm no expert on clutches, but...

Didn't some early Legacies come with an AWIC and VF8 together on an EJ20G? You're not going to be making much more power than they did, right?

And their stock clutches were the same as our stock clutches.

I would imagine a stock WRX clutch would be similar to ours in grip. Maybe a little better because of the slightly larger diameter.

So... it would seem that a stage 1 upgrade clutch would be appropriate for your power level. Right?

What do you mean by "at what point?" Are you asking about how long you can use it in terms of wear, or about how much torque it can handle?

[georryan]

That's true, I didn't think about the fact that all this came over seas. haha

"at what point" was in reference to how much torque it would handle before I should be thinking of an upgrade.

[vrg3]

Ah. Well, I dunno. The problem with torque ratings provided by manufacturers is that they usually specify the torque required to make a brand new fully-engaged clutch slip when cool, which isn't necessarily that useful a number.

But I don't know what power levels you'd need to reach before a stage 1 would be inappropriate. My gut says that you'd have to worry about transmission failure before you'd have to worry about a stage 1 clutch being insufficient.

[georryan]

Yeah, you could be right vrg3. Thanks.