Clutch Advice

[Mattheww044]

Hey guys, in the process of ordering parts for my clutch job. I found a KILLER deal. Im getting this clutch kit:
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/ACL-S ... =Year|1991

For my car for $200 shipped with less than 5k miles on it. Summit says it will work when I click Legacy or MY 91.
Does anyone have experience with these ACT HD clutches? What is your opinion on them? I'm probably going to get it just because it's such a good deal, but I'd like to hear from people with more experience than I have about clutches.

Second off, Im looking into getting a LW FW as well. Is it OK to buy used ones? I heard that they can get burn marks and small cracks after time, but that it can be machined off, is this true? I was also doing a little research and it looks like you need to get one that is the right diameter or it can hit the shift fork, what is the stock size of our stock flywheel? Thanks
Matt

[kimokalihi]

If you get one with a removable friction plate like mine you can just buy a new plate and bolt it in. Then it's like a brand new flywheel again. That's exactly what I did and it ended up costing me like $90 shipped for the plate but the flywheel itself is like $475 retail! I got it for free with an engine I bought.

I have the ClutchMasters Part Number FW-671-U-AL. It's only 9lbs, which is the lightest one I have been able to find. Here's the manufacturer's page: http://www.clutchmasters.com/shop/?page ... AppID=4344

[kimokalihi]

Quick search on google shopping comes up with $351.50 with free shipping from THMotorsports: http://thmotorsports.com/clutch_masters ... AL-04-2004

[kleinkid]

I had a lightweight Exedy flywheel on my '91SS, didn't like the feel at all. Got rid of it. Would not use any lightweight flywheel again. My experience.

[Mattheww044]

Kimo, you love your LW FW don't you? I hear so many mixed reviews. But most of them are positive. Most people love them, some people hate them.

[mike-tracy]

I had one on an N/A Subaru, and it was entertaining, but just got old as I had a commute with stop and go traffic (= lw flywheel's worst enemy!).

[Mattheww044]

isn't it something you get used to though?

[mike-tracy]

isn't it something you get used to though?

My left calf got bigger, that's for sure. Basically in stop and go traffic you spend your time slipping the clutch, since the engine dies super easy since it speeds up and slows down so fast.

It just wasn't my thing, so my next manual car I did a clutch job on, I kept the stock flywheel. For a pleasure/weekend driver it's a lot of fun, but I wouldn't do it in a DD again.

[kimokalihi]

Interesting. I suppose it depends on if you are in traffic a lot which I hardly ever am and it's not my daily driver. I love my lightweight flywheel. Couldn't imagine if it revved any slower.

[Mattheww044]

it is going on my daily driver, but I'm thinking I'll probably get one, and if I absolutely hate it then I will take it out and get an OEM one then swap the LW one back in when I get a new car for a DD

[Legacy777]

I'm of the same opinion with the LW flywheel....they're annoying and make it harder to drive smoother, especially in traffic.

I didn't bother replacing mine when I had the engine out because I will likely do a 6mt swap at some time and don't see a need to by a new 5mt flywheel.

[Mattheww044]

Yea, I get alot of mixed reviews about it. I think I'm just gonna go ahead and get it and see how it goes. I wanna at least know the difference since I've never used one before. I've heard it will help quite a bit in autocross and such.

[Florin1]

Matthew, I have a lw in my car. Yes its annoying on the shutter, you'll see what i'm talking about, but i like it in the sense of how much more snappy it is. Kind of like a motorcycle.

[mike-tracy]

Matthew, I have a lw in my car. Yes its annoying on the shutter, you'll see what i'm talking about, but i like it in the sense of how much more snappy it is. Kind of like a motorcycle.

Did you drive the ej20g with a standard weight flywheel? Reason I ask is that motor loves to rev faster than a 22 or a 25, stock for stock.

[kimokalihi]

Yeah the EJ20G has a very light stock flywheel already.

[Florin1]

Lighter is better. :p
Shut up Mike, quit trying to bust my chops.

[mike-tracy]

Lighter is better. :p
Shut up Mike, quit trying to bust my chops.

just sayin, lol. I have an oem EJ20g 11.9lbs flywheel (apparently part of the SPT catalog), (thanks kimo), but I have no desire to use that with my lightweight crank, ac and ps pulleys (thanks kimo).

[Mattheww044]

hmmmmm, im wondering if I should get the 9lb act one or the 13.x
its only like 30$ more for the 9lb and I can get it brand new for cheaper than any site offers (my buddy knows the owner of www.importimageracing.com so I can get a slight discount on their already cheaper prices). I'm not a spokesperson for them or anything, but literally everything I've looked at on their site is cheaper than anywhere else I've looked.

SHould I just go with the 9lb or the 13?

[kimokalihi]

9lb. Gonna go light might as well go all out. Is it your daily? I'd drive my legacy daily if gas was cheaper. But I don't drive in traffic so that's a factor.

[Florin1]

Hmmm, is there a visual difference in the two? Maybe you dont want to go to light in case it warps? I guess it depends on what your plans are to do with the car. Hopefully someone w/ more experience chimes in.

[Mattheww044]

Yea I'm really not sure what I want to do here. I know I want to at least get the 13.x Streetlite one, but I'm on the edge about the 9lb prolite one. I've heard that it stalls out really easily. And yes Kimo it is my DD and only car. Do alot of traffic/freeway driving to and from work so ya....

[kimokalihi]

Go for the 13lb one then. Or a heavier one if you're in traffic all the time.

[Mattheww044]

I think the 13 lb. one should be fine. That's what my brother has on his ss and he didn't even realize he had a lw fw

[Mattheww044]

OK so I ordered the 13 lb one from ACT.... I am also looking into getting LW pulleys (crank,PS, Altetnator) Is it a bad idea to use the LW pulleys combined with the LW flywheel? The pulley set I was looking into getting is this one:

http://www.horsepowerfreaks.com/cart///375088

Can I use the WRX pulleys? If so does it need to be a certain year? Thanks for the help!

[Legacy777]

WRX pullies will work. I would recommend keeping a stock pulley with the damper in it if you are making any reasonable amount of power.

There are two reasons for this, the first is that the noticable improvement from a LW pulley diminishes as HP increases. For example, a LW pulley provides a more noticable improvement in engine acceleration on a non-turbo engine vs. a built turbo motor. The second reason for keeping the stock pulley with damper is that the damper helps absorb minute changes in crankshaft rotational speeds.

When the WRX first came out people replaced the pulley and started experiencing some issues at higher rpms. The problem turned out to be that the crank sensor was picking up harmonic noise or vibration without the stock pulley. I am running a stock WRX pulley on my engine.