As luck would have it, two days before I was supposed to get the car dyno'd, the factory clutch decided it was time to retire.
It did not fail completely, but it began to slip as soon as boost came on in 4th gear or higher..
I had been putting off installing the Spec Stage 3+ Clutch and Single Mass Steel Flywheel just to see how long the factory clutch would hold. (87k miles on it, 25K of which were FBO/tuned.)
I got off from work early on Friday, and set to work on the clutch swap. I did the whole job in about 8 hours, on my back, with the car on jack stands. I didn't run into many problems during install, but there were a few things that slowed me down.
Mainly, the top two bellhousing bolts were as annoying to remove as people have said.. I ended up removing them from the engine bay, as I did not have enough extensions to remove them from underneath the car.
Here's a picture of what that process looked like.. My knees are still angry with me. lol
Once everything was unbolted, I had a friend come over to help me lower the transmission to the ground. That thing is as heavy as it looks. If I have to do this job again, I will definitely buy a transmission jack..
Once the transmission was out, the OEM pressure plate, clutch disk, and flywheel all came out easily. It was clear upon removal, that the stock clutch had reached the end of its lifespan. There was barely any material left on the friction disk.
In the transmission, I installed a new stainless steel clutch pivot pin, a new throw-out bearing, and a new pivot arm retaining clip.
Utilzing a flywheel lock tool I got from ECS Tuning, I torqued the new flywheel and pressure plate down to spec.
Then it was just a matter of putting everything back the way I found it.
While in there, I also completed the following;
- Oil Change w/ Liqui Moly 5W40 & Mann Oil Filter
- Transmission Fluid Change w/ Redline D4 ATF
- Guibo replacement with OEM unit
- All new OEM aluminum bellhousing bolts
Here's the few pictures I snapped on my phone during the process.. I apologize in advance for not taking more!
My first impressions after putting about 100 miles on the setup, are that it definitely feels more aggressive than stock. Taking off in first gear, the new clutch is definitely more grabby, and less forgiving than the stock setup. Once rolling though, shifting into 2nd gear and higher is a breeze. The car grabs hard, and the pedal feel is very firm and reassuring. The car definitely revs quicker with the lightened flywheel.
Most importantly, the chatter introduced by the single mass flywheel is not near as bad as I was expecting. I think this is partly because I chose to go with the steel flywheel from SPEC, instead of the aluminum.. I also have my idle set to 750rpms through MHD.
That's all for now! I'm going to get 500 street miles put on the setup, and then reschedule my dyno session! Looking forward to finally seeing what she puts down!