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      08-25-2017, 11:55 AM   #1
martymil
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SPEC-TACULAR Clutch Failure

SPEC-TACULAR Clutch Failure


Excuse the pun but I couldn’t resist.

I just wanted to let everyone know the problems I am having with SPEC, their SPEC-tacular lack of customer service and the dud clutch I was sold. The clutch failed at around 3500km of use following a 800km run in period, no hard launches, no power runs.

I bought the clutch from JD75 via Motiv in March 2016. I was getting misfires on the dyno because of the DMF and standard clutch so I thought, after doing a bit of research and seeing the bad reviews of SPEC clutches to buy the Motiv full face clutch as I only heard good things about them from my local supplier.

So 3.5k AUD inc shipping was transferred and the clutch arrived promptly then installed.

2-3 weeks later we put the car on the dyno and behold no more misfires car runs awesome. We tickle the boost curve and tune a little then I'm off to do a few more kms before the next weekend’s track day.

Track day comes and goes car is running awesome.

The next step, car meets drag strip for the first time since installing the Motiv clutch (now I know SPEC) clutch and the car lays down 11.4 @ 127mph. At the time, its the twin turbo manual record and follows up with 11.8 @ 130mph with a bad take-off.

Fast forward a few weeks and winter time was approaching as well as a few hundred more kms, I decided to put the car back on the dyno and adjust the duty bias a little as I was getting a couple of boost spikes here and there.

This is where the trouble began, everything was fine till the last run and around 5500rpm the car misfired. We reset the ecu and the car ran normal again and then the tuner noticed the clutch take up went from being near floor level to almost being at the top of the pedal before you release it.

Something wasn't right so the car came off thinking the slave cylinder let go. After replacing that, still the same thing. We re bled the system and still the same. We immediately put the car up on the hoist and begin to pull the gearbox out. We inspected every part that came off to make sure nothing was broken.

Everything looked OK except for the pressure plate. I’ve heard of clutch pressure plate bolts backing out but everything looked good till we saw the pressure plate and all the springs where all at different heights. It looked like the pressure plate had collapsed.

The supplier took the clutch and sent it of to Motiv for inspection and repair. My shop took full measurements and photos of the clutch for my reference. Motiv was awesome from the start and they told us that it will be sent off to SPEC for inspection and warranty work, but this is where the alarm bells started ringing. I thought this was a Motiv clutch? Anyway, I gave all concerned the benefit of the doubt and followed the waiting game and process asked of me.

I wait yet another couple of months and with multiple emails and conversations with Motiv and SPEC, they tell me the clutch is heavily worn and its going to cost $1250 US to rebuild plus freight. BULL TURDUCKEN CRAP! Warranty, nope!!

I call them out and ask for the measurements of the clutch they have that has been returned and it doesn't match up with the measurements I have. Something is not right here. Do they even have the right clutch or just BS. The measurements quoted by SPEC were not correct and didn’t match my records. And this is where the correspondence got very limited and I was given excuses.

The supplier in Australia was generously going to pay for the refurbishment as his hands were tied by Motiv and SPEC. Australian law says he is liable and has to pay to get me a replacement and pay for the repairs. This is not fair and I decided to do a bit more investigation.

After doing a quick search I found SPEC has a bad reputation and poor customer service. So, basically this is where we are at now, I decided to tell my story to you guys here and basically avoid the SPEC brand all together.

In mean time Ive been running a 550i clutch and a DMF and done 9000 kms, a skid pan day, 3 track days and over 50 passes at the drags and over 100 dyno runs with absolutely no issues.

The problem with spec is, its a hit and miss if you get a good or bad one

But if youu dont your pretty much on your own when it comes to warranty because spec/motiv will use an excuse not to honor its obligations

Last edited by martymil; 08-25-2017 at 12:27 PM..
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