Honda Clutch Kit

I am not sure about the "best" place but am looking forward to others' input on this. In particular, I want to know if OEM is strongly advocated.

For your reference: OEM sources for the clutch disc and release bearing:

wrote

I hadn't thought about that. Maybe there isn't much difference, but deep inside a clutch isn't the place you'd want substandard parts.

Anybody have experience with that?

Mike

"Michael Pardee" wrote

I just searched the group's archives and Babcox.com's magazines to see what they say. The archives don't reveal strong feelings on this, from what I saw. OTOH, it seems the topic does not come up here often. Larry Carley (the automotive technician turned tech writer) seems to lean towards OEM but is open to remanned parts. (Not sure which parts he says can be purchased remanned. Flywheel with a cut taken off the surface? Pressure plate rebuild?)

For the archives, since I'm sure you know the following, Michael: I see the Honda clutch kits online, presumably so far all aftermarket, contain the release bearing, pilot bearing (forgot that), disc, an alignment tool, but also a new pressure plate (oops on me). Carley says for low mileage vehicles, sometimes the old pressure plate can be reused. Dunno how prudent that is. The Car Talk guys (Tom and Ray) note that a clutch's life depends largely on how many times a car is started from stop, so a lot of stop and go driving translates to a high wear rate on clutches. Makes sense.

Internet sources suggest the OEM manufacturer for Honda clutches is Exedy. I think I'll go looking for some open trannies next time I'm at the junkyard and look for manufacturer info stamped on the disc, etc.

"Michael Pardee" wrote in news:S_adndNsdLeDF0XZnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@sedona.net:

Wouldn't some reputable high-performance aftermarket clutch assemblies be better than OEM? (Not full-race" clutches)

Makes sense to me. Reading one of your other posts in this thread (about fit) I think you're on to something. Even a bit of hanging up in the release can make a clutch drag.

Mike

"Michael Pardee" wrote in news:Ha-dncTqfOeIskTZnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@sedona.net:

Yep.

See here for my experience:

Jim Yanik wrote in news:Xns9819722FD4A3Djyanikkuanet@129.250.170.84:

Watch those. I understand they are often much more abrupt than OEM, which will make it very difficult to get a smooth shift. Your tranny bearings will suffer reduced life in the bargain.

"Performance" clutches are OK if you're racing and expect to tear everything apart frequently. For a daily driver that's expected to just go and go, they appear to be a poor choice.

"TeGGeR®" wrote in news:Xns9819D6D076tegger@207.14.116.130:

I've noticed they come in at least three levels;hi-perf,race,and full-race. I'd expect the race clutches to be abrupt.

Jim Yanik wrote in news:Xns981A75BECC195jyanikkuanet@129.250.170.84:

Doesn't take much. When your OEM marcel is 1/16" and the "hi-perf" one is

1/32", take-up will be far more abrupt than you're used to. You'll have trouble achieving a chirp-free launch.

Full-race clutches have no marcel.

Well, "rarely done" may mean that it's rarely done by the lower end repair shops. It's fairly common practice in the shops that I've worked in and others I'm familiar with. In one particular shop, we would machine the flywheels (including the step) on our brake lathe. They came out fine. Of course, it could also mean we used a better brake lathe than some other places.

Eric

I am just getting used to the clutch on the 06 Si, which often gives me a chirp on 1st and 2nd. Is the stock clutch for these more high-performance than normal, or is it just my learning curve? ;-)

Joe LaVigne wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@hits-buffalo.com:

Might be just your learning curve. A new clutch will have more of an "over- center" feel to the pedal, which can make it difficult to achieve smooth engagement when you're used to a part-worn clutch.

You can find lots of clutch kits on Ebay. About $90 bucks. Excedy made the OEM clutch for your car. Buy the kit and change the pressure plate, disk, and bearing. Kit should have alignment tool also.

Hell, it's my first manual, so I am still getting used to a clutch at all... ;-) But I have gotten pretty smooth with it most of the time...