Hmmm??? I already have a toda flywheel on the way.....maybe I should go with a less grippy clutch....how do you all do with this that have it and drive in traffic???

 

sfphinkterMC

I'm guessing you have this clutch? are you SC???? Did the pads look thin to you as far as material??? I'm not terribly familiar with SPEC clutches, but it looked a little less than what I was expecting...

 

sfphinkterMC - your concerns are noted. this is why people always ask me for pricing with this kit or that kit offered by Star and ACT and unfortunately, I feel I need to interview them to discover what THEY need for their driving style and what they intend to do with the car. I'm very picky about what I sell to people, but I make sure that customers understand what the difference in a stage II and stage III clutch is before ordering one.

its rather odd that you don't care for the lightened flywheel - it might be all in the driver's head, but if that's the case, then so be it. but I have yet to meet up with someone that doesn't like the lighter weight flywheel. whether you go with toda, spoon or comptech... I'm not sure it matters much. and *most* people will not be able to tell a difference in how they are designed (weight bias towards the center/outside).

that's my take.

 

hey fellas,

i'll clarify and respond to your queries

johev; yes to S/C and light flywheel with stage III star clutch/flywheel

schatten; my point is to warn street users of the potential pitfalls of this setup
also, all or most mods involve pro's and con's and i agree u need to know your needs
to pick the right stuff. street vs. race clutch is shrouded in alot of bogus mythology and misinformation that unfortunately permeates this area.

demystification 101 :

1 LIGHTENED FLYWHEEL: great mod for s2000. honda coulda/shoulda equipped stock s2k's with this. it greatly suits the powerband nature of the engine, stock flywheel has too much power sapping inertia in low revs. additionally, there is excellent drivability in itself as the revs do not drop excessively fast. this is the proper flywheel for this car.

2 relationship to flywheel mass to clutch engagement: with an aggressive friction disc, a heavier flywheel will resist the clutch pulling down revs when starting off, allowing smoother engagement for routine street starts. with the lighter flywheel, the revs will get pulled down easier, increase liklihood of stalling or chatter. THIS IS A SYNERGISTIC EFFECT OF THE FLYWHEEL MASS. ITS DOESN'T NEGATE POSITIVE EFFECTS OF LIGHT FLYWHEEL ONCE UNDERWAY.
by running ultralight race wheels, u can counteract this effect noticably.

again, this set up can work for people like me. i'm either driving full out on the track and caynons, or putting along on a cooldown lap or in pits, or between caynon curves
tooling home.

but its tedious and irritating leaving LA in memorial day traffic on the way to Pahrump.

also, because of the vise like engagement, u must get the tires spinning to get a quick
street start, since there is no useful slip in the 4000-6000rpm range. its all or nothing.
unless u launch, your street starts will be SLOWER than a stock clutch, and that is not what u need with this car as a street driver!

the pedal pressure on the star III clutch/lightened PP is just right, somewhat firmer, but not too heavy. the bearing tool they included with kit was the wrong one.

SUMMARY: LIGHTENED FLYWHEEL- 4.9/5 stars
star stage III- 1/5 stars on the street, 3/5 stars for street driven track day cars, 5/5 stars for drag racing s2k's

 

Yes, I agree that a puck clutch and lightened flywheel is not near as smooth as stock, but my Kevlar stage 3 with a Toda simply requires more care when engaging. It is somewhat difficult for someone new to the car but since I have adjusted I rarely have an issue (maybe backing up a very steep hill or something like that).

True, a fast street start is done without slipping the clutch.. I actually can spin the tires with moderate rpm most of the time. Since my car is a street / track car not used in traffic regularly I don't experience problems.

I can tell you having a slightly grabby clutch is WAY better than one that slips. I would not trade for my previous two clutches.

 

Should I not be going with the stage III clutch then? I use my s2000 as a daily driver and am in stop and go traffic fairly often. I wanted a more agressive clutch than stock with similar ingagement to stock but I don't know if the stage III is going to be the right thing.

What do you all think? I do some track days, but most driving is around town and highway....what are your thoughts for a clutch???

 

SPEC says that the stage III will be fine for daily driving, the stage III is a street clutch not strictly a race clutch.

After the 800 mile break in it should be very manageable, the break in period can be a little difficult as far as driving, but it gets better and then at 800 mi will be pretty easy to drive even in stop and go traffic.

I mentioned that this was a daily driver in some traffic and light track use and the tech guy said this clutch should be fine. He recommends the stage III to anyone that is going to drive the cars agressively and do some track time.

 

Just get an OEM disc, and whoever makes the pressure plate translates into how it feels on your foot - any beefed up PP will grabb just fine.

I am very satisfied with Toda/OEM disc/ACT PP. My S2000 is not a depended on daily driver, but the set up is
just fine for mild driving.

The OEM discs still get a bit of a rattle, but they wont wear out as fast with an aftermarket PP.

The ACT/Toda combo I have allows a 'spirited' launch, at roughly 5000 rpm - slight wheel spin . . . and that NOT dropping the clutch, but pre-loading the drivetrain slightly and the letting it out quick.

**My S2000 power output is damn near stock, so anyone else with power adders may have different opinions about holding ability of PP's**

 

I was going to get the ACT Stage II with lightened pp, Kevlar friction surface, but a SPEC clutch with what looks like organic friction material with lightened pp was delivered. I will check with the dealer later to see what 'stage' this clutch is.

The clutch pedal effort is less than stock, which is ok. Still a little noise on decel, but much improved. Whereas I could make the stock setup chatter at times, so far this new setup is smoother. I like it and if the friction material isn't kevlar, perhaps this has made takeoffs much more user friendly and maybe will cause less flywheel wear. Stalling or bogging so far isn't an issue with my lightened S2000, but I can feel the momentum change a bit when going over bumps when spooling up from a stop.

Throttle response is improved with Toda fw, etc.