luseboy Posted October 7, 2012 Share Posted October 7, 2012 So I bought a competition clutch flywheel off ebay. It's a 12lb CNC machined steel flywheel, similar to the AZC flywheel. Works for any Z clutch (225 or 240mm). In fact, looking on the AZC site, the flywheel looks EXACTLY the same. Now the only difference i see here: AZC charges 369 plus shipping for their flywheel. I bought this comp clutch flywheel for 275 shipped (no tax either) off ebay, brand new in box, from a big retailer on there. Retail price is pretty close, $295 or something. Now I don't want to point fingers, but the AZC pressure plate looks exactly like a 280zx pressure plate from comp clutch as well. Anyone know if azc just re-sells competition clutch stuff? I know they're a reputable company but the price difference is kinda much. Anyways bottom line, just wondering if anyone's using one of these or not. I tested my clutch set up-comp clutch flywheel, xtr racing stage 2 (aka ebay crap) clutch disk and pressure plate on my bathroom scale, and it came out to 30 lbs even. I also measured and the comp clutch flywheel's mounting surface is the same thickness as that of a stock flywheel. Also there are little drill marks on the back where I can see they balanced the flywheel so I would imagine it won't have any hop or anything (can't say I can trust the pressure plate to be of the same quality). But anyways this flywheel seems great and I'm pretty happy I bought it, it's the cheapest lightweight flywheel I could find too, and I trust it more being steel. Who's got some insight on this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z-ya Posted October 7, 2012 Share Posted October 7, 2012 I have the AZ one on my vintage racer, and I am also using the AZ clutch. I believe that they are all made at the same factory in Taiwan. So far no problems. If I remember correctly the AZ clutch is more like a Z32 clutch than L6. It has twice the number of bolt holes as an L6 pressure plate, and the flywheels has tapped holes holes that match. Anyway, it's a great setup IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luseboy Posted October 7, 2012 Author Share Posted October 7, 2012 I have the AZ one on my vintage racer, and I am also using the AZ clutch. I believe that they are all made at the same factory in Taiwan. So far no problems. If I remember correctly the AZ clutch is more like a Z32 clutch than L6. It has twice the number of bolt holes as an L6 pressure plate, and the flywheels has tapped holes holes that match. Anyway, it's a great setup IMO. My pressure plate is able to bolt on with 9 8x1.25 bolts, and 3 little studs. The pressure plate only has 9 bolt holes but the flywheel has a number of them, I would think to facilitate a 225mm pressure plate? I'm glad to hear that you like it! I was sold on the azc set up, but started running out of budget for my resto, and the comp clutch flywheel looked exactly the same, had the same specs, and is a reputable company so I figured I'd save a hundred bucks and go with that one. I'm pretty happy I did as I'm pretty convinced now that they're the same exact flywheel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewZed Posted October 7, 2012 Share Posted October 7, 2012 (edited) Not to bust a bubble but there are many companies out there that specialize in making exact replicas of popular products. Some of the copies are so good, it's almost impossible to prove that they're fake. EBay is a great way to make them available to the masses without a brick and mortar store. Edited October 7, 2012 by NewZed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luseboy Posted October 7, 2012 Author Share Posted October 7, 2012 Not to bust a bubble but there are many companies out there that specialize in making exact replicas of popular products. Some of the copies are so good, it's almost impossible to prove that they're fake. EBay is a great way to make them available to the masses without a brick and mortar store. No bubble bursted, most of the parts on my car will be replica parts (college kid ). That said, the azc flywheel is fairly new and not all that widely known, right? I found this clutch through a different retailer (it's made by a pretty big company, not sure if you've heard of them), for like 300, but then found the same flywheel on ebay for 275 shipped. It seems like a really nice flywheel, and if it's a replica of the azc flywheel, that's fine with me haha. but what i'm trying to get at is whether or not it's the same flywheel, as it seems to be to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony D Posted October 7, 2012 Share Posted October 7, 2012 For years people bought super duper clutches and pressure plates, only to find later the premium price they paid was nary justified for a sintered disc and the good old Nissan 780Kg heavy duty pressure plate assembly. Keep cutting the margins by whatever justification you can to sleep well at night. When the dedicated vendors are the only ones left selling the stuff and its 8X the price, you can smile knowing your invested savings will cover it nicely. If anybody is selling the stuff at all... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted October 7, 2012 Share Posted October 7, 2012 AZC made mine (purchased maybe 15 years ago) with very sharp corners, no radiusing anywhere, and they cut right through the threaded pressure plate bolt holes to reduce weight. Stress risers all over the damn place. I had 3 different machinists pick it up and immediately ask if I had a scatter shield. That said, it never blew up on me and I've never heard about one coming apart. The other ones that I've seen, HKS steel, Tilton aluminum, and one other aluminum one all had nicely radiused corners. I don't know if they're still making them the same way or if they are buying someone else's unit now but that was my experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luseboy Posted October 7, 2012 Author Share Posted October 7, 2012 AZC made mine (purchased maybe 15 years ago) with very sharp corners, no radiusing anywhere, and they cut right through the threaded pressure plate bolt holes to reduce weight. Stress risers all over the damn place. I had 3 different machinists pick it up and immediately ask if I had a scatter shield. That said, it never blew up on me and I've never heard about one coming apart. The other ones that I've seen, HKS steel, Tilton aluminum, and one other aluminum one all had nicely radiused corners. I don't know if they're still making them the same way or if they are buying someone else's unit now but that was my experience. Interesting. I guess my comment of "fairly new" was un-educated. How long did you run that flywheel? And how much power were you making then? I'm probably going to be making around 150 (stock zx L28 (P79, f54 w/ flat tops), 4bbl carb, typical header, exhaust, pertronix ignition), so i'm not too worried about it. I know people always worry about flywheels or pressure plates coming off with these cars due to the placement of them in correlation to the driver, but has anyone acctually heard of one flying off, cutting through the bell housing and chassis, and injuring the driver? I bought new nissan flywheel bolts to be safe, and will be using grade 12.9 M8 bolts to hold the pressure plate on, but would it be a good idea for me to make a scatter shield? if so, any pics of a good example of one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted October 7, 2012 Share Posted October 7, 2012 (edited) I ran it for 40K, started with probably 180 whp and ended with ~240 whp. My understanding is that the rpms is the main issue, and I had mine to 7500 a couple times on accident, then installed a rev limiter which was at 6800 and 7000 IIRC. If memory serves, Norm the 12 second SU dude had a stock (lightened???) flywheel take apart the bell housing on his trans, but he wasn't injured. If your engine is in the stock location the bell housing is probably 4 or 5 inches in front of your feet, so it's not directly in foot amputating position, although if parts bounce of the road and back up... For a scatter shield I cut a couple pieces of 1/8" plate to fit the tunnel and then welded them together to make it 1/4" thick and bolted to the tunnel. There are Kevlar blankets that you can get which might do the job too, but they are relatively expensive. Edited October 7, 2012 by JMortensen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony D Posted October 7, 2012 Share Posted October 7, 2012 (edited) 1349638536[/url]' post='1022863']I know people always worry about flywheels or pressure plates coming off with these cars due to the placement of them in correlation to the driver, but has anyone acctually heard of one flying off, cutting through the bell housing and chassis, and injuring the driver? Norm the 12 Second SU Dude. Blew right into the footwell. Not the flywheel, the clutch disc and pressure plate. 1/4" strap steel 4" wide, bent accordingly using angle iron over the bench edge and a torch/hammer will make a nice shield. If you plan on dumping the clutch, hole shots, clutch-kicking, it's only a matter of time until something breaks. My paranoia is shearing the rivets when the elastomer discs or spring centers over compress. Have blown out elastomer elements, thrown out springs, and found those pins half sheared. The ONLY clutch disc manufacturer I know that takes setps to prevent this is McLeod... Uses shear-rated fasteners in the moving hub section, and plenty of them! Edited October 7, 2012 by Tony D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z-ya Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 AZC made mine (purchased maybe 15 years ago) with very sharp corners, no radiusing anywhere, and they cut right through the threaded pressure plate bolt holes to reduce weight. Stress risers all over the damn place. I had 3 different machinists pick it up and immediately ask if I had a scatter shield. That said, it never blew up on me and I've never heard about one coming apart. The other ones that I've seen, HKS steel, Tilton aluminum, and one other aluminum one all had nicely radiused corners. I don't know if they're still making them the same way or if they are buying someone else's unit now but that was my experience. This is not the one AZC sells today. It is made in Taiwan as per writing on the box. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pleadingbark Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 I have one, same as AZC w/o the obnoxious price tag. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luseboy Posted October 11, 2012 Author Share Posted October 11, 2012 I have one, same as AZC w/o the obnoxious price tag. Glad to hear I'm not alone! How do you like it? I'm aching to get mine installed... gotta re-time the engine before I can get it off the stand though, then I get to drop it in to my halfway done car haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pleadingbark Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 Glad to hear I'm not alone! How do you like it? I'm aching to get mine installed... gotta re-time the engine before I can get it off the stand though, then I get to drop it in to my halfway done car haha Feels like a clutch? IDK? lol. Its a bit stiffer than stock but not a huge amount that would be super noticeable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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