violacleff Posted April 27, 2004 Share Posted April 27, 2004 I'm putting in my turbo motor with an ACT 6 puck clutch. My question is will this clutch eat my tranny or will the 280z tranny handle it? I realize it wont feel as friendly as a street disc, and I wont mind that much. For daily driving though, will I be going through trannies quickly or will I just have less comfort in shifting? I don't plan to race at every street light, but i'm not sure if light driving will preserve the tranny using this clutch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobythevan Posted April 27, 2004 Share Posted April 27, 2004 I just put in my ACT 6 puck clutch with T-5 and IMO it isn't as bad as people made out. Of course it is all opinion so you'll have to try it for yourself. I don't know how strong the regular tranny is so someone else can answer that. I didn't think the clutch is hard to push in and it only shutters a small amount taking off in 1st gear. Well worth the trade off for me not to have a slipping clutch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted April 27, 2004 Share Posted April 27, 2004 The clutch won't kill the transmission. What it most likely will do is kill the thrust bearing in the engine and cause the crank to start walking. Never start the car with the clutch in and put the trans in neutral at stop lights. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bastaad525 Posted April 27, 2004 Share Posted April 27, 2004 I've had my ACT for about four years now... you will definately need to get used to it, and this isn't something that will happen in a day. When I installed it it was VERY stiff compared to the stock clutch. If you get stuck in traffic you WILL be hating life, and you WILL have a left leg that is significantly stronger than your right! They last a very long time... after four years, approx 50k miles, when I pulled the clutch to swap to the turbo motor, the clutch itself looked new, the flywheel looked new, there was only a slight amount of wear in the pressure plate surface. Now that I may be replacing it soon (not that I"m sure I need to, wont know til the tranny comes back out, but it still does NOT slip at all!), after talking to everyone, the choice came down to centerforce or ACT, and as long as the cost is still reasonable (I've heard theyve gone up?) I will be getting another ACT. About the shudder... I've gotten so used to this clutch that I very rarely ever have any shudder, it's not hard to do. But if I'm distracted or something I will still shudder when getting rolling in first, sometimes. A GREAT clutch but if you drive in traffic you may want to consider something else. Or you can look into using an alternate master and slave cylinder. I never looked into this but there was a good topic a while back about which ones work and will soften the pedal pressure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zxtman Posted April 27, 2004 Share Posted April 27, 2004 Are you planning to use a sprung or unsprung hub? There's a difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forrest Posted April 27, 2004 Share Posted April 27, 2004 I was very pleased after I initially installed this clutch - it's no big deal at all to engage it, the pressure plate might seem heavy for a little while but after you drive it for a week or so you won't even notice. If you're unnecessarily holding the clutch in all the time your driving technique might change, though. It rocks! Instant engagement, no break-in period. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pyro Posted April 27, 2004 Share Posted April 27, 2004 I use a spec 240mm, sprung hub, 6 puck ceramic clutch with a stock nissan 2+2 pressure plate so the feel of the pedal is the same as stock but the clutch is very sticky. It shutters more when cold and on slow take offs and in reverse. If a quick release is used then there is no problem with shuttering but the shuttering is a pain sometimes when driving "normal". A change in clutch operation will be needed to prevent shuttering. However, it holds the power from my turbo very well. Next time, I think I will try the kevlar clutch instead of the ceramic. But in any case, get the 240mm clutch as use the 2+2 presuure plate. The street clutch for the 2+2 (240mm) holds the same amount of torque the racing 225mm clutch holds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
violacleff Posted April 28, 2004 Author Share Posted April 28, 2004 How do I tell if its sprung or unsprung? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bastaad525 Posted April 28, 2004 Share Posted April 28, 2004 The clutch won't kill the transmission. What it most likely will do is kill the thrust bearing in the engine and cause the crank to start walking. Never start the car with the clutch in and put the trans in neutral at stop lights. ????? you serious??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
violacleff Posted April 28, 2004 Author Share Posted April 28, 2004 John If I follow ur advice will this protect the thrust bearings and crank? or will it wear them out regardless? If so I may just get another clutch though I hate to shell out that kind of money Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted April 28, 2004 Share Posted April 28, 2004 The force of the pressure plate when you have the clutch pedal down is taken by the thrust bearing on the crank. Increasing the clamping force of the pressure plate increases the force on the thrust bearing which is splash oiled on the L6 engine. Starting the car with your foot on the clutch turns the crank against the thrust bearing for a short time with whatever oil has remained on the bearing since the last run (and whatever oil has "seasoned" into the bearing). My old BSP race L6 with a Nissan Motorsports pressure plate and clutch lost its thrust bearing and the crank walked to the point of damage beyond repair after 25,000 miles of racing. Don't start you car with an aftermarket pressure plate with your foot on the clutch pedal. Neutral is your friend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pyro Posted April 28, 2004 Share Posted April 28, 2004 A sprung clutch has those springs that go around the hub (like the stock unit). Street clutches will have springs to slow down the clutch engagment just a little. Most "pure racing" clutches will have a solid hub (no springs) which will make it even harder to drive on the street. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bastaad525 Posted April 28, 2004 Share Posted April 28, 2004 I read that wrong the first time, I thought it said DO push in the pedal when starting her up... I never push in the clutch pedal when starting the car and always have it in neutral at a light... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted April 28, 2004 Share Posted April 28, 2004 the thrust bearing which is splash oiled on the L6 engine What I said above is not exactly true. The thrust bearing surface gets oil that weeps out from the crankshaft bearing surface. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted April 28, 2004 Share Posted April 28, 2004 Bastaad, I've got a couple questions for you: I have the ACT pressure plate in my Z. I think they only have one pressure plate for the Z in the 225mm and one for the 240mm. Which are you running? My 225 doesn't seem all that stiff at all, but it holds the power down MUCH better than a stock pp. I'm wondering if maybe you didn't clean and grease the shaft where the t/o bearing slides inside the bell housing? If you don't then not only will the clutch feel very stiff, but you'll wear that shaft since there's no lube on it. Always lube your shaft. It's just common sense... Also should mention that you don't want to use white grease or any grease that will coagulate on the shaft, since that will make it really sticky and increase the pedal effort. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
violacleff Posted April 29, 2004 Author Share Posted April 29, 2004 A sprung clutch has those springs that go around the hub (like the stock unit). Street clutches will have springs to slow down the clutch engagment just a little. Most "pure racing" clutches will have a solid hub (no springs) which will make it even harder to drive on the street. Mine is unsprung then. The rest of you who mentioned 6 puck not being that bad, were you speaking of sprung or unsprung. I'm just trying to get an idea of how streetable my car will be. Bastaad is yours similar to mine or a street disc? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobythevan Posted April 29, 2004 Share Posted April 29, 2004 My ACT 6 puck is unsprung, I wasn't aware that ACT even made a sprung 6 puck disc for this application, but maybe they do. Unsprung doesn't bother me I like the way it performs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pyro Posted April 29, 2004 Share Posted April 29, 2004 I think I need to clarify what I wrote earlier. I bought my 6 puck clutch from Nippon Power and they sell Spec, ACT, Center Force, and RPS clutches. I didn't buy the ACT clutch. I did buy the SPEC clutch (just the clutch, no Pressure plate, for 150.00) which was a stage three, 4 or 6 puck (your choice), ceramic, with sprung hub. The stage 4 and 5 are solid hubs which they claim to give quicker engagements (stage 5 has iron pucks). They also say that 6 puck clutches or more streetable then 4 puck clutches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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