Welcome to the North American Subaru Impreza Owners Club Tuesday March 19, 2024
Home Forums Images WikiNASIOC Products Store Modifications Upgrade Garage
NASIOC
Go Back   NASIOC > NASIOC Technical > Transmission (AT/MT) & Driveline

Welcome to NASIOC - The world's largest online community for Subaru enthusiasts!
Welcome to the NASIOC.com Subaru forum.

You are currently viewing our forum as a guest, which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our community, free of charge, you will have access to post topics, communicate privately with other members (PM), respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. Registration is free, fast and simple, so please join our community today!

If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us.







* As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. 
* Registered users of the site do not see these ads. 
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 06-18-2010, 09:41 AM   #1
max_stirling
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 44010
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Springfield, VA
Vehicle:
2004 Cayenne Turbo
Black

Default My experience with the HD ACT clutch

A couple of years ago, the transmission sleeve on my 2005 LGT Limited wagon failed and tore up the inside of my transmission case. On top of that, I have just gone over my drivetrain warranty by a couple hundred miles.

Since my mechanic had my transmission apart and I needed a new clutch, I opted to upgrade to the HD ACT Street/track cluctch kit. The stock clutch still had plenty of life left at over 50K miles. Though pedal action was a lot heavier, I was used to it coming from a 3rd gen RX-7 also with a HD clutch kit. Though there was plenty of bite and I eventually learned to engage the clutch smoothly, the car now didn't like the transmission to be engaged below 2000 rpm. Below that threshold, the engine would sputter then stall. Initially, I thought it was the lightweight flywheel and crank pulley I had installed at the same time.

Well, less than 30K miles later, the ACT clutch wore out. Now, I do not track the car and never perform high (>3K) rpm launches. I also don't ride the clutch. I've driven manual tranny cars for the last 15 yrs straight and all the clutches have lasted 75-100k miles. My long time mechanic, who I trust, also claimed that the pressure on the clutch pedel was so great that it actually moved the firewall back a little. Some might baulk at this notion, but I don't have enough technical knowledge to disqualify this claim.

So on the advice found on this forum, I decided to replace the ACT with an OEM Exedy clutch and it has been a great decision. The pedal action is very light, almost like that of a Honda Civic, but it still has enough grip to handle all of my Stage II tune and mods. On top of that, the car no longer sputters or protest with the clutch engaged at <2K rpm. Not even at 1200 rpm.

The engine also feels really smooth now, but that might be due to me driving a Scion xB loaner for over a week. You can't speed by accident in that thing. One final benefit, prior to the new clutch, I was getting 21.5 mpg. Didn't really think anything of it due to all the mods. I rack it up to the price of power. Well, since the new clutch, I'm now getting 23.5 mpg which is <1 mpg off of stock.

Anyway, here is a first hand recommendation that unless you are making crazy power, stick to the stock clutch.

Cheers
* Registered users of the site do not see these ads.
max_stirling is offline   Reply With Quote
Sponsored Links
* Registered users of the site do not see these ads.
Old 07-31-2010, 04:07 AM   #2
Wardroid
Scooby Newbie
 
Member#: 248325
Join Date: Jun 2010
Vehicle:
2005 STI

Default

good read. I might be in the market for a clutch and was wondering about the ACT. I'm sure other people's got different experiences, but less than 30k miles is a pile of poo. did you have warranty?
Wardroid is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-31-2010, 05:20 AM   #3
fastwrx25
Scooby Guru
 
Member#: 126441
Join Date: Sep 2006
Chapter/Region: SCIC
Location: TPE
Vehicle:
03 bugeye

Default

curious did you get the daikin exedy replacement clutch, or actual subaru oem parts from the dealer?

I've always been curious why the price is almost double.
fastwrx25 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-02-2010, 09:21 AM   #4
max_stirling
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 44010
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Springfield, VA
Vehicle:
2004 Cayenne Turbo
Black

Default

I called the retailer about the clutch and they won't warranty the item. To be fair, I didn't really expect them too and it's a wear item. They can't tell if I go to the track every weekend or not. So no real negatives there.

I even considered just replacing the friction disk, but I didn't want to got through this ordeal again in 30K miles.

The replacement clutch is not the Subaru branded clutch. I got it from a reputable retailer online and it was delivered within a day or two with regular shipping. It was about 1/3 the cost of the ACT option. Again the change from the ACT to the OEM was based on the collective wisdom of the forum and the search button.

Update: regarding the mileage, it seems that the increase was mostly due to a change in my commute which allowed for more highway speeds and less stop and go. Still I can't complain about 23+mpg in mixed driving with a very stable and reliable off the shelf stage II tune. I'm very happy with the Exedy clutch and has no problems taking all the power, but I still don't do high rpm launches.

Cheers
max_stirling is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
My experiance with the local subaru dealership this morning Subyroo2.5 Service & Maintenance 9 08-03-2009 07:53 PM
My Experience with taking my car to the beach, onto the beach The Blue Pilot General Community 54 12-23-2008 08:10 PM
2004 sti tranny with stg 2 act clutch forsale best offer zex_sti Private 'For Sale' Classifieds 10 05-28-2006 09:51 PM
My experience with my tankless, rota sub-zeros this morning, my finest hour mms4ba Off-Topic 12 12-02-2004 10:28 AM
Anybody with a clean ACT Clutch history? kaminari Transmission (AT/MT) & Driveline 12 12-13-2001 03:19 AM

All times are GMT -4. The time now is 03:01 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.7.0
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Powered by Searchlight © 2024 Axivo Inc.
Copyright ©1999 - 2019, North American Subaru Impreza Owners Club, Inc.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission
Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.