Boost Controller and Clutch question Options

[Chinosan89]

Hey guys I'm not really new to this forum but I haven't really been too active till as of recently, school's got me all tied up. But I'm Chino, live in UT. First 6gc I owned was a silver 98 st204, fell in love with it right away. Had it for about 2-3 years and decided to do a ST205 swap. The silver beast was unfortunately automatic so I bought another 6gc manual. I'm handing the silver beast down to my brother so eventually he'll be a 6gc freak like me too. I don't know a TON about motor work since I've had the automatic I just know a lot of body work so forgive me if I ask some stupid questions.

Recently bought my clip and started working on the motor. I have a projects thread on it.

Anyways enough with intro's I am looking into buying a boost controller and a clutch. I was recommended to clutch masters probably a stage 1 for now until I decide to boost more, but idk. I'm also looking into some boost controllers, anyone know of any good brands or easy use ones? I was recommended blitz dual spec but that one is kinda pricy, I was looking into blitz street spec but again not sure, never bought one. Anyone have any experience in these things that can lend me a hand?

[celica74]

Not sure about clutch masters. Stay away from act. Buddy has a spec stage 2+ and he loves it. Cept it maxed out at 300 ft lbs. Should be good until you decide to go for tons of power. His is still holding. And now he has a map clamp and meth kit runnin 20 psi so hes probly well over the clutchs ability. For 350 you cant go wrong for the spec.

[Chinosan89]

Not sure about clutch masters. Stay away from act. Buddy has a spec stage 2+ and he loves it. Cept it maxed out at 300 ft lbs. Should be good until you decide to go for tons of power. His is still holding. And now he has a map clamp and meth kit runnin 20 psi so hes probly well over the clutchs ability. For 350 you cant go wrong for the spec.

Great thanks! ^_^

[PhoenixTech]

Spec's are J-U-N-K, I wouldn't trust one on my lawn mower. Competition Clutch (same as clutch masters), ACT, or if you've got deep pockets, Exedy. You get what you pay for. Just saying. As far as boost controllers go, If you want a good cheap MBC, www.twos-r-us.com has a great MBC! Or if you want to go electronic route, you could run a Tru-Boost by AEM.

[Chinosan89]

Spec's are J-U-N-K, I wouldn't trust one on my lawn mower. Competition Clutch (same as clutch masters), ACT, or if you've got deep pockets, Exedy. You get what you pay for. Just saying. As far as boost controllers go, If you want a good cheap MBC, www.twos-r-us.com has a great MBC! Or if you want to go electronic route, you could run a Tru-Boost by AEM.

I'll look into those thanks! I think I'm gonna go with clutch masters I haven't heard too many bad things from them

[delusionz]

I have the Clutchmasters FX400 with the 4 ceramic puk sprung disc, I fkn love it, I've had the Exedy HD stage 1 upgrade kit and while it's a good quality kit, in reality it's no more than a stock clutch with an extra spring. The Clutchmasters pressure plate in my FX400 kit is 170% clamp force increase, compared to the 20% increase in the Exedy HD stage 1 kit.

[lagos]

Spec's are J-U-N-K, I wouldn't trust one on my lawn mower. Competition Clutch (same as clutch masters), ACT, or if you've got deep pockets, Exedy. You get what you pay for. Just saying. As far as boost controllers go, If you want a good cheap MBC, www.twos-r-us.com has a great MBC! Or if you want to go electronic route, you could run a Tru-Boost by AEM.

What makes Spec"junk" and another brand great? I've seen people post pretty bad things about Competition clutches on these forums. I got 70,000 turbo miles out of my last Spec. So who is correct here?

When will people realize that you can't judge a clutch by the brand name? Each of those companies sells a different type of disk and pressure plate combination. You have to actually visually look at how the disk is made and decide what will suit your needs. If you get a basic disk on your 600hp monster its going to fail and you will say that brand is "junk", when in reality that doesn't paint a clear picture.

Personally, I believe that if you have a 3sgte swap, you NEED a six puck clutch. The brand is really irrelevant. But here is what you should look for:


1. How is the center section connected to the friction material. Is it all one piece or is it held on by rivets that could fail?
2. Does the disk have springs or not. If you plan to take the car to the track/race off the line, DO NOT GET A DISK WITH SPRINGS. If its just going to be a car used for highway and backroad fun, you can get a sprung disk for smoother engagement.
3. Pressure plate feel. ACT puts the heaviest springs in their pressure plates and is generally a nightmare to daily drive with. Everyone else falls somewhere between OEM softness and Act firmness. This is probably the one are where you can ask for brand name opinions based on pedal feel.
4. Price. Obviously there is a big range here so shop around.

[lagos]

Spec's are J-U-N-K, I wouldn't trust one on my lawn mower. Competition Clutch (same as clutch masters), ACT, or if you've got deep pockets, Exedy. You get what you pay for. Just saying. As far as boost controllers go, If you want a good cheap MBC, www.twos-r-us.com has a great MBC! Or if you want to go electronic route, you could run a Tru-Boost by AEM.

I'll look into those thanks! I think I'm gonna go with clutch masters I haven't heard too many bad things from them

But which disk are you going to buy from them?

I recently bought the clutchmasters fx500 for my car and Im very happy with it. The engagement and pedal feel is really good for something that has no springs and is easy to drive on the street. And if you look closely, the center section is attached to the friction materal with 8 VERY beefy rivets. This clutch should hold up to a lot of abuse. And the best part that won me over was the the entire clutch kit was about 300$, where as other brands charge 4-600 for the same thing.

But now look at clutchmasters lower end line. The FX100-300 line all use TINY rivets to connect the center section to the friction material. These are a known failure point on a few people with swaps. Then those same people come back and post about how (insert brand name) is worthless junk.

Now go look at the lower end line on Spec's website. Notice how the center section uses the same BIG rivets as the fx500 from clutch masters? Spec used to use the smaller rivets but it seems like they have moved away from them. Good decision, I think.

This post has been edited by lagos: Jun 21, 2012 - 2:16 PM

[PhoenixTech]

The hybrid clutches from comp for the 3s swap with S54 aren't that great, and personally, I don't like the FEEL of a comp clutch, but they hold up a lot better than many other clutches out there for higher hp applications. and they are very reasonably priced for what you get. I've seen stage 4 spec clutches go bad at under 400whp applications in street cars. Not drift applications, or drag...street driving. I guess to me it's the name thing. spec to me is just a cheap brand. something I wouldn't put on my vehicles, aside from their not so spectacular track record.

[Smaay]

if you need a hybrid clutch, call Southbend Clutch. www.dxdracingclutches.com. i have their clutch in every one of my cars, including my 550HP 7th gen, my 700HP supra, my 800lbs tq dodge truck, blah blah....

Andy in the import dept is awesome and he will build you a clutch that works and has an awesome pedal feel.

[lagos]

The hybrid clutches from comp for the 3s swap with S54 aren't that great, and personally, I don't like the FEEL of a comp clutch, but they hold up a lot better than many other clutches out there for higher hp applications. and they are very reasonably priced for what you get. I've seen stage 4 spec clutches go bad at under 400whp applications in street cars. Not drift applications, or drag...street driving. I guess to me it's the name thing. spec to me is just a cheap brand. something I wouldn't put on my vehicles, aside from their not so spectacular track record.

But the point everyone is missing is ...WHAT PART OF THE CLUTCH FAILED? Not what brand was it.
Did it start to slip?
Did the center section separate?
Did the springs fall out?


You said that to you Spec was "bad" and ACT was "good" meanwhile celica74 said to stay away from act, and that spec was a good brand. Then Smaay says...no, Southbend is the way to go. And in about five minutes someone will post about how much they think Southbend sucks. How can anyone buy a clutch based on such feedback?

Brand names are totally irrelevant! If I put up three disks from three different manufactures with no stickers on them, you or I would not be able to tell them apart.

[Ted95]

^valid.

[Culpable04]

for what is worth,

I have a F1 racing Clutch disc paired to a ACT heavy duty pressure plate, the clutch has started to slip a little, but considering it has taken my abuse for 2 years and I pretty much learned how to drive stick on that clutch. almost 40K miles out of it are pretty good.

but when I bought it I took into consideration how it was assemble, I have a 6 puck disc sprung hub, with very beefy rivets. I launch the car often, hard, all the way to 4th gear and it has taken it like a champ. now F1 racing is the bottom of the barrel when comes to prices.

so as Art is saying any brand will do the job when chosen wise.

[lagos]

for what is worth,

I have a F1 racing Clutch disc paired to a ACT heavy duty pressure plate, the clutch has started to slip a little, but considering it has taken my abuse for 2 years and I pretty much learned how to drive stick on that clutch. almost 40K miles out of it are pretty good.

but when I bought it I took into consideration how it was assemble, I have a 6 puck disc sprung hub, with very beefy rivets. I launch the car often, hard, all the way to 4th gear and it has taken it like a champ. now F1 racing is the bottom of the barrel when comes to prices.

so as Art is saying any brand will do the job when chosen wise.

Exactly!

[Fate]

Spec Stage 3+ (full face)
Less than 12k miles, barely abused.
Spring popped out.