Hyundai Elantra Forum banner

Aftermarket Clutch/Flywheel Testimonals

42395 Views 48 Replies 30 Participants Last post by  Curtis
I also want to add to anyone reading this and whos unsure, Clutchs for all 97-01 tiburons will work fine, as will any listed for the elantras and 2.0 GK tibs. Please don't ask this question or say you can't find _____ clutch for your car. Those clutches will work fine.

Cypher said:
OK. I think I've had this setup for much longer than anyone else so I thought I'd put my thoughts out on it.

My setup: XTD Stage 3 Clutch + 11lb Prolite Flywheel

I bought this setup back in summer of '05 and didn't get around to installing until October 1st, 2005. The whole shebang cost about $299 IIRC. Aside from the "normal" frustration that most people get when doing a clutch on these cars for the first time, the install went along fine. I had about 68-69k on my car when it was installed.

Upon first startup it was evident that the clutch pedal was much more springy. That would be the best way I could describe it. There was a little more resistance than there was with OEM but not as much as an old time cable clutch. You could tell the clutch was beefier.

The clutch disk itself was a 6puck. As anyone will tell you, driving a 6puck takes some getting used to but I didn't stall when I first drove it like I know another member did ;). Its normal for there to be a chatter when engaging the clutch slowly, if you get on it quick and go, its a slow engagement. Theres also a "whine", which is the best way to put it, that you'll get at times that other people with 6 pucks have experienced. This is normal.

At the time it was installed I was N/A modded. I was never able to get it to slip or to burn it. I dynoed out at 141whp which isn't alot but it held it fine and still holds fine. I have raced a whole bunch of times, 15+ runs down the 1/4 and of course other runs/spirited driving else wheres so this clutch has seen its share of abuse.

The car now has 125,XXXmiles on it and I still have this clutch installed. It still does great and still doesn't slip when I beat on it. I'd recommend this clutch to anyone who just plans on N/A and possibly spraying nitrous on it. I really have nothing but good to say about my experience with this clutch.

If you have any questions about the clutch/flywheel combo just ask away, I just wanted to put this up since its an ebay clutch and offer my thoughts to anyone else considering it.
I have had two different combos on my car, so I will share both experiences with you:

1- ACT Street Clutch Kit/Fidanza Flywheel - Cost: ~950$

I recommend this for anyone who's N/A. Stay away from this if F/I. I had this particular combo for about 20,000KM. Half of it was boosted, and the other half N/A. I was pushing about 11psi daily on the Alpine Turbo.

One day as I was doing a WOT run on the highway it slipped. Not a bit, but, very badly. It felt like it just let something loose and then from that moment on it would slip all the time in WOT over 3,000rpm in any gear. They say rated for 240wtq. I highly doubt this is the case, because i sure as hell wasn't making that much power!

But, I must say that now since I am back to N/A I chose this kit again (see next paragraphs for the intermediate kit I had), and I am very satisfied. Definitely the best combo for NA performance in my opinion because the disc is organic but holds more than stock, without the drawbacks of pucked discs (see below).

2- ACT 4 puck ceramic sprung kit/Fidanza Flywheel - Cost: ~980$

This kit was so-so. It was holding the boost well for the little while I had it when turbocharged, but I only kept the turbo for about another 8,000km so I didn't really get the chance to beat on it. However, I did not like this clutch at all. The break-in period was horrible, but that's not it. It chatters badly if you're not used to it, but a couple of days and you get to know it.

However, my biggest complaint and possibly the reason why I chose to remove it after 10,000km is the WHINE. God damn is it annoying. Every time you slip it it makes a horrible whining sound. And I'm guessing the 4 puck is worse the 6 puck from what I gather. And for those who say "I don't slip the clutch blah blah blah'', yes, you do when you take off from a dead stop, don't tell me you chirp the tires in the middle of traffic all the time, you can get a ticket for that.

However, the Fidanza flywheel hasn't caused me problems. The fact that they use the stock ring gear on it makes it safer than ebay knock-offs that might chip a tooth or a couple (I saw that happen on RDT).

All this said, I've owned both these combos, in order, and now, I'm back to the ACT street disc!


Any other members who feel like doing a similar thing about their aftermarket clutch/flywheel combo (Felix, Donnie, Ish, anyone at all) please do and I will quote and add it to the oringal post
21 - 40 of 49 Posts
just had my clutch replaced with a napa replacement $200 and I had my flywheel resurface at napa for $75. what a difference. My clutch used to engage at the top of the throw, now it's right at the bottom. big difference, Now to do the slave cyl clutch spring removal.
I believe I was using a EXEDY OE kit, which didn't last long, maybe 15k due to my being a teenager who just got his first car in highschool and lack of manual driving skill. Now that I am almost 20, and have learned much much more I'm ready to spend more, would rather less that 300, but can go up to 400. Ebay would be best.

So many choices.. Clutch is almost dead, slips almost any time I push decently hard. Lookin to upgrade, but not sure to get a 6/5/4 puck or a normal HD one. Runnin N/A with only bolt on mods. I def wanna get a lightened flywheel. I do drive rather rough, and do some hard launches from time to time. Mostly back road 2nd/3rd gear corners though. (<3 H&R/KYB Set up)
lots of higher end clutch info here, but what about people that did an OEM. i see Exedy mentioned here, is that sort of the defacto standard? are there other oem replacements to consider?

mine is getting eval'd by the dealer on Sunday so i gotta come up with what i want to do pretty quick. Just have them put a hyundai one back in, or if i should just tell them not to touch it and take it elsewhere and put a oem style aftermarket replacement in.

i know i don't want any higher end aftermarket, i do mostly city driving and i hit alot of traffic going to and from work, so i like to be able to ride the clutch a bit when needed.
i put a valeo oe clutch in 60kish miles ago. cant tell any difference to it from the original one, and seems to be holding up just fine. probably better off finding an independent shop to do a clutch jo
Just recently replaced my clutch for the first time at 136,500 miles.

They said the flywheel looked fine, didn't even need to be resurfaced. Also they said my clutch probably could have gone another 10-20k miles as it was not worn that bad. I guess that's a testament as to how well I drive a manual.

Replaced the clutch and pressure plate with an ACT Clutch Kit - Heavy Duty (HD) (HY1-HDSS).

Only have a few days on the new clutch so far but I am happy so far. Went from a let off towards the top to one all the way at the bottom. Got me by surprise a bit there. A very fast let off too.

I will post some updates in a few weeks once I have a better opinion of it.
Replaced my original '04 stock clutch with an Exedy OE replacement. 135k~/mi on mine as well when I did it. Kit was $99 on amazon with free shipping. Identical to original clutch including the markings. TOB was a different manufacturer though. Replaced due to TOB chatter when not engaged and very slight slippage when accelerating to freeway speeds.

Resurfaced the flywheel during install and so far everything has been ok 15k/mi later.

Fuel pump died in the Nevada desert at exactly 150k miles, which I found curiously suspect. But that is a different story.
I had the local college replace the stock one that lasted 120,000 miles (with the stage one) as it started slipping under normal use.

They failed to machine the flywheel.

CLUTCH CHATTER GALORE FROM DAY ONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THEY SAID MACHINING WAS NOT NECESSARY???????

I DISAGREE!!!!!

When it failed (at 18,000 miles) it went from 100% to about 20% immediately and in the 8 mile ride home it ended up at 0% just as I pulled in front of the house.

The wife had to use the van to get it the last 25 feet into the driveway.

Just so you know, the chattering started calming down at about 17,500 miles!!!

I guess that was that something like HINT HINT???

It's been sitting there for a few months now waiting for the cash to get it done right!

I have no clue how long it would have lasted if the flywheel had been machined, but I bet it would have been much longer.

I think I'll try the stage 2 this time.
See less See more
^^^ Guess what? They are correct!!! Machining the fly wheel is not necessary. Your mistake was going with a stage I and now you'll make it worse by going to a stage II. You need to put a stock one back in.
THEY ARE CORRECT?

REALLY?

I told them the clutch would chatter without a fresh face on the flywheel before I even went out to start the car, and I was right.

This thing chattered more than if I had installed a full race metallic puck friction discs on it!

I'm talking tear out the motor mounts and do damage to the transmission CHATTERING!

The only way I could take off without chattering was to dump the clutch and spin the tires!

Once again ------- REALLY????

So, you're also telling me that there is no reason to machine a flywheel that has over 120,000 miles on it no matter how grooved the face, no matter how bad the hot spots are?

Every chattering clutch I ever worked on were where the customer would try and save money by doing it themselves and skipped the “machine the flywheel” step!

Machine the flywheel, problem solved!

Do you laugh at all those fools who toss good money out the window doing a brake job when they foolishly machine their rotors and drums?

BYW, just to satisfy the wife, I went to the dealership and 2 other shops that are business associates of the wife, and they confirmed that they should have machined the flywheel.

Actually, you are the first person I have found, (other than the college shop) who seems to think it's OK not to machine a flywheel when doing a clutch job.

AND, I have installed various stages of performance clutches on a number of vehicles throughout the years so I know what to expect.

In all my years working as a mechanic, there are several things that holds true.

On of them is that if there is a metal friction surface and a new friction device being installed against it (Brake pads, clutch disc, brake shoes, OR WHATEVER) YOU MUST MACHINE THE CONTACT SURFACE!

Another is never trust advertised compression ratios, but that's a 55 gallon drum sizes can of worms I could go on for days discussing.
See less See more
update on my ACT street Clutch and F1 flywheel combo, around 50K miles on it and still going strong.
I just changed over my OEM clutch after 170,000 km.

I fitted an Exedy Heady Duty Clutch (Exedy HYK-6986HD) with a Valeo Chromoly light weight flywheel, as sold through www.xclutch.com.au as part number FHD001C. Valeo are a Korean OEM manufacturer who supply most of Hyundai's clutches, so I have no worry about the quallity of the flywheel.

The OEM flywheel weights in at 7.2kg (15.8lb) and the Valeo is 4.3kg (9.5lb), so a nice saving of 40% in flywheel weight. As the main area where the weight is saved on the Valeo flywheel is around the outside 'skirt', the difference in rotational inertia should be pretty good.

Other than having to get the 3 dowels removed from the OEM flywheel and installed in the Valeo flywheel (cost of $15 and 10 minutes of time at the local brake/clutch specialist who had the proper dowel pulling tool), it was a pretty straight forward install. Took me around 7 hours to complete, with only some help from the father in-law to help get the gearbox back onto the engine, it went according to plan.

I have only taken it for a quick drive around the block to make sure everything works fine before packing up all my tools, having dinner and settling in for a quiet night. First impressions are good, with the clutch pedal being no heavier than with the OEM clutch (just as Exedy said). The clutch has more initial bite than the OEM clutch, and the starts were a bit jittery as I have got to drive it a little bit more to get used to the feel and take-up of the heavy duty clutch and lighter flywheel. I will update the post in a few days time when I have driven it some more including peak hour to and from work, and towing the go kart and trailer (around 350kg all up) to the track on the weekend

Cheers
See less See more
I just swapped my clutch a couple weeks ago, 145000 miles on the original. It started slipping about a year ago, only when you really laid into it. The TOB was the culprit-- it came out in small bits of shrapnel when I pulled the trans. Disc itself had a lot of life left, compared to the Valeo (Napa stocker) I installed, it was nearly new. The flywheel, however, had a psychedelic blue sheen to it. I cleaned it up with brake cleaner & a scrubbie pad, then carefully crosshatched the surface with a piece of very fine emery cloth. I guess I "resurfaced" it. Anyway, there were no pits, gouges, etc., it felt mirror smooth. And it works great now, no chatter, the clutch takeup is about an inch off the floor compared to about 3 or more inches up previously. Just turned about 1000m on the new one, so I certified it "broken in" and gave it the beans. Absolutely no slippage, no chatter, smoked the tires in first, got em spinning in second and a chirp out of third. Last time I do that kind of sh#$ with it, 'cause I'm an adult now. And while the clutch wasn't a horrible job, it was time consuming and fussy. I want to go another 145k before I have to do it again! Hot tip for the poor man's engine hoist: an old 4x4 wood post, with a couple 2x4 chunks screwed together & placed just inside the fender wells, so the post has clearance over the valve cover. Hook a ratcheting cargo strap over the post & put the strap's eyes in the hook on the cylinder head. Worked like a champ, cost me $0. Other similar scraps would do the trick. Much easier working underneath without a jack or something on the oil pan...
See less See more
I have the ACT performance street clutch and Fidanza flywheel. I have had it for 55K miles. My stock clutch lasted me 45K miles. So from a durability standpoint the Act clutch is already proven to be better. This combo has been reviewed a lot so I won't waste time repeating what everyone else has said. The clutch feel is great on this thing, If I had the choice of doing it all over again I would pick the same clutch. With the flywheel I might reconsider using stock again though. I cannot let the clutch out without pressing on the gas unless I am going downhill. This is very annoying if you do any kind of city driving. If you live down south where you are commonly going 70 mph+ and not much traffic I would recommend the Fidanza. If you do any city driving at all or a lot of backroads with stop signs It can be very annoying. On the plus side it makes your car feel a lot faster. I mean night and day. It also improves 5th gear pull and passing on the highway tremendously. I live west of Philadelphia in a very built up area. For me I should have reused the stock flywheel. Also I replaced the clutch when I lived at home so It was not hard to eat the $500 cost for the Fidanza. Now that I own my own home I could use that money in other places. It would not be worth it to me anymore. That's my 2 cents on a popular upgrade.
See less See more
Will this fidanza make the cut? http://www.autoaccessoriesgarage.com/Transmission-Drivetrain/Fidanza-Aluminum-Flywheel

I'm installing my third clutch, and i've noticed the fidanza/F1 stage 2 as an option, I've decided to follow...

I'm at 215k miles so I'll probably be replacing main bearings and seals...wooo....
I had the local college replace the stock one that lasted 120,000 miles (with the stage one) as it started slipping under normal use.

They failed to machine the flywheel.

CLUTCH CHATTER GALORE FROM DAY ONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THEY SAID MACHINING WAS NOT NECESSARY???????

I DISAGREE!!!!!

When it failed (at 18,000 miles) it went from 100% to about 20% immediately and in the 8 mile ride home it ended up at 0% just as I pulled in front of the house.

The wife had to use the van to get it the last 25 feet into the driveway.

Just so you know, the chattering started calming down at about 17,500 miles!!!

I guess that was that something like HINT HINT???

It's been sitting there for a few months now waiting for the cash to get it done right!

I have no clue how long it would have lasted if the flywheel had been machined, but I bet it would have been much longer.

I think I'll try the stage 2 this time.
Well it's over a year later and now I had another local shop pull it and the flywheel was like the grand canyon meets the rocky mountains!

The flywheel was DESTROYED, as in not enough left to machine.
Also the brass bushings that were a TSB, that I bought and gave to them to install WERE NOT ON THE SHAFT!
The old worn out plastic bushings were still there.
Also, the clutch fork lever on the shaft was bent!
It seems they neglected to remove the lever arm from the shaft so it can pivot enough to allow the trans to come out.
If not, the arm hits the case and they had to use pry bars to force the engine and trans apart (trans to block had pry marks all over them).

Now, with the bent shaft arms along with the throw out bearing not being installed properly, not machining the flywheel all came together to create an early death for the clutch!

Something else that was strange.
The clutch I gave them was a YELLOW ACT part# HY1-HDSS
The clutch that came out was BLUE looking like a Spec clutch
See less See more
Any one got a review on the XTD STAGE 1 CLUTCH I'm looking to replace the OEM clutch which is sitting on 160,000Km's
What kind of power are you making that you would need a stage 1 on an Elantra?
What kind of power are you making that you would need a stage 1 on an Elantra?
You don't need to be putting out a lot of power to need a better clutch.

If you ever drove through San Francisco going up a steep hill in traffic you would see how weak the stock clutch is.

I also am a bit hard on a clutch and wanted something better.:laugh:

The point is that the clutch I gave them is not what came out of the car on the next clutch job.
My Elantra is rather stock at the moment, I'm not going to be boosting it. I just though a stage one would last longer and take more abuse
My bad, I was getting my clutch stages mixed up. I was thinking a stage 1 has a harder grab than stage 2. Never mind what I said about power.
21 - 40 of 49 Posts
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top