Anyone get the tranquil sleeve?

[peteyjr]

In the market for a clutch replacement soon. Did an autocross on Sunday and went aggressive. Was rewarded with a slipping clutch with 5 th gear on the road . Not bad considering I have nearly 100k on the Leggy and won my class. I have a stage II+ setup and will be going stage III sometime this year. I've read all about clutches and considering ACT with WRX fly. Feel free to chime in on clutch experience (yes , yet another one) . Also if you have this http://www.fredbeansparts.com/servlet/the-3894/Subaru-Legacy-GT-TSK3/Detail that I saw on the Fred beans online catalog , what is your experience with it? Is it helpfull or necessary?

Thanks in advance

[Underdog]

I haven't really posted in the other ACT/WRXFW threads so I'll add to this one...

 

Primer: This is my first manual car. I drove stick before this but never owned one, so I have no real experience with aftermarket clutches to put this in context.

 

The ACT clutch is very grabby and non-linear at first. For the first thousand miles there was a distinct on/off point which I really liked. However it has since settled in and now uses most of the range of the pedal without that distinct engagement point. However, there is plenty of feedback and feel so that you can modulate the clutch easily. I would rate it as slightly better than the OEM clutch in feel, but hopefully much better in terms of holding force.

 

The WRX FW is a few pounds lighter than OEM, and I did notice that the RPMs seemed to come up/drop off quicker. This is not a drastic difference, in fact, it is really kind of nice. The engine just feels more "responsive". The trade-off is that there is a fair amount of noise, especially for the first thousand miles or so. I seriously thought about changing out the clutch because the noise was so annoying. Mostly I get the decel "lash" or "thrashing" for lack of a better way to describe it. It has quieted down over time but is still noticeable if the radio isn't above 10. I also get accel noise at low RPM, but I don't think it's necessarily clutch related.

 

Lastly, I did decide to put the TSK3 in because it acts as a replaceable wear surface for the TOB to ride on. That is the only reason to get it, in my opinion. @60,000mi my stock TOB was still in great shape and the quill was only slightly grooved, so the TSK3 may not have been necessary. However, if the quill ever became damaged, I would need to replace the transmission case, so it's "cheap" insurance relatively.

 

If I could do it again I would probably go OEM/DMFW because my power levels don't demand a higher rated clutch, and less noise would be appreciated. However, I wouldn't redo the clutch for it prematurely.

[peteyjr]

Thanks dog man, your posts are always very informative. I may need a slightly higher rated clutch due to the fact i'm considering the BryanBNR 18g or HTA68 hybrid he is going to do. I would love a twin scroll but the complexity is a bit too much for me right now.

[ebondragon87]

I just did, the ACT clutch and light weight flywheel combo from fredbeans with the tsk-3 last Friday. The TSK-3 is not a bad idea, my tob had 76,000 on it and was trash but made no noise and virtually all lube from the shaft was gone. So far i have put about 200 miles on it and it seems great.

[LosAngelesLGT]

If you drag your car and are staying at stage 2 dont get a LWFW. You have so much low end tq you dont need to lose the launching power and 1-2 shift grunt. I have a LWFW and at stage zero it is nice. At stage 2 it is utterly pointless. I am going stage 3 also so I am planning on it working well with a bigger turbo. I have 5k miles on my exedy stage 1 kit + F1 LWFW and am very happy with it. It was quite a bit cheaper than a similar ACT setup with 360tq clamping. NO CHATTER. Smooth engagement. Heavy pedal. I am happy with it and exedy makes more clutches than just about anyone (major oem mfr supplier)