I've spent the better part of the last 2 days researching clutches and flywheels, and just trying to figure out what exactly I want/need. I am seeing inconsistant product descriptions, pricing, and oppinons, etc... Hence this thread...

I want to retain the stock dual mass flywheel for stock smoothness/no chatter. I have read that some people have resurfaced their stock flywheel, yet some people say it's not a good idea, but don't back it up with the "why." I got a quote for $70 to get it resurfaced if it's not too warped/hasnt been resurfaced before. Why would this be a bad idea? This is extremely appealing considering a new stock DMFW is $475ish.

The thought of having a BT down the road is great, but I've made up my mind. I'm leaning towards the south bend stage 2 clutch because a chip is the most this car is going to see. Yet, I am not for sure about how much power this clutch can handle. I know it will hadnle a chip fine, but since a chip is the most I'll do, will a south bend stage 1 be sufficient? From what I can tell the only difference is that the stage 1 doesn't use kevlar in the friction material like the stage 2.

If the stage 1 is sufficient, is there much of a difference between the stage 1 and a regular sachs/luk oem clutch?

Where is the cheapest place to get a south bend clutch? There are many distributors, but pricing and descriptions differ.
I see OFE, Rally, and TZ series. What seperates these from a regular stage1/ 2?

THANK YOU!

 

A little help please!

 

i have a southbend stg4 sitting in a box waiting to be installed as soon as i can locate a transmission jack that i can borrow. from what ive read and what my regular mechanic has told me, you want to have the flywheel resurfaced while your in there. i have no idea why this would be a bad thing to do, ive never heard anyone say it ruined their car.

if you are getting southbend i would get a stage 2 or 3, even if all your getting is a chip, a stage 3 DXD clutch will feel almost exactly like stock but it will never wear out. you can get a OEM sachs clutch which will feel the same, however you may be replacing it in a few years. if its not much of a price difference and theres no change in pedal feel, might as well upgrade.

 

I think u already got the answer here and on AZ ))
Try contacting Andy@Southbendclutch for the better price +resurface deal

 

Re-surfacing the flywheel can increase the heat exposed to the clutch disc and pressure plate, so it would toast the new clutch in no time. Not to mention its almost the same material used in our brake discs which is very soft, so it tends to warp even easier when decreasing the thickness. You can do what i did and just scuff the stock flywheel up with a grinder and sand disc, as long as it doesn't have too many hot spots on they flywheel you should be ok.

 

Thats the kind of intelligent reply I can't expect from places like the zine. Makes sense. Whats the name of the tool that is used to check the fw for trueness? I don't understand how scuffing up the fw wouldn't eat your clutch..?

 

i just got the luk/sachs oem clutch and im going to resurface my flywheel if its not warped and looks to be in good condition and im probly putting it in next weekend i can let you know how it works out if you dont have to get the clutch/flywheel right away

 

Scuffing up the flywheel won't eat the clutch, it will help it seat, if you don't scuff it up a little bit you risk slipping it for thousands of miles taking years of life off the clutch.
There isn't a specific tool for measuring the flywheel, you should be able to tell by looking at it.

 

I can get a brand new luk dmfw for $200. I might just do that since as far as I know my stock has 170k miles on it and could have possibly already been resurfaced in the past. I take it that a new fw doesn't need to be scuffed up?
I'm still waiting on the damn lug bolt key so I can remove the damn wheels and get started

 

A new flywheel isn't glazed, its machined so it doesn't have to be scuffed no.
The luk clutch is ok, won't hold more than 250 hp though.
You don't need to remove the wheels to do the clutch.