Mazdaspeed Clutch/Flywheel

[///M]

My clutch went out at 60000km (which included about 4 track days) and I replaced it with the Mazdaspeed unit, seeing as they have finally become widely available in Canada. The timing of the price reduction on Mazdaspeed parts couldn\'t have been more perfect! Special thanks to Dave from MoT for ordering it in for me. I also had the Mazdaspeed lightweight flywheel installed - might as well since the tranny needed to be dropped. Here\'s my post break-in impressions:

The Mazdaspeed clutch is made by Daikin (a subsidary of Exedy), while the stock clutch is a German Sachs unit. Clutch pedal effort remains light and close to stock, but feels more springy. Engagement is more abrupt and less forgiving than stock, though it\'s pretty easy to get used to. Launches are cleaner and crisper, and the clutch seems to hold power well, though my comparison may have been skewed by that fact that I was driving on a slipping stock clutch for about a month prior to replacing it. I haven\'t had the chance to track it this season yet, so I\'ve only done relatively mild street driving on it.

The flywheel is great. The car picks up faster and the engine\'s slightly more rev-happy. Overall, the effect is similar to switching to a set of lightweight wheels. Gas mileage also seems to have improved a bit (about 30-50km more on a tank), which is great news with todays\' gas prices. At 14lbs, it remains very streetable and easy to launch smoothly, even on hills. The car still idles as smooth as stock, with no evidence of any idle chatter. I think I could have gone with an even lighter flywheel without much detrimetal effect on this front.

Overall - a great, if somewhat expensive mod, mainly due to the cost of installation. The slight premium in cost over the stock unit is worth it though, especially if your clutch needs replacing.

[FLIPDADY]

+1

Your car drives like it\'s track ready. I took it down the street after the install and the mount thing.;)

Money well spent.

[chu315]

how much did u pay for everything and install???

[SABIO]

very nice... you might have to let me try it out :)

or at least check out how it revs..

Do you notice a difference when downshifting? Are your revs alot different going through the gears? or it\'s more like you have to shift a little faster?

This is something I was thinking about, but I would go lighter I think on the flywheel..i think:)

[MajesticBlueNTO]

Originally posted by SABIO

This is something I was thinking about, but I would go lighter I think on the flywheel..i think:)

not if you\'re looking into a turbo ;)

[SABIO]

My Turbo dreams were finally squashed as of 7:02 pm, April 1st.:p

Better than any Turbo :)

[MajesticBlueNTO]

Originally posted by SABIO


My Turbo dreams were finally squashed as of 7:02 pm, April 1st.:p

Better than any Turbo :)

touche :D

keep us updated autoexe, i\'m also thinking of this combo if I ever need a new clutch. Luckily my 80,000+kms have been mostly highway.

[///M]

Originally posted by SABIO
Do you notice a difference when downshifting? Are your revs alot different going through the gears? or it\'s more like you have to shift a little faster?


I wouldn\'t go as far as to say that it revs \"a lot different\", but the effect is noticeable. It feels like the engine is freed up and and more responsive to throttle input. Shifting feels almost the same after the initial adjustment and getting used to (about 20 mins. or so of driving). The MS clutch also helps with shifting slightly faster.

[MaxRPM]

Better change the way you work the clutch or this one will go just as fast.

[majic]

Originally posted by MaxRPM


Better change the way you work the clutch or this one will go just as fast.

yah, i didn\'t think the clutch would go this soon even after tracking .. maybe if you ran 1/4mi and dumped the clutch at high RPMs..

EDIT: what is the price difference b/w stock and mspeed one?
how long SHOULD (under normal driving conditions.. say 50/50 hwy/city) the clutch last?

*awaits being ****joogled*

[///M]

Originally posted by majic



Originally posted by MaxRPM


Better change the way you work the clutch or this one will go just as fast.

yah, i didn\'t think the clutch would go this soon even after tracking .. maybe if you ran 1/4mi and dumped the clutch at high RPMs..

EDIT: what is the price difference b/w stock and mspeed one?
how long SHOULD (under normal driving conditions.. say 50/50 hwy/city) the clutch last?

*awaits being ****joogled*



I\'ve only ever dumped the clutch once. I did teach a friend to drive stick on my car, so that might\'ve been a factor.

[MaxRPM]

Track days or not, you are clearly riding the clutch too much, it shouldn\'t be worn out at 60k.

[MajesticBlueNTO]

Originally posted by MaxRPM


Track days or not, you are clearly riding the clutch too much, it shouldn\'t be worn out at 60k.

I was surfing the \'other\' forum and found this:

http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/1/web/337000-337999/337094_265_full.jpg

does that mean autoexe got a new tranny (or tranny rebuild) as well?

60,000km and a new clutch AND tranny?! my friend has a ~300 WHEEL horsepower WRX with the 5spd that\'s notorious for shredding 2nd gear (even when stock) and he\'s still on the original tranny after 70,000km. (he was a n00b at driving stick too when he got it).

i\'m sorry man, but that leads me to ask the question: \"should we really be asking a guy that can\'t drive how a performance clutch and flywheel feel?\"

[SABIO]

Ya,, He gots a new tranny out of the deal too. :)

[///M]

Originally posted by MajesticBlueN



Originally posted by MaxRPM


Track days or not, you are clearly riding the clutch too much, it shouldn\'t be worn out at 60k.

I was surfing the \'other\' forum and found this:

http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/1/web/337000-337999/337094_265_full.jpg

does that mean autoexe got a new tranny (or tranny rebuild) as well?

60,000km and a new clutch AND tranny?! my friend has a ~300 WHEEL horsepower WRX with the 5spd that\'s notorious for shredding 2nd gear (even when stock) and he\'s still on the original tranny after 70,000km. (he was a n00b at driving stick too when he got it).

i\'m sorry man, but that leads me to ask the question: \"should we really be asking a guy that can\'t drive how a performance clutch and flywheel feel?\"



Yes, I did get a new transmission under warranty. It was replaced because the master tech thought that the vibration I was experiencing was caused by the tranny. That didn\'t fix it, and later it was traced to a broken motor mount. In other words, my transmission was fine.

For the record, I learnt to drive (not on this car) and took my roadtest on a manual transmission and passed with flying colours. Have you ever seen me drive? Please don\'t jump to conclusions.

[MajesticBlueNTO]

Originally posted by autoexe

Yes, I did get a new transmission under warranty. It was replaced because the master tech thought that the vibration I was experiencing was caused by the tranny. That didn\'t fix it, and later it was traced to a broken motor mount. In other words, my transmission was fine.

For the record, I learnt to drive (not on this car) and took my roadtest on a manual transmission and passed with flying colours. Have you ever seen me drive? Please don\'t jump to conclusions.

i\'ve seen you drive (the vids have since been removed (http://torontomazda3.com/forum/read.php?TID=3127)) and it ain\'t pretty.

irrespective of the tranny, you\'re still riding the clutch too much to have it go at 60,000kms, and the track is no excuse.

[///M]

Originally posted by MajesticBlueN
irrespective of the tranny, you\'re still riding the clutch too much to have it go at 60,000kms, and the track is no excuse.

I don\'t treat the steet as a track, and how you are able to draw conclusions about my shifting from outside the car is beyond me. But hey, say what pleases you.

[MajesticBlueNTO]

Originally posted by autoexe



Originally posted by MajesticBlueN
irrespective of the tranny, you\'re still riding the clutch too much to have it go at 60,000kms, and the track is no excuse.

I don\'t treat the steet as a track, and how you are able to draw conclusions about my shifting from outside the car is beyond me. But hey, say what pleases you.

you asked if i\'ve seen you drive and yes i have. you\'re right, it is beyond you to see how one can tell how someone is shifting from outside the car.

regardless, i don\'t need to draw conclusions of your shifting from outside the car, the fact the clutch went at 60,000km is proof enough.


Originally posted by autoexe
My clutch went out at 60000km (which included about 4 track days)

note the weak attempt to justify your clutch going out by including how many track days you\'ve been to...check out MaxRPM\'s website, he went to TWENTY track days and three 1/4 mile tracks (2 trips not listed - all with multiple passes) with his 6spd Maxima and his clutch NEVER had any problems with slippage.

[///M]

Originally posted by autoexe
I did teach a friend to drive stick on my car, so that might\'ve been a factor.

[MajesticBlueNTO]

Originally posted by autoexe



Originally posted by autoexe
I did teach a friend to drive stick on my car, so that might\'ve been a factor.

man up and accept some responsibility...stop blaming it on others when you are the primary driver of the car.

any more lame excuses?

[SABIO]

http://www.planetsmilies.com/smilies/sign/sign0083.gif

http://www.planetsmilies.com/smilies/fighting/fighting0040.gif

[bubba1983]

great entertainment just gettin home from work...*cracks a beer*