What Is A Clutch Damper
What Is A Clutch Damper
Hello, I just installed a ACT Clutch in my 90 240sx. Clutches never last on my car. I have 135,000 miles and this will be my 5th clutch. I have used 2 Centerforce(did not last at all) and a Clutch masters that lasted 3 years. I ordered a Street disc with a Xtreme pressure plate that has 50-120% increase in clamp load. With this setup I can chirp the tires even shifting to 4th. I love this but the clutch is very very hard to push down. I have a ruptured disk and had back surgery 2 years ago and wish the pedel was not so hard. Someone said that maybe my clutch damper could be bad. On my last clutch it was always much softer and every few months I had to bleed it to keep it that way. I changed the master and the slave and it helped somewhat but after a few weeks it would get hard again. When it was hard it still was no way near the hardness of this clutch. Could this have anything to do with a clutch damper?THANKS Michael
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GroundZero
- Posts: 224
- Joined: Thu Aug 14, 2003 6:27 pm
is your car mostly stock? if so, you do not need all that extra clamping force. The stronger the clutch, the harder it will be to shift smoother, and the harder it will be to push on the stiffer pressure plate. The stock system is only ment to push a certain amount, above that it will get progressively harder to move.
What seems VERY odd to me is how many clutches you have gone through. Either your not driving it right, or who ever is putting it in is not doing it right. I am assuming (prob wrong) you do alot of city driving. I say this because it is almost impossible to use a high perf clutch on an underpowered car correctly in those conditions. In the city you will find yourself not fully engaging the clutch in traffic alot.... and with a 150hp car, and a clutch rated for 300-400hp, there will be virtually no pedal to work with.... it will be like either on or off. And you will burn the clutch up a lot trying to drive slowly in traffic.
Anyway....
If bled properly the clutch dampener will make the clutch feel softer and smoother. All the clutch dampener is, is a small loop of thick piping that absorbs vibration when the clutch is slipping against the flywheel. If you take it out it will only make your clutch feel alittle more responsive, but you will feel the clutch rubbing and you will have slightly less pedal to work with(crisper contact but since u have a stage 3-4 clutch you will only have like 1/2" of pedal play when engaging the clutch). To some this is a good thing.... others its annoying.
My only suggestions aside from getting a lower stage 1 clutch, is to check what type of fluid your using, synthetic will be thinner and might "help" the problem alittle.
Check the pedal adjustment, make sure you have plenty of freeplay in the pedal when the clutch is fully depressed, and clutch is fully engaged. Also make sure when the clutch is fully pressed it is completely disengaged.
What seems VERY odd to me is how many clutches you have gone through. Either your not driving it right, or who ever is putting it in is not doing it right. I am assuming (prob wrong) you do alot of city driving. I say this because it is almost impossible to use a high perf clutch on an underpowered car correctly in those conditions. In the city you will find yourself not fully engaging the clutch in traffic alot.... and with a 150hp car, and a clutch rated for 300-400hp, there will be virtually no pedal to work with.... it will be like either on or off. And you will burn the clutch up a lot trying to drive slowly in traffic.
Anyway....
If bled properly the clutch dampener will make the clutch feel softer and smoother. All the clutch dampener is, is a small loop of thick piping that absorbs vibration when the clutch is slipping against the flywheel. If you take it out it will only make your clutch feel alittle more responsive, but you will feel the clutch rubbing and you will have slightly less pedal to work with(crisper contact but since u have a stage 3-4 clutch you will only have like 1/2" of pedal play when engaging the clutch). To some this is a good thing.... others its annoying.
My only suggestions aside from getting a lower stage 1 clutch, is to check what type of fluid your using, synthetic will be thinner and might "help" the problem alittle.
Check the pedal adjustment, make sure you have plenty of freeplay in the pedal when the clutch is fully depressed, and clutch is fully engaged. Also make sure when the clutch is fully pressed it is completely disengaged.
Hello - I guess I should have posted a question before I ordered the clutch. I do live in New Orleans and mainly drive in the city. My stock clutch lasted 60,000 miles and I thought that a high performance clutch should last longer. I am now having problems in traffic with this clutch. The car just wants to launch and I have to really ease it out. I might try using that synth fluid and see if it helps. Will the clutch soften up with more miles on it? How long should a clutch last? I do have some mods on my car like a header, air intake, chip, HKS exhaust so I might have a little more then 150 HP. I guess I got the wrong pressure plate and will have to live with it. THANKS, Michael