ACT Clutch from Flyin' Miata

[rmb_miata]

I was wondering if anyone has installed the ACT clutch from Flyin' Miata. I have a 2001 Miata and I am hoping to install this clutch to remedy the horrible clutch chatter. I am on my second OEM clutch and it seems to be worse then the first. I am going to install their flywheel at the same time.

Let me know if you have any thoughts. Thanks.

[Adam Payrot]

Try looking elsewhere for both parts. FM charges about $200 over what you can get it for elsewhere.

Fidanza $334 shipped CLICK

Nearly any other company carrying ACT's has a better price than FM. Watch out for the one on eBay selling them for $360 shipped, I did a group buy from them last year THAT still has a few cases not resolved.

[Adam Payrot]

Oh yeah, FWIW. I just picked up the 7lb 1.6 Fidanza (13k miles on it) for $110 shipped :)

[rmb_miata]

Do you know how the car drive's with the ACT clutch installed? Thanks for the price info...

[Adam Payrot]

I've autocrossed a car w/ the FM Happy Meal and I also drove it on the street. Picked up how to drive it w/in 3 take-offs from a light. VERY stiff pedal, so it's a little fatiguing the first time driving in stop and go traffic. You get used to it pretty quickly though, at least I did.

They really do engage nicely, the only reason I haven't gotten one is their weight. The Fidanza/ACT Xtreme setup is about the same weight as the stock flywheel and clutch (I should know, I had 12 1.8 Fidanza's and 4 or 5 Xtreme and HD kits laying around at one point, so I got to compare first hand).

I think that's the reason that a lot of people are disappointed in them or can't tell the difference. I ran my Fidanza w/ a stock clutch, and the difference before/after was night and day. You had to be careful letting off the pedal or it would stall easily. The car I mentioned before, I can still notice it but not nearly as much. I can hop in it and drive it much the same way that I can my own Miata (for right now, it has a stock 1.8 Protege flywheel, about 1lb lighter than a Miata 1.8 flywheel, and a stock 1.8 clutch) as far as pedal movement goes and taking off from a stop.

[rmb_miata]

Wow, thanks for the info. Now I'm not exactly sure what to do. I'm trying to cure the clutch chatter and plan for future forced induction. Do you have a recommndation for clutch flywheel combination?

[EvilSpeeder]

I have the ACT extreme and another brand of flywheel (almost the same as the fidanza, don't recall the name). I got them from Alara racing. I don't have a lot of miles on it, but I've been EXTREMELY happy with it and could definiely tell a difference.

[BigDmiata]

Not sure if Adam is mentioning my old car, but I got the FM happy meal, and loved it on my '97. I never had the clutch chatter that some of the NB's have, but was having to replace the throw out bearing, so I decided to go overboard. I went with the FM setup because I didnt know I could get the same setup sooooo much cheaper elsewhere. Depending on you driving style, how much traffic you deal with etc., this may or may not be the best for you. The ACT eXtreme is a bit overkill for naturally aspirated cars, but it never stopped me from having fun.

[rmb_miata]

Thanks for the info. FM has put their happy meal on sale for $799. I'm still looking elsewhere for a better deal. I may purchase them separately if necessary. I noticed ACT has a clutch below the extreme that holds about 200 ft/lbs of torque for $328.50. I don't plan on extreme levels of boost if/when I do forced induction so that may be my better option. I can get the Fidanza flywheel for $389.00 from the same site gomiata.com.

[Flyin96M]

I have FM's clutch and the Fidenza flywheel in my car. I installed it prior to going FI and I did notice a difference. Now that I am FI I have not had any problems with the clutch slipping. Now the pedal is VERY stiff compared to the stock pedal and I would recomend getting the braided clutch line to go with everything. If you go FI above a JR SC they you will need this to hold the power, if not you really want to drive one first. I've gotten use to it, but I swear my left leg is bigger than my right

Now as for where to buy, Gary at TDR has just started carying all this stuff so you may want to drop him a line and see how his prices compare.

We just installed #10 last weekend in Roberts "aka Skirt" car and I believe it is time to go into retirement :P

[rmb_miata]

Thanks. After some research, I think I will go with ACT HD clutch that holds 233 ft/lbs of torque. Import Horizon has it for $369 and the Fidanza flywheel for another $334. I know it will be stiffer then stock but not as stiff as the FM ACT clutch that holds 307 ft/lbs.

[POS Racing]

Let us know what you think once you get it installed!

[fwMiata]

you can have the stock steel flywheel lightened quite a bit. we got the 1.6l one down to 9 lbs, so the 1.8l could be somewhere close to that. and they were on track cars with aggressive exedy clutches that are pretty good. they drove very nice and revved noticably faster.
just a though.

[Billy Blaze]

I am thinking of replacing my clutch with a better racing clutch and lightweight fly wheel.
What would this do to my naturaly aspired 1.8?
do I have to wait til I get the FM1 to do this or do I have to spring for everythig at once?

I wanna be ready for the FM1 with the other parts behind me but dontt want it to interfere with anything til I can aford everything.

so would it just make my throdle response better and be a stronger clutch?

[altiain]

Honestly? I had a Fidanza flywheel and ACT clutch for awhile with no other power mods, and I couldn't tell much of a difference at all. Nor was the car noticeably faster, at least against the "control car" (leadfootjon's) that I use from time to time.

[Flyin96M]

Well my experience is the opposite of Altains. I installed both the flywheel and clutch a month or so before I went FI. I noticed much crisper shifts due to less slippage and wish I had done it sooner. I do believe I went with a slightly stronger clutch then Altain though. As for the flywheel...put your money elsewhere. I only noticed a 'slight' improvment from this, hardly worth the price they want for one of these things especially if you are going FI. I would recomend changing your slave cylinder at the same time since they are known to go out easily. I bought a rebuild kit for like $7 and it worked great.

[SPEEDRACER]

You can indeed shave a 1.8L stock flywheel down to around 10LBS for around $120 and completed in one day at a local machine shop. Ataim just recently had it done in his car that we did the swap in. PM him or I and we'll give you more info if you're interested.

[tailchaser]

You can indeed shave a 1.8L stock flywheel down to around 10LBS for around $120 and completed in one day at a local machine shop. Ataim just recently had it done in his car that we did the swap in. PM him or I and we'll give you more info if you're interested.

Heh... I've got a friend that flies for Southwest that told me a story about a homebrew lightened flywheel... It was in a bugeye Sprite (long time ago and far far away, kids)... He had just gotten the car back together and was sitting at the line, anxiously awaiting the first autocross run in his more responsive ride... He revved it up, dumped the clutch and ZZZZIIIIIINGGGG!!! Needless to say, that was a heart-stopper...

Upon dis-assembly, they discovered that a little imperfection had been left on the surface of the flywheel and the clutch cut into it... The wheel cut neatly off the shaft.

[Billy Blaze]

OK I need to change the slave cyl. when I replace the clutch with a stronger one for the FM1.

Any recomendations on a clutch that will handle a FM2 since thats where I eventually want to end up and dont wanna spend the money twice.
also are you guys saying I should stay with the stock flywheel? if the stock flywheel will not handle that power what do you guys suggest?

I would like to replace the clutch and everything I need in that area at the same time. and I want to be sure it does not interfere with the naturaly aspired setup til I can make the upgrade to turboville.

I am also looking around for a suspention setup and sway bars for above engine and front and rear to go with the light wheels and new tires, any suggestions on what works for you?

the car kind of skips across the road right now if its bumpy is that natural for these cars or will the new springs and shocks help that?

[altiain]

OK I need to change the slave cyl. when I replace the clutch with a stronger one for the FM1.

Any recomendations on a clutch that will handle a FM2 since thats where I eventually want to end up and dont wanna spend the money twice.
also are you guys saying I should stay with the stock flywheel? if the stock flywheel will not handle that power what do you guys suggest?

The stock flywheel will work fine with an FMII kit or any other forced induction kit. The main (theoretical) benefit to a lighter flywheel is that it reduces the rotational inertia of the drivetrain, allowing for better throttle response (on a naturally aspirated car) and quicker spoolup (on a turbocharged car). In practice, the 10 pounds or so a Fidanza flywheel will shave out of the drivetrain has very little noticeable effect, imho. Since it costs around $400 and doesn't provide much benefit, I'd skip it.

I am also looking around for a suspention setup and sway bars for above engine and front and rear to go with the light wheels and new tires, any suggestions on what works for you?

I'd suggest coming out ot a few of our local autocrosses this season and getting rides in different cars before you make a decision on suspension parts. First, it's a whole lot easier for a newbie to end up with a car that handles worse than stock by throwing random parts at the car without really understanding their effect. Secondly, suspension feel and handling are very subjective qualities, and no two people will usually feel the same way about any given setup. So, I'd advise you to try as many different setups as you can, spend some time reading to learn what different suspension changes can do, and then make your own decision.

the car kind of skips across the road right now if its bumpy is that natural for these cars or will the new springs and shocks help that?

That's probably a case of marginal shocks. The OEM '99 shocks usually start to go bad after about 30k miles, and that skipping feeling is a good indicator that yours are starting to do so.