Which Clutch would you recommend?

mokhan996

I was wondering which clutch would you guys recommend for daily street usage? I despise the stock clutch, like.. DESPISE it, also hate the catch point which is damn near to the top. I'm used to catch points being midway or the bottom. I'm wondering which brand and type to purchase. Also would stage 3 be a little too much for daily use? Not tracking the car at all. Maybe Stage 2? Not quite sure.

mults

It's not the clutch, but the clutch pedal. If you search for RJM pedal, you will see a ton of replies on how this will solve your problem...Cheaper than a new clutch for sure.

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mults
40th Anniversary 'Z', 312.06HP/260.58TQ (Dynosty EcuTek Tune)
Build Date/Number: 1/27/2010 #706
Berk HFC + CBE, R2C CAI, Clear Bra, Cleveland Z Club

JLarson

Mults hit the nail on the head. Most of what you hate (based on your description) is the stock clutch pedal. Check out RJM. If after installing that you still don't enjoy the stock clutch, then go for the upgrade. I personally went with a Stage 3 South Bend in prep for forced induction, but had I intended to stay NA, Stage 2 would have been fine (I have no issues with stage 3 on the street, even in stop and go Philly traffic).

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2014 370z Touring Sport Magma Red MT // BP Single Turbo 6467 // 63mm TB's // Z1 Ported Upper Mani // RJM Pedal // Zspeed Stage 3 Clutch // 526 WHP, 451 WTQ
2006 350z (Sold) // 1990 300zx (Sold) // 1985 300zx 2+2 (Sold)

mokhan996

RJM Performance? I'll look into it for sure. I'm assuming its a "upgraded pedal"? Correct me if I'm wrong. Anyhow I've been looking into a few different brands like Southbend and Competition Clutch. Don't want a puck clutch just better than stock lol. Did your clutch come with a kit like flywheel, bearing and all that jazz? Also did you upgrade your slave and master when upgrading your clutch or did you leave it as is?

Asus_

100000% upgrade your slave without a doubt, especially if its stock! It's extremely prone to failure. Spend the few hundred to replace it and avoid the thousand later in repairing it. Search up the dreaded CSC Failure for our cars in case you haven't heard of it already.

Also, as others have said... simply upgrading to the RJM Pedal will be cheaper and satisfy all your needs for the clutch, its a night and day difference.

JLarson

It's an upgraded pedal in that it allows adjustment of the engagement point for your clutch, as well as the ability to tweak things like the height of the pedal itself relative to the brake pedal.

I went with a whole kit, meaning lightweight flywheel, CMAK, and southbend clutch kit. I upgraded the slave (CMAK) and replaced the master.

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2014 370z Touring Sport Magma Red MT // BP Single Turbo 6467 // 63mm TB's // Z1 Ported Upper Mani // RJM Pedal // Zspeed Stage 3 Clutch // 526 WHP, 451 WTQ
2006 350z (Sold) // 1990 300zx (Sold) // 1985 300zx 2+2 (Sold)

JARblue

Don't know? Ask Joe!

www.zspeed.com

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Quicksilvers

For street driving I really liked the Competition Stage 2 clutch holds up well to abuse and petal feel is still comfortable to use on the street as well as the track. I had the Competition Stage 2 and Stage 3 clutch kits they are both excellent choices for a clutch set up on a Z. Your CSC will fail it is more of a matter of when will it fail than if it will fail. The CMC is also prone to failure on our Z’s it will fail sometime down the line. Install the Z Speed Performance CMAK as soon as possible don’t wait until you have to call for a flat bed tow truck like I had to. Also the RJM Performance petal and CMC was one of the best and first mods I ever did besides the Z Speed Performance CMAK. The driver mod always helps with a manual Z.

mokhan996

Yeah I was actually looking into the Competition Clutch Kits. I was hesitant about Stage 3 just because my friend has a Stage 4 on his Cobra and I'm like HOLY F***. The car will be NA for maybe all its life, just will do my entire exhaust setup, CAI and Tune but that's about it so not CRAZY power being put down but I think Stage 3 will be okay. I looked on the Competition Clutch website and it doesn't come with a flywheel, which flywheel did you use? Also was it a puck clutch or regular disk? And is it truly needed to upgrade the Master Cylinder? I know the Slave has to be replaced. ALSO after upgrading your clutch did you still keep the RJM Pedal? A handful of questions haha

RekeHavoc

This! I recently talked with Joe and he was great in answering my questions and helping me to select the right clutch for what I plan to do with the car. I went with the Stage 2 EZ-Street kit with CMAK. I just had it installed last week, but have been really happy with it so far. It is noticeably firmer and a little noisier than the stock setup and better in every way. I, personally, wouldn't want it any firmer for a NA DD. I have hated the stock clutch from day one and this is infinitely better. The engagement window feels much improved to me and it revs much quicker and smoother. I do have the RJM pedal/Tilton CMC, but haven't installed it yet. I can only imagine this will get even better.

If you do decide to get a new clutch, you definitely want to address the CSC at the same time. You can save a little coin by going with the HD CSC or, better yet, just get the CMAK. It is also a good idea to replace the stock CMC, particularly if the fluid has become contaminated due to a bad CSC, but YMMV. You can also upgrade the pilot bushing to the Nismo bearing for cheap while at it. Oh, and of course the clutch and transmission fluids.

Hope this helps!

mokhan996

Who is Joe that we speak of? I'm new to the forum lol. Anyway, yes the stock clutch is booty, catch point way to high, overall booty. I may get the Competition Clutch Stage 3 maybe but I'm wondering which brand Slave Cylinder and Master to use.. CMAK is a slave deletion? Huh? Lol I just searched it and that's what the description was :/. I'm sure the clutch kit I'll get should have the throw out bearing along with it hopefully. I gotta see how the pedal feels after installing the clutch. Which fluid did you use? Theres a few out there.

JARblue

Joe at ZSpeed

Use Motul RBF600 brake fluid for the clutch.

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JLarson

You're basically stuck with 1 of 4 solutions for the CSC.

1) CMAK (clutch movement alteration kit) actually moves the slave cylinder outside the transmission bell housing.

2) HD CSC is an upgraded version of the slave cylinder using metal components as opposed to plastic.

3) Z1 CSC Delete is a kit that actually eliminates the slave cylinder entirely, down side being it requires periodic adjustment over the life of the clutch.

4) OEM CSC is just asking for pain, since it'll go again at some point, but is the cheapest option up front.

I personally went with the CMAK. It works great, and no complaints so far. Joe is Joe Allison from Zspeed Performance. He's a good guy and great resource for all your clutch related questions.

https://zspeed.com/

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2014 370z Touring Sport Magma Red MT // BP Single Turbo 6467 // 63mm TB's // Z1 Ported Upper Mani // RJM Pedal // Zspeed Stage 3 Clutch // 526 WHP, 451 WTQ
2006 350z (Sold) // 1990 300zx (Sold) // 1985 300zx 2+2 (Sold)

Quicksilvers

I used the Modern Automotive Performance lightweight billet steel ST flywheel part#2-630-6ST with both the Competition Stage 2 and Stage 3 clutch kits. The Competition Stage 2 clutch uses a sprung hub design with brass plus and the Stage 3 uses a sprung hub design segmented ceramic. Use the clutch disc that best matches it’s intended use. I had two Genuine Nissan OEM clutch master cylinders not only fail but,leaked and only got worst over time. I highly recommend installing the RJM Performance CMC it will save you in the future because eventually it will fail down the road. I kept the RJM Performance petal with the Competition clutch and I adjusted it as needed definitely a good idea. Also I believe the Z Speed Performance CMAK is the best option to go with. If you do install a Competition clutch kit make sure you follow the 500 mile break in period it is necessary for this clutch kit so your new clutch breaks in properly. Overall the Competition clutch kits were my favorite.

mokhan996

Yeah it seems like CMAK is a popular upgrade. Which site did you get the CMAK off of? ZSPEED?