After market clutch - good experience

flaz

I own a 2010 370z with sport package and manual trans. I do not track the car. I began experiencing the "stuck clutch" syndrome at around 15K miles, where peddle would remain stuck to the floor (scary!). This would usually only occur on long highway trips (I assume due to high temps). I brought the car into the local dealer mechanic one two separate occasions, both times dealer refused to do anything about it. Said they couldn't reproduce the problem and so therefore, as far as they were concerned, the problem did not exist. The third time I brought the car into dealer they discovered a service bulletin which recommended replacing the clutch fluid with the GTR clutch fluid. That worked for a few thousand miles and then the problems started again. At around 24K miles I decided to invest in a whole new clutch. Since the day the car was new, the clutch had never felt right and I could barely get the car into first gear from a stop.

After doing some research I decided to buy the South Bend Complete Clutch Package Stage 2 Daily with 19lb flywheel and Silent Disk option ($1399 + $75 for the Silent Disk). Together with shipping I paid $1508 delivered to Florida, purchased from ZSpeed Performance in Ohio. "Joe" at ZSpeed was very helpful with a number of my emailed questions. The package included the heavy duty CSC and new OEM master cylinder, plus Motul synthetic fluid. Tommy at Grieco Nissan of Fort Pierce did the installation, which came out perfect.

The clutch is so much better than the stock clutch. At first the clutch peddle felt too low to the ground, but after a few hundred miles it sat just right, perfect actually. There is some minor chatter at low RPMs but really negligible and seems to get less as the clutch breaks in. Unlike the stock clutch, I can find 1st gear from a stop without any problem. This allows for much better launches from zero. This is the clutch that Nissan should have installed in the car, and not that horrible thing that came with the car from the factory. In short, I can't say enough good things about the South Ben clutch. Shifting is crisper and quicker, makes driving a lot more enjoyable, and will allow me to hang onto my vehicle for at least another two years until I decide to buy something new (maybe the 2016 Z).

ka24king

I have this exact story word for word even brought it from the same place! I agree I always say that it Has beenmy favortie mod so far! Our cars need it bad!

zefaulter

Thanks for sharing! I'm glad a better than oem aftermarket setup is available
I wish I knew the likelihood of my clutch failing. I've seen too many threads about this topic, makes me feel like it's inevitable.

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Joepro

Joe is top notch...bought my south bend clutch and other parts from him. HIGHLY recommend him.

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Glambutang

Wow thanks for the input, i was about to order one but was looking for feedback

flaz

It wasn't cheap; the parts were $1500 plus the install was another grand+. But it has given my car a whole new attitude and life. I always had lots of "shudder" going from stop into first gear, impossible to get a clean launch, could never find 1st gear no matter how hard I tried, wife's head would snap back and forth in the passenger seat as we pulled away from the red light, and car drove horrible with the stock clutch (not to mention the terror of the stuck clutch on the floor). btw, I also posted another thread over in the Brakes & Suspension forum about my experience with Bobcat pads and DBA rotors, which I had installed at the same time. Also very good decision and huge improvement over stock parts, in case anyone looking for feedback on that subject.

fuct

install was a more than a grand? ouch!