pfspeeddemon

Hi all,

Here's the latest :

My elder brother and I are trying to give the Honda guys the benefit of the doubt by assuming that they assembled the clutch kit by the book.

My elder brother test-drove it about an hour ago. No stick-shift stifness when engaging reverse. All gears engage smoothly and shifting is very slick while driving. Slight to moderate judder is apparent when moving off in 1st gear or reversing at 2K rpm (ie. the same amount of rpm I used when the car had the worn OEM clutch). NO judder at all when moving off in 1st gear or reversing at 3K rpm.

Today, my clutch vendor has passed on the following recommendations from the manufacturer of this Stage 2 street series organic clutch (sprung-disk) kit :

1) "to use a few more revs when pulling away. This should help as the material grabs a little more aggressively than the standard one so will smooth out the pullaway more and it'll also build a little more heat to help bed it in".

2) " to drive it and bed it in and it should get better after 500 miles."

So the above is very much in line with what you all have been telling me so far. So no clutch /wife-swapping is needed !

Thank you for all the help you've been giving me. You sure all are a helpful lot !

I'll keep you posted on the progress.

Cheers,
pfspeeddemon

Togobox

here's what i found but it's for 2000 to 2002

SYMPTOM
Shifting into reverse OR 5th gear is difficult.
PROBABLE CAUSE
Moisture in the shifter housing has caused the
mechanical reverse lockout assembly to corrode and
stick.
CORRECTIVE ACTION
Remove, clean, and lubricate the shift lever.

pfspeeddemon

Hi Togobox and all,

Thanks for your latest post. Car is much better now. My only gripe is that after struggling to reverse up my rather steep garage ramp and get through my akward garage doorway to get the car in, the clutch smells a bit like it's burning (?). I don't know if this is normal (i.e. the clutch is still new so it needs to bed in and this is the normal smell ?) or whether something is amiss. What are your views on this ?

Thanks,

pfspeeddemon

Togobox

clutch slip, driver's fault

pfspeeddemon

I have been driving manual transmission cars for 29yrs and never did I have to repalce a clutch on anyone of the 6 previous cars I owned over these years !!

pfspeeddemon

3ngin33r1

Eh? I disagree.

I drove my FI S2000 to the limits every time I got behind the wheel, the OEM clutch lasted 10k miles under heavy abuse, next one lasted 12k, sold it with 11k on the next OEM clutch.

Tried a few non-OEMs and they burnt up in 5-6k.

If you're bone stock, the OEM clutch should last you considerably longer than they lasted me, especially with those 29 years under your belt...

pfspeeddemon

Hi 3ngin33r1,

OEM clutch better than an uprated competition clutch ?! I beg to differ. Kindly check out this site to see what they say about the OEM clutch (i.e. that it "fades to lifelessness after a couple of high rpm launches")

http://www.sportcompactcarweb.com/roadtest...2000/index.html

It is a pity that out of all of you who have posted so far, none seem to be able to offer advice or have had the American brand of uprated clutch called "Competition Clutch" which is what I now have installed.

Tx for yr post

pfspeeddemon

3ngin33r1

Website racing? Aight...

Seems from your post you're having more trouble with the competition clutch than you would if it were OEM.

I will take my hands-on experience with OEM and the competition clutches that I've put in. I don't know anything about your vehicle setup but as I said in my post, if you're bone stock, what are you competing in that requires your competition clutch that now shudders?

If I can get 10k out of an OEM clutch pushing 400HP to the rear and 5-6k out of a competition clutch under the same power, I'll take the OEM. It's a hell of a lot cheaper. Keep in mind, this was all on the street, not a track.

I get this same thing from other bike owners (that own a Rocket as well) who only get 4-5k out of their rear tire but I (and some others) somehow get 11k-12k and we either ride the same or a hell of a lot harder than the 5k guys on more dicked up streets and tracks than they do. The only thing we can boil it down to is technique and skill.

From what I'm gathering, your OEM clutch was going out, you read on some websites that the OEM clutch was crap so you bought a competition clutch designed for hard track use and now it shudders or is hard to shift under street driving conditions.

The website you are referencing was not quoted by you in its entirety, "As before, the power is tough to access at the dragstrip, because the clutch starts to fade into lifelessness after just a couple of high-rpm launches."

Are you at the dragstrip? What are you doing with the car that makes you think the OEM clutch just isn't enough?

I'm not trying to beat you up about what you did but it sounds like you're driving a car under normal street conditions with a clutch that was designed to not be operated that way. If we don't understand what you're trying to do, we can't help you.

No offense, but a lot of us here have been doing this a lot longer than you (on this car). Now, I'm far from the most knowledgeable person on s2ki but I think I can speak for everyone that knows anything about clutches, if we don't know what you're doing, trying to do or how your car is set up, we can't help you a whole lot.

pfspeeddemon

Local Honda enthuisiasts recommended this type and brand of clutch over the OEM one becuause (1) this brand is very good and its pedal-pressure almost felt like stock (which I found to be totally true) & (2) they were in agreement that OEM ones don't last much on S2K's. I bought this type of clutch to have peace of mind so that when occassionally I do go to the dragstrip, I don't have to stay worrying myself sick that I'm going to burn the clutch out.

BTW car does not judder if I launch it with a couple of more rpm than when I had the OEM clutch and shifting is very slick, if not even better than before the clutch change under street driving conditions. The worst problem is the burning smell when reversing up my garage ramp but I've been told to give time for this clutch to bed in and all these problems should stop. Unfortunately, I am not a patient person.

Tx for yr advice, it's appreciated.

3ngin33r1

Honda enthusiasts or Honda owners?

More specifically, S2000 enthusiasts or S2000 owners?

I can recommend a parachute with holes in it but unless I've actually jumped out of an airplane while wearing one, my opinion on the matter doesn't mean dick.

What you're dealing with on this clutch may just be the nature of the beast in a competition clutch under street conditions.

Does it shudder under a hard drag like launch?