REVIEW: Science of Speed New Sport 275 Clutch

I recently (two weeks ago) had Science of Speeds new clutch offering, the Sport 275 clutch and flywheel installed. A little background, my car is a 97, and thus having the dual mass factory clutch. I daily drive it, and it gets very little track time. The stock clutch would shudder making smooth take-offs tricky and annoying, and my left leg was bigger than my right :smile:.
My stock clutch lasted 95,000 miles and was pretty tired. The stock replacement is exceptionally expensive, around 3k just for parts.
So I was looking for an aftermarket replacement, and looked at several. My front runner was the SOS sport clutch, then Chris at SOS developed a new clutch that is less expensive than even the sport clutch he currently offers, the sport 275 clutch. The main differance between the two SOS clutches was the amount of rated torque. I am not FI, and really dont plan to in the near future, so a clutch that will hold the stock torque will be fine for me. (However according to SOS the sport 275 will still be fine for moderatly boosted cars up to around 275 ft/lbs.)
My first impressions after the install: I was depressing the clutch for the first time and "holly molley!" As I pressed the pedal with the usual pressure and wham my foot smashed into the floor. I thought something was wrong, but no it was just fine. (My left leg loves it.) It revs up (and down) much faster than stock. You need to shift a little quicker with it. When I took off there was absolutly NO SHUDDERING whatsoever. Now my clutch was like honda should have done it, smooth, smooth, smooth. (I cant even make it shudder)
I have not done any "real" hard power upshifts yet, except to get on the freeway, and it grabbs very well. I have rev. matched downshifting, and it preforms as good, or better that the factory clutch. The engagement point is predictable, (and did I say smooth already?). I am interested to see how it wears over time, so we shall see.
Anyone looking for an alternate to the expensive, shuddering, left leg building OEM clutch should look into this clutch.
I am loving this clutch....every day....
I will keep this thread updated as time goes by.

Thanks for your review Don, we appreciate it!

-- Chris

I am sure this is a more cost effective clutch for some NSX owners, but a new OEM clutch installed properly does not shudder. Compare a worn clutch to new clutch is not fair. SoS has offered a another option for the NSX owner and we appreciate their dedication.

EIFFEL said:

I am sure this is a more cost effective clutch for some NSX owners, but a new OEM clutch installed properly does not shudder. Compare a worn clutch to new clutch is not fair. SoS has offered a another option for the NSX owner and we appreciate their dedication.

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Hhmm, ok. But I have driven more than a few Na2's from low miles to high miles and on each of them you needed to blip the throttle, let the revs drop and let the clutch out at the right time in order to have a smooth takeoff, or of course you can feather the clutch a bunch and wear it out very early. So I guess all the ones I have driven were not installed properly, or were worn out....

Yeah, you are right, what do I know.

no offense meant...just my experience...

nsxter said:

Hhmm, ok. But I have driven more than a few Na2's from low miles to high miles and on each of them you needed to blip the throttle, let the revs drop and let the clutch out at the right time in order to have a smooth takeoff, or of course you can feather the clutch a bunch and wear it out very early. So I guess all the ones I have driven were not installed properly, or were worn out....

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All my NSXs have behaved the same way as well.

Were you getting clutch shudder or chatter? Mine at 50k miles has some chatter which I guess is pretty normal according to Larry B.

Larry Bastanza said:

How bad is the chatter? This is not uncommon for NSX clutches to have a slight chatter with age, especially taking off in first gear. It is typically caused by clutch dust on the disk spline and the only way to cure it is to clean this area, which is not possible with the trans in place, it must be pulled.

If the flywheel is warped or glazed(which I doubt), I can see why they would not cover it. Remember the clutch is a wear item, and IF the diagnosis is correct about the flywheel, it was caused by the previous driver, using the clutch incorrectly and overheating it.

If you are a longstanding customer of this dealership (in other words have spent a lot of money with them), they may consider about a good will repair, but this is less common for NSX's these days.

HTH,
LarryB

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Looking forward to the SOS options when it comes time to replace mine. :smile:

FWIW, i've driven a few OEM 6spds and non of them shuddered. I was shocked to have read that actually...

It should be considered that shuddering can be caused by a variety of issues, including lubrication on the release bearing and bearing guide in the transmission. In my experience, the Sport 275/350 clutches are as smooth to engage as a factory single disc clutch.

-- Chris

nsxter, how is the clutch doing after a year?
How many miles have you put on it?

Thanks!
-Vivan

I'm interested in the longevity of this clutch. My Oem has a whopping 143k miles... Which is a lot for an original clutch. This is mostly due to the original owner driving a lot of highway, but still... 143k miles is a lot.

Sorry I missed updating this, currently have 12,000 miles on the clutch, still feels great.

I'm on 7000 miles mark with DD and few canyon runs and it feels just like the day it was installed.

Thanks guys for your updates! SOS is having a sale ($100 off) for those interested!
http://www.scienceofspeed.com/newsletter/2013-11-29/ScienceofSpeed End of Year Sale - NSX.pdf

If anyone else has the Sport 275 clutch installed, please chime in and let us know how many miles you have and how you are liking it.

Mine is new.....only put about 100 miles since installed......a little chatter on the drive home from dealer,but that has gone away.....very easy clutch pedal ,,,since I was coming from the powergrip......engages like oem.

I have had one for about 5k miles now and it is great. No complaints from me.

docjohn said:

Mine is new.....only put about 100 miles since installed......a little chatter on the drive home from dealer,but that has gone away.....very easy clutch pedal ,,,since I was coming from the powergrip......engages like oem.

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Should feel like a civic compared to power grip.

lol ...I thought all the fluid had leaked out when I first depressed the pedal.

Good info. Any updates from those who are running the SOS 275?

jmarksnsx said:

Good info. Any updates from those who are running the SOS 275?

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All is good at 8k miles.

can't say much as i have had it sitting but the few times I've had it on the road no explosions.

12k no problems

My 1991 with over 160,000km is ready for its first clutch replacement. Lasting 26 years ain't so bad. I was interested in the SOS Sport 275 and see some good reviews and comments here. Any recent comments that anyone would like to add? I figure I'll either get this one or stick with the stock.

That sounds about right mileage wise. Around 100k+ miles is pretty average number for oem clutch for nsx. I have had sos275 for idk at least 25k miles. With few track days and many canyon runs. Even though I drive less aggressively now. No issues observed. Single disc design with laughter flywheel definitely makes everything more rev happy. Which is what I like and would never go back to OEM. Having said that I would go with OS giken next time.

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