NSX Clutches

[bob92blacknsx]

I bought my 92 NSX about two years ago. I replaced the clutch about six months after purchasing it. I just took it to a dealer and let them put in the stock kit.

It's about 1.5 years and 45,000 km later, and well, my clutch is slipping again! I thought the clutch should last longer, but the dealer tells me that this is about normal. Dealer warranty is 1 year or 20,000 km so I'm certainly out of warranty.

This time round, I'm thinking of going with a Science of Speed Clutch Kit. It's a bit less costly than the factory unit, but should take more power (My baby is setup with DC racing exchaust and HKS intake so it likely puts a bit more strain on the clutch).

I'm not sure if the dealer will do the work with after market parts. I know a former F1 mechanic who works at the local Ferrari shop and says he'd have no problem doing it, but I don't think he's experienced with NSXs and I've read some pretty scarey stuff that makes me think that only experienced NSX mechanics should tackle a clutch change. I'll be calling the dealer tomorrow to see how they feel about putting in non-Acura parts.

I'm just fishing for any words of wisdom, and am especially interested on how long clutches last for others (sounds like a Poll Topic to me!!!)

Cheers, Bob.
p.s. I have fun with the car, but never abuse it nor light up the tires so I don't consider myself to be a hard driver... but my Michelin Pilot Sport rear tires last 8 months tops.

 

[nsxtasy]

am especially interested on how long clutches last for others

NSX clutch life varies widely. A lot of clutches seem to go after 40-50K miles. There are some clutches that last less than that, and others that last as long as 80-90K miles or more. I happen to think that the big variable is driver skill. I realize that 90+ percent of us think that we are in the top 10 percent of drivers for clutch skill, but obviously that is not the case. One local, NSX-experienced dealer recently opened up NSX clutches belonging to three different, very experienced track drivers, and found that two of the three showed signs of abuse (heavy scorching on the clutch surfaces).

Don't be surprised if an aftermarket clutch doesn't last you any longer than stock. To extend the life of your clutch, spend as little time as possible engaging it.

my Michelin Pilot Sport rear tires last 8 months tops.

Tires wear by mileage, not time. If you drive 10K miles a month, you're doing great. If you drive 500-1000 miles a month, that's typical. If you drive 100 miles a month, you're doing something wrong.

 

[Sig]

Indeed that is a shorter life than I would expect with your car's profile and your description of your driving style. If you are not driving in an agressive fashion for most of those km's, then there are a few areas you may want to look at for improving your clutch life. Exhaust and intake mods do not add enough torque to make a difference in clutch wear.

Obvious no-no's are riding the clutch and consistent high-rpm launches. Less obvious no-no's relate to the speed of clutch release during shifts during everyday casual driving, especially from a stop. Clutch engagement should be fairly deliberate as opposed to slow & smooth. Smooth engagement, while providing a pleasant ride, causes much more clutch wear vs. a quick engagement at the appropriate rpm level.

There are several very good threads from the past that specifically address this issue. I am sure a search on the topic will yield some good information.

 

[bob92blacknsx]

Hi, thanks for the rapid input.

I'm a smoothy on the clutch, which sounds like a bad thing to be. Given how expensive clutch changes are, I'll work at changing my ways. I never ride the clutch, but do firmly, but smoothly engage it.

I bought the car at 88,000 km and just threw on my third set of Michelins at about 140,000 km. So I'm averaging about 25,000 km per set of Michelins.

Any opinions on which clutch kit to go for, or stick with stock?

Thanks again.

Bob.

 

[ROBSNSX]

clutch nsx

I bought my 2000 nsx with 12k on the meter now at
15k i need a new clutch, I never had such a bad experience
with a clutch. i am a stick driver all my life and never waisted
a clutch. there must be something wrong with this.
my dealer tells me its normal.
what should I go with now;aftermarket clutch or stock.
dealer is willing to install the aftermarlket clutch for me for 700.00
is this a good deal ??

 

[bob92blacknsx]

I've driven stick for about 30 years (showing my age now) and have had other high performance cars, some with over 400hp and I've never seen a clutch go as fast as on my NSX.

That said though, I've never had a vehicle with as complex a clutch setup as in the NSX, and I've never had anyone coach my shifting, so it's possible that I've been a bad shifter for 30 years as I've not known any better.

My typical lauch is firm, but smooooth and my typical gear change is smoooth as well. Smooth equates to slipping and from what I'm hearing this is bad.

I'm planning on attending some local track days, and doing a full day of training with an experienced race driver. I've met a fellow who has driven NSX's and is an instructor for a club that helps owners of high performance cars learn how to drive them in a safe environment. There's a really nice race track close to me where the training is done. You can find out more about this at www.morrisport.com

Last time round, the dealer charged me $3,500 installed in Canadian Dollars. Using an exchange rate of about 1.4 that would work out to about U$2,500.

From what I've read, I can get a reasonably good kit from Science of Speed for about U$1,100. I'm thinking of adding another U$500 to that for the high performance fly wheel (heck why not). Also from what I've read, labour will be about 8 to 12 hours for an experienced NSX mechanic. $700 / 8 = about $85 an hour. In Canada that's a good deal, not sure about the US.

Have a scan of the posts, from some of what I've read, I think going with a dealer is the safest bet, or take it to a specialty shop that has done NSX clutch changes as they sound very tricky. I've read that significant damage to the transmission can occur if the clutch change is not done correctly.

Cheers, Bob.

 

[DPG]

Hi, thanks for the rapid input.

I'm a smoothy on the clutch, which sounds like a bad thing to be. Given how expensive clutch changes are, I'll work at changing my ways. I never ride the clutch, but do firmly, but smoothly engage it.

I bought the car at 88,000 km and just threw on my third set of Michelins at about 140,000 km. So I'm averaging about 25,000 km per set of Michelins.

Any opinions on which clutch kit to go for, or stick with stock?

Thanks again.

Bob.

I would go with the clutchmasters stage three single disc. It may not be on their site, but they do have it. They R&D it for Brad Able at Autologic Inc. in Houston Texas. I have driven the owners car and it feels great. Not too stiff and engages nicely. It will last longer than a twin disc.

 

[nsxtasy]

Obvious no-no's are riding the clutch and consistent high-rpm launches. Less obvious no-no's relate to the speed of clutch release during shifts during everyday casual driving, especially from a stop. Clutch engagement should be fairly deliberate as opposed to slow & smooth. Smooth engagement, while providing a pleasant ride, causes much more clutch wear vs. a quick engagement at the appropriate rpm level.

Yes, exactly. One thing that will help you in achieving a quick (rather than smooth) engagement will be to match revs as closely as possible.

Originally posted by bob92blacknsx
I'm averaging about 25,000 km per set of Michelins.

That's actually very good treadlife for rear tires. Half of that is typical for the stickier OEM tires.

Originally posted by ROBSNSX
I bought my 2000 nsx with 12k on the meter now at
15k i need a new clutch, I never had such a bad experience
with a clutch. i am a stick driver all my life and never waisted
a clutch. there must be something wrong with this.
my dealer tells me its normal.

Get a new dealer. 15K miles is NOT normal for an NSX clutch. Perhaps the previous owner abused your car, with burnouts, riding the clutch, etc.

Originally posted by ROBSNSX
what should I go with now;aftermarket clutch or stock.

There are lots of previous posts on this, as well as info in the FAQ. Basically, if you want a "grabbier" clutch, go aftermarket; otherwise, go stock. But I would not get an aftermarket clutch with the expectation that it will last any longer than the stock clutch; according to everything I've seen and heard, the aftermarket clutches are no better than stock in that regard.

Originally posted by bob92blacknsx
from what I've read, labour will be about 8 to 12 hours for an experienced NSX mechanic. $700 / 8 = about $85 an hour. In Canada that's a good deal, not sure about the US.

$85 is a typical hourly rate at dealers in the States; they tend to range from $80 to $100.

 

[satan_srv]

I had a clutchmasters stage 3 on my prelude...it grabbed hard but the engagement was very good. I'm sure it's the same type design so I can vouch for the feel of it.

 

[vintagecarman]

Spec? Clutchmaster? Factory?

There have been several discussions on clutches lately & I’ve been following them closely.

I just order a stage two from Spec & am having doubt’s if I made the right choice. Stage Two High clamp pressure plate, segmented chatter-free, Kevlar disc, bearings, aluminum flywheel and tool for $1200.

It will convert my dual disc to a single disk. Then I read thread (New clutches) & suggested on calling Autologic & getting a Clutchmaster.

I called Autologic & was told that they highly suggest NOT buying the spec clutch Autologic & went so far as to say they have fallen out of some of the cars they were installed into.

I liked the idea of changing my dual to a single. I also read the thread Spec clutch & NSX FoYoAss has not replied to how his clutch is performing.

Should I cancel my order from Spec?

 

[jdnsx]

If you want to wait a while I will be giving a review of the Stage 2 and aluminum flywheel that is going in my 97 as we speak. BarnMan is doing the install so you know it will be done right.
After the install I will be driving down to SPEC so they can play with the car and I can visit the facilities.
As for the negative comments about SPEC, they sound a little exaggerated to me. I have seen very positive comments from a twin-turbo NSX with a Stage 2 and from someone on prime that sold SPEC products for a while, I think it was T BELL.
I am not saying they are perfect and I have no connection with them. I am saying that I was getting ready to plop down $2000 on an OEM six speed flywheel because everyone on prime thought a dual mass flywheel could not be resurfaced. SPEC has had the technology to do this for some time. Wait for more feedback.
I hope SPEC is able to give us more choices and the quality to back them up. I know for 97+ the choices were very limited and not without some controversy and great expense.
This doesn’t look like a product built so poorly it would fall out of a car.

 

[jdnsx]

another

 

[robr]

robsnsx, the clutch probably wore so quickly due to the previous driver. fwiw, i bought my nsx with 11,000 miles on it and it started slipping by 12 or 13k. by 17k it was undriveable and i replaced the clutch with a USED stock clutch from a newer nsx (single plate) instead of the dual in my 91. the used clutch if i recall had a couple thousand miles on it, but i couldnt afford a new one at the time and the price was right. i have over 90k on the car now and not a single problem with the clutch.

 

[ROBSNSX]

clutch

its seems opions are far apart.
the clutch from spec stage cost $862.00(not bad)
However its too new that most nsx drivers have no experience
with this item.
I did hear that most like the single clutch better then the double.
I do want a good performance clutch , rm racing used to have
a good one but don't sell them any longer.

Anybody has some statistics on these clutches ?

thanks for the input.
rob

 

[ROBSNSX]

clutch

jdnsx, let me know more about your spec clutch
thanks
rob