According to FedEx my clutch is waiting for me at the leasing office when I get home. As there's not much user info out there on the Carbonetics Twin I'll keep this updated as I go through the lengthy break in as well as compare it to my Exedy Stage II. I'll also update with my personal reasons why I chose this clutch.
And as to it being famous: It's the model for the pics on Jacks Transmissions' page. (Currently listed as the evo 8 and 9 clutch, but that's my clutch!).
Pics from the site, will take some myself when I get the clutch:
Clutch will be installed in a couple weeks. Transmission is currently on it's way to Jacks for the rebuild w/ center diff fix.
Also want to say thank you to Jack's for taking the time to answer my obnoxiously many questions and for the great prices.
PICS (I know I need something better then cell phone camera)
Clutch and fluids:
Clutch:
And transmission back from Jacks Transmissions:
Updated 3/01:
Picked up the car last night. First impression of the clutch feel and how it drives: WOW. Engagement is soo smooth, clutch pedal is significantly lighter then my Exedy Stage II. It's been too long for me to remember what stock felt like, but I don't think it's any heavier then stock. It's very light.
It's also an amazing combination between being able to start smoothly, and having crisp nice shifts. It still grabs plenty hard, but allows for a smooth start up. It's quite amazing. As I've only driven ~20miles on it and have 980 more to go in the break in, I'll have to update later what it feels like during performance driving. I do not and never will drag race the car though, so sorry for those interested in that aspect.
Noise
I feel this deserves it's own section as it is what everyone says the drawback to the clutch is. You can clearly hear the "clutch chatter" noise when depressing the clutch pedal. I was aware of this noised before I bought it, and frankly so far it doesn't bother me in the least bit. You can hear it, but it's not that loud.
Now, that isn't the only noise. This is still an ongoing "investigation," but it appears that you get a few more noises with this clutch that I was not expecting. We had the car back up on the lift last night and checking everything because of these noises. I'm waiting on replies and doing some more research, but both noises appear to be from the clutch and possibly normal?
1) In neutral with the clutch engaged, a very rapid "click" noise (seperate from and a little louder then the normal engine ticking noise) can be heard from the transmission area. Up on the lift we were able to confirm this is definitely from the clutch/transmission area. After talking with Jacks, he confirmed it was the clutch. This noise only occurs with the car in neutral and clutch engaged. Put it into gear or press the clutch pedal and no more noise. It also doesn't always happen, just sometimes. The transmission was vibrating quite significantly when it was making the noise.
UPDATE: I was unable to make the noise repeat today. I also spoke with ATS & Across who informed me that the noise sounded normal and should go away. So scratch this one of the list? We'll see with more time.
2) A "clunk" or "thud" that I still am trying to diagnose. This noise scared me when i first heard it. When rapidly applying gas (while already moving and in gear) so as to "shock" the drivetrain, you can hear a very loud and audible "clunk." From in the car this does sound like it's coming from the clutch area. It's also clearly audible when driving over bumps; even the little "lip" into my garage causes the noise. It doesn't matter if the car is in gear or not, clutch engaged or not. I thought something was loose, but we checked every bolt and the motor mounts and suspension and everything was on tight and securely.
I don't know for certain yet if this is another noise from the clutch, but as the clutch is the only piece that was changed on the car, I have to assume it is. I emailed ATS and Across about these and am waiting for a reply.
Videos of Noise #2
I recorded it when pulling into and out of the garage. This isn't a suspension noise as the same noise happens when giving it sudden gas on just a smooth paved road. It's 100% new since the clutch install, and louder then the videos makes it seem.
Also, this is a maybe 1" high little bump, this isn't a big or even very noticeable bump riding in the car!
http://youtu.be/atbV2DjjgJs
http://youtu.be/ihIPqmEv72M
UPDATE 3/02:
Noise #2 Fixed! Turned out to be a loose nut on the rear motor mount.
Also want to mention that ATS & Across called me back yesterday a few hours after I had emailed them. They were very helpful and discussed what could be possible causes. So good customer support from them the one time I dealt with them.
Now that that noise is fixed the car feels tight and runs beautifully. Now I can 100% say I LOVE this clutch. I guess will have to wait through the lengthy break-in period. But for driving around town it's both smoother then stock while being more aggressive and having more bite when you want. The control is phenomenal and the pedal feel is perfect. I couldn't be happier.
UPDATE 4/17:
I finally finished the 1k mile break in. (although, I have to admit there were a few times during break-in that I drove the car more aggressivelly then I was supposed to. Oh well, no ill effects soo far).
Why I chose this Clutch
I want to first go back and explain how I ended up choosing this clutch.
A little background:
-I bought the car brand new in march '08.
-Flashed AP stage 1 at 15k miles
-Replaced the clutch with an Exedy Stage 2 and ACD Streetlite Flywheel at ~25k miles.
-Installed TBE and flashed AP stage 2 at ~27k miles.
-CMC failed and replaced with Magnus + Evo IX cmc at ~31kmiles.
I bought the Exedy based off a couple days of research on the forums and a lot of guys at the time were upgrading and using the Exedy. I heard lots of positive feedback on it as a clutch, and seemed like something a bit more fun, a bit more bite, and would handle my end goals of ~350whp/wtq.
When I first had it installed I LOVED the Exedy as a clutch. Compared to stock the engagement and bite, it felt great. Made the car feel more like a race car. For the first year and ~5k miles this is how I felt about that clutch. However the car was not a daily driver, whenever I took it out I went out and enjoyed the ride.
Continued...
And as to it being famous: It's the model for the pics on Jacks Transmissions' page. (Currently listed as the evo 8 and 9 clutch, but that's my clutch!).
Pics from the site, will take some myself when I get the clutch:
Clutch will be installed in a couple weeks. Transmission is currently on it's way to Jacks for the rebuild w/ center diff fix.
Also want to say thank you to Jack's for taking the time to answer my obnoxiously many questions and for the great prices.
PICS (I know I need something better then cell phone camera)
Clutch and fluids:
Clutch:
And transmission back from Jacks Transmissions:
Updated 3/01:
Picked up the car last night. First impression of the clutch feel and how it drives: WOW. Engagement is soo smooth, clutch pedal is significantly lighter then my Exedy Stage II. It's been too long for me to remember what stock felt like, but I don't think it's any heavier then stock. It's very light.
It's also an amazing combination between being able to start smoothly, and having crisp nice shifts. It still grabs plenty hard, but allows for a smooth start up. It's quite amazing. As I've only driven ~20miles on it and have 980 more to go in the break in, I'll have to update later what it feels like during performance driving. I do not and never will drag race the car though, so sorry for those interested in that aspect.
Noise
I feel this deserves it's own section as it is what everyone says the drawback to the clutch is. You can clearly hear the "clutch chatter" noise when depressing the clutch pedal. I was aware of this noised before I bought it, and frankly so far it doesn't bother me in the least bit. You can hear it, but it's not that loud.
Now, that isn't the only noise. This is still an ongoing "investigation," but it appears that you get a few more noises with this clutch that I was not expecting. We had the car back up on the lift last night and checking everything because of these noises. I'm waiting on replies and doing some more research, but both noises appear to be from the clutch and possibly normal?
1) In neutral with the clutch engaged, a very rapid "click" noise (seperate from and a little louder then the normal engine ticking noise) can be heard from the transmission area. Up on the lift we were able to confirm this is definitely from the clutch/transmission area. After talking with Jacks, he confirmed it was the clutch. This noise only occurs with the car in neutral and clutch engaged. Put it into gear or press the clutch pedal and no more noise. It also doesn't always happen, just sometimes. The transmission was vibrating quite significantly when it was making the noise.
UPDATE: I was unable to make the noise repeat today. I also spoke with ATS & Across who informed me that the noise sounded normal and should go away. So scratch this one of the list? We'll see with more time.
2) A "clunk" or "thud" that I still am trying to diagnose. This noise scared me when i first heard it. When rapidly applying gas (while already moving and in gear) so as to "shock" the drivetrain, you can hear a very loud and audible "clunk." From in the car this does sound like it's coming from the clutch area. It's also clearly audible when driving over bumps; even the little "lip" into my garage causes the noise. It doesn't matter if the car is in gear or not, clutch engaged or not. I thought something was loose, but we checked every bolt and the motor mounts and suspension and everything was on tight and securely.
I don't know for certain yet if this is another noise from the clutch, but as the clutch is the only piece that was changed on the car, I have to assume it is. I emailed ATS and Across about these and am waiting for a reply.
Videos of Noise #2
I recorded it when pulling into and out of the garage. This isn't a suspension noise as the same noise happens when giving it sudden gas on just a smooth paved road. It's 100% new since the clutch install, and louder then the videos makes it seem.
Also, this is a maybe 1" high little bump, this isn't a big or even very noticeable bump riding in the car!
http://youtu.be/atbV2DjjgJs
http://youtu.be/ihIPqmEv72M
UPDATE 3/02:
Noise #2 Fixed! Turned out to be a loose nut on the rear motor mount.
Also want to mention that ATS & Across called me back yesterday a few hours after I had emailed them. They were very helpful and discussed what could be possible causes. So good customer support from them the one time I dealt with them.
Now that that noise is fixed the car feels tight and runs beautifully. Now I can 100% say I LOVE this clutch. I guess will have to wait through the lengthy break-in period. But for driving around town it's both smoother then stock while being more aggressive and having more bite when you want. The control is phenomenal and the pedal feel is perfect. I couldn't be happier.
UPDATE 4/17:
I finally finished the 1k mile break in. (although, I have to admit there were a few times during break-in that I drove the car more aggressivelly then I was supposed to. Oh well, no ill effects soo far).
Why I chose this Clutch
I want to first go back and explain how I ended up choosing this clutch.
A little background:
-I bought the car brand new in march '08.
-Flashed AP stage 1 at 15k miles
-Replaced the clutch with an Exedy Stage 2 and ACD Streetlite Flywheel at ~25k miles.
-Installed TBE and flashed AP stage 2 at ~27k miles.
-CMC failed and replaced with Magnus + Evo IX cmc at ~31kmiles.
I bought the Exedy based off a couple days of research on the forums and a lot of guys at the time were upgrading and using the Exedy. I heard lots of positive feedback on it as a clutch, and seemed like something a bit more fun, a bit more bite, and would handle my end goals of ~350whp/wtq.
When I first had it installed I LOVED the Exedy as a clutch. Compared to stock the engagement and bite, it felt great. Made the car feel more like a race car. For the first year and ~5k miles this is how I felt about that clutch. However the car was not a daily driver, whenever I took it out I went out and enjoyed the ride.
Continued...