Well I am new here and would love to frequent this board if it proves helpful

I am looking at a stage 2 clutch kit and do not know which one to get...

Exedy
ACT
Centerforce
Spec

all are around the same price, but I need to know which one is worth it, for a 2003 GTS 3.0L V6 Eclipse. any first hand info would be great... thanks ahead of time.

Xtrm

 

Cool, nice to have you here. I'm personally a big supporter of Exedy. I have their Stage 1 Street disc and it's held up to just about everything i can throw at it. Also, Exedy is the OEM manufacturer of DSM clutch's so they're pretty good to begin with. I know the CFDF(Centerforce Dual Friction) clutch is also pretty nice, it holds more but has a stock light feeling. SPEC/Fidanza makes excellent flywheels, so i'd imagine their clutch's would be pretty good too. Now, the ACT series is where you get serious. They're "Staged" series is ok, but their money-makers are the 2100 and 2600 series clutchs. The 2100 is roughly about the same as CFDF in terms of life(although the CFDF is rated at 2500lbs holding capacity), and the 2600 is for when you're making over 400hp or so. I dunno, if it were my choice i would go for the Exedy or even SPEC/Fidanza. Please note that most of these clutch's are around the same price, give or take ~$75. Hope this helps you out a bit.

 

ACT Heavy Duty Clutches: MB6-HDR6 w/ ACT 6 Puck Race Disc...

The site says that it is a 2100 but how do I tell which one I need or want or that they use...?

 

Well, it goes generally by how much power you make, or more specifically how much torque, and how you use/abuse your car. If you drag a alot and still drive your car on the streets, a 2100 rated clutch is a good clutch. If you drag more often and only drive your car on the weekends, then you may want to move up to a 2600 clutch for better life expectancy and more consistent launchs. Also, the higher rated a clutch, the harder they are to use, more or less. A 2600 is gonna require you to really get some leg muscles, and they're not easy to slip or feather. Any higher clutch rating is generally gonna be like an on/off switch....definitely not good for the street. Now, clutch's like the Centerforce Dual friction are specially made to offer high clamping force(2500) while still being just as streetable and easy to use as the 2100 clutchs. The pay-off though is life expectancy. You'll see all these triple disc clutch's and multi-clutch packs....they can handle the power and not shock the drivetrain too much, but they don't last as long as single disc would. Also, a lot depends on the drivetrain of the car. The stock clutch is basically a fuse to the rest of a drivetrain. If you make big power, the stock clutch will wear out quicker and absorb most of the drivetrain shock, thus saving your transmission from damage. If you replace the stock clutch with something less forgiving, say a 2600 puck type clutch, instead of soaking up drivetrain shock, the stiffer clutch will instead transfer shock to drivetrain and put more stress on the transmisson, axle, whatever.....making your transmission the weak point in the powertrain. And clutch's are a lot cheaper and easier to replace than a whole transmisission....so be wise.

So decide carfefully, the 2100 is a good choice for good power, and is still streetable. As for telling which type of clutch is on the site....just look up the part number on the site and it should tell which clutch it's using. Usually though, anything that has "race" and "puck" in the name is not a good choice for the street. Anyway, hope this helps you out.