Spec Stage II first drive
 

Dropped it off the jacks today and went for a spin.

Two things that are really cool:
1st, if I hadn't done the job myself, I couldn't tell the difference. It feels EXACTLY like the stock one. Same pedal feel, same travel, same pickup points, same sound, same, same, same. No difference at all.

2nd, the only other thing I changed was pulling the cat for a test pipe. WOW BOYS, THIS IS THE BEST MOD EVER!!!! I know, I know, bleeding heart for the environment, blah, blah. The difference in spool is amazing. It spools so good that it became a problem.

I'd originally planned on driving the 450 break-in miles just taking it easy and staying out of boost. NO WAY. I can't stay out of boost. Even at low throttle applications, it starts making noise at around 1500rpms and I was seeing 2-3psi at about 1/3 throttle near 2000rpms. Believe me, I was trying to take it easy... just to keep up with traffic was putting me into more boost than I want for the breakin. This is with no help from the MBC. HOLY SHIT! So, I'm gonna do the 450 with the wastegate arm disconnected. I did some spirited driving, still makes about 1psi even with the wastegate open... a little noise from the BOV.

I even think I'm gonna do the first dyno run disconnected to see what it does on motor alone. That will be interesting. I got 60 miles on it this morning before I got bored of stoplights and came home. It's gonna take me a little longer than I thought. I'm gonna take the long way everywhere for the next few days.

I'm still planning on a DYNO DAY Thurs or Fri. 02 Clamp/305's/RX7 go in in a day or two.

Sweet man, my friends spec clutch was the same weigh, retained the stock feel perfectly. My ACT HD 6 puck is a whole other story though, I happen to like the IN or Out feel.
That's awesome you saw such an improvement in spool, i'm again envious.

Thanks for the update; that's exactly what I wanted to hear. I wouldn't worry too much about driving it in boost if you squeeze it on progressively. I would wait until the clutch has 400 miles on it before doing any other mods.

NIce. I had mine put in a few months ago cuz im lazy. I noticed that when it is cold out it has a little firmer feel to it other that that when it warms up it is pretty close to the stock feel. HOLDS AWESOME!!! I know its hard but take it easy on the first 450. You dont want to do that install again!

Goodluck on the dyno, U.S. Military BROTHER!

Glad to see the car is up and running! My day shall come.........one day.

I was only able to make it 4 blocks before i had to hammer it and test the clutch.:nono: . oh well...

how important is 400-500 miles anyway? why do we break in brake pads agressively right after we put them in, then baby the clutch for a while? aren't they using similar materials?

The Spec pressure plate prolly fells like stock effort because it is. Mine tested it out at less than an OE replacement LUK. The additional grip is from the friction surface on the disk pads.

my spec stage 3 is like a freakin on/off switch..... perhaps I should have gone stage 2.....

I've heard some horror stories about Spec Clutches. I'm going to honor the 450 mile break-in religiously and be very vocal about it here on the forum so at least I have some proof I did it right if it craps out on me.

I'm not sure why the break-in is required... good question. Maybe I'll ask if I have to file a warranty claim. I got up to 70 total miles this evening when I went to dinner.

My Spec Stg. 2 1.8L clutch and pressure plate feels about 15-20% stiffer than the stock 1.6L combo, FWIW.

My 1.6 Spec II feels slightly heavier than the stock 1.6. I'd forgotten what it was like until I drove a friend's stock car, the difference was obvious.

Congrats man! Great to hear, can't wait for some dyno numbers...:)

My Spec Stage 2 feels exactly like stock as well. I tried a 99 with the ACT XT and there is no way in hell I could live with that as a DD.

With me, I drove from AZ to SoCal and back right after the the clutch install, so as soon as I got back, I drove it like I normally do. LOL