Hey All

New Miata owner. Purchased in Fall of last year. 170k miles. 1997 all stock. Eventual goal is to have it turbo'd with stock internals and drive train for street and occasional autox.

My clutch is slipping and it's time to replace. I just replaced the Master/Slave Cyl.

I won't be boosting for a while due to financial constraints. I think I'll be able to boost in about a year to two.

My thought is to upgrade to the FM Level 1 clutch (stock flywheel will be resurfaced) now as opposed to getting a stock(ish) Exedy clutch replacement. I just wanted to confirm with you all that I'm making the right choice here. Am I making the right choice?
https://www.flyinmiata.com/fm-level-1-clutch.html

I'll also be changing out the front and rear gaskets on the trans
https://mossmiata.com/gasket-kit-clu...RoCGtcQAvD_BwE

I think I'll also change the shift bushing. The boot is in good shape. I don't think I'll do the lower insulator. I've never smelled any clutch during hard slipping pulls.
https://mossmiata.com/bushing-lower-...RoCvKEQAvD_BwE

Any additional thoughts and recommendations would be appreciated! Thanks

 

Welcome to the forum! Don't be afraid to post up an introduction thread in the meet and greet section. Don't forget to include pics of your ride and cats.

Your build plan was exactly like mine when I bought my NA 3 years ago. A fun turbo'd street car with the oft chance of autocross someday. I was a college student at the time so my funds were very limited, too. I chose to go with the painfully slow route but buying quality parts along the way for the eventual turbo. I drove my beefier clutch and FF640 injectors for a year before adding boost. With that being said, I would definitely go for the boost-capable clutch if the end goal is boost. Many like the clutches FM offer. I decided to go with the Supermiata organic sport clutch and so far I really like it.

 

ACT or SuperMiata

 

Do it now, will be good to go for the boosts later.

I like my SM organic and disliked the SPEC I had. So that is 3 votes for a SM, and one each for an ACT or an FM. If you are gonna be down there, I'd also suggest doing the rear main seal while you are in there, I used the FM tool to do mine, just make sure you don;t scar the crank getting the old one out.
https://www.flyinmiata.com/flyin-mia...ller-tool.html

also, don;t cheap on the seals and get oem ones. I use priority mazda in VA, for me, seems to be the cheapest option unless you have the mazda motorsport membership.

 

X2 supermiata clutch and oem seals

 

Thanks guys. Could you give me some feedback as to why you all prefer SM over FM? On paper FM1 holds more torque and it has a 1lb lighter clutch pedal than stock

'm sure both will be perfectly adequate for stock power, but when I start boosting that's when I assume things will become a little more critical. Have you all run the clutch in a boosted car?

 

My understanding is that FM rates for bhp (brake horsepower, no drivetrain losses), while SM is whp (wheel horsepower), so the SM actually holds better. Also, my FM clutch started slipping at a lower power level than it should have even accounting for the bhp/whp difference which is why I had to switch to an ACT.

 

My FM started slipping for no good reason. Also, they recommend adjusting the clutch which, in these little cars is a royal pain. There is just no up side to me.

 

The reason I chose an SM over the FM, was the longer pedal and adjustment BS needed for the FM.

FM destructions here https://www.flyinmiata.com/support/i...structions.pdf

I am a lazy, lazy man and bolting the ****** in and just having it work without having to remove the seat and dick around under the dash with my legs twisted up round the roll bar, was just one less thing to worry about. And, it bolted in with no adjustment and was fine. Regarding pedal weight, I have no DPE with an FM, but can confirm the SM is much lighter than the SPEC.

 

+1 for SM organic clutch matched to a lw fw.

I have an sm clutch in one Miata and fm in another. I prefer the sm clutch (echoing what’s been said here) in terms of easy of adjustment (none) and closer to stock pedal effort.

 

Piling on the SM train. The FM needs a LOT of pedal travel to work correctly and will disengage low in the pedal, feels like driving a truck with a really light pedal. The SM is slightly firmer but the friction point is much higher so it's quicker to shift and feels "normal" to me.

 

Bought my NB used miata about 3 months ago and I have a similar boost plan like yours man!

When I bought the car the previous Exedy clutch was toasted. So I wanted a new one ASAP. I ended up buying an Exedy because the ****** was too lazy to consult me properly. But he did mention that adding stage 1 will make the car hard to drive for no good point until I boost and he does have a point though.

Besides driving easiness though, I do understand that boosting our cars is something that comes after a lot of research and setting specific realistic goals and budget. If you have done that maybe you are ready to go with the stage 1 clutch you are thinking. But if you haven't you might end up needing a new clutch again when you boost and then you will have spent a fair amount of money for a part that simply did not cut your plan. If I was in your shoes right now and given the fact that I'm still very far from my boost plan, I'd buy a Korean one for the next 2 years for the half of Exedy's cost. Then when I'd have a realistic plan I'd revisit options.

Hope my thought process helps you weight options a bit better