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If I had to guess, I'd say they might have thrust clearance issues. If you are well out of spec you are gonna waste clutch throw on taking out the slack. Could be a snapped or bent fulcrum, because that happens too. Otherwise, it wasn't as well bled as you thought it was. Properly bleeding brakes and clutches is really hard for some people.
Or finally, a total lack of understanding on how the hydro cylinders work together, as Concealer still seems to be stuck on. I guess there's relevance between possibly having to trim a 32ndth off a rubber pad and totally ******* an open bypass coolant loop for no apparent reason, but only in wacky world.
Lastly, you think this is only an issue with FM clutches? I highly doubt it.
Oh snap? You have to adjust the upper clutch switch? What ******* garbage, right Concealer?
I feel like you fundamentally aren't understanding what my beef with the clutch is. I'm aware how to adjust a clutch pedal on a Miata and have done so a few dozen times, thank you.
Here's a data point for you: I've done closer to 20 than 2 clutches on these cars. None have been an issue except for 3:
1) FM1 Happy meal
2) FM1 Happy meal
3) ACT HDR4 (defective disc, was too thiccc)
The issue, once again for those of you way in the back of the room, with the FM clutches: The engagement point was around my ears. Attempts to move it in a reasonable location resulted in a clutch that would not disengage when the pedal was at the floor. RIP synchros my dudes.
End result: 36" of pedal travel in some bizarre "grey area" of engaged/disengaged. I like a clutch that engages right off the floor. That would be my preference. That is not what the FM1 did in my experiences. It flat out didn't work in my experiences. (Note: every FM2 that i've driven has been fine)
Your links don't mean anything. They're links that show the SPM clutch is awesome. Thank for the feedback.
After 150 miles on the freshly installed ACT clutch. Zero problems. Clutch picks up towards the top and every gear goes in as it should. It's like driving a different car.
After 150 miles on the freshly installed ACT clutch. Zero problems. Clutch picks up towards the top and every gear goes in as it should. It's like driving a different car.
I started out with a ACT HDSS about 15 years ago.. It worked great for years until I upgraded to a FM2. I then had tons of similar issues as the OP had. Now I exclusively use the SuperMiata Organic street clutches. The only reason for the SM clutch over ACT is that is is cheaper and holds a bit more torque.
Unfortunately after my first track day the ACT clutch failed. I am having a series of bad luck. 3 sessions in car was working really well. Went to put power down on the straight and the clutch started to slip. I ended up having to coast in. I can put the car into any gear while the car is running with the clutch completely engaged and i can row through the gears. Only thing I can think is the friction material on the clutch disc let go. I just ordered a super miata clutch... ****!
Sorry to hear about your misfortune! I have a SPEC (from TDR) clutch in my ~260whp/~220wtq and have been pleased with no issues so far. If I do have issues I'll probably go with the SuperMiata as well. Good luck on getting it all fixed and hopefully this turns out better than any of the previous setups.
Did your shop ever figure out what happened? I know you said you wanted to diagnose more before we ship the clutch, curious what they found.
Not totally sure yet but I'm pretty sure it's a clutch disc failure. I talked to act and they said the clutch can only hold 243 hp to the fly wheel. I made 220 to the wheels. So after that I knew we had to take the trans off regardless and I would replace it with a better clutch anyways. I will keep you posted tho.
Oh snap? You have to adjust the upper clutch switch
Just to clarify, the Supermiata clutches do not require any adjustments to have ideal engagement point. We get our target clamp load, pedal force and engagement point by incorporating a few features and manufacturing procceses that other clutches lack. Those details are proprietary, but clearly they work
We have the occassional customer that messes with the interlock switch or pushrod adjustment and creates a problem. Sometimes the previous owner messed with the adjustments. In either case, the problem is non-OEM switch and pushrod settings. Revert to stock settings and its dialed.
Both my friend and I have FM1 Happy Meals in our 1.6 cars. Slaped em in, adjusted the pedal per the instructions and they have been perfect. Mine has seen autocross, drag, track days, 20k miles and went in in early 2017. His had the shell and engine replaced around it and still is good to go.
That said, I tend to reccomend people do the SM clutch since I have yet to hear of any issues with them.
I had the same issue chasing a FM Happy meal clutch kit not engaging after 4 reinstallations I went another route. I installed a LUK clutch kit and sold the FM kit.
I am not pointing the finger at ACT. This is very much a series of bad luck. I would love to know if I missed sometihng. The clutch did not seem to slip until the 3rd session and it just let go. I must have not broken it in long enough/correctly/maybe I didn't adjust it right? Lets hope I have better luck with the super miata clutch. This is probably user error. Not sure what I did but my Flyin miata clutch altho it didnt ever adjust correctly, it looked perfect when it got pulled out.
Update on the Supermiata clutch. 2 track days and a lot ot street driving and it has held up really well. For a 4 puck sprung clutch it is not too bad to drive around. I am happy with it to the point where I put a banner on my car.
This thread is getting a little cold, but I figured I'd add a couple pennies since I'm on the fence about replacing my tired motor (rod bearings failing maybe) and will probably do the clutch at the same time. I've had an FM level 1 clutch for about 12 years and 50k miles or so. It doesn't have a hard life of heavy torque (maybe 150-160wt), but I'm lousy at rev matching on the track and it doesn't seem to really care. Engagement is near the top of travel - maybe even a little too far out for my preference. To adjust, I didn't do anything other than twist the rod under the dash a bit. It does chatter if I try to slip it at low revs, though that does not seem to be uncommon for heavier clutches. I've learned to live with it, but it's really my only gripe. I don't remember what it's like to drive a stock Miata clutch, but this wasn't dramatically different.
Most of the complaints I see revolving around the FM setup include an aftermarket flywheel, generally the one from FM included in the happy meal. I am on the stock flywheel and plan to stay that way when swapping it again. Not sure how/why the flywheel makes a difference, but that has been my experience with just the clutch.
SM products in general seem to be well liked here and technology sometimes evolves, though I'm not convinced I should change brands if my FM setup has been working.
Just another data point to round out this discussion.
A few months ago I replaced my Churbo with a BW 6758 with a big bump in torque. My old California Clutch couldn't handle it so I bought a FM Stage 2 Happy Meal w/o doing much, if any, research. After I plunked down my money I ran across this post and was immediately hit with buyers remorse. It was too late to turn back so I reluctantly installed it and followed the instructions to a "T".
After installation and while in the air I made the necessary adjustments and everything seemed fine. Only, when I put the car on the ground it was slipping like crazy and I was thoroughly pissed. The next morning (before calling FM and giving them an earfull) I did a little test to get some info on how bad things were. I pushed the pedal in a few times to see if I could find the bite point, then there was a small "click" and the pedal went to the floor! I just knew that I had broken something. So I shut off the car, cried a little and Googled where the nearest cliff was so I could jump off.
An hour later, I went back out - just to revel in my misery - and started the car, felt a firm clutch pedal and then backed the car out of the garage...everything felt fine. So I went for a short drive and it all seemed to be well. That was a month ago and the clutch has been working flawlessly. I don't know what the problem was before, but everything seems fine now. I know, I should take it all apart and inspect everything, but I'm going to just send it (for now). I've got an ACT 6-puck on back order and I still have the stock flywheel in case something is screwed up.
I have a stage I with a light flywheel in my turbo NB. No issues thus far in 5k miles. Also, first clutch I have ever installed. And I beat the **** out of it. Just another data point.
07-06-2021, 09:11 AM
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