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Supermiata 4-Puck Sport Clutch Reviews/Testimonials?
After spending the last few months sorting out what feels like a thousand parts for my turbo build, I'm finally getting around to researching clutch options for my car. My goals for this car are fairly simple (at least on paper):
-Build a car with ~200-220whp that can survive a full track day plus a two hour drive to the track and back. Bonus points if I don't have to wrench on it in the pits for 3+ hours each event.
-Build said car streetable enough that I still enjoy commuting with it on surface streets and taking it on canyon runs (most of which are an hour from where I live). I have a second vehicle I can drive but I enjoy driving the Miata whenever I can.
-Leave enough headroom to still fulfill the two above goals with ~300whp one day. I'm a realist, I know one day I'm going to want to build a motor and go hog wild with this thing, even if the end result eventually leads to me wanting to detune it for survivability/ease of control.
-Ok, maybe my goals aren't fairly simple.
At any rate, I've scoured the internet the last couple weeks and am leaning toward the Supermiata Sport clutch with a puck disc. It looks like it'll check all the boxes for me. 340 lbs/ft at the crank is More torque capacity than I need, should have a lighter pedal throw than the SM Stage 2, the more abrupt clutch grab doesn’t sound like something I’d mind, and it seems like people have run into fewer issues with the SM clutches than with the FM ones. 949 Racing is also right down the street from me so I can just pick up parts from them will call which is an added bonus.
That being said, I have yet to find an actual testimonial from someone who's run the Supermiata puck clutch on their car. Anyone here have feedback on it, good or bad? Does anyone else with goals similar to mine want to recommend whatever they're running?
The SM clutch has about 15% more "swept" area than the FM and this additional area is on the outside where it will have the greatest effect,
The SM disc is 1/2" larger diameter than the FM disc.
I haven't used mine set yet but they were the way to go for me (and I already had a FM II).
I've had this clutch in my car since 2014 and love it, originally it came with a Competition Clutch 6-puck disc that is actually still in great shape (and currently in the car), but I figured since I was doing the swap I might as well put in a new disc. I ordered a replacement disc, not sure when they switched over to the 4-puck, but it didn't take long to break...After roughly 20 hours of track time it lost one of it's puck sections.
Supermiata was great about it and is sending a replacement disc which I opted to switch over to the full face organic, but put my old Competition 6-puck disc in for the time being...My gut feeling is 4-puck style clutches may just not be able to handle the abuse of being on track, but this is my first experience with this type of failure and I'm sure SM wouldn't sell a product that they didn't believe could survive track abuse.
Yo Spencer, thanks for the input! Just to clarify, you got the Supermiata disc and ran it with your Competition Clutch pressure plate?
Glad to hear that SM took care of you after the failure (as I expect they would). What kind of power is your car making? I'd jump on the organic disc option like you have but I'd like to have headroom to run up to 300whp one day. With the organic holding 290 lbs/ft of torque at the crank, that might lower my power ceiling a bit.
My clutch kit is so old I guess they changed disc suppliers at some point, so I have the same SM sport clutch pressure plate I've had since 2014, but it originally came with a Competition Clutch 6 puck disc.
I've actually ran this same clutch on three different engines, the first being a 350hp/330tq built 1.6 which it handled extremely well. That motor eventually blew itself up so I ran it on a stock VVT motor for 3ish years on track. When I pulled the VVT to do the k-swap I thought it was a good time to replace the disc so I ordered a replacement which came in as a 4-puck.
The K24 only makes around 175tq so I'm definitely not pushing the limits of it's holding power with either disc option.
Ahh ok I understand now. Makes plenty of sense why you would have done it that way. Well I'm glad to know at least the pressure plate has held up to 8 years of abuse with multiple motors!
I guess my final question here is did you notice any drivability difference between the CC 6-puck and SM 4-puck discs? Aside from that, you guys have pretty much answered everything I need to know!
Similar to spencer (Ironically we live 15min apart), I am running my SM 4-puck on a 350hp/330tq build for a few thousand miles, and it's performed very well.
I haven't been able to track the build yet so I don't have the depth of feedback already provided, but I did get some clutch slip on the dyno when we went past 340tq. Should be noted that I got the clutch used from a local but visually in good shape.
The clutch is surprisingly easy drive on the street. Still easy to slip, doesn't lurch on engagement even with a 10lb flywheel, and the pedal pressure is easily manageable. Totally beat my expectations for drivability.
The FM clutches are also good, but have a history of some failing on some users, myself included. Not sure if that's been remedied since it was years ago with an FM1, but definitely would recommend the SM if you don't plan on going over 340tq. It seems to clearly be the best value clutch for your criteria.
Jumpster, that's great! Stoked to hear some positive feedback on the thing. You're saying it was holding up until 340tq at the wheels on your car? I talked to Ed at 949 racing and was told their clutches were rated at crank torque like most other brands. That's a nice little surprise if it holds more than advertised. I'm also glad to hear it drives easy on the street. That's the only thing I was worried about. I should've noted my car has a 9lb flywheel and is IMO still very easy to drive.
With that being said, I pulled the trigger on the SM 4-puck and picked it up yesterday. Your post just saved me a week of nail biting until I have time to throw it in next Saturday so thank you.
It's beautiful...
Finally my car will be ready for a turbo kit after I install this sucker. Just spoke to Michael at Kraken and was told their Gt2560r kits are only a 2-3 week wait at the moment too... This is getting exciting.
Did you get the 4 puck installed yet? How's it driving? Does it feel pretty street-able? I currently have the Supermiata 1.6 organic clutch kit with lightweight flywheel installed on my turboed miata.
Yeah, I’ve had the 4-puck installed for about a month now. It’s streetable, but definitely requires more focus to drive with than the stock clutch. Starting requires more throttle and the bite point is very short and defined. Too little throttle or too much bite will cause a fairly harsh shudder.
That being said, the clutch engagement is much more snappy and gear shifts feel great once the car is moving. In comparison, the stock clutch feels very sluggish to engage. The slightly firmer pedal feels better than stock too IMO.
10-20-2022, 05:27 PM
Supermiata 4-Puck Sport Clutch Reviews/Testimonials?
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so thank you.
