Lude Generation

Hi I bought an ACT clutch stage 1 kit from you (PAW) in Sep 2011, it was a waste of money, as it's nearly worn out, and I have never ever thrashed my car.
I have never even done a wheel-spin in my car.
I haven't even done 20,000 miles on it.
I'm thinking that maybe it was a fake.
What do you think?
PS I'm user "Gat" from PUK.

How do you know its nearly worn out?? Have you got it out?? Why not just call them . . .

Hi "Gat",

Ok, first and foremost I will 100% gaurantee to you that we absolutely DO NOT deal in fake anything !! We ONLY buy through official manufacturer sources - this isn't always the cheapest for us but it does gaurantee the product we get is genuine.
As many from here will know already through discussions we actively dissuade buying products from ebay due to the number of fake items out there (unless from a genuine manufacturer outlet of course).

I will echo the above question - how do you know it is "nearly worn out"? What are the symptoms?

You purchased this clutch from us which was posted to you along with an ACT flywheel, we did not fit this so obviously we have no control over how it was fitted. Was the clutch freeplay adjusted correctly for example?

I am also a little confused - If you never use your car hard why did you feel the need to buy a stage 1 uprated clutch in the first place, surely a stock OEM item would be better suited?
Performance clutches are NOT designed to give the longevity or drivability of a factory item, they have higher clamping forces and higher coefficient of friction which means that slipping the clutch in regular stop start traffic, town driving etc will innevitably take more out of them. Having said that a "Stage1" full face organic clutch is not quite so fussy in this respect so a fairly decent mileage return is fairly normal, paddle clutches are a different story altogether of course.

I'm not really sure what you are expecting from your post, the purchase was 3 years ago and the item was fitted by yourself/someone else. We are here to help of course but without full details/understanding of your issue what can we do?

Regards
Rich

PerformanceAutoworks wrote:Hi "Gat",

Ok, first and foremost I will 100% gaurantee to you that we absolutely DO NOT deal in fake anything !! We ONLY buy through official manufacturer sources - this isn't always the cheapest for us but it does gaurantee the product we get is genuine.
As many from here will know already through discussions we actively dissuade buying products from ebay due to the number of fake items out there (unless from a genuine manufacturer outlet of course).

I will echo the above question - how do you know it is "nearly worn out"? What are the symptoms?

You purchased this clutch from us which was posted to you along with an ACT flywheel, we did not fit this so obviously we have no control over how it was fitted. Was the clutch freeplay adjusted correctly for example?

I am also a little confused - If you never use your car hard why did you feel the need to buy a stage 1 uprated clutch in the first place, surely a stock OEM item would be better suited?
Performance clutches are NOT designed to give the longevity or drivability of a factory item, they have higher clamping forces and higher coefficient of friction which means that slipping the clutch in regular stop start traffic, town driving etc will innevitably take more out of them. Having said that a "Stage1" full face organic clutch is not quite so fussy in this respect so a fairly decent mileage return is fairly normal, paddle clutches are a different story altogether of course.

I'm not really sure what you are expecting from your post, the purchase was 3 years ago and the item was fitted by yourself/someone else. We are here to help of course but without full details/understanding of your issue what can we do?

Regards
Rich

Thanks for your response.
The kit was fitted by a professional car mechanic.
I don't know anything about adjusting "freeplay", but, I assume a pro mechanic would and would have done all or any adjusting necessary.
The symptoms were that it was slipping very badly on mountain roads.
So I had it taken out for inspection and it was very worn, with about 5,000 miles of life left (according to my mechanic).
I bought it, because you had it on special offer, no other reason.
I don't expect you to do anything, I just wanted to hear your opinion, and to make other luders aware of my situation.
I was expecting more mileage from this clutch being uprated etc,.

That sounds strange if there's meat still left on the clutch then it shouldn't slip, I've only had that from a cooked clutch by slipping it to much or oil contamination.

Was a new clutch fitted and problem resolved?

106pete wrote:That sounds strange if there's meat still left on the clutch then it shouldn't slip, I've only had that from a cooked clutch by slipping it to much or oil contamination.

Was a new clutch fitted and problem resolved?

New clutch is being fitted right now.

As I mentioned earlier "uprated" clutches are not designed for extra mileage over OEM, they are designed to take increased torque by increasing clamping loads and changes to friction material. Short journeys, stop start traffic etc on these kind of clutches is not what they are about.
Again, as mentioned earlier, you would expect a "stage 1" to last more than 20k but there are so many variables to this that it is impossible to say what sort of mileage you should expect (much like brakes).

You would "expect" a pro mechanic to set the clutch free play etc especially after a clutch and flywheel change which can alter the factory "freeplay" setup considerably but that is not to say it was done.
Several other key factors are can contribute to clutch wear (other than driving style/circumstances), poor fitting/alignment, release bearing tight on gearbox nose, slave or master cylinders not returning correctly/freely after pedal depression (more common than you might think especially on slave cylinders). Also as 106pete mentioned, overheated/glazed or oil contaminated clutch will also prematurely slip.

I can understand your dissapointment but I have to also say that I 100% stand by the quality of ACT clutches.

Regards
Rich

the previous owner of my car had an act clutch and flywheel fitted and he only returned 15k miles and less than 2 years. he had it replaced with another friction plate and kept the act flywheel. act are not for everyday use and require a breaking in period of stop start traffic then the race time can begin. they are not designed for continuous stop start driving.

http://www.roadraceengineering.com/clutchwarranty.htm

Blue Lude wrote:Hi I bought an ACT clutch stage 1 kit from you in Sep 2011, it was a waste of money, as it's nearly worn out, and I have never ever thrashed my car.
I have never even done a wheel-spin in my car.
I haven't even done 20,000 miles on it.
I'm thinking that maybe it was a fake.
What do you think?
PS I'm user "Gat" from PUK.

also i think the responce you got from paw was quite polite and profesional seeing as your questioning style seemed very abrupt and negative.

This is Acts fault and their problem. Not perrformanse ortoworxs.

honda-hardy wrote:the previous owner of my car had an act clutch and flywheel fitted and he only returned 15k miles and less than 2 years. he had it replaced with another friction plate and kept the act flywheel. act are not for everyday use and require a breaking in period of stop start traffic then the race time can begin. they are not designed for continuous stop start driving.

http://www.roadraceengineering.com/clutchwarranty.htm

Blue Lude wrote:Hi I bought an ACT clutch stage 1 kit from you in Sep 2011, it was a waste of money, as it's nearly worn out, and I have never ever thrashed my car.
I have never even done a wheel-spin in my car.
I haven't even done 20,000 miles on it.
I'm thinking that maybe it was a fake.
What do you think?
PS I'm user "Gat" from PUK.

also i think the responce you got from paw was quite polite and profesional seeing as your questioning style seemed very abrupt and negative.

I wasn't having a "go" at PAW, just stating some facts, PAW realised that with his response.