SPEC 3 clutch chatter

[paxton350]

ok got my new clutch and steel flywheel in. i havnt driven the car too much but im having terrible clutch chatter from neutral to 1. it doesnt really chatter driving through other gears just neutral to 1 and reverse... is this normal with a NEW steel flywheel and SPEC 3 clutch setup?

-chris

[Jeff_in_Atl]

Well I had it really bad chatter with a SPEC stage 2 clutch. I couldn't drive it. I eventually had to take it out and put a SLP disc in it. I've warned people about the SPEC clutches. Some people have troubles, some don't.

[Kevin V 2002 SS]

I have the Spec 3 and the chatter gradually goes away. So far I really like it.

[raroZ28]

my spec s3 chatters like a mofo taking off in first. Not bad for how much power it holds though.

[fastTa]

I've installed a couple SPEC stage 3's in a few cars and they worked great with no chatter whatsoever. In all those cars we had the flywheel ground on a CNC machine and upgraded the master and slave.

It is very easy to improperly install a clutch...very easy. That is where most of the bad raps that clutches get come from.

I have always had excellent results with SPEC products.

To each his own.

[Jeff_in_Atl]

I've installed a couple SPEC stage 3's in a few cars and they worked great with no chatter whatsoever. In all those cars we had the flywheel ground on a CNC machine and upgraded the master and slave.

It is very easy to improperly install a clutch...very easy. That is where most of the bad raps that clutches get come from.

I have always had excellent results with SPEC products.

To each his own.

Mine was installed correctly.

[fastTa]

Mine was installed correctly.

That is unfortunate. I've driven a few cars with SPEC stage 2's and unless you knew better, you wouldn't have known any better between it and the stock clutch. Smooth as can be.

Maybe you just had a rare factory defect from SPEC?

[paxton350]

well im hoping i just got to break it in a little more thats all... thanks for the input!

[Trash man]

ill see if i cant find the link, but a guy install a spec clutch, and it chattered the frist mile he drove it, took it apart and there was a high spot on the PP

Edit: http://www.njfboa.org/forums/showthread.php?t=16393

[fastTa]

I would venture to say that the majority of aftermarket clutches installed are done incorrectly to a certain degree.....even from reputable shops. Trust me, it's more common than you think.

The flywheels aren't re-surfaced properly half the time, people don't use the correct alignment tools or don't know how to use the alignment tools correctly if they are included with the clutch, they do not thoroughly clean ALL engagement surfaces(you cannot touch the enagament surfaces), and yhr pressure plate and cover bolts are rarely torqued properly in the star pattern.

A high spot in the pressure plate is almost a sure indicator of an improperly installed clutch or an improperly re-surfaced flywheel. NO WAY it came from a manufacturer with a .020" high spot.

[Jeff_in_Atl]

Maybe you just had a rare factory defect from SPEC?

Actually it was. It measured a .010 taper from one side of the disc to the other. I drove it for a month and when I took it out you could see where it touched on about 30% of the disc. The rest was unscratched. If it had been parallel it probably wouldn't have been near as bad but after taking the trans out 3 times in a month I was fed up with it. BTW SPEC took it back and asked for a stage 1 replacement disc which they did send me. So I have a spare for when the SLP wears out.

[raroZ28]

the stage 2 that i installed on my conquest felt better than stock. Better pedal feel, engagement was just as smooth if not smoother than stock. Awesome clutch, I wish I'd have bought it for the camaro. I had bigger plans for the car before finances got too tight so I don't even need the S3.

I emailed the guy at SPEC before I bought it and asked how streetable it was. He said it was good for how much power it held, but because it was a puck disk or whatever it would never be as smooth. But they have a new Stage 3 that supposedly holds just as much power as the S3, but without the chatter you get from the regular S3. I haven't talked to anybody that's running it though.