CLUTCH Single Disk VS Twin Disk = Decisions

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wntsom4

Contributing Member
Joined
30 July 2009
Messages
198
Location
Silvis IL
Just stating to show minor slippage at higher RPM's in 5th gear and not in others. Figure the clutch has probably 100k on it and is time to start looking. The things I've noticed is the OEM is a twin disk but most aftermarket (SOS in particular) is a single disk.

Is there one better that the other??? (I've searched the boards but most are out of date so I'm trying to get a fresh perspective)

With a car with minor mod's (header and exhaust no other go fast parts) I'm seeing people say just stick with OEM. I believe what I was told that the clutch was replaced @ 68K when the original owner replaced the motor. It's a pretty stiff pedal and I was under the impression the clutch was a Comptech from the guy I bought the car from.

I'd like to think I have more plans for the car but being OBD2 I'm pretty limited so do I go back with a factory clutch or do something like the SOS Sport 350 kit??

Thoughts?
 
I will tell you my story related to clutch strategy - and I made the wrong decision. I had a '91 and when I bought it I had the Barn Man, Barney, do a lot of work on the car and mistook a stiff pedal for a bad clutch when it was the grease used in the installation - anyway - I had already decided to replace the clutch. Barney asked me what kind of clutch I wanted to use - OEM or something else. He told me then there were several options - I thought I am easy on a clutch and thought the OEM was fine. It ran ok - it took a while to seat but after about 1000k it seemed to seat in fine.

Later, when I was out driving it with my wife when we were looking for another house I was driving very slowly thru neighborhoods stop and go. I'll tell you when I got back out of the neighborhood we were going thru - maybe 20 mins worth - the clutch slipped??????WTF I said. Very peculiar - got it home - let it rest drove it the next day - just fine - couldn't tell anything was different or wrong. That same thing happened again oh 6 mos. later or so when a buddy of mine came to town and I was showing him around the neighborhoods of Atlanta. Point of the story is - I believe that I overheated the clutch. Engine temp never moned - was fine - but with the car not moving fast there was no air moving over the engine from the side vents or anything. There is no transmission cooler?

I told myself after that if I ever do another clutch it would NOT be OEM - it might be the SOS clutch they have or something else but it would not be the single disk OEM made for my model. No way! I'd do some research with good mechanics myself before I made a decision. Quiz Larry Bastanza, Eiffel *Eiffel's Place in Marietta, GA*, Barn Man. I feel that Barney was trying to tell me something and I was just not smart enough to get it.

Good luck!
 
Because you mention ODB2; it's not important unless you were a 6spd so not sure why I even asked.

So now your question is to keep the factory clutch setup or go aftermarket.

Your big decision point in my eyes is if you decide to go FI or not. That rules out the OEM clutch in my book but some do live long lives w/ a low boosted car and the stock clutch (i'd kill it in 10k miles).

If you can tell us if you've made that distinction then your choices start to limit themselves and choices become more clear.

For any NA car under 325hp i'd have no problem running the stock twin disc clutch BUT I will definitely upgrade to a light weight flywheel.

I'm also running a Clutchmasters FX300 (I'm boosted) but I have a buddy running a Clutchmasters FX200. We're both pretty happy with our choices though these are both single disc replacements for the 5spd.
 
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I have a 93 NSX and found out that I had a 97+ single disc OEM clutch which was able to handle my 430rwhp/300rwtq SOS S/C with no slippage issue and felt perfect. And the clutch had almost 100k miles on it.

I now have the SOS twin disk clutch which is considered to be the best twin disc clutch for handling massive power and yet giving you the most OEM feel to it in pedal pressure and NO NOISE that often come with twin disc clutches. My ONLY issue is getting used to the moreinstant clutch engagement and the high release travel before it engages (although this may be an adjustment issue).

If you don't have any power goals north of 430rwhp/300rwtq, IMIHO the best clutch will be the 97+ OEM clutch.
 
I'm sorry guys but if Barn man quized me on other clutches - I'd say that's about all I'd need to know to start looking at aftermarket. If I were buying this clutch it would be the new SOS clutch - that clutch looks better to me. It's your money but I'd surely pole Larry B, shop in NY I think and is on this site and he'll answer your inquiry and so will Barn Man or Barney, he's got a shop in Nashville and Eiffel has a shop in Atlanta. I'd have to ask a real expert that works on these cars and not just the prime members. For what it's worth....
 
I just replaced stock twin disc on my 94; Installed SOS 275 kit. As expected - night and day difference. But considering mine was pretty beaten up I think it's not completely fair to compare.
But cutting rotation mass more than in half with 6lb flywheel makes it just like I would like it. Pedal feel is great - somewhat medium to light in terms of resistance but very easy to modulate. Very happy with it.
 
Hi solidol,
Have you encountered any stalling after you put in the light weight flywheel? (specifically when clutch is in)

In the last 996TT I had w/ LWFW, I experienced some stalling due to the lightened flywheel spinning down too quickly.(had to be fixed with a flash tune)

solidol said:
I just replaced stock twin disc on my 94; Installed SOS 275 kit. As expected - night and day difference. But considering mine was pretty beaten up I think it's not completely fair to compare.
But cutting rotation mass more than in half with 6lb flywheel makes it just like I would like it. Pedal feel is great - somewhat medium to light in terms of resistance but very easy to modulate. Very happy with it.
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
996garage said:
Hi solidol,
Have you encountered any stalling after you put in the light weight flywheel?

In the last 996TT I had w/ LWFW, I experienced some stalling due to the lightened flywheel spinning down too quickly.(had to be fixed with a flash tune)
Click to expand...
Everyone will experience some stalling with lightened setup until they get the feel of it. Thats typical.

- - - Updated - - -

tbromley said:
I will tell you my story related to clutch strategy - and I made the wrong decision. I had a '91 and when I bought it I had the Barn Man, Barney, do a lot of work on the car and mistook a stiff pedal for a bad clutch when it was the grease used in the installation - anyway - I had already decided to replace the clutch. Barney asked me what kind of clutch I wanted to use - OEM or something else. He told me then there were several options - I thought I am easy on a clutch and thought the OEM was fine. It ran ok - it took a while to seat but after about 1000k it seemed to seat in fine.

Later, when I was out driving it with my wife when we were looking for another house I was driving very slowly thru neighborhoods stop and go. I'll tell you when I got back out of the neighborhood we were going thru - maybe 20 mins worth - the clutch slipped??????WTF I said. Very peculiar - got it home - let it rest drove it the next day - just fine - couldn't tell anything was different or wrong. That same thing happened again oh 6 mos. later or so when a buddy of mine came to town and I was showing him around the neighborhoods of Atlanta. Point of the story is - I believe that I overheated the clutch. Engine temp never moned - was fine - but with the car not moving fast there was no air moving over the engine from the side vents or anything. There is no transmission cooler?

I told myself after that if I ever do another clutch it would NOT be OEM - it might be the SOS clutch they have or something else but it would not be the single disk OEM made for my model. No way! I'd do some research with good mechanics myself before I made a decision. Quiz Larry Bastanza, Eiffel *Eiffel's Place in Marietta, GA*, Barn Man. I feel that Barney was trying to tell me something and I was just not smart enough to get it.

Good luck!
Click to expand...

I'm not sure what to say! Surely not everyone has this experience with OEM replacement. Hopefully not.:frown:
 
davidf said:
Everyone will experience some stalling with lightened setup until they get the feel of it. Thats typical.
Click to expand...

Dave, I think he might be speaking about dying at idle. Meaning while the car is in Neutral, you Rev, and it dies on the way down. This happens on some vehicles when the flywheel is too light but i've never heard of this happening on the NSX even with the lightest Dali Tilton Flywheel.
 
Tim, I don't know what was wrong with your clutch, but I have never experienced any problems with my OEM twin-disc whether on the street or track. The OEM 2-disc is a very performance-oriented setup. Using two discs allows a very low moment of inertia (MOI), which leads to significant improvements in performance. The old F1 cars used multiple disc clutches and Honda based the design of the NSX clutch on their F1 system. Consider also Honda chose the twin disc- not the single though it was readily available- as the preferred clutch of the NSX-R track model. When I lived in NYC, I was stuck in 4, 5 or 6 hour traffic jams on the Verrazano and Throgs Neck bridges where it was constant stop-and-go and riding the clutch all the time. Even in these extreme conditions, I never, ever felt any slippage or any other abnormalities with the clutch. I would wholeheartedly recommend the OEM twin disc clutch for any application, street or track, where the NSX is running less than 300 whp. With a light flywheel it is one heck of a system.
 
Honcho said:
Tim, I don't know what was wrong with your clutch, but I have never experienced any problems with my OEM twin-disc whether on the street or track. The OEM 2-disc is a very performance-oriented setup. Using two discs allows a very low moment of inertia (MOI), which leads to significant improvements in performance. The old F1 cars used multiple disc clutches and Honda based the design of the NSX clutch on their F1 system. Consider also Honda chose the twin disc- not the single though it was readily available- as the preferred clutch of the NSX-R track model. When I lived in NYC, I was stuck in 4, 5 or 6 hour traffic jams on the Verrazano and Throgs Neck bridges where it was constant stop-and-go and riding the clutch all the time. Even in these extreme conditions, I never, ever felt any slippage or any other abnormalities with the clutch. I would wholeheartedly recommend the OEM twin disc clutch for any application, street or track, where the NSX is running less than 300 whp. With a light flywheel it is one heck of a system.
Click to expand...
agree with this completely
 
Well guys I don't know what to say - I'm glad no one else has ever had this experience - I am at a total loss to know why my car had this issue as I am as easy on a clutch as can be - when I shift gears and am focused you can't even feel it. I don't ride my clutch ever - not ever. So then my choice is to think that maybe my clutch was not installed properly- I guess that could be it - not sure. I am actually glad to hear this.

Ok so what is the difference between the 3.2/6 speed clutch and the NA1? Somebody tell me cause the next time I have one it'll be the NA2. Maybe red with a tan intereior if I can find one - othewise white or silver? We'll see. Thanks Honcho and RYU - glad to hear your comentary!
 
tbromley said:
Well guys I don't know what to say - I'm glad no one else has ever had this experience - I am at a total loss to know why my car had this issue as I am as easy on a clutch as can be - when I shift gears and am focused you can't even feel it. I don't ride my clutch ever - not ever. So then my choice is to think that maybe my clutch was not installed properly- I guess that could be it - not sure. I am actually glad to hear this.

Ok so what is the difference between the 3.2/6 speed clutch and the NA1? Somebody tell me cause the next time I have one it'll be the NA2. Maybe red with a tan intereior if I can find one - othewise white or silver? We'll see. Thanks Honcho and RYU - glad to hear your comentary!
Click to expand...

My guess Tim is that you had a defective part. Maybe a bad pressure plate? Even Honda has some lemons once in a while. The clutch in the NA2 cars is a single disc unit with a special weighted flywheel, which as sprung weights inside it to balance the rotating assembly. It is not clear why Honda went to this design, since it is more expensive and complicated than the NA1 twin-disc. It is also heavier. The power/torque difference between the 3.0 and 3.2 really isn't enough to justify the change. Honda's literature described the clutch as smoother and more balanced, but that can't be the only reason they changed. In any event, the quality is the same as NA1 and I wouldn't worry at all if you have a stock NA2.
 
I cannot speak to what happened here, but there is absolutely NOTHING wrong with the stock OEM clutches OR the SOS products for that matter. I have installed dozens of each and have had "0" issues with both. BTW, many of the installs I mention have 50K+ miles, maybe more.


Regards,
LarryB
 
Honcho said:
My guess Tim is that you had a defective part. Maybe a bad pressure plate? Even Honda has some lemons once in a while. The clutch in the NA2 cars is a single disc unit with a special weighted flywheel, which as sprung weights inside it to balance the rotating assembly. It is not clear why Honda went to this design, since it is more expensive and complicated than the NA1 twin-disc. It is also heavier. The power/torque difference between the 3.0 and 3.2 really isn't enough to justify the change. Honda's literature described the clutch as smoother and more balanced, but that can't be the only reason they changed. In any event, the quality is the same as NA1 and I wouldn't worry at all if you have a stock NA2.
Click to expand...

I guess it could have been a defective part - I see that L_RAO the new owner of my old car replaced the clutch. I wrote him about it but he never answered? Oh well - guess it doesn't matter now - it is not my problem or his actually. I'm glad to hear from you on this Honcho - funny my memory told me it was the single disk for the NA1 and the dual disk for the NA2 - glad you straightened that out too. I will be going to the NA2 when I take the plunge again. Unless the brand new one can be bought used when I get back around to it. I still think these cars are the best sports car ever produced!

Thanks to Larry B for chiming in - it must have been a defective part cause I had the Barn Man on it. I'll never know really unless one day LRAO writes me back. Glad you like the SOS clutch too. Good report.

Adios
 
I used to have a 1994 NSX with the twin-disc clutch setup. I was running the OEM clutch and never had any problems with it.
That NSX would rev up very fast (in my experience) even with the OEM clutch.

No I have a 1998 NSX with the much heavier (and much more expensive) single disc clutch setup. That one is DEFINATELY MUCH SLOWER to spin up when depressing n the accelerator pedal.
Currently, I am having the CTSC installed and I expect that after driving like that for a while I will need a new clutch anyway.

For myself, I have already decided to go for the SOS Single-disc setup. First it is cheaper than OEM AND it is much lighter. Will make the engine much more rev happy (which I like) and will save some weight as well.

Just my 0.02.
 
I'm at the same fork-in-the-road. The SOS Sport 350 Clutch (why not be ready for more power and the hose damper kit is intrigues me). Or, go with the Type R input shaft, OEM twin-disc clutch and LWFW (I realize this is not SC friendly, but should help make the most out of the otherwise stock motor)? I have a 2000 and almost 130K on the original clutch.
 
Floyd said:
I'm at the same fork-in-the-road. The SOS Sport 350 Clutch (why not be ready for more power and the hose damper kit is intrigues me). Or, go with the Type R input shaft, OEM twin-disc clutch and LWFW (I realize this is not SC friendly, but should help make the most out of the otherwise stock motor)? I have a 2000 and almost 130K on the original clutch.
Click to expand...
130K on original clutch is music to my ears. I'm at 79,000 and hope it goes that far.
 

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