Hey fellow G Lovers!

Heads up: This is my first post, so try not to hate me.. yet!

I just wanted to start off by saying that I am a proud new owner of an 03 G35 6MT sedan (I'm 22 and like it better than the coupe)! I fell in love with the G35 the first time I saw one, and I never thought I could own one. I kept my eyes open for a while and ended up getting a pretty good deal on one with 90k almost a year ago now, and I am still in love with it.... other than my bipolar frickin windshield wipers haha

I have been following this forum since I bought it, and I don't think I have ever been on such a helpful car forum with such knowledgeable people.
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Now I am going to get down to business. I just rolled over the 100k mark, and I think my clutch is on its last leg. I am pretty sure it still has the stock clutch, because it was babied by the owner before me (supposedly). My clutch lets out very quickly at the very end of the pedal making me think that I am on borrowed time, so I need to make a purchase really soon.

I have searched this website for quite a while, and have not been able to find a thread with the best clutch manufacturers in your opinions'. I have been doing some research and I'm becoming pretty heart-set on a S1 South Bend DXD clutch kit with the SB billet flywheel. My friend that I trust with anything vehicle related told me to find out if South Bend made a kit for the G, because they take a beating and will last forever. I was on the SB website and couldn't believe I found one because they specialize in heavy duty diesel clutches. Then, I came here to look and almost went into shock when I found someone with some good deals on them!

I want to know what your opinions' are on South Bend, and if there are clutch manufacturers you would prefer over them. I have no problem paying $800-$1000 for a kit and flywheel if I am going to love to drive it and never have to worry about it.

I know some of you guys recommend just going stock, but I would really like to start building my G in the future (hopefully next summer). I will be paying my G off for for about another year, and I don't want to do anything drastic until I own it. I have some experience driving race and stage 2 clutches, so I don't think that going aftermarket is going to bother me, but I also don't want it to be a pain in the *** to drive daily. So I think I don't think I want to go stage 2.

This is going to be my first mod (other than scoring some 05 taillights) and I am excited for many more to come.

I hope this wasn't too long or boring and I honestly need help and want to learn!

Thanks in advance,
Dan

 

Haven't heard many things about south bend on the GS, however in the diesel world they are great. I would suggest either the jet clutch combo 775ish or z1 motorsports twin disc 1000ish. I had the z1 in my first g and it deformed a lot better than stock and wasn't as noisy as other light weight setups I have encountered.

 

The only two I would suggest are Jim Wolf Tuning (JWT) or Exedy. If you want the clutch feel to be close to factory go with JWT. If you were putting down some power and need the better clutch than anything Exedy offers, I would suggest Carbonetic, although that company is going to be a hit or miss.

 

Its jim wolf technology

 

Thanks for the input guys! The Jim wolf kits are very tempting, but I I'm thinking about trying the south bend rally kit and sb billet flywheel. They have an amazing reputation with truck enthusiasts and I kinda what to try it just to see how it is.

 

Thanks for the correction.

 

Gaterpit, sounds like you already had your mind made up before making this thread. Once you get the clutch/flywheel installed and drive with it for a while come back to this thread and give us pro/cons....Gary

 

Haha yeah I guess I kind of did. I wanted to see if anyone else has tried the south bend clutches. I also wanted to know if I am going way overboard for a stock car, but like I said, I do want to put some decent cash into it in the future. From what I understand, I (hopefully) will never have to worry about a clutch again with a south bend. I will definitely come back with a review once its in.

 

I'd love an update on this thread. Clutch shopping right now. Curious about this other brand you speak of.

 

I got the Exedy OEM clutch + ACT Streetlight just a few months ago...

The ACT isn't as light at the JWT, but it chatters like a ****. I in all honesty don't mind it because i know it's normal, but on a hot day when the car is at idle it sounds like bearings in a tin can. Everyone who is standing outside the car is always like "i think something is wrong with your car" lol. Start up you don't hear it at all, but after driving on a warm engine and on a hot day it is very obvious.

As for the clutch...it's OEM and feels just like it.

Clutch petal stiffness is the same as OEM...at least it feels that way. The lighter flywheel doesn't really drive any different than OEM. I'd say it revs a little faster, but not anything substantial.

 

One thing that I absolutely hated about the G was the clutch bearings. It seems that crappy clutch bearings runs through Nissan's blood, and that rattling sound may be mostly the bearing by itself. It doesn't necessarily hurt anything until it breaks, but they make a lot of noise if the bearing wasn't installed exactly the way they want you to, the clutch was not properly broken in, if the clutch has been abused a bit, or even just pushed a little hard.

I went through several clutch bearings on my last clutch just because I didn't like the rattling. Yes, the rattling stopped each time I changed the bearing out.

 

It could be the bearing...not entirely convinced it is since it really only seems to be on extremely hot days where i drive a lot. If i am commuting to and from work it doesn't make any noise really. Clutch is broken in - has 6,000 miles on it already. The bearing was replaced with the clutch too.