Just had my local NISSAN dealership install my JWT clutch/fly combo from CZP. They only charged me $550. Install went great the tech said and I had new flywheel bolts installed as well.

Chatter is there as expected and I am fine with that as I knew what I was getting myself into. My only concern is 5th & 6th gear. They are both TIGHT going into and out of gear. (shifter)

There is ZERO slop like there is with 1st - 4th. Even with the engine off. Just feels like it may be binding/catching. Maybe an adjustment? She only has 17 miles on her so far. lol! Any input guys?

 

I would just give it some time and see if it improves. I have had this same setup for 60k miles and I am very pleased with it.

 

That's what I was thinking. Just strange/different so its came up on the worry radar.

 

The only thing that would draw my attention would be grinding. Did you get the SS line and the CZP throw out bearing also?

 

Yep. It came with those as well as a chromoly pivot ball.

 

Then you should be good. Give it time to break in properly

 

After almost 300 easy miles 5th and 6th where still VERY tight, so I decided to take a look and figured while things where apart I would install my AMS short shifter...

Installation was pretty easy and took about 30 minutes. I positioned the shifters fastening plate more towards the passengers side in hopes of giving 5/6 more room.

I don't know if that fixed it, the shifter or just taking it apart and back together that did the trick, but she is all good to go. Each gear has the same amount of wiggle room.

 

Glad you have it all worked out. Hows the chatter?

 

Chatter is not too bad and is hardly even noticeable with the windows up, A/C on and radio low, but you can definitely here it outside the car and while driving with the windows down. Just trying to get used to the new grab point and short shifter now.

 

I'm just looking into ordering parts right now for a clutch assembly replacement, including the flywheel and everything else I can think of. Thanks for the mention of the flywheel bolts. I'll have to add that to my list.

I've been considering the Exedy Stage One organic, with the Act Streetlight flywheel, but am open to any other recommendations. This is just for street use, so I could get by with just the Exedy OEM clutch, but I read a couple of posts that thought it felt a little mushy, which makes me lean toward the stage 1.

Should I go with organic or something else for the clutch plate?

What made you choose the JWT clutch/flywheel combo? Would you recommend that over the Exedy/Act combo? Are there any other flywheels that you would recommend? I'm looking for one that is an improvement over stock and maybe just a bit lighter.

You mentioned chatter. What is that all about? Is that inevitable with anything stiffer than an OEM clutch setup?

Do you have a preferred parts supplier?

Thanks.

 

I was in need of a new clutch as I will be going forced induction here in the next few weeks and the stock clutch just wouldn't cut it. I researched pretty extensively as usual and looked into ACT and Excedy as well. ACT was a little too pricey and Exedy was next in line until one of my buddies recommended JWT.

I contacted JWT and informed them of my plans/power goals and they said they're clutch would be perfect and of course recommended their lightweight flywheel to go with it. Then it was on to researching about actual reviews on this exact combo. I originally thought I could just resurface my fly as I have done on other vehicles in the past when installing a new clutch, but quickly found out it was a dual mass flywheel that has to be replaced rather than machined seeing how it is a 2 piece design. Below is some gee-wiz info if anyone is interested.

"One of the major issues all the manufacturers have is the dual mass flywheel (DMF) which seems to need to be replaced every time that you need a clutch and that puts the price of clutch replacement pretty high. The dual mass flywheel is an aid to making the gear change on your car lighter and more positive while also making the engine and gearbox smoother and quieter. So how does it work, in order to make an engine smoother you need to increase the mass of the flywheel but as you do this the mass of the gear train effectively becomes less as a proportion of the total mass that is in motion and you will get noise, rattles and vibration from the gear train, in order to get round this you would traditionally have increased the mass of the gear train which in turn would mean that the syncro’s (the brake that matches the speed of the gears that are about to be engaged) also had to become stronger and there fore the gear change becomes heavier and more agricultural. To get round this you have to increase the mass of the gear train without increasing the mass of the gears, this is done by splitting the flywheel into two separate masses (hence the name “dual mass flywheel”), one mass that is attached directly to the engine and one mass that is attached directly to the input shaft of the gearbox, these two halves are then separated from each other by a damper which stops the natural vibration of a large high capacity, high compression engine being transferred to the gearbox."

Sounds good, but basically they are heavy, very expensive to replace and are more geared towards comfort than performance... So the "chatter" I have now with the single mass flywheel is the vibrations/harmonics that the dual mass dampened. I have yet to find any sufficient info/evidence to suggest this will have any effect on the longevity of my engine or drive-train. MANY people run this exact setup and are and have been very happy.

Super Streets March 2012 issue had a tech article titled "UNLEASHED" Building power with Nissan's most popular engines that weighed heavily on the route I went. (Entire build wise, not just clutch/fly) In regards to the VQ35DE; They said, "The stock flywheel is a dual mass unit that makes the car incredibly boring to drive. Get rid of it." So I did just that... They JWT flywheel is 14 pounds I believe, so roughly half that of the stock one. It does rev much quicker on the up rev, but as before it is slower on the down rev in relation. (Newton's law at work.)

I am still taking it easy as I have about 150 more break in miles before any WOT pulls. To answer your question about clutch pedal feel; It is a little more stiff/springy and it starts noticeably grabbing halfway from floor to full up. I do like it a whole lot more than stock that's for sure.

During my quest for the best price I found a great deal on a JWT combo that came with everything I needed for the install and then some through CZP. (Concept Z Performance) I only went with new oem flywheel bolts as JWT recommended it and I could not find any replacement ARP's... Mike and COZ over at CZP have been EXTREMELY helpful and ALWAYS reply back to whatever stupid question I may have so I have zero complaints there and I would definitely recommend them.

I picked up everything for less than the cost of just a replacement dual mass flywheel... As far as recommending this combo for your setup; all I can say on that is if your just doing bolt-ons, staying N/A or have future plans for nitrous, turbo(s) or a supercharger setup with goals of 375whp or less then I would say this combo would be fine as you can not beat the deal. Not saying it cant handle more, but JWT said this combo is fine for my setup as I am having it tuned for 375whp, but you may find with your own research something else may be better... I can tell you so far I am happy.

 

^^ well said.

I've been happy with my JWT for quite some time now. Given their reputation I never considered another clutch/flywheel combo.

 

Thanks, joeb1983, for the excellent information. I'm not planning any modifications to the engine, so just a good, competent setup would suffice. Getting rid of the dual-mass flywheel should improve things quite a bit (I hope). I've always thought the the engine took too long for the revs to drop back to idle after a slight rev. I am also hoping that this is a function of the dual-mass flywheel, and therefore will improve with a slightly lighter one.

So, the question is, how much lighter? If I go too light I assume I will get chatter, which I want to avoid, if at all possible. Too heavy, and I'm back to the feeling of a dual-mass, I suppose. You mention the weight of your JWT flywheel to be about 14lbs, and is about half of the dual-mass, which I assume to be about 28lbs. Maybe something in between would be a good compromise. I wonder if a one-piece OEM replacement flywheel is also 28lbs.

Thanks for the recommendation on the folks at CZP. I'll have to check out their web site, and maybe give them a call.

Again, thank you for your help.

 

Thanks, Paixao. That's good to hear.

Do you also have the lighter flywheel, and if so, have you experienced any chatter?

 

I do have the flywheel/clutch combo and it does chatter. My brother tells me my car sounds like an apache helicopter. I don't mind. I've gotten used to it and actually like the way it sounds. Like I said, this clutch has a great reputation and has treated me well. It takes some getting used to and it it very grabby when warm. I expect it to outlive my OEM clutch which lasted almost 100k miles.