another clutch question.. stage 3

[S4evr]

When i went stage 3 almost a year ago, i went with the ecs stage 3 clutch kit which consisted of a kevlar disc and ecs's lwfw which i believe is a fidanza. it worked great for quite a while, but after 2-3 trips to the dragway, and some heavy street abuse the clutch is absolutely trashed now. i dont know if i didnt break it in carefully enough, or if it couldnt hold the power i was throwing at it.

So now i am looking for a replacement. I did some searching, and i think it has come down to these three:

1) Vast stage 3 ceramic hybrid - from what i understand it will work with the lwfw i have now, and it is all around pretty strong

2) CM FX400 - i am still confused on which fw i can/cant use with this. if i were to get this clutch, i understand that i need the stage 3/4 segmented one due to some fitment issues with the flywheel bolts?

3) SB OFE Series Stage 3/4, or SB FE Series Stage 5. I havent found any information on these two clutches on whether or not they can be used with the lwfw i have now.

as far as price, i think i have found that the CM is cheapest, followed by the vast, and the then the SB being the most expensive. with all this being said im not sure which one to get. if anything i want the strongest one and go overkill (SB stage 5) to make sure i dont have to replace another slipping clutch, but then again it is most expensive. excluding the SB stage 5, which of the three would you get?

[Rated S]

I have a SB OFE Stage 3 with OEM resurfaced fw, and it holds up to my many, many, many 4,225+ RPM dumps. I drove 500 miles to break it in, and have been burning it for about 4 months now. I drive hard and aggressive and do multiple dumps throughout the week.

I'm very happy with that clutch. I don't know about using a Fiddy lwfw though.

[Das General]

I just ditched my RS4 and picked up a VAST ceramic stage 3. We will see how it turns out.

[JDM EJ1 95]

i just picked up a vast stg 3 ceramic as well

we will see what happens with it soon.

[S4evr]

cool, let me know how they go.

[AielloS4]

3rd here, going to be running VAST Ceramic hybrid on stock FW.

[S4evr]

heres my question, originally i thought the SB OFE stage 3 was stronger than the vast ceramic. but now that i look at the pictures of the two clutches i realize the SB is ceramic on one face and an organic material on the other face while the vast is full ceramic.. is the vast infact a stronger clutch then because it is full ceramic?

[Das General]

That I can't answer. But I do know that Marc ran this clutch, as well as Jay. And I know for a fact that both of them put down a considerable amount of power and beat their transmissions alllll day long.


That was good enough for me.

[S4evr]

ok so ive narrowed my decision down a bit more, but i will be talking to jhm and vast to get their opinions (although i know that they will say) basically i have ruled out the CM, so its down to the vast one, or something from SB. If i went SB, i have a feeling I would go with the stage 5 just to eliminate any doubt of slippage. with that being said, i need to find out if my current lwfw works on any of SB's products.

[Das General]

I wouldn't rule out CM just yet. A lot of guys run CM stage 3's and 4's

IIRC you can run the CM stage 3 with the lwfw, but not he CM stage 4 and the lwfw. CM stage 4 requires a stock fw.


and of course Jay and Vast are gonna tell you to run their product, i would just skip that step = )

[S4evr]

I wouldn't rule out CM just yet. A lot of guys run CM stage 3's and 4's

IIRC you can run the CM stage 3 with the lwfw, but not he CM stage 4 and the lwfw. CM stage 4 requires a stock fw.


and of course Jay and Vast are gonna tell you to run their product, i would just skip that step = )

very true. but, from what i have heard SB offers one of the best clutches for our cars and i have heard hit or miss stories regarding CM. im looking for a clutch i will have a strong piece of mind which is why i originally ruled out CM. if i have too, i will go back to a stock fw in order to run a stronger clutch

[Das General]

aahhh see i heard i heard the opposite..i heard it was hit or miss with SB.

[Dr. Jekyll]

Vast's setup is definitely a good option. I loved my Vast kevlar setup. However, it still uses the RS4 pressure plate, which I, like many others, had it fail prematurely. Obviously no fault of vasts, just the design of the PP. It never slipped, although I didn't launch or anything. Held my power fine though.

After my pp failure, I really didn't want to chance it with another RS4 pp, so I went with a CM stage 3/4 with fidanza lwfw. So far so good. I really like the lwfw and the CM clutch definitely will hold any amount of power I can throw at it... the thing grabs hard!

I don't have any personal experience or knowledge of the SB, so I can't really comment on them. Can't go wrong with either the vast setup or the CM setup. Both are great. BUT I'm no longer a fan of the RS4 PP. Because of the Self Adjusting Clutch Mechanism, alot of things can go wrong with the install (one of the problems I had) necessitating another trans pull. Also, the fingers and/or the stock throw out bearing have been known to break prematurely. This could simply be due to the greater number of RS4 setups out there (more setups, more known failures) or it could be due to build quality. That's for you to decide.

After a few problems with the RS4 PP, I just didn't want to deal with it again and so far I'm very happy with my CM / fidanza setup. But then again, while the Vast kevlar clutch was working I loved that too :-)

[The_Jerbel]

The VAST ceramic is what I've been running since November through several hard 5500 rpm dumps, and it grabs like a gorilla and can take a lot of abuse! It is also what VAST is running in there GT car and what JHM is running in his 11.1 second full weight car. Here's a vid of me launching at 5000-5500 rpm's and the clutch just clamped and the car was sling-shotted forward. My VAST stage 3 vs SC C6 Z06
I can get you a good price on the VAST Ceramic clutch kit and whatever else you may need. Either shoot me an email at [email protected] or give me a call and we can discuss some different options 1-403-690-7135.

[S4evr]

Update! how are your vast stage 3 clutches treating you guys?

[AielloS4]

Update! how are your vast stage 3 clutches treating you guys?

I dont know yet, but i will in a few weeks i would get the Vast Ceramic. Clutch looks really nice.

[The_Jerbel]

I've done several 5000-5500rpm dumps on my clutch, and it's holding strong! I spin all 4 wheels (235/40/18 Kumho ecsta SPT) all the way through 1st and half way through 2nd. The clutch clamps like a gorilla.

[alias747]

The VAST ceramic is what I've been running since November through several hard 5500 rpm dumps, and it grabs like a gorilla and can take a lot of abuse! It is also what VAST is running in there GT car and what JHM is running in his 11.1 second full weight car. Here's a vid of me launching at 5000-5500 rpm's and the clutch just clamped and the car was sling-shotted forward. My VAST stage 3 vs SC C6 Z06
I can get you a good price on the VAST Ceramic clutch kit and whatever else you may need. Either shoot me an email at [email protected] or give me a call and we can discuss some different options 1-403-690-7135.

I just bought the VAST stage 3 kit as well that I am going to be using with my stock flywheel. I am going to be picking it up after work today, SO STOKED!!! Thanks again Jordan!

Seriously, if anyone is in need of a clutch, go to Jordan! He will save you some money and bends over backwards to help you. Trust me, he has had to deal with all my stupid questions and he always answers promptly!

[Das General]

Update! how are your vast stage 3 clutches treating you guys?

Couldn't tell ya. It is on the car, but the motor is still on the ground.

[Fast Euro]

3rd here, going to be running VAST Ceramic hybrid on stock FW.

Same. The car is under the knife as I type this.

[S4evr]

quick question! is the vast ceramic hybrid clutch compatible with a fidanza lwfw?

[Das General]

As long as that fidanza is direct replacement of the OEM fw then it should work.

[SoEvoL]

I'm using the Vast Ceramic Hybrid with Resurfaced Flywheel. Feels great and not hard to drive. I haven't launched on it yet though, I like to be easy on the car.

[The_Jerbel]

As long as that fidanza is direct replacement of the OEM fw then it should work.

2nd.