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so recently i helped a buddy put a stage 2 clutch in his 92 prelude and he let me drive it and i really like the way the clutch felt, it was nice and tight and very responsive. ive read so many articles about putting them in our cars but im kinda dazzled on if i should or not, has anyone put a better clutich in a 7th gen that was naturally aspirated and pretty much stock besides i/h/e. my 02 ex is a daily driver but i drive pretty spirited, i dont really think ill ever put more power into it but i want that better clutch feel, are there many drawbacks too it? his car is a 92 prelude 2.3 non vtec, stock and i know it has more power so thats why i was wondering about that clutch in my car. btw its a clutch masters stage two clutch. help is appreciated

 
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It's a bit of overkill unless you plan on exceeding the torque rating of a stage 1, despite how you like the feel... But that's just a personal opinion. An OEM replacement would be about $100 ($90 on amazon for an exedy OEM replacement, using coupon code exesprng).. A stage 2 clutch would probably run you upwards of $300..

I only know exedy's torque ratings because I was recently looking at them. A stage 1 clutch can handle up to 189ft-lbs, stage 2 up to 210 ft-lbs. Stock, our cars make something like 100ft-lbs. Just looked at a dyno for an EM2 running 12psi tuned with k-pro, and he's only putting down ~190 ft-lbs torque..

I dunno about you, but spending an extra $200 on something I don't need isn't quite something I'd do. Then again, I'm a broke *** college student.

 
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good day, thx for the great advice, looking at my dyno run sheet, I am under 200 ft of trq at the wheels, so stage ! it is.
does a stage 1 kit come with everything? can you recommend some extras while doing this upgrade ,while I am in there that deep,
you mentioned flywheel as well i believe,

 
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I'll respond here and the thread that I made for you. Assuming you buy a clutch kit, yeah, it comes with the clutch disc, pressure plate, throwout bearing, input shaft bearing, and clutch alignment tool. Some ACT kits come with the lightweight flywheel, too.

Exedy stage 1 would be a good bet. Realized the numbers I posted on this thread and the numbers I posted on your thread aren't quite the same but close enough. Flywheel wouldn't be a bad idea. Less rotating mass, faster revs, less parasitic loss at the tranny. Clutch engagement does become a little more difficult, but rather easy to adapt to. Kinda hard to explain without being able to feel it though. You'll notice RPMs rise and fall faster. Lighter the flywheel, the faster RPMs rise and fall, the more difficult it gets to engage the clutch. OEM flywheel is in the ballpark of 17lbs, to give you a frame of reference.

Clutches:

• Exedy Stage 1 (p/n 08801A) - $267.60 on Amazon
  Exedy Stage 1 (p/n 08801A) - $267.60 on Amazon
• 08902A) - $406.04 on Amazon" target="_blank">Exedy Stage 2 (p/n 08902A) - $406.04 on Amazon
  08902A) - $406.04 on Amazon">08902A) - $406.04 on Amazon" /> 08902A) - $406.04 on Amazon">Exedy Stage 2 (p/n 08902A) - $406.04 on Amazon
  • Just gonna explain about this one real quick. It'll be overkill. Sorry if this part seems remedial. I explain things in case someone with zero knowledge stumbles upon this post in the future. So, you see how instead of a full disk, it's kinda in a 3-bladed design? That, by design, will put a lot more pressure onto the flywheel to make it grab. Don't quote me on this, but I think it uses the same pressure plate as the Stage 1, but it applies the same pressure over smaller surface area. Pressure is pounds per square inch (P = lbf/in²), and when you decrease the surface area (in²) by about ⅓, pressure will increase three-fold. That's how it'll put up with the extra toruqe, but also will lead to harsher engagement.

Flywheels:

• ACT Streetlite (p/n 600120) is 11.9lbs - $193 on Amazon
  ACT Streetlite (p/n 600120) is 11.9lbs - $193 on Amazon
  <--this is the one I used. Loved it.
• Exedy lightweight flywheel (p/n HF501) is 10.9lbs - $200 on Amazon
  Exedy lightweight flywheel (p/n HF501) is 10.9lbs - $200 on Amazon
• ACT also had an 8.4lb Prolite model for the D17 way back when, but it's not on their website anymore. Possibly discontinued.

So, there are a TON more clutches and flywheels out there, but those are the ones that were big back in the early 2000s. Clutchmasters makes quality stuff, too, but back then, it seemed out of my price range, so I never looked into them. They have their 725 series flywheels that weigh in a 9lbs each, and a bunch of clutches that start at the $415 mark and work their way up.