How daily drivable is an ACT Street clutch?

Co.CarSpotter

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Mazda 2 Sport
Does anyone have experience with a performance street clutch on their 2? My clutch died and the guy at the garage recommended that I just get an oem replacement. From his experience (he has a stage 4 clutch) he said he wouldn't get a performance clutch especially since I daily my car. But I'm looking at the ACT HDSS kit and I would be fine with a slightly heavier clutch, but I don't want to regret it. I don't autocross my car, I just drive it spiritedly on the weekends in the mountains. Is it worth it?

LINK:
http://www.autoanything.com/drivetr...mK8EwRoCsbPw_wcB&kpid=382-10606-8172-ZM9-HDSS
 
For what it is worth, the ACT street clutch that you linked is not available for our 2.

I am still running on my stock clutch (and I expect to continue doing so in the next 5 - 7 years), so I don't have any heavy duty clutch experience with the 2. However, my previous car, a 1.7L non-VTEC ES Civic, had an Exedy stage 1 clutch, and it was perfectly street drivable. The clutch pedal pressure was just a touch too heavy for stop and go traffic, but it was by no means unbearable / unusable. But other than that, it operates beautifully, and is far superior to the OEM clutch.

IIRC, there aren't very many performance clutch / flywheel options available for our car. I'm sure I've seen a thread here on Mazda247 about it in the past, but I can't seem to find it now. Perhaps you'll have better luck than I do with the search function.
 
I had a heavy duty ACT clutch on my last forester, which was my daily driver. No problems, although my left leg would get a good workout if I got stuck in a traffic jam.
 
Just installed the ACT Street Clutch for my Mazda2...Model ZM9-HDSS..I paid $315 for it and had my favorite Independent install it for $425. My old clutch was not toast(60k miles),but I always felt it was a bit numb.
I have driven about 100 miles on it since install. Its an improvement, but early impressions are not all positive:
- Spring is a little stiffer- but not uncomfortable
- there is a little shuddering on 1st gear starts and on downshifts - hope this goes away after break-in
- It did not alter the engagement point of clutch -still near bottom of travel (near floor) is it adjustable?
 
Not Happy with ACT clutch - Looking to replace with LUK or EXEDY - Any experiences?

Just installed the ACT Street Clutch for my Mazda2...Model ZM9-HDSS..I paid $315 for it and had my favorite Independent install it for $425. My old clutch was not toast(60k miles),but I always felt it was a bit numb.
I have driven about 100 miles on it since install. Its an improvement, but early impressions are not all positive:
- Spring is a little stiffer- but not uncomfortable
- there is a little shuddering on 1st gear starts and on downshifts - hope this goes away after break-in
- It did not alter the engagement point of clutch -still near bottom of travel (near floor) is it adjustable?


As for an update, I am 5 months and 1500+ miles into the new clutch and the shuddering I experience in first gear is still unacceptable. Driveability of the car is really quite poor. I have replaced the lower engine mount with one filled with Window Weld, and while it helped, it did not help much and introduced a new throbbing vibration at idle.

I am not sure it is the ACT clutch or if it had something to do with how it was installed. I used a professional mechanic that I trust, and I kind of thought an install is pretty straightforward. The car shifts fine from gears 2-5.

I am still seeking opinions/suggestions from other trustworthy mechanics, but will likely try another brand of non-OEM Mazda2 clutch like LUK or Exedy. Does anybody have any experience with either?
I will go back to the OEM clutch only as a last resort as the clutch cushioning Mazda used in this car lacks a lot of feel and control.
 
As for an update, I am 5 months and 1500+ miles into the new clutch and the shuddering I experience in first gear is still unacceptable. Driveability of the car is really quite poor. I have replaced the lower engine mount with one filled with Window Weld, and while it helped, it did not help much and introduced a new throbbing vibration at idle.

I am not sure it is the ACT clutch or if it had something to do with how it was installed. I used a professional mechanic that I trust, and I kind of thought an install is pretty straightforward. The car shifts fine from gears 2-5.

I am still seeking opinions/suggestions from other trustworthy mechanics, but will likely try another brand of non-OEM Mazda2 clutch like LUK or Exedy. Does anybody have any experience with either?
I will go back to the OEM clutch only as a last resort as the clutch cushioning Mazda used in this car lacks a lot of feel and control.

Update, I am now 12 months and 10k miles (car has 70k miles) into the ACT clutch replacement. Shuddering in first gear is gone, and clutch works well. Engagement is still very early near the firewall. I have to press the pedal with my toe. I think it just took about 1000 shifts and 8K miles for the clutch disc to settle in. I also have a filled in dog bone with 3m Window weld.
 
Thanks for the update.

Was the flywheel machined/resurfaced when the clutch was replaced?

If not, that's probably why it shuddered so badly... This is normally highly recommended.

A lot of mechanics may just hit the flywheel with sandpaper, but in my experience this isn't acceptable unless it is literally near brand new.
 
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