IC: Stage 3 clutch (F1 Racing/ClutchNet you decide)

[CSVT#49]

Alright so heres the deal. I've got deals through GripForce for a GB on the F1 Racing Technology stage3 clutch kit, which includes the disk, pressure plate, throwout bearing, and alignment tool. I also have a GB price for the stage3 clutch kit from ClutchNet, which will include a 6 puck sprung disk and a the Red pressure plate (no throwout bearing). Prices are below. The question is which one should we go with? I'm partial to the F1 Racing kit as it is no different visually from the ClutchNet kit and it's a quite a bit cheaper. That said I'll let the masses decide.

F1 Racing Tech GB price, $288 shipped

ClutchNet GB price, $330 shipped

 

[BrApple]

I don't know if it matter to anyone but Clutchnet is a US company and they manufacture everything on site.

They have already started to support our community as they reworked the factory pressure plate to get more clamping force out of it.

I have spoke with them previously about getting a full faced clutch made, like the Spec Stage 3+. Maybe we can try again if there is enough interest.

also fyi the tob that will be coming in any kit will be the same as oem. so you can just go to the dealer and purchase one.

I have ~1k miles on my Clutchnet setup and I am glad I went with the red 6 puck over anything else they have as I know it will hold the power of the 3L turbo.

 

[blustreak]

I agree with Brapple. Although I don't have nearly as many miles on my Clutchnet Red PP & 6 puck it seems to be grabbing the power put down by Vortech 3L so far.

 

[Chas]

I know we can get the TOB from the dealership, but does the F1 setup come with the TOB like pictured?

 

[BrApple]

I know we can get the TOB from the dealership, but does the F1 setup come with the TOB like pictured?

chances are that is just a stock photo as the tob for the mtx75 is the tob, I don't think I have ever seen a different one.

same with the clutchnet pressure plate. the pressure plate from clutchnet will not look like that, its a OEM Luk/SVT pressure plate that they reworked.

 

[CSVT#49]

I know we can get the TOB from the dealership, but does the F1 setup come with the TOB like pictured?

Brapple is right it's a stock photo. Here is one I pulled frpm eBay:

 

[svt4stv]

ill take the kit made in AMERICA thank you!
i know its $50 but you're spending a good amount of money anyways. not to mention they've already been involved and helping with the contour community.

support American businesses people! as long as they make a good product, give them your business!

i am 100% IN for a clutchnet kit. i was just about to buy one anyways and need one within the next month or so. ill try to keep an eye on this thread but OP if you get it going and i dont chime in, then i forgot about it. please hit me up, ill definitely be in.

 

[CSVT#49]

Well I spoke with Oleg from ClutchNet today and he is very, very strongly aggressive at saying F1 Racing/Speed Solution International is crap. Speed Solution International is the parent company to a few other companies such as F1 Racing. His exact words "Everyone in the industry is pissed with Speed Solution International". He is accusing them of importing China replicas of ClutchNet products that are cheap and inferior. He also said that their pressure plates are OEM pressure plates that are just painted. He said they buy there crap from Competition Clutch out of Georiga and he also said he is surprised the owner is not in jail. He also added "anyone that buys from them could sue them for false advertisement"

OK so these are some pretty serious accusations. So I decided to look into them a little further. I went to Speed Solution International's website and found that all they are is a wholesale provider. Any products that they have are purchased from big name companies such as ACT, LUK, and Fidanza to name just a few, which are then rebranded accordingly, in this case F1 Racing. Hardly what I would call Chinese knockoff's.

So onto the bigger story. I called Speed Solution International (SSI) and spoke with a sales guy that knew the whole story. Apparently Speed Solution International did business with ClutchNet and the deals went bad. Supposedly ClutchNet couldn't keep up with SSI's orders so they were forced to find a new source for their clutch kits. The new supplier is Competition Clutch out of Georgia. They develop their own designs and then out source some of their components to Taiwan (not China). However that said if you check out Competition Clutch they have been featured in a number of magazines receiving praise for their products. Doing some searching around on the web with "Competition Clutch problems" and all I got were people that had a few issues that sent them in and got replacements right away. Apparently they have excellent customer service and everyone has said they, and I quote, "love" their products. One person mentioned a Adam Knight in particular over at Competition Clutch.

Now that said if you do a search for "ClutchNet problems" a lot of crap comes up. Seems like quite a few people are saying hell no to ClutchNet. There are quite a few pictures of rivets shearing off.

So I went into this open minded and did my due diligence and I'm thinking I'm going to make a phone call to Competition Clutch tomorrow during their normal business hours and see if I can talk with one Chris Jay and see what he has to say about their Taiwan manufacturing and Oleg's accusations. This was the person I was told to talk to from SSI and it just so happens that Chris Jay is the guy that Oleg mentioned should be in jail. So I have a feeling there is a little history there. I'll keep everyone posted.

 

[Beans]

Wtf, thats some crazy story!

 

[CSVT#49]

Wtf, thats some crazy story!

No crap. It's turning into a frick'n Jerry Springer episode very quickly.

 

[Matty K]

For what it's worth, I found about equal complaint threads between ClutchNet and F1/Gripforce/Competition Clutch when I did my searching. The rivet-shearing pictures for ClutchNet were of an unsprung 6-puck run in a hugely turbo'd SR20 (in fact, most complaints seem to be unsprung disks). Competition did seem to have better customer service, insofar as they would readily replace a clutch that had already detonated while inside a car (that's the thread that mentions Adam Knight). Also, the bulk of the ClutchNet complaint threads seem to be pre-'04. Don't get me wrong, there are several from last year and one or two from early this year, but way older seem worse.

The personal drama in all this is really interesting... There are a bunch of old threads on Bimmer boards ('01ish) that detail buying Competition Clutches and receiving them with ClutchNet disks. Sounds CSVT #49 is dead-on, and the companies used to do business together and all the vitriol is sour grapes.

In the interest of full disclosure, I already own a ClutchNet kit (not in yet). I don't want to it to seem like I'm arguing for them, but I think things might be a little more balanced than what I read in the post. My ending perspective is simply that Competition used to employ CN, so clearly they can't be total crap (and as the designs look exactly the same, I doubt it was a quality issue that caused the split) and also that any time you search, you'll get way more problem posts than praise. It's not too frequent for people to hop on a board and say "Man, this works just like I expected!". I'm VERY interested to see what you uncover tomorrow!

 

[CSVT#49]

My ending perspective is simply that Competition used to employ CN, so clearly they can't be total crap (and as the designs look exactly the same, I doubt it was a quality issue that caused the split) and also that any time you search, you'll get way more problem posts than praise. It's not too frequent for people to hop on a board and say "Man, this works just like I expected!". I'm VERY interested to see what you uncover tomorrow!

I completely agree. I'm just trying to figure out where CEG can get the best bang for the buck. If the F1 Racing/Competition Clutches are solid, then why spend $50 more?

However I'm a little concerned when on Competition Clutch's website they state "CCI utilizes an OE style plate. Holding capacity will be 40% less than standard rules."

In anycase we'll see where this goes.

 

[Chas]

I completely agree. I'm just trying to figure out where CEG can get the best bang for the buck. If the F1 Racing/Competition Clutches are solid, then why spend $50 more?

However I'm a little concerned when on Competition Clutch's website they state "CCI utilizes an OE style plate. Holding capacity will be 40% less than standard rules."

True! If ClutchNet has a better PP, then that may seal the deal. $50 bucks is $50 bucks, but performance may be worth more than that $50.

Let us know

 

[Matty K]

I completely agree. I'm just trying to figure out where CEG can get the best bang for the buck. If the F1 Racing/Competition Clutches are solid, then why spend $50 more?

Completely agree, and thanks for doing all of the legwork. Who knew a clutch GB could play out like a soap opera? :shrug::laugh:

 

[Moose]

wow, I need some popcorn!

 

[BrApple]

I guess I didn't do enough searching when I was looking into clutchnet. I don't recall reading about many failures nor anything that was mentioned.

But as noted failures are more easily found then possitive reviews on the web.

Also most clutch companies seem to use OEM supplier stampings for the pressure plates. Both spec and clutchnet use Luk pressure plates.

I do believe the clutchnet webpage says their design is pattented, or something along those lines, if that means anything to anyone.

Also when talking about spec Oleg also mentioned junk from china. He openned the package I sent with my spec Stage 3+ and tested the pressure plate while I was on the phone and confirmed it was a stock pressure plate that was painted. I have read that one before.

 

[CSVT#49]

I wasn't able to get a hold of Chris Jay, apparently he is out of the office this week. However I left my name and number for a tech to call me back to answer some questions regarding the clutch. They never called me back today. So I'll have to give them a try tomorrow.

 

[CSVT#49]

So update on this... I called and talked with Adam Knight, the guy name came up a few times on the web searching as well. Very cool guy and straight forward. They don't sell enough of the SVT kits to have them produced over seas in Taiwan. They source all of their clutch kit manufacturing to a machine shop down the street from their facility in Georgia. So the Competition Clutches, at least for the SVT's, are made in the USA. They told me that their pressure plate, while utilizes an OE design, maintains a clamp load higher then the OE plate. The number he gave me was 1700lbs. He also told me while they warranty their kits for 90 days, he told me that if anything blew apart within the 1st year that he would have no problem sending me a new replacement. As he backs their products 100% to perform. Now for the interesting part... when I asked if we could do a GB straight through Competition Clutch he said sure and transferred me to a sales rep. The sales rep got on the phone and she told me that the best price she could give me for 5-10 orders was $440. She said that is a substantial discount as these kits sell new for $595, which is true as these are the advertised prices on their website store. I then told her that I could buy the kit through GripForce rebranded as F1 Racing Technologies for $288. She seemed very surprised and said that she would need to talk to her manager to see if they could provide us a GB at that price. She was supposed to call me back on Friday after her manager returned, but I never heard from her. I plan to follow up with them again on Monday, but with all this information I'm really leaning towards the Competition Clutch/F1 Racing kit.

What do you guys think now??

 

[TRicker]

I agree with Brapple. Although I don't have nearly as many miles on my Clutchnet Red PP & 6 puck it seems to be grabbing the power put down by Vortech 3L so far.

i think i might have had a red 6 puck the longest. about 15k miles and counting. it hasnt changed in feel at all, at 220 whp and my LSD it grabs like crazy and is still streetable. and if you know me, you know i'm rough on it. i managed to rip all three bolts out of the transmission for the roll resistor

 

[Chas]

So update on this... I called and talked with Adam Knight, the guy name came up a few times on the web searching as well. Very cool guy and straight forward. They don't sell enough of the SVT kits to have them produced over seas in Taiwan. They source all of their clutch kit manufacturing to a machine shop down the street from their facility in Georgia. So the Competition Clutches, at least for the SVT's, are made in the USA. They told me that their pressure plate, while utilizes an OE design, maintains a clamp load higher then the OE plate. The number he gave me was 1700lbs. He also told me while they warranty their kits for 90 days, he told me that if anything blew apart within the 1st year that he would have no problem sending me a new replacement. As he backs their products 100% to perform. Now for the interesting part... when I asked if we could do a GB straight through Competition Clutch he said sure and transferred me to a sales rep. The sales rep got on the phone and she told me that the best price she could give me for 5-10 orders was $440. She said that is a substantial discount as these kits sell new for $595, which is true as these are the advertised prices on their website store. I then told her that I could buy the kit through GripForce rebranded as F1 Racing Technologies for $288. She seemed very surprised and said that she would need to talk to her manager to see if they could provide us a GB at that price. She was supposed to call me back on Friday after her manager returned, but I never heard from her. I plan to follow up with them again on Monday, but with all this information I'm really leaning towards the Competition Clutch/F1 Racing kit.

What do you guys think now??

Interesting...seems a little bit backward on how they prioritize their manufacturing. It would make more sense to make a single large Taiwan made order for the SVT clutch, and just stock pile them allowing for greater profit, instead of paying higher costs locally for small batches.

I take a pinch of salt with what they say, but if the product is good and the price is right, they may be worth a second look :shrug: