spec one down for the count.

[CougarGuy1802]

well pullin into a parking spot at the mall last night, waiting for a car to pull out of his or her spot, in first, let out the clutch, and snap, coasted into my spot, rpms are flowing freely, included all gears. clutch pedal still feels as it should but without the beginning stiffness, which causes me to believe my clutch is no more. a dissappointment to me being it is only 30,000 miles old but i do believe im gonna get a spec stage 3. anybody care to comment on how much stiffer it is compared to a spec stage one. cuz people say it has stock feel. well i am postive it doesnt, it is noticably stiffer than stock(stage one i currently have). anybody wanna guess at how much stiffer a 3 is to the 1? i am already aware of the fact that you must go to 2200 to get moving in first and reverse. im also contemplating a fidanza flywheel. so comments, suggestions?

also, please dont tell me its overkill, i am a gearhead/certified tech/nerd i know what the stage 3 is. lol

[J-Man]

That sucks that it failed at only 30k miles, if I had any first hand experience I'd tell you, but I don't. :(

[CougarGuy1802]

so update, 5 minutes after posting, lol. i just talked to my dad, i snapped a driveshaft, and the reason why i could'nt move is because lsd is trying to send power to something that isnt attached anymore. lol.


also, i wish i coulda gotten a stage 3 outta this. :( lol

[J-Man]

LOL, well at least you don't have to pull the trans I guess. :rofl:

[CougarGuy1802]

thank god. i hate oweing my parents money when im laying on my back. ya know.

[ilovemycar]

I'm glad you already found that it was an axle. Cause that is exactly what i was gonna say after reading your first post. The things you described are not what a clutch does when it tears up.

Also...on the stage 3 ?'s...you don't have to rev it to 2200 just to get moving. It is not that bad. It is not like a clutch in any other car i have driven...but it is an awesome clutch. I have over 50,000 miles on my stage 3 and it is still holdin' strong. It chatters SOMETIMES, and will even make me stall out sometimes if i am completely out of it on the way to work one morning or sumthin...but i can pormise you it is the only clutch that will be in my cougar ever again. And if i get something else that SPEC makes a clutch for...it will be in that also. ;)

[CougarGuy1802]

I'm glad you already found that it was an axle. Cause that is exactly what i was gonna say after reading your first post. The things you described are not what a clutch does when it tears up.

Also...on the stage 3 ?'s...you don't have to rev it to 2200 just to get moving. It is not that bad. It is not like a clutch in any other car i have driven...but it is an awesome clutch. I have over 50,000 miles on my stage 3 and it is still holdin' strong. It chatters SOMETIMES, and will even make me stall out sometimes if i am completely out of it on the way to work one morning or sumthin...but i can pormise you it is the only clutch that will be in my cougar ever again. And if i get something else that SPEC makes a clutch for...it will be in that also. ;)

thank you for that inciteful post. people tell me im rediculous when i tell them how much i want one. i think you understand. i too also stall every couple months when im out of it, so dont feel too bad. lol

[ilovemycar]

thank you for that inciteful post. people tell me im rediculous when i tell them how much i want one. i think you understand. i too also stall every couple months when im out of it, so dont feel too bad. lol

Oh i don't feel bad...if you would drive a SPEC III you would know what i'm talkin' about. It mostly if my feet are wet and slip off the pedal or something stupid like that.

[CougarGuy1802]

while the 01-02 pedals make that harder to avoid, i have never had my feet slip off. when i stall its because im being lazy. lol

[SpookSVT]

Basically, as ilovemycar has said, it is a bit firmer but not much more than stock (barely noticeable). The only major difference is the "slip window", it is much less and will just require time to adapt to. I will say it is the only clutch I will ever put back in this car, mainly because of shifts. Minimal depression to disengage and grabs unbelievably hard. Makes a loud bang when you pop it! :biggrin:

It is unforgiving with mistakes. The same hard grab makes it easy to stall if your not careful, but that is just from not paying attention.

[AndyMan]

my 3L is in the works right now... i was thinking about going a little futher with the clutch and get a spec3... only because i know i am going to want F/I for it...

[CougarGuy1802]

thats what my car is gonna be seeing, its my little fun car. thank you for the pedal feel description. i had a buddy with a stage 3 in his mr2 and i thought it felt like my stage one. and everyone says the stage one feels like stock. but my stage one does not feel like stock at all ? lol

[jaged]

i like my stage 3 spec, its tricky to get used to but after you do its not bad at all

[CougarGuy1802]

my stage one is very on-off feeling, thats why i do like this clutch, i just want more. :evil:

[DanG]

I concur with SpookSVT. It's more like an "on/off" switch than a clutch. Of course, for F/I, there's really no choice.

[CougarGuy1802]

you have a very nice build dang. you must be so pleased.

[DanG]

It's a handful. Especially in DC traffic with said "on/off" switch. But pressing the happy pedal and watching the boost gauge go to 14psi really helps. :biggrin:

[J-Man]

So how did you blow an axle?

[CougarGuy1802]

well that day i hadn't done anything special besides catch second a little harder than usual :) but i drive my car hard almost everytime i drive it, i never even drive anymore so when i do i just wanna have some fun. im sure it was my own fault it broke, just like my ole diff:)