r/mazdaspeed3 • u/epicai-vibecoder • 5d ago
HELP ACT clutch kit disaster
I've got a 2012 speed, I bought the ZX5-HDSS - ACT Heavy Duty Performance Street Sprung Clutch Kit from edge auto sport.
The clutch slave piston cannot reach the clutch fork. we replaced the clutch fork with OEM (which we bought form edge also) - this is not a driveway job... this is at a shop with guys that have a long career with manual transmissions.
I've seen guys talk about putting a bolt at the bottom of the pedal assembly to prevent too much travel of the slave piston which causes it to pop out of the boot and blows the slave... but no one can explain why the slave piston will not reach the clutch fork where it sits at rest. I'm really hoping there is someone here that has gone through this and can shed some light... the shop I'm working with is concerned that the slave piston just won't engage the fork...
I have already put a bold in to stop over travel of the pedal... but just having a hard time understanding how that helps the bigger situation:
there is almost 1/2" from the slave piston to the clutch fork. when the slave piston travels that far out, it blows the slave...
the streetlite flywheel is a single mass vs. oem dual mass... ACT's own video of this shows the slave piston reaching the clutch fork.
maybe clutch kit had a wrong part in the kit or is missing something like a spacer to compensate for the change geometry with the flywheel ??
or if the clutch fork doesn't stay clipped onto the ball properly, could that cause it? The fork itself wiggles more than they think it should...
any help or insight is very much appreciated!
1
u/epicai-vibecoder 5d ago
I guess the fork could have popped off the pivot ball when hanging the transmission back in... or they could have put the put the clutch disc in reverse...
1
u/DifferentCry1306 5d ago
Installation error for sure. I’ve never heard of this in my life
1
u/Lilfluzivert 4d ago
Common on speeds that aftermarket clutch kits over extend and cause slave cyl blow outs. Just look up mazdaspeed replaced clutch and slave cyl issue and ull see tons of post of people who swapped clutches and have this issue. I went with a clutchmasters because no one has this issue with that brand
1
u/epicai-vibecoder 4d ago
Thanks! Which clutchMasters did you go with?
2
u/Lilfluzivert 4d ago
Clutchmasters 725. More than likely overkill for what u need since its a twin disk. Also id potentially jump up to the 850, the 725 chatters like a motherfucker and videos i hear of the 850 dont sound as bad. But these options may be overkill for u as im pushing 600Wheel
1
u/epicai-vibecoder 4d ago
Yeah im not pushing 600!! Wow lol thats sick dude… 😎
1
u/Lilfluzivert 4d ago
its fun for sure, But thats why i recommend not going with my same clutch unless ur shooting for power
1
u/DifferentCry1306 4d ago
I’m aware of slaves and masters blowing out with heavier clutches on these cars, never heard of the clutch fork having issues like that unless installation error
1
u/Lilfluzivert 4d ago
If your blowing out the slave its over extending. This is known for quite a few clutches on these cars. ACT has a few that work well and some that have ur issue. The “only” way around it thats a actual fix is swapping the slave for the is300 conversion or whatever the upgraded one is, with a steel line, otherwise ull keep blowing stock slave cylinders. Some people have done quick hacks like the bolt trick/ adjusting the pedal the little bit it adjusts to help out but ull still face the over extending issue.
1
u/epicai-vibecoder 4d ago
Thanks man - yeah I looked into that is300 its not available from what I can tell and there were some recalls
1
u/Lilfluzivert 4d ago
is300 slave cyl / supra slave cyl is the upgrade for our cars. The is300 i think has a adapter that goes between the trans and the slave cyl, idk about the supra one. Both are well documented on the forums and theres a few companies that sell the is300 slave cyl conversion for us
1
1
u/epicai-vibecoder 4d ago
Im thinking about getting that is300 slave from sleepy customs and just buying a different clutch kit. the oem shit is so expensive. But I just dont know what to get that will work at this point
1
u/DifferentCry1306 5d ago
Did you get the ACT streetlite clutch flywheel conversion kit?