I'm posting here because there just aren't that many folks running LWFW in the NA 996 section. I just picked it up last night.

Is it normal to get some driveline noise if the car is "lugged" from a low rpm?

For example, you're in 3rd and you're at around 2K rpm. You give it some throttle (say at least 50%)... I hear some racket out back until the transmission gets under load, usually by 3K or so. It almost reminds me of that pinging sound when you run horrible gas in a cheap car.

I don't hear too much when the car is in neutral with the clutch out. It's more pronounced when standing outside the car.

 

yup, that is normal. when you lug it from very low rpm it will sound like a can of muffled marbles, the faster you go the sound goes away.

 

Cool. Thanks for the feedback.

I am running the Spec Stage 2 plus clutch with the Spec LWFW.

I have to give props to the stock clutch. My car was making almost 200 hp more than stock and I still got 40K miles out of it, with probably close to 15% left. Not too shabby considering.

So far the Spec clutch feels pretty good. It's lighter than the stock clutch, but the engagement point is slightly higher. I'd say the stock clutch was at about 50% and this one engages at 65-70%. That will take a little getting used to. I may get an adjustable clutch stop to offset that.

As far as the LWFW goes, I'm a little disappointed considering the extra noise I have now. I don't really see any performance difference. It could be because my car is supercharged and the extra piece of machinery in the drive mix is holding it back. So far I don't notice anything other than the noise

 

My engagement point went up as well. I just got the RSS clutch stop and I love it. I totally recommend it to everyone. I actually prefer it now, because I can move the seat further back and be a little more comfortable.

I have read in several places that a LWFW will give an extra 8-12 whp by reducing drivetrain loss. So your BHP does not go up, but your wheel hp does. When you have a 500+ hp car, it is hard to notice the difference 8 hp makes. Another positive feature is that your engine has less momentum so when it hits the rev limiter, it is not as likely to zing to far past the limit. My tuner will increase my redline with this mod.

 

Did you have to disengage the clutch-in start switch to make the RSS piece work?

 

yes. THe switch is right above the clutch pedal, you can't miss it. It has two brownish wires going to it. I disconnected both wires, I then got a flat piece of metal, similar to what the wire connectors were originally on. I then connected both wires to it, effectively closing the circuit. Now I can start the car without depressing the clutch. If I ever have to change it, I have not modded the wires in any way so it will take a minute to put it all back to original.

 

On a side note, i assume your installer told you to bed the clutch in easy for the first 100-200 miles minimum (we like to shoot for 500 miles)? Bedding the clutch disc to the PP/FW is important for best life and reduced potential for glazing the disc. Very similar to bedding in new brake pad/rotor assy's.

The sound is normal both under low rmp with load and noise at idle. The noise at load is even more pronounced when using a solid hub disc with single mass aluminum flywheel. Since there is no dual-mass flywheel rotating (i believe the spec is 15 degrees but would need to double check) as the clutch is engaged to dampen drive line shock, there is a bit more load at the ring and pinion which is the noise you are hearing, esp at high load, low rpm. It should have a sound similar to a car with a slightly sloppy ring and pinion backlash setting. When running a sprung hub disc, this is slightly reduced as there is a small amount of cushion as the clutch is engaging but no where near eliminated.

 

No, my tech didn't say anything about bedding the clutch in. What is the process? I went very easy on it on my way home (approx 60 miles/mostly highway).

 

Thanks a great idea. So they're spade connectors for the clutch safety start then? Where did you get the piece of metal?

I think the clutch riser from RSS would be nice as it would make the engagement point a guess proof operation. Was it difficult to install or adjust the clutch riser?

 

for about 500miles no high speed pulls dont slip it horribly dont rev it up and side step the clutch be nice to it dont abuse it till they mate up friction wise. try to stay out of 6th gear for this period over drive is hard on clutches too.

and really try not to heat it up terribly like 2 hrs of stop n go traffic sometimes we have to but its hard on it

 

Couldn't have said it better myself. 500 miles is a solid number. No low rpm full throttle runs as this induces the greatest amount of load at the clutch. Try to stay out of the boost in general. Normal stop and go trafic, lots of on and off the clutch without slipping it works well to rough up the PP and FW surfaces.

 

Could you explain what the clutch stop supposed to do?