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Howard uses one stand to support the engine before using another to lower the transmission.
Behold, my stock clutch.
Once you’ve removed the clutch cover, disc and flywheel, you can remove the original pilot bearing and replace it with the bearing supplied by Spec.
The Spec Clutch flywheel in place.
Here is the complete Spec Clutch Stage 2+ kit installed with the alignment tool.
Now all Howard had to do is put everything back together. At this point I was hungry so I left to get something to eat.
After installing the Spec clutch the rest of my Civic feels so, excuse my French, stock.At the end of the day the overall NVH is higher with this Spec clutch. Stop-and-go traffic starts can catch you off guard at times, although I’ve never stalled (maybe once or twice – okay, maybe more). But none of this matters when the heavens part and LA traffic gives way to an open launch. Now my car engages and hooks up immediately, with much less clutch slippage (granted, my old clutch was tired with 86K on it). The Spec clutch also helps the engine wind up much more quickly than the factory unit and as any Honda owner can tell you, reaching the upper end of the powerband as quickly as possible is worth the price of admission in and of itself. It’s been a minute since I’ve driven on an aftermarket clutch and I must admit I did mention the noise to Mr. Kojima and he called me a wuss (transcript edited to preserve our PG-13 rating). Have I been driving a stock car for too long? Have the kids made me soft? Someone get me some R compounds and remote reservoir coilovers STAT! Now all I need to go with my Spec clutch is some proper power and torque to match its impressive capabilities. Here’s to hitting that slippery slope headfirst.
(Editors note- John is a wuss. The clutch is nearly as smooth and has close to OEM NVH, surprisingly good considering the Spec Flywheel is much lighter and not designed to damp out noise and vibration. The Spec clutch is very smooth for a performance clutch.- MK)
