Well we ripped apart my car this morning to find that my clutch is in fact the original with over 125,000 miles on it. With my new cam/heads set up going in I'm thinking I could use a little upgrade especially with the shape that my stock one is in. My flywheel is also in bad shape. There is severe burning and glazing on it. My question is if I go with an aftermarket clutch should I, or do I need to, go with an aftermarket flywheel? Or will a good resurfacing for the flywheel do fine? Also I'm looking at a Spec Stage 3 clutch. What are your thoughts? Also would you reccomend an aluminum or steel flywheel if I were to get one?

 

A couple threads here as well as in the sticky seem to say that SPEC is hit or miss. I have a RAM HDX clutch + Aluminum flywheel on a 95 TA. Works like a champ. I also had a RAM HDX clutch + SPEC steel flywheel on a 93 Hawk and the combination was way out of balance. The HDX on the Hawk was a few months newer and came with the el cheapo Chinese pressure plate, with no balancing done from the factory.

Judging from your mods, I presume that you're auto-x'ing or road racing. The aluminum fw will reduce the total spinning inertia and allow the motor to rev quicker during your downshifts. OTOH, the steel flywheel will add weight over the cast parts, which will aid in launching at the dragstrip by storing more rotational kinetic energy in the heavier fw. The additional rotating mass will cost more HP.

By reading the posts in this forum and in the sticky here's a couple of points:
1) clutch manufacturers are hit or miss
2) the cheap Chinese pressure plates are becoming commonplace, even from reputable sources
3) keep your old flywheel so your new one can be match balanced against it
4) it's probably a good idea to get everything balanced before installation because the manufacturers aren't doing it. Such machine work is cheap. Pulling your LT1 because the bearings are shot isn't.

Have a look at the sticky posts at the top for some good comments on the current state of M6 clutch options and problems.

 

Alright so I read the sticky. Basically I should buy a clutch kit from Autozone and use the pressure plate from that, then buy the disc from the brand of my choosing and put the Autozone pressure plate with the clutch disc I pick? I think thats it. Also how can I get just the disc from Spec? I was looking on their site and didn't see an option for that.

 

If you get the Autozone kit, you'll probably end up with the Chinese knock off pressure plate, which is OK if you're willing to get it balanced. Otherwise go for a Valeo. You're right about having a tough time being able to find a disk on its own. If you're on a budget, then this is probably the way to go. Otherwise you could just get the complete kit from the disk manufacturer. Again, give strong consideration to getting the pressure plate balanced so you don't have to do the job twice.

 

Alright so I need to get the pressure plate balanced? If I buy the GMPP Flywheel will I need to get that balanced as well?

Also I found this clutch disc otherwise : http://store.summitracing.com/partde...5&autoview=sku

I'll probably be making around 400whp so do you guys think this would be fine?

 

Actually scratch that. My buddy knows a guy that's going to get us a Spec stage 3 clutch kit for cheaper than retail so I'm just going to go with that. So I'm wondering will I need to worry about balancing that pressure plate? Also should I balance the GMPP Flywheel? Thanks

 

Not sure about the GMPP flywheel. Is it a cast piece? If it's for the _externally_ balanced motor (assuming you haven't touched the bottom end) you should be OK. Again, keep your old one around in case you have to pull the new one out and balance it against the old one. Also see if the fw comes with new bolts. If not, grab a set.

Not sure what SPEC is using for pressure plates these days. Take a look at the photos in the LT1 sticky in this forum. If the plate looks like the Chinese knockoff and doesn't have any material drilled out, then it hasn't been balanced. You might give SPEC a call and verify that their pp's are balanced, and maybe inquire to what tolerance they're balanced.

 

Alright well I was looking on Summit and it says they have no flywheels for any Camaro after 1992. I found this one that says it will work for a Chevy small block. Will it work for me? http://store.summitracing.com/partde...8&autoview=sku

 

That one won't work. Too many teeth. It's also 30#, which is significantly heavier than stock (~ 21#). If you're going for a cast fw, you might give autozone a try. $159 w/ a $100 core exchange => $59 net. Of course, don't send the core back until you're satisfied that the new one is OK.