I was going to get a spec stage 2 clutch but I guess monster will be getting a check from me glad i read this before i dropped the cash

 

It was my V that Josh put the clutch in, not that anyone here would know me anyway, as I've just "lurked" for quite a while. I picked it up (finally!) last night, and can confirm that this Monster stage II is absolutely great. It's the exact opposite of that piece of crap that SPEC kept pushing back to us. The shifter just glides into any gear, even reverse (which the SPEC damn near refused to ever go into). Gear selection up to this point (admittedly early thus far) is far better than the car came from the factory. The SPEC wouldn't even go into any gear until after letting the car idle/warm up for 30+ minutes, and even then it was a crap shoot as to which gears I could actually select. It (Monster) does have a bit stiffer pedal than stock, but nothing that can't be dealt with. It's not near as stiff as the SPEC unit was. And in driving it last night and all day today, it's not near as "on/off" as the SPEC was, and I've had no problems slipping it when needing to (starting on hills, smooth starts at stoplights, etc).

But back to Josh's point, SPEC was a complete nightmare to deal with in trying to get their part to work, and blatantly showed that they weren't concerned with me or Josh as customers at all. It became apparent that their part wasn't going to work, yet they didn't care at all. Running a business myself, I understand that sometimes s*** happens. Quality control has a lapse, a bad part gets out...this all happens, and I can accept that. But (as Josh also said), it's how a company handles those mess-ups that define how they really feel about the customers. And SPEC proved to me that once they have your money, you're on your own. However....they DID offer to let me bring the car (crap clutch installed, mind you) down to their home offices in Alabama and let them install the clutch "correctly"...underhandedly suggesting that Josh couldn't install a clutch. Anyone here that knows Josh (and there seems to be a lot of you) knows that's bullshit. And the simple fact that the Monster went in and works without a hitch proves the SPEC was junk.

And while I'm on the subject, I am deeply grateful for Josh and what he did to help me through this situation. A lot of shops would/could have left me with the SPEC, as they "did their part" and installed a clutch. But instead, he ate a ton of R/R's, tied up countless hours of his time, and fought for me tooth and nail to get me credit on the SPEC, apply that to the Monster, and me only pay the difference in the two clutch kits. No further labor or anything else. Even after I offered to pay him for the final install of the Monster. That's unbelievable (to me, at least). Not a single bit of this fiasco was any fault of his, yet he did (on his own dime) what SPEC should have done to make it right.

So I owe a lot to Josh/Spartan Performance for everything he did for me, and to Monster for making a stage II single disc clutch that works like a dream. Those two will get my future business for as long as they want it. And SPEC can kiss my ***. I'd push the damn car before I ever bought anything from them again.

 

That explains the hard on for Spec, but doesn't explain the trashing of twins for the sake of trashing twins.

That is the problem of blaming an entire class for one bad experience.

 

I have zero knowledge of twin discs, so I can't trash them, vouch for them, or say a word about them. I did briefly consider one, but based on what VERY limited understanding I had of them at the time, I didn't think one fit my application (always heard they were only really needed for "extreme horsepower/torque applications). That's why I went with the single disc. But from what I've read in this thread, twin discs seem like something I may definitely research for the future. Sounds like they are a lot more fit for modified "daily drivers" than I originally thought. I think this thread got off track a bit with the whole single vs. twin back and forth. I think it was more originally started (I can't speak for Josh of course) to voice the displeasure with SPEC and their total lack of concern for the customer, and to inform others of how they (mis)handled the situation. That's my take on it, at least.

 

I'm not trashing twin disks. But just like an alien, I'll believe one when I see one.

When I drive w twin disk that drives smooth I'll say, "Hey, that twin disk drives smooth". Been installing clutches 15 years and haven't said that yet. But again, not everybody has $1200-1500 to plunk down on a clutch so I've primarily installed single disks over the past few years.


Thanks for the post Chris. I'm glad the nightmare is over. It's just too bad Spec cost us 5 weeks and cost me $3000 in trans R&R labor.

 

"As for the dual disk, I'm not sure why anybody would install one of those in a Cadillac. It makes them incredibly annoying to drive."

C'mon, you said this on page 1.

 

Is monster a sponsor of ls1 tech and spec is not?

 

If you'd like to make your own thread debating the driveability of a twin disk with me, feel free to do so. This thread was not started to debate twin disks, so please do not respond again about a twin disk. Thanks

Honestly I have no clue. I'm just stating my experiences with 2 products.

 

...........

 

Back on topic please.

 

Hey man!

A lot of the puck style disks do make a pretty horrible noise when starting off. One credit I'll give to Spec is there Stg III does not do that. I'm glad you got the tuning figured out. SD is the shiznizzle on boosted setups.



I've only used the Monster Stg II's so I can't comment on the 3's. The II's drive butter smooth and are an excellent option for the CTS-V guys below 500hp.

 

From everything I have heard/read is that the Monster is either awesome or horrible...with a lot of people complaining about chatter that never goes away (more so for the stage 3 or 4) and other drivability issue's. Not trying to trash Monster, I just think they should be weighed objectively against the competition as they have their fair share of problems.

I have heard nothing but good things about the Centerforce kits for the LS...anyone have first hand info on these?

 

MY goodness, these types of threads make a decision hard.

I have read quite alot of bad things about Monster stage 3s, but it seems to have gotten better. At first I thought it was the installers, but.....

How many miles on your monster? 2 or 3?

How much is the exedy single that you got?

What change was made by monster?

hmmmmmmm, when did you buy/install your M3?

When did you buy/install yours?

Thanks guys!

 

i meant there was a change to the spec 2yrs ago.

And i think my clutch was 1200-1400, i cant recall.

 

I put enough miles on the monster (about 3k) and it was enough for me to determine it was not the clutch for me.

I knew pucks had a chatter and at first it was real bad, but that has subsided to the point where I can drive it, but getting stuck on a hill is the pitts.

Any kind of a "quick launch" is a crap shoot also.

I have heard that the fix is simply replace the clutch to a plate style.

Since I am taking it apart, I am going another route.

No big deal, just Mod Hell.

 

@ 54

The Exedy is a twin by the way, not a single.

 

I may be wrong (again, I don't speak for Josh), but I still don't think Josh's motive behind this thread was to say anyone's (SPEC, Monster, Exedy, anyone) products are bad across the board. It seems that each manufacturer has areas and applications where they excel, and applications where they don't. For all the praise I'm heaping on this stage II Monster in my V, I've already seen that many people don't like the stage 3 in the same car. And even though I'm disgusted by SPEC, I know of and have been in some Mustangs with SPECs that performed great.

I still think the purpose of this thread was to show that SPEC's customer service seems to be a joke. Almost every company can produce/ship out a dud. However, when this happened with SPEC, they did everything they could to NOT help the customer. Everything from an asinine suggestion of having me drive the car with the crap clutch installed all the way to Alabama for them to "fix", to underhandedly suggesting that Josh can't install a clutch correctly. And in all honesty, I could actually see where the last suggestion (install error) might be a valid excuse...the first install. But when a mechanic of Josh's caliber installs your part 5 or 6 times in a row, and each time it doesn't work, what are the odds of that? Plus all of the "it's a hydraulic issue" (on a car that had no hydraulic issues before the SPEC, and now none with the Monster) and other types of excuses.

Short version...SPEC does have some good products, and when they are right, they seem to work well. But you better hope like hell you do get a good one, because if you don't, just be prepared to be s*** on and treated like you (and your mechanic who puts in tons of SPEC products a year) are idiots.

 

I think a spec stage 2 plus is more then Overkill for most people with a v. Smooth engagement and a light pedal.

 

Thanks for the input guys!

How did you like it in your car?