My Official Textralia OZ700 Z-grip Review
04-16-2008 | 10:49 AM
#1
My Official Textralia OZ700 Z-grip Review UPDATE - Sold the car with over 17,000 miles on the clutch and it was still holding like a champ at track rentals and on the street. I was running 11.4's at 121 full weight all day long before I sold it and from what I hear, the new owner put quite a few miles on it before totaling it without ever having to replace the clutch.
INTRODUCTION
OK, after sorting out a few transmission issues, I've finally gotten a chance to put some miles on my new Textralia OZ700 Z-grip and really get a feel for the clutch. I have only one word for Textralia: BRAVO.
I'll start off by saying my experience with clutches ranges from stock Fbody and GTO to SPEC 2, 3, and 3+, to the RAM Powergrip HD, and now to the Textralia. Granted, I can't speak for longevity as I've only had it in the car for a couple hundred miles, but in almost every other aspect, this clutch dominates the competition.
PEDAL FEEL
Many aftermarket clutches claim to offer "stock pedal feel" while maintaing massive amounts of holding power. I was always under the impression that while this was a great marketing idea and one that people would convince themselves was true after dropping a ton of money, it was simply a myth and that no decent rated clutch could actually offer "stock" pedal feel. I was pretty much wrong.
When I sat down and pushed the pedal in for the first time, keeping in mind that I had recently been driving a SPEC 2 and had driven a RAM PG HD a few weeks earlier, I almost thought the clutch was broken or needed more bleeding (even though it had been bled relentlessly). It was the same sensation I got whenever I would sit down in my dad's bone stock 2004 GTO M6. So after some test driving to make sure it was working properly, I of course ran over to my dad's GTO and pushed the clutch pedal in. SHOCK. If anything the GTO pedal felt the same or slightly harder. I had my dad test both. His response: "Holy ****, I think your pedal is actually LIGHTER than mine..."
That said, the following is a little hard to explain. It does feel to me like even thought the pedal pressure is the same or slightly lighter on the Tex, it has a more "positive" engagement feel, if that makes any sense. This is a good thing. I'd take the Tex feel over the stock feel even if they held the same power.
DRIVEABILITY
For the first bit of driving after the install, the clutch was pretty grabby and I had a strong tendency to either chirp the tires (let it out too quick) or make it shudder/chatter quite a bit (try to slip it a little bit). This didn't go away right away but my friend's Tex had the same chatter that went away after 50 miles or so, so I did a little reading about it. It turns out these clutches like a little heat to get "broken in" (keep in mind these clutches have no break-in period and can be used hard right out of the box).
After finding this out about the heat, I took the car out and ran it hard a few times through the gears. Magically, the clutch feels AMAZING now. There is no sign of chatter or stutter and it engages very smoothly. I put some decent miles on it since that heat-up session and the issue has not come back; it still feels great.
Now, I will mention that if this clutch is driven improperly, meaning you try to slip it TOO much, it will chatter just slightly. There are two options for this ctluch, the Z-grip and the X-grip. If you plan on driving 99% on the street and have a tendency to slip the clutch a bit, buy the X-grip as it was designed to hold the same power while being more "slip" or "street" friendly. If you plan on 6k clutch dumps at the track on ET Streets, buy the Z-grip. It is less friendly to slip, but will handle these launches on a more regular basis much better than the X. Also, if you're running nitrous or FI, the Z-grip is probably going to suit you since the material handles the real high powered cars better.
HOLDING POWER
I have not had this car to the track yet (have my rental day tickets ready to go for May, though
), but I have driven it hard on the street right out of the box. The clutch is advertised to have no break-in period, so I drove it just long enough to make sure it was installed with no issues, and then the real driving began. My car makes 400/367 to the wheels on a mild heads and cam combo with full bolt-ons through a 12-bolt with 4.10s, a built MN12 GTO transmission (shorter gears), a heavy driveshaft, Nittos for the street, and some decent suspension work.
Outcome? Drop the clutch or shift fast with this thing and it grabs like a bitch. Chirping the 275 Nittos on a 2-3 shift is a regular occurence WITHOUT power shifting, and the 1-2 shift is useless on the street even with the Nittos unless I toast them long and hard first. Running from a dig works if I can heat the tires up enough, and I still question that 1-2 shift everytime I do it, afraid I'm going to kick the back end out if I shift hard. I'll try not to speak too soon about how it performs at the track, but from my street experience and the experiences of others who have had this clutch, I'll just say I'm not too worried about it. We'll know for sure come May.
PRICE
This is where I think a lot of people get scared off and, frankly, I think it's all a big misconception that this clutch is priced EXTREMELY high. Let's compare two random similar packages (in terms of holding power):
Textralia OZ700 Z-grip: $954 (current at BYUNSpeed)
Includes
- Pressure plate
- Clutch disk
- Flywheel
- Alignment tool
- PP bolts
- Important - Digitally Machined and Zero-Balanced and ready for "instant use", no break-in period
- Rated to 650-700 rear wheel horsepower
SPEC Stage 3+ with SPEC Billet Flywheel: $778.15 (current at Maryland Speed)
- Pressure plate
- Clutch disk
- Flywheel
- Alignment tool
- PP bolts?
- Break-in period of at least 500-600 miles recommended by SPEC
- Rated to 850 ft. lbs. of torque at the flywheel
NOW FOR THE BIG DIFFERENCE IN COST............$175.85. Is this a decent price difference? Yes. Is it enough to make me go for the extremely hard pedal feel, intermittent chatter, clutch dying at low mileage (on various clutches owned by myself, brother, and friends), I'll say "mediocre" customer service to be nice, and 500-600 mile minimum break-in period SPEC Stage 3+ clutch? Hell no.
The trouble people have with the price is a) that this clutch comes with a flywheel, as opposed to many of the standard clutches that sell the flywheel separately (adding to the price) and b) that they try to compare it to clutches like the LS7 clutch, which is clearly in a totally different category from the Textralia. If you're trying to decide between an LS7 and a Textralia, you clearly have not done your homework on these two options.
CUSTOMER SERVICE
I've had two emails I sent to Textralia regarding a clutch question I had and a transmission issue I was having. The first was responded to by email within two hours, the second was responded to by email saying "Send me your phone number so I can call you from Australia and help you figure it out" (to summarize).
I won't go into detail about my experiences with other clutch companies' customer service, but we'll just say I was pleasantly surprised at the response from Textralia.
CONCLUSION
Pending longevity of this clutch, I personally will probably never purchase a different clutch as long as they continue to make these. I love the feel, the driveability, the holding power, and the customer service. The price leaves a little to be desired and I wouldn't call it a "value" clutch, but compared to other similar options out there, the price difference is small enough to make it a no-brainer in my eyes.
Excellent job, Textralia. You guys have built a quality clutch and you have every reason to fully stand behind this product.
INTRODUCTION
OK, after sorting out a few transmission issues, I've finally gotten a chance to put some miles on my new Textralia OZ700 Z-grip and really get a feel for the clutch. I have only one word for Textralia: BRAVO.
I'll start off by saying my experience with clutches ranges from stock Fbody and GTO to SPEC 2, 3, and 3+, to the RAM Powergrip HD, and now to the Textralia. Granted, I can't speak for longevity as I've only had it in the car for a couple hundred miles, but in almost every other aspect, this clutch dominates the competition.
PEDAL FEEL
Many aftermarket clutches claim to offer "stock pedal feel" while maintaing massive amounts of holding power. I was always under the impression that while this was a great marketing idea and one that people would convince themselves was true after dropping a ton of money, it was simply a myth and that no decent rated clutch could actually offer "stock" pedal feel. I was pretty much wrong.
When I sat down and pushed the pedal in for the first time, keeping in mind that I had recently been driving a SPEC 2 and had driven a RAM PG HD a few weeks earlier, I almost thought the clutch was broken or needed more bleeding (even though it had been bled relentlessly). It was the same sensation I got whenever I would sit down in my dad's bone stock 2004 GTO M6. So after some test driving to make sure it was working properly, I of course ran over to my dad's GTO and pushed the clutch pedal in. SHOCK. If anything the GTO pedal felt the same or slightly harder. I had my dad test both. His response: "Holy ****, I think your pedal is actually LIGHTER than mine..."
That said, the following is a little hard to explain. It does feel to me like even thought the pedal pressure is the same or slightly lighter on the Tex, it has a more "positive" engagement feel, if that makes any sense. This is a good thing. I'd take the Tex feel over the stock feel even if they held the same power.
DRIVEABILITY
For the first bit of driving after the install, the clutch was pretty grabby and I had a strong tendency to either chirp the tires (let it out too quick) or make it shudder/chatter quite a bit (try to slip it a little bit). This didn't go away right away but my friend's Tex had the same chatter that went away after 50 miles or so, so I did a little reading about it. It turns out these clutches like a little heat to get "broken in" (keep in mind these clutches have no break-in period and can be used hard right out of the box).
After finding this out about the heat, I took the car out and ran it hard a few times through the gears. Magically, the clutch feels AMAZING now. There is no sign of chatter or stutter and it engages very smoothly. I put some decent miles on it since that heat-up session and the issue has not come back; it still feels great.
Now, I will mention that if this clutch is driven improperly, meaning you try to slip it TOO much, it will chatter just slightly. There are two options for this ctluch, the Z-grip and the X-grip. If you plan on driving 99% on the street and have a tendency to slip the clutch a bit, buy the X-grip as it was designed to hold the same power while being more "slip" or "street" friendly. If you plan on 6k clutch dumps at the track on ET Streets, buy the Z-grip. It is less friendly to slip, but will handle these launches on a more regular basis much better than the X. Also, if you're running nitrous or FI, the Z-grip is probably going to suit you since the material handles the real high powered cars better.
HOLDING POWER
I have not had this car to the track yet (have my rental day tickets ready to go for May, though
), but I have driven it hard on the street right out of the box. The clutch is advertised to have no break-in period, so I drove it just long enough to make sure it was installed with no issues, and then the real driving began. My car makes 400/367 to the wheels on a mild heads and cam combo with full bolt-ons through a 12-bolt with 4.10s, a built MN12 GTO transmission (shorter gears), a heavy driveshaft, Nittos for the street, and some decent suspension work.Outcome? Drop the clutch or shift fast with this thing and it grabs like a bitch. Chirping the 275 Nittos on a 2-3 shift is a regular occurence WITHOUT power shifting, and the 1-2 shift is useless on the street even with the Nittos unless I toast them long and hard first. Running from a dig works if I can heat the tires up enough, and I still question that 1-2 shift everytime I do it, afraid I'm going to kick the back end out if I shift hard. I'll try not to speak too soon about how it performs at the track, but from my street experience and the experiences of others who have had this clutch, I'll just say I'm not too worried about it. We'll know for sure come May.
PRICE
This is where I think a lot of people get scared off and, frankly, I think it's all a big misconception that this clutch is priced EXTREMELY high. Let's compare two random similar packages (in terms of holding power):
Textralia OZ700 Z-grip: $954 (current at BYUNSpeed)
Includes
- Pressure plate
- Clutch disk
- Flywheel
- Alignment tool
- PP bolts
- Important - Digitally Machined and Zero-Balanced and ready for "instant use", no break-in period
- Rated to 650-700 rear wheel horsepower
SPEC Stage 3+ with SPEC Billet Flywheel: $778.15 (current at Maryland Speed)
- Pressure plate
- Clutch disk
- Flywheel
- Alignment tool
- PP bolts?
- Break-in period of at least 500-600 miles recommended by SPEC
- Rated to 850 ft. lbs. of torque at the flywheel
NOW FOR THE BIG DIFFERENCE IN COST............$175.85. Is this a decent price difference? Yes. Is it enough to make me go for the extremely hard pedal feel, intermittent chatter, clutch dying at low mileage (on various clutches owned by myself, brother, and friends), I'll say "mediocre" customer service to be nice, and 500-600 mile minimum break-in period SPEC Stage 3+ clutch? Hell no.
The trouble people have with the price is a) that this clutch comes with a flywheel, as opposed to many of the standard clutches that sell the flywheel separately (adding to the price) and b) that they try to compare it to clutches like the LS7 clutch, which is clearly in a totally different category from the Textralia. If you're trying to decide between an LS7 and a Textralia, you clearly have not done your homework on these two options.
CUSTOMER SERVICE
I've had two emails I sent to Textralia regarding a clutch question I had and a transmission issue I was having. The first was responded to by email within two hours, the second was responded to by email saying "Send me your phone number so I can call you from Australia and help you figure it out" (to summarize).
I won't go into detail about my experiences with other clutch companies' customer service, but we'll just say I was pleasantly surprised at the response from Textralia.
CONCLUSION
Pending longevity of this clutch, I personally will probably never purchase a different clutch as long as they continue to make these. I love the feel, the driveability, the holding power, and the customer service. The price leaves a little to be desired and I wouldn't call it a "value" clutch, but compared to other similar options out there, the price difference is small enough to make it a no-brainer in my eyes.
Excellent job, Textralia. You guys have built a quality clutch and you have every reason to fully stand behind this product.
Last edited by PewterScreaminMach; 01-29-2011 at 02:32 PM.
04-16-2008 | 12:23 PM
#3
It's not the pulling the transmission part that I don't like; it's the jacking up the car perfectly so it doesn't fall on me part that doubles the labor time.
04-16-2008 | 02:26 PM
#5
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04-16-2008 | 07:56 PM
#9
04-16-2008 | 09:00 PM
#10
I ordered the x grip a week ago. Will hopefully get it in this weekend if fedex will ever find the correct house. I will post how it works out. I was told both disc were rated at 700 hp but the z grip had a more aggressive feal and action to it.
04-16-2008 | 11:36 PM
#12
Currently, it begins engaging about halfway up and reaches full engagement about 3/4 of the way up.
styoung - Too high of an engagement point would result in the opposite of what you said, meaning it would result in a clutch that wouldn't fully engage, not a clutch that will drag. Too low of an engagement point typically means the clutch will drag as the throwout bearing isn't pushing the PP far enough to disengage because the pedal hits the floor before causing it to do so. Just some info for you.
04-17-2008 | 09:49 AM
#14
On The Tree
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 142
Likes: 0
From: Southeastern, PA
I'm guessing the flywheel that comes with the textralia is steel right? Could you get an aluminum flywheel with the textralia kit?
I've had the LS7 clutch for about 1 year now with a cam only/bolt-on setup and it's working ok, but I had it slip on me a 2 times that I know of so a Textralia will prob be coming soon......
I've had the LS7 clutch for about 1 year now with a cam only/bolt-on setup and it's working ok, but I had it slip on me a 2 times that I know of so a Textralia will prob be coming soon......
04-17-2008 | 03:13 PM
#15
I'm guessing the flywheel that comes with the textralia is steel right? Could you get an aluminum flywheel with the textralia kit?
I've had the LS7 clutch for about 1 year now with a cam only/bolt-on setup and it's working ok, but I had it slip on me a 2 times that I know of so a Textralia will prob be coming soon......
I've had the LS7 clutch for about 1 year now with a cam only/bolt-on setup and it's working ok, but I had it slip on me a 2 times that I know of so a Textralia will prob be coming soon......
Yeah, have you been launching the LS7 clutch real hard? Good clutch for the money in a bolt-on car, but I wouldn't take my chances with it in a cammed and tracked car; I've heard too much about the infamous glazing of that clutch on hard launches.
