I have a spec stage 1 in my 95 LT1 T/A. i have not had any balancing problems or vibrations, BUT the drivability stinks... it chatters enough to shake the bolts lose on my window regulator. other than that it grabs nice when i need it to, and is easy on the leg. i don't think i would buy another one tho.

 

I've had great experience with my Spec over the years and my friends have too... Any part that is mass produced leaves room in the future for an error or two etc. Spec is one of the most well known/respected clutch manufacturers out there.

I totally understand where you are coming from but after your machinist inspected it did you or did he call Spec to tell them what he had found? Cause if he had I'm sure they would have worked something out with you.

 

Yup...

 

i had a spec stage 2 clutch in my 93 T/A and it was junk! drivability was terrible.

 

Spec isn't really known for having great drivibility, they're pressure plates are really aggressive. When I bought my clutch, I went through TSP (awesome customer service I might add) and Jon pointed me in the direction of a Ram HD instead of a Spec 3. Since then, I've never looked back. But this is a lesson we can all learn from. Manufacturers make mistakes. There's always going to be a few that slip passed quality control, especially since if they're pumping out 100s per hour. That is why careful examination of parts and checking balance is vital to a successful install.

 

I put a SPEC III in my 2001 Camaro SS about 5-6 years ago. The motor is stock but I have a Vortech kit on it, 465 RWHP/440 RWTQ. The car is a total garage queen and I think I have put less than 4K miles on it since the clutch install. However, in those 4K miles it has performed really well, to include some "spirited driving" (leave on the third honk, ) It grips great and the engagement is immediate and solid, even at 6K RPMs under 9 psi of boost. The one flaw is that it has chatter when taking off gently from a complete stop. Not horribly annoying but it has been there from the begining and hasn't gone away. If I leave a dead stop aggressively it's BAM and engages fully and immediately, but just driving casually it will always chatter a little from a dead stop.

I don't own stock in SPEC. Just want to honestly share my experience FWIW.

 

I put a SPEC 3+ behind my H/C/N 2000 Z28 and then the 382/N that followed. Not one problem, even with the ~650rwhp on the squeeze. Seems SPEC is very hit/miss...

 

I've heard more bad than good about spec. That's why I bought a McLeod back in 06 when the manual Trans room was littered with threads about grenaded Spec clutch threads.

Long story short: I've still got the SAME McLeod single in my Z28.

 

If any of you have an issue with one of our products you are welcome to contact me directly. I spend the majority of my time in the Manual Transmission forum but saw this and thought I should chime in. Our company utilizes 3 dynamic balancers that are calibrated daily. Each and every part we manufacture goes through this process as part of QC.

Quick it seems that you indicate that you bought our clutch and installed it with your stock resurfaced flywheel. Did you by chance read the paperwork that is included with each of our kits...it can be found in the same plastic bag as the shim that is included? I ask because in "Installation Notes" relative to the LS1 clutch kits it clearly states that when using a stock flywheel the assembly needs to be balanced together before installation. This is due to the OE flywheel being balanced with the OE clutch kit as a package versus independent balancing of each part. Here is the excerpt from the actual paperwork included:

Concerning OEM flywheels
"SPEC clutches can be used with the existing or new factory LS-1 flywheel should the end user choose not to purchase a SPEC billet steel or billet aluminum unit. In this case, the factory flywheel must be resurfaced. GM does not recommend re-using or resurfacing the factory flywheel, but research has determined they can be resurfaced up to .015. However, after resurfacing a factory LS-1 flywheel, the new clutch and old flywheel should be rebalanced together and verified to be in specifications. SPEC is not responsible in any way for labor or engine damage due to failure to rebalance an assembly after surfacing the stock flywheel."

This is something that is not only included in the box but that has been discussed at length on this and other boards. Considering this...don't you think that you may want to rethink your post. It seems that you simply overlooked the notes. I realize that things happen, and that folks don't always thoroughly read the instructions...we're human after all...but you are throwing us under the bus and that seems a bit harsh considering the above info!

 

I just came back to this thread to re read it after a year. And the answer is HELL NO! I will not re think this post. YOUR clutch was off 15 GRAms OUT OF THE BOX! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW DIFFICULT IT IS TO REPLACE A CLUTCH IN A C5 BY YOURSELF ON A GARAGE FLOOR? iT SUCKS! I ahd to do it three times because I thought there was no way in hell it could be the clutch. WELL, It was.

spec

 

FWIW, you should never resurface a flywheel and then attempt to use a SPEC clutch. I learned that the hard way. That could have been some of the issue as well.

I install at least 2-3 SPEC clutches a month and haven't had any issues in a long time.

 

Dude are you high? You didn't follow directions and you want to blame them?? Maybe your crap resurface job caused the clutch to go out of balance. You didn't have the balance on the flywheel checked until there was a problem. And, you admitted you took it up over 5k rpms with it vibrating. Did you think we couldn't see through your story. This is the most fail post I have witnessed in a while.

 

No..it was not off 15 grams out the box..it was off 15 grams after you ran and drove it for a while with the wrong flywheel set up.


Here has been my experiance selling clutches.

Someone buys a Monster clutch for $700+..almost always a Stage 2 or higher. The clutch comes with everything including new flywheel and slave. This does not leave any room to cheap out or skip things. Typically someone who spends $700+ on a clutch pays to get it professionally installed. Because of this, I have never had a complaint on a Monster Clutch.

However someone buys a Spec clutch..and it ends up being a stage 1 or the lowest possible level they they can get by with. Then they buy just the clutch, not the the flywheel. Then they go out, get their stock flywheel resurfaced and assemble the rest of the parts from wherever and whatever fits their budget. Then they install in it their driveway themselves, and low and behold they have issues. EVERY time I have ever had someone have an issue with a Spec clutch, it is either someone who did not spring the money for the flywheel, is doing the install themselves, or for some reason bought a stage 1 clutch. I guess this is because Spec is the only performance clutch company out there anymore where you can buy a clutch without a flywheel, so it brings out buyers looking for a certain price point more than anything. We do have people who buy the full Spec setup from us with flywheel and all the parts needed, and we never get complaints from them.

Now I am by no means saying that Monster is a better clutch than Spec. We sell a lot of Spec and have very few complaints. I am pointing out that the complaints we do have about Spec almost always end up being because of someone taking a short cut trying to to save money..not because there is an issue with the clutch itself. I am not posting this to come down on the OP..more to point out to other customers out there that trying to save money can end up costing in the long run with something like a clutch.

 

LMAO! SPEC is the only company that requires you to rebalance if you dont use their flywheel?! Thats because they are GARBAGE! I bet I can go into a GM dealership, buy a ls7 unit, and reinstall as I did the first time. Somthing tells me It would have been fine.

And by the way, who gives a crap about what stage the product is? Quality is quality no matter what leaves the maufacturers factory!

 

LS7 clutch requires it's own specific flywheel also....

I don't know of a performance clutch that does not recommend, or require you to use their flywheel. Maybe you should have bought a stock clutch if you weren't gonna do things right.

 

whatever man,Its just to sell you more ****. Ive installed MANY clutches and this is my first issue ever. The product was off 15 grams out of the box. Face it, its the truth. Go ahead and back them, but search the internet, YOULL FIND OUT THEY SUCK.

 

if there is so much out there about how much they suck, then why did you not find anything untill you had the issue. Running the clutch improperly installed can lead to material transfer, and other things that can affect balancing. Part of the problem with today's society in all honesty is to whine and blame other when you have an issue rather than accept your own stake in the problem.