Ok here's the deal. I had a SPEC stage 2 clutch installed when my other clutch broke. The shop that installed the clutch just had my flywheel turned instead of replacing it because it was still in good shape. During the install they also got the master and slave cylinder "upgrade kit" from SPEC to bring my hydraulics up. The starter also was replaced because it was chewed up.

When I first got the car back, it had a little bit of chatter. No problem for me cause this is normal for a new clutch, especially a SPEC. Now here is where the problem came in. Once I reached the break-in point of 500 miles, the chatter got worse. I am now at probably over 1,500 miles on the clutch. The car now shakes VERY violently whenever I am launching from a stop. It bangs the exhaust around, rattles in the engine bay, and generally sounds like the car will fall apart.

I babied the car all the way to 500 miles. But, after the break-in period, I have shifted pretty hard and launched it fairly hard a couple times at around 2k rpm. The car still shakes very badly. I have tried launching by just letting the clutch out with no throttle, I have tried holding it at around 1,100 rpm. I have even tried as high as 2,000 - 2,500 rpm and it ALWAYS shakes horribly like it's dying.

I took it to a newer performance shop that is close to where I live. I had heard they do good work. After they installed the clutch, they re-installed my Borla cat-back incorrectly. They put the I-pipe in backwards and it was all loose as hell and flopping around. I looked under the car when I got it home on the driveway and knew immediately the I-pipe was backwards, it was so obvious. This makes me kind of wonder if the clutch/flywheel/pressure plate were even installed properly.

So what do you guys think? Do I need a new flywheel? Is it possible they installed the clutch backwards? Should I just take it to another shop and have them tear it apart and check?

 

Sounds to me kind of like something is loose. A stage II shouldn't be shaking all that violently IMO.

Check your tranny mount and your motor mounts first since they should be pretty easy to check. Beyond that, if it's not clutch chatter, something in the clutch assy is probably loose. Whether it's a pressure plate bolt or a flywheel bolt, something in there could be a little out of wack.

 

Could be any of the clutch components causing the problem. Could be greasy finger prints on the disc. I doubt the disc is in backwards or I don't think it would disengage and it would likely make all kinds of noise when you tried to disengage. About the flywheel, there's only something like 0.015 of material to play with and there had to be some wear on the flywheel, so I would replace it. What choce is there other than tearing it down? It ain't right and it can't be any fun driving it the way it is. Tear it down, yank the crap out, and chalk it up to a rotten learning experience.

With your RWHP why do you need anything more than the Z06 clutch kit from GM? The Z06 is rated @ 400+HP and I saw some dyno tests that showed a crate engine with absolutely no mods cranking 415HP @ the flywheel. I made the mistake of getting a SPEC Stage 1 for my 2002 SS with a few bolt-ons and it chattered and banged the heck out of my car until I took it out and tried to fry it. I just slipped the clutch at about 4K RPM's for a bunch of 1/8 mile runs. It's better now but there's still some chatter. And who knows how long it'll last? The mating surface on my Fidanza aluminum flywheel probably paid the price, but I can't stand all of that jumping around when I leave a traffic light. If the clutches need to be "seated" and "broken in" why don't the manufacturers do it and sell matched sets? Who wants to rattle and shake their car to pieces over a stupid clutch?

I'm going to just buy the Z06 kit - it looks like SDPC2000 has the best delivered price right now - less than $400. The flywheel, disc, and pressure plate are in the kit. I think a factory setup is the only guaranteed way to get a clutch with a smoothe transition from a dead stop so long as it is installed properly. Forget all of the hype on these posts, call the manufacturers of this aftermarket stuff and press them and they'll tell you the clutches will chatter. And if anyone can find an aftermarket manufacturer that will guarantee in writing, no chatter and factory clutch longevity for spirited street driving I'm all ears.

My advice from - my experience - stick with a factory setup unless you want to park your car and just trailer it to the track on weekends.