***ATTN: SPEC*** Pics of my Stage 3
 

Here are the pics you wanted of the clutch assembly. I think they forgot to throw the flywheel in the box when they put the old clutch in but I will try and get pics of that later this week. Basically this is what my clutch looked like after 8-9 months/8,000 miles of easy street use. One trip the the track with a total of 3 passes. Basically it's the same story as everybody else thats having problems with the Stage 3. Pedal slowly gets higher and higher untill it begins to slip, slippage gets worse and worse untill it fails or has to be replaced.

http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/9738/1000961iz8.jpg

http://img513.imageshack.us/img513/1804/1000963aa9.jpg

http://img49.imageshack.us/img49/2330/1000962xg8.jpg


http://img66.imageshack.us/img66/7628/1000965nn3.jpg

http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/4404/1000966pp2.jpg

http://img301.imageshack.us/img301/696/1000967tg5.jpg

http://img381.imageshack.us/img381/5698/1000968ru7.jpg

Let me know how you want me to get this back to you. Do you guys usually issue UPS/Fed Ex return labels or is the customer responsible for shipping on warranty claims.

Exactly what mine looked like. Goodluck.

Thats sad.

i'm actually in the same boat, i'm right in the middle of switching out my 7 month old spec 3 clutch to a LS7 kit. i'll be taking pics of everything tomorrow

I've Had my spec 3 in for three years now and 80 passes no problems at all. If you break them in properly you'll have no problems.

Broke it in for over 1,000 miles, took it to the track one time and made 3 passes. All the car really saw was easy back and forth to work driving. The guy who installed my LS7 (Site Sponser/SPEC Dealer) said he has about 3/10 that have the same issue as me and the 10's of others who keep poping up with the same exact issue. But I can assure you break in had less than nothing to do with this clutch failing.

was it shimmed?

That clutch doesn't have the grip area for a daily driver, if you wore it out that fast then you need to get a smaller cam and stop driving it to work everyday. It isn't a bad clutch for the cost if you are using it on a lightly modded weekend car but don't expect it to last 50,000 miles on a car that you have to slip a lot.

It is a decent priced choice to put a lot of weight on the flywheel from time to time. I wouldn't knock it that bad. It isn't horrible and you get what you pay for which in the right situations...

I'd recommend something with a bit more grip area for a regular street car.

Well considering the Spec stage 3 is without a doubt Specs most popular clutch you would think they would mention some of this stuff you bring up. And what about all the people who have had older Spec Stage 3's last 30, 40, even 50k miles. That alone pretty much ends your argument. I am telling you there is a bad batch of these spec stage 3's. Just look at all the people poping up with issues around the same time.

It was installed the way Spec wanted it to be.

What is the disc thickness? Let me know so I can have an idea of what we are looking at in terms of wear! Thanks!

Yep you have the same problem as me except mine is still in the car and I still drive it... I cant wait to see what mine looks like when I take it out. Its not the break in that screws up your clutch, these things are a hit or a miss. I definately wont be buying one of these again, wouldnt even consider it for street use.

Ima, I just posted to your thread? Lets make sure we have all the info needed before making sweeping assumptions. Again, until the unit is out of the car there is no way to know exactly what the cause/solution will be. Keep me posted. Thanks!!

Edited for spelling!

Says who?

Mine looked worse than that. Spec didnt give a shit and they dont really warranty anything.

shoulda got a RAM :jest:

I don't think that there is one SUPER reliable clutch. It seems all the companys have had problems...

I don't even think that money can solve this problem of RELIABLE high HP clutches for the LSx motors...

I smoked checked both a Spec 3 (12000 miles) and Spec 5 (1500 miles). My car is a DD. I took it to the track twice with the Spec 5, did about 10 2500 rpm launches... she slipped all the way home. Once I got her apart I found her to be glazed and there were spider cracks all over the puck(overheated/slipping). When all was said and done I was told that I should not have run the spacer. I've since gone to the Tex Twin..... 2500 miles, 30+ 25-4500 RPM launches..... drives like a dream, no slip.

Good to know, thats crazy.

SPEC CLUTCHES SUCK. I broke my SPEC 3 in for almost 1,000 miles never got on the car once . I did a few street launches and the clutch did good but on like the 4th street launch it slipped bad.. I thought is was just me but i have slipped it every time since.. Spec claimed 800rwtq is what the clutch could handle my car makes N/A 398rwtq.. NICE CLUTCH.. My question is what is everybody replacing their SHITTY spec clutches with? BTW the clutch only has about 3,000 miles on it at the most.. Best damn $700 i have ever spent..



PISSED CUSTOMER,

Chris

I love mine,,hooks like a freak!!!

Most folks are quick to blame the Co,,when its usually the installer, or driving methods that screw them up. Not saying that is your case,,but I've had my Spec 3 for quite a while,,installed by Nasty Performance,,,,other than some chatter when cold, when i first take off in the morning,,its golden. And i am not gentle with my clutch sometimes.

BTW,,i think most clutch parts are made by the same folks.

Thats why the big power makers switch to Th400's

How do I measure the disk.

I,ve got around 9000 miles & 100+ passes on mine. Procharged Zo6 ..runs 10.80s. NO PROBLEMS!!!!!

One of my friends has the spec stage 3 puck on a 297 rwhp bolt-on hobby LT1. It runs him some good times and he had it for awhile, took it out not long ago and it looked fine after a lot of use. I run a spec 3+ on my 419rwhp DD. Gone 3k miles and haven't had a problem yet. Babied it pretty good on the break in which was pretty hard ;)

I have heard a bit about the puck stage 3s going out fast but maybe it is because they are used in the wrong situations? I can't respond on the bad batch idea though because I have no info outside of the 2 that I know of in use.

Always sucks to have a clutch problem though... :(

You measure the disk width with a dial caliper.

I honestly believe the installers have A LOT to do with these things wearin out quick. And I mean any aftermarket high performance clutch. They seem to be much more finicky than stock stuff.

People think it's the miles you have to get on the clutch for break in. If you drive it on the highway all those miles its going to be junk you have to slip and drive it in stop and go to get it to seat.

I drove mine for over 1,000 miles in almost nothing but city driving. I understand that Spec has made clutches that worked in the past. I am not here saying that every single Spec clutch is a POS, but for everybody to sit here and ignore the fact that there are new guys poping up EVERYDAY with damn near the exact same problem is just ignorant. We are talking about Stage 3's, not Stage 3+, not Stage 2, just the Stage 3. Anyhow I will see about getting it measured this weekend although looking at the pics you can clearly see the clutch is toast reguardless of how much "wear" there is. Seems like something you guys would do when I sent ot back to be "looked" at.

I've heard these stories now about Ram clutches, Tex clutches, any aftermarket clutch. Its not just SPEC people, and I agree also i believe the inherent problem lies with installation/break in, and I believe the biggest part is Hydraulics. I personally have a Spec 3 in my DD over 6K miles on it now, not one problem and I do quite a bit of city driving... i just don't ride the crap out of it.

You make a good point. Its not just the SPEC units, there are lots of failures from all the different brands of clutches and the majority of failures I would chalk up to improper prep/install, bad breakin, and the driver thinking their performance clutches are supposed to be driven like a stock organic clutch. I hear a lot of talk about the stage 3 theat SPEC makes but I have yet to have any solid proof that the defect is in the product. Usually what i see is clutches that look like they had the shit slipped out of them and overheated.

^^^ In my world I'd rather have a 400 dollar clutch go out instead of a 1000+ clutch IE Textralia. I plan on replacing my 3 with a 3+ sometime in the future and going to throw all new hydraulics in again when I replace it.

Man it is getting to the point where I am gonna have to do a list of every name on this site who has had problems with their stage 3's. I really don't want to because it would take a LOOONNNNGGGGG time. The clutch was broken in well for over 1,000 miles. It was installed by a well know shop who also happens to be a sponser of this site. And on top of that I have been driving standard mustangs/camaros for 7 years and have yet to have ANY clutch last less than 40k miles. What else do you need to hear to realize that I did nothing to provoke this POS clutch to wear down. I know alot of the time it can be the installer or the driver but it seems like some of you guys seem to think that every single clutch ever made is 100% perfect and god forbid if it wears out that it has anything to do with the clutch itself.

I know the amount of people that had bad experiences with stage3's, and I also know a bunch of people that have fine stage3's recently, so I doubt it is a bad batch issue like some think. I know a guy running a 600HP turbo Z06 that runs a stage 3 and its fine and it sees track time and a lot of street racing. Could there be bad clutches out there, yes, but most of the pics I have seen look like slippage/overheating and I have also have had people with these so called bad clutches tell me that when they installed them they did not torque the flywheel or pressure plate bolts to proper value, they just tightented them until they were tight, lol. Then some people reuse all the old ass stock hydro pieces instead of buying new hydros like they should. I have also seen a few where the stock flywheel was reused with the new clutch and was not resurfaced or balanced. My point is that many of these so called bad clutches have other reasons for failure and i am just hesitant to blame the clutch unless of course it has obvious damage such as rivets that came out.

I never denied that people did not have luck with stage 3's. That is part of the reason why I bought it in the 1st place. But I didn't, and it just so happens that at the same time mine failed there is about 20 other people with the same story. So call it what you want, but I sure as fuck don't see the same amount of people complaining about the Tex, Mcloud, Ram, LS6, LS7, in fact I see slim to none, where on the otherhand it seems like someone is posting pics of their burnt up Spec3 on a daily basis. You can blame it on the installer, blame it on the driver, but if you wanna sit here and tell me that you don't find the sheer amount of spec 3's going bad lately a bit odd then you either work for the company or your ignorant, lol.

You are right I dont see as many of those other clutches failing, part of that might be that the SPEC 3 is like the most popular clutch out there, so obviously there will be more failures. If you sell lots of a product you will have more failures.

Obviously you havent read much about all the broke TEX's yet, plus the LS6/LS7 clutchs dont break as easily since thery are stock organic pieces which are very forgiving. I wouldnt even consider them performance clutches.

All i can go by are the pics that are posted of these so called shit clutches and I also go by what people tell me when i pry into their install/prep of the clutch. Most of the time I find faults somewhere.

What shop installed your clutch?

Heres what Ranger (one of the more respected clutch guys) says of the LS7 clutch.
So i guess the LS7 isnt even a great clutch if you plan of drag racing.

The stage 3 failure thing isnt just a lately thing. And no i dont work for any performance company, I would hate to work in that business. As for me being ignorant, maybe so, you be the judge on that.

I've got 50K miles on my Spec 3. It's seen 150 shot of nitrous with no problems.

hehe still on my stock clutch original clutch :)

But have a ls7 sitting in my garage :)

Hell yeah, I ran my stocker with 465HP, the only reason i replaced it is cause I swapped motors, figured may as well replace the clutch while im at it. :drive:

I disagree with that statement. I've been running the LS7 in my TA which is close to 400hp for like 15k miles, slip it a lot, and have had it to the track a few times. It still runs like a champ.

400HP isnt that much at all, I would hope the LS7 can take 400 considering the LS7 engine it comes with puts out around 460RWHP, lol. And of course you can slip it a lot for normal driving, its slipping it a lot at the track that glazes it badly.

My old stocker help up under 465HP at the track with street tires. What tires do you run at the track, what is your 60ft at the track also?

555r's, and 1.7 was my best (but not on these).

My point anyway was it is fine for drag racing. Maybe not with 500rwhp, but certainly with 400 which is where most people are at or below.

He's right 400hp ain't much on that clutch and read above on the LS7s failing when launched to much.

When you bolt up a 150 shot you'll cook your clutch and be buying another in no time. When you do get a 3+ as it's not a puck and is a great evolution of the 3 picking up everywhere the 3 left off.

I'd go as far to say daily driving a puck clutch is asking for it to die as they don't respond to slipping well.

I had a spec 3,sold it fast when I read of the problems....should have about 450-500 to the wheels on my GTO soon,will need a clutch....its between LS7,Spec 3+ or Tex Oz700

I would say 3+ or Tex if you want to drag race often, I mean the LS7 is a nice clutch but if you plan on drag racing a lot it probably wont hold as well compared to the better compounds of the aftermarket clutches.