Exedy (Daikin) and Paraut Clutches

[Tham]

What are the drivers' experiences here with
Exedy (formerly called Daikin) clutches ?

I have been using Daikin since the 80's when
I was driving an Isuzu Gemini then, and it was
a good clutch, lighter in pedal pressure than the
main competitor at that time, Asco.

At the end of last year, I replaced my clutch assembly
faithfully with Daikin as usual, by now called Exedy.
The whole works - clutch disc, diaphragm, release
bearing and cable was replaced. I drive a KE70, 4K.

It wasn't as light as before, and I was a bit surprised.
Within a month, it was as stiff as a brick. It was
extremely tiring on the leg and foot to change
gears each time, and is getting even stiffer with time.

Initially I thought the crappy quality was due to it
being made locally here - Exedy has a factory in
Malaysia. However, it seems these are made only
for the local Proton cars here - those for Toyota
and other cars are still being imported from Japan.

So I checked around, and the feedback I get is that
Daikin/Exedy has gone down badly in quality over
the years. Apparently everyone here is complaining
about the stiffness of the pedal pressure within just
a few days of installing a new clutch assembly.
I wonder if this is because Exedy is concentrating
on racing clutches these days, so tends to make
stiffer diaphragm springs or something.

My friends tell me they have all dropped Exedy and
gone for Paraut, which is far more reliable, requires
much lighter pedal pressure and stays that way
througout its lifespan. Apparently even the taxi
drivers here, who use Proton cars installed with
Exedy at the factory, switch over to Paraut soon
as it wears out.

[Vios-GT_07]

Hm.. i've bought a few sets over the years.. the 2 most notable changes i've done is for the AE-86 running a 4A-C.. i chucked in a HD item in it.. and the pedal at first felt the same, but after a while i realised it was actually lighter, and man it bites down hard i could do burnouts with it (in some secluded place of course) and the other was in the old Mazda, with a 12A rotary, now this had a very big difference. Straight away i could feel it was lighter and it bit down hard as anything. Strangely though, i can't remember exactly how many pounds of pressure it was, but between the 12A and the 4A-C it was only 10 pounds difference.. with the 12A having almost triple the horses. . the rest of clutches i've swapped over were mostly with Exedy (and sometimes PBR for the cheapo customers).. and it's all positive..

i could be out of date because it's been slightly over a year since i touched a clutch job.. but from memory it's all good. Exedy multi-plate was preferred over Apexi twin-plate on an R34 drifter... and they have been renowned for their soft pedal.. oh yea i remember we could still pick up the DAIKIN clutch box as well as Exedy (subsidary of Daikin) which had a more colourful box. The clutch assembly itself for the 4A-C was pink gheyyyyy!!

[bigstickerperformance]

i have just pulled my blown clutch out to find it is solid center 5 puck,the snter has been completly torn out,its in 3 bits!
what clutch will replace this and last (200rwkw 4agte)
exedy ceramic? sprung or solid(i didnt find the solid too bad to drive its mainly track only anyway)

[o_man_ra23]

for big neddies and driveablilty, go a multiplate. I couldnt tell you what brands are good/bad, but make sure you face the flywheel. Also, check your shaft bearings in your gearbox, and the bearings etc in your diff. Basically all the drivetrain, if something in there is worn, then it can smash up your clutch with that kinda power. You will also break other stuff in the process.

But yeah, if your going to go to ceramic/brass clutches, dont expect your flywheel to last. For something that gets bugger all ks on it, try a 3-5 puk brass button clutch if you dont mind chirping off the line, or a ceramic/brass twinplate if you want smoothness. If your putting a lot of ks on, it could be well worth going to a HD multiplate fibre clutch.

Cheers, Owen

[bigstickerperformance]

when u mention checking bearings,i found something a bit weird behind the clutch.The supra box is mated to a t50 belhousing using an adaptor plate,it looks like to make up the difference in input shaft length they have used a spacer with a spigot bearing it to kinda extend it out from the crank.It sits inside the flywhell hole and must just get sandwiched in by the cltch plate(it all fell out upon removal and i cant see any means of it holding true? could this cause such failure? maby the input shaft was walking? the shaft feels ok,not much play etc
Cheers for help and ideas
Ryan

[oldcorollas]

It sits inside the flywhell hole and must just get sandwiched in by the cltch plate(it all fell out upon removal and i cant see any means of it holding true? could this cause such failure? maby the input shaft was walking? the shaft feels ok,not much play etc
Cheers for help and ideas
Ryan

yup.
the clutch plate can't and shouldn't hold it in.... if there is any movement in the alignment, then it could easily kill a solid centre, since there is less flex in the plate than a sprung centre...

if the input shaft doesn't reach the spigot, then you need to either mod the adaptor plate/bellhousing, extend the input shaft (unlikely), or get flywheel made up to allow the spigot to be placed further out

[Andrew162]

Well to answer the original question here, I reckon my Exedy clutch (organic compound) is actually softer on depress than the old one that was in there. Mine hasn't stiffened-up yet, and it was only replaced about 3 weeks ago. There's also a bit of a dead-zone between where the top of the clutch pedal is and about 1/3rd of the travel down, until it feels like it's depressing the clutch. I think this might need an adjustment or something.

[Wedged'86]

I raise this thread from the dead!

so what's the general consensus? Exedy good or bad?

especially the HD one?

[slow laser]

ive never been a fan of them due to the price.... most reputable places will make up a carbon metallic puck style to suit a fair amount of power, and not be too harsh...

[Wedged'86]

What about performance and drivability?

I'm looking at getting one and the price is right about $160 for a HD

Wanted to know if it was a good idea.

[Vios-GT_07]

for me.. the original toyota clutch is 350 bucks.. exedy standard is 195, exedy HD is 375...

i went the exedy HD, and it's fantastic.. a lot of people who drive my car say the clutch pedal bite point is a lot higher, but i fail to see it.. it's as good as the stock item that was there before.. it even says on the internet and the box theres a bit of shudder on takeoff as the clamping pressure is higher, and that's true but the shudder is easily managed ..

performance is good, drivability is a small step below the original toyota clutch

a few people in the industry have said that the original toyota clutch isn't very far off from the exedy heavy duty in terms of clamping pressure, and that the toyota clutch would last a little while longer, but i've never kept a car long enough to go through a clutch

[MWP]

Anyone have opinions on the Xtreme brand clutches?

A guy i talked to yesteday said he prefered the Xtreme gear over Exedy as its a mix & match of the best stuff available from all manufacturers.

[fatboy13]

when i had the Exedy HD put in my car it was heaps lighter than the 5puk that was in there... and it has never gotten stiffer... ive had it for about 5000km now and its still the same as the day it went in... so easy to drive with pressure wise, ive never had a problem!

[TooF]

ive run quite a few exedy clutches and have alwasy been happen both in ceramic and organic flavours.

they have never gone stiff on me and ahve always bitten really well right up until they were simply worn out. not to mention that have copped some serious abuse.