[adamlee05]

My ring gear sheared some teeth, so I had a new trans built to my specs. While I had my trans out I decided to replace the clutch and flywheel.

Picked up an Exedy OEM replacement clutch kit for an Si/RSX-S, and a Competition Clutch 11.5Lb flywheel. Its 4140 forged steel, and the quality is top notch.

I cant' really give you a fair opinion on any gear but first and 6th, as my 2-5 are Si gears and would accelerate much quicker regardless of flywheel.

As for 1st gear - if not throttled back, its wheel spin through about 1/2 the RPM range until it catches. Even with feathering it's very easy to accidentally lose traction in the lower RPMs, even if you've already got the car moving.

6th is VERY slightly quicker to accelerate without downshifting, though without using a stopwatch you most likely wouldn't notice. It does however still give you the idea of how freeing up rotational mass helps with transferring power beyond the crankshaft more efficiently. This will also help with fuel economy.

If neutral-ed out, the engine will free-rev INSANELY fast in comparison to the stock flywheel. Between shifts the RPM drop is very fast, but not too quick to cause issues with casual shifting. The free-rev increase definitely helps out when downshifting at higher speeds. Taking off from a stop is not noticeably different to me, even with having less stored energy in the flywheel than before.

Again all I can fairly judge is 1st and 6th. Between installing the short 2-5, and the Si LSD, any other gear would be affected much less by the flywheel when compared to the stock TSX gearing.

If you're having to pull your trans for any reason, or due for a clutch job, I'd highly recommend it. The part number is 2-800-ST. It's usually listed under 02-06 RSX-S and 06-11 Si. This flywheel MUST be paired with a clutch for either the above vehicles (The part numbers will be the same for either vehicle as well).

As for the Exedy OEM replacement clutch kit (also for the RSX-S/Si), the pedal is actually noticeably softer. I like it. It's also caused my master cylinder to stop the ever-common "popping" they're known for. This is of course due to the lower hydraulic pressure being exerted, but its a welcome plus.

Also, no chatter has been experienced with this combo.

Variables during the evaluation:
- 134,131 mi.
-No engine mods. No reflash. Stock exhaust. Stock intake with resonator removed.
-Wheels: OEM Honda Civic Si optional 18" HFP's.
-Tires: 215/45/18 Continental ExtemeContact DWS with aprox 6,000 miles of use.
-Dry, well-paved asphalt roads. 60-75% humidty. 82*F


On a side note: If you can get your hands on 02-06 RSX-S or 06-11 Si gears for a fair price, it's an amazing upgrade. Add an LSD (Aftermarket or OEM) from any K series trans, and the combo becomes perfect for the TSX. Acceleration with the shorter 2-5 while still retaining the stock 4.7 final drive is greater than leaving stock TSX 1-6 and using a 5.06 final drive (though that is an AMAZING trans for a swapped K24 chassis!!!)


Cheers!:festive:

 

[Dannyv]

NICE write-up, i was just driving home thinking to myself how i can get better acceleration..

 

[H22_J30_K24]

Thanks for clutch/flywheel review...keep us posted as you continue to get more acquainted with them.

However, I actually want to hear more about the gear swap 2-5!! I've been missing my 4th Gen Lude. The longer I've had the TSX the more I realize a lower 2nd gear especially..and I'm sure 3rd too would REALLY make the car accelerate quicker and feel sportier and a lot more eager to "play" when I rip through the gears.

You must notice a huge increase in eagerness of the car to accelerate now when you hit the gas (especially 2-3). Thoughts?

Thanks.

PS: can you source just the gears or did you just find a used rsx or SI tranny?

 

[din9lebeRrY]

Nice I was looking at lighter flywheels as a mod to do once my clutch goes. 11.4 seems nice as its heavier than exedy at 8lb and comptech at 10, but still way lighter than stock (20+). Seems like its geared towards daily driving but still keeping performance there.


Question though, if I get this I must get an Si/RSX-s clutch? Don't they make a competition flywheel thats designed for a tsx application?

Exedy stage 1 is actually what im considering as a next clutch, which I hear is the same thing as OEM replacement but a tad (super little) bit stiffer.

Thanks for the review.

 

[adamlee05]

Thanks for clutch/flywheel review...keep us posted as you continue to get more acquainted with them.

However, I actually want to hear more about the gear swap 2-5!! I've been missing my 4th Gen Lude. The longer I've had the TSX the more I realize a lower 2nd gear especially..and I'm sure 3rd too would REALLY make the car accelerate quicker and feel sportier and a lot more eager to "play" when I rip through the gears.

You must notice a huge increase in eagerness of the car to accelerate now when you hit the gas (especially 2-3). Thoughts?

Thanks.

PS: can you source just the gears or did you just find a used rsx or SI tranny?

The car is truly easier to drive. I know that may sound vague or open to interpretation, but it's difficult to explain. Imagine the feeling of casually driving two rental cars: a 4 cylinder Camry vs a V6 Camry. You're not flooring them around everywhere, but you would be able to tell the V6 is working noticeably less to get to cruising speed. I'm not talking about sprinting, i mean literally driving like a soccer mom. The sound of the engine, the feel of the steering, the resistant you're feeling in your foot from the accelerator pedal. It really does feel like an entirely different vehicle from a drivetrain standpoint.

However, going for all out acceleration is an amazing difference and feeling. The first thing noticed is how much easier the 1-2 shift is from 7400 rpm. You stay in the higher powerband, there's no dramatic drop in acceleration or power associated with the stock 2nd. No more having that 1st gear exhilaration ruined so abruptly by the 2nd gear grunt. My old gearset had zero synchro or synchro hub issues. The dog teeth on the gear sets had no notable or abnormal wear, and the synchro rings were beautiful. Even still, a 7400 shift into 2nd could be labored at times, causing a slight delay between engaging the gear smoothly (as not to force it and grind). No more of that due to entering the gear at a higher engine speed and the synchro having to slow down the mainshaft/2nd gear set much less than before.

Going into 3rd is very similar, though not quite as surprising as shifting into 2nd was. Even so, 3rd pulls much smoother than before. The combined differences of 2nd and 3rd gives the illusion of having the old TSX 2nd having been split into 2 gears.

4th gear acceleration isn't as fun or quick as 2nd or 3rd of course, but it's definitely the biggest difference in comparison to the original TSX gears. Before, with the old gearing, you'd still have pretty decent acceleration all the way through 3rd. However, once hitting 4th it was like you just forfeit the race. All forward motion felt as if it had stalled almost to a crawl. The new 4th pulls like the old 3rd. You look down and it's just climbing. It feels so weird knowing I'm in the same car as before and I'm doing "this" in 4th. Like I said before, gear for gear 4th is the biggest difference I've noticed.

I haven't had a need or desire to test out 5th to be honest, I doubt I'll ever need to. It's noticeably easier to accelerate in 5th when you don't need to drop into 4th, but other than that I can't give a full judgment on it. There's obviously no change in 6th as I kept the same TSX gears ratio as before.

One thing that's also very nice is that torque-steel has all but disappeared. This is of course due to the LSD.

If you're considering this kind of change, gears and/or LSD, it changes the characteristics of the cars felt powerband when putting it to the ground - all for the better.

As for acquiring the gears/LSD: I got in contact with an 11-year Honda master mechanic who had a rebuilt TSX trans. He let me know he also had another trans consisting of an Si case, 03 RSX-S gears with 4.3 FD, and the Si LSD. I asked him if he'd be willing to use the TSX case, RSX 1-5, keep the TSX 6th, and swap the LSD into the TSX 4.7 final drive. He said for an extra 190 he'd do everything I'd requested. This included a new 4.7 ring gear, 3rd gear set and synchro, and bearings/seals. I simply couldn't pass up the opportunity.

I hope that was a good enough overview for you H22_. Without letting you experience the change firsthand, it's fairly difficult to relay the change to you. Hopefully I explained it in detail enough to give you a good idea of what you could expect from changing to these gears; better than a "oh man it pulls so much more!" response I'd hope

 

[adamlee05]

Nice I was looking at lighter flywheels as a mod to do once my clutch goes. 11.4 seems nice as its heavier than exedy at 8lb and comptech at 10, but still way lighter than stock (20+). Seems like its geared towards daily driving but still keeping performance there.


Question though, if I get this I must get an Si/RSX-s clutch? Don't they make a competition flywheel thats designed for a tsx application?

Exedy stage 1 is actually what im considering as a next clutch, which I hear is the same thing as OEM replacement but a tad (super little) bit stiffer.

Thanks for the review.

My OEM TSX flywheel weighs in at 18.7lb. As for using the flywheel I've discussed in this review, yes it MUST be paired with a clutch for any RSX-S or 06-11 Si. The pressure plates and clutch disk for the TSX so not fit correctly on a flywheel made for the RSX-S/Si.

The stage 1 will have a pedal feel closer, if not slightly harder, than stock. It will hold more torque than a stock one. However, the EXEDY KHC10 OEM replacement (which I paired with this flywheel) will handle anything up to a full all-motor (not just bolt-ons) build or boosted setup without issues. There are people on the K20a forums exceeding 300whp on this clutch without issues. It's considerably cheaper, very high quality, and I personally love that the pedal is softer, akin to OEM clutches found in older model Hondas.

 

[phorist]

Nice I was looking at lighter flywheels as a mod to do once my clutch goes. 11.4 seems nice as its heavier than exedy at 8lb and comptech at 10, but still way lighter than stock (20+). Seems like its geared towards daily driving but still keeping performance there.

I have the Exedy HD clutch (AuDM) with the Comptech Flywheel and it drives great as a daily.

 

[jam sandwich]

Thank you for posting this
I was literally just researching Clutch/Flywheel combos, since my clutch is nearing the end of its life. I didn't want an excessively light flywheel (<10 lbs) and I found the competition flywheel to be a good compromise at 11.5 lbs, and was wondering how many people on here were running one and what their experience was.

Im surprised to see the oem Exedy replacement is suitable for DD'ing. I had a bit of a concern running oem replacements due to the fact that Im running the reflash and eventually will be buying a header for the car.
I want a clutch that will last me another 100k miles.

 

[tottenham12712]

Thank you for posting this
I was literally just researching Clutch/Flywheel combos, since my clutch is nearing the end of its life. I didn't want an excessively light flywheel (<10 lbs) and I found the competition flywheel to be a good compromise at 11.5 lbs, and was wondering how many people on here were running one and what their experience was.

Im surprised to see the oem Exedy replacement is suitable for DD'ing. I had a bit of a concern running oem replacements due to the fact that Im running the reflash and eventually will be buying a header for the car.
I want a clutch that will last me another 100k miles.

Exedy makes most OEM clutches, including all Acura TSX's


edit: and 90% of all honda and acura clutches in general

 

[jam sandwich]

The reason I have my concern with exedy is from a incident I had on my 94 h22a accord where the Exedy clutch disc basically exploded.
It wasn't very old either. But the disc more or less cracked and destroyed itself. This was on a mildy modified H22a pushing 186whp and 162 wtq. It was broken in properly and failed after about 2 years.

Forgive my hesitance on buying exedy oem clutches

 

[tottenham12712]

The reason I have my concern with exedy is from a incident I had on my 94 h22a accord where the Exedy clutch disc basically exploded.
It wasn't very old either. But the disc more or less cracked and destroyed itself. This was on a mildy modified H22a pushing 186whp and 162 wtq. It was broken in properly and failed after about 2 years.

Forgive my hesitance on buying exedy oem clutches

Haha im just messing but it is true, exedy is a very reputable company. For a DD, road track car, and auto X they are the best IMO. Failures happen, usually its due to improper installation or using the wrong clutch for the car. But after 2 years it could have just been too heat tortured and broke. It happens :/

I currently have a Exedy stage 2 and 8.5 lb flywheel on my tsx and its great, defiantly to light for most though. The only thing I wouldnt use exedy on is a drag car, in that case I would go Comp clutch. Id say Comp and Exedy are the two best at the moment though.

 

[nauticapinoy]

I regret buying the 8lb exedy flywheel for my exedy stage 1 now since I've seen my gas mileage drop from 335-345 miles (full tank to empty light on) to 300-320. Changing up the gears wouldve been nice. Wish I looked into that, but my mileage probably suffer even more from the joy of acceleration lol.

 

[tottenham12712]

I havent noticed any change in mpg, still get 29-30 highway with ease. Around town it drops to 25 or so, but I never rev past 2-3k when its stop and go.

 

[adamlee05]

I havent noticed any change in mpg, still get 29-30 highway with ease. Around town it drops to 25 or so, but I never rev past 2-3k when its stop and go.

Getting a bit off-topic but,

What mods are you running? I average about 34-36 highway. All highway is based on full tank uses averaging 60-65 MPH. There may be 10-15 miles of non-highway driving among the entire tank. This is all based on miles driven/gallons refilled; not the display unit.

Also, this was before the flywheel and gearing changes, only have ~30 miles on the new setup.

Also, Tottenham, you'd think the transmission job on jack stands would have been more labored than it was, at least I had expected it to be. Then again, I've done hundreds of trans jobs using lifts and all air tools. Only used my electric impact to remove the axles nuts (axle never came out of hub ) and to remove the 14 sub frame bolts, and of course remove the flywheel bolts. Reassembly was all hand tools to correct torque specifications. Anyhow what I meant is I'd have no problem doing it again, it's one of the easiest trans jobs involving removal of the sub frame that I've ever had to do, lift or not.

Yet another reason why I feel the CL7/8/9 platform is among the top Honda designs ever produced. I absolutely love this car.

 

[tottenham12712]

Getting a bit off-topic but,

What mods are you running? I average about 34-36 highway. All highway is based on full tank uses averaging 60-65 MPH. There may be 10-15 miles of non-highway driving among the entire tank. This is all based on miles driven/gallons refilled; not the display unit.

Also, this was before the flywheel and gearing changes, only have ~30 miles on the new setup.

Also, Tottenham, you'd think the transmission job on jack stands would have been more labored than it was, at least I had expected it to be. Then again, I've done hundreds of trans jobs using lifts and all air tools. Only used my electric impact to remove the axles nuts (axle never came out of hub ) and to remove the 14 sub frame bolts, and of course remove the flywheel bolts. Reassembly was all hand tools to correct torque specifications. Anyhow what I meant is I'd have no problem doing it again, it's one of the easiest trans jobs involving removal of the sub frame that I've ever had to do, lift or not.

Yet another reason why I feel the CL7/8/9 platform is among the top Honda designs ever produced. I absolutely love this car.

PM me if you want but I have RBC J35, straight out exhaust (Js 70RR) and tuned by myself(kpro), so it runs 15.0 at PT which could be leaner at a cruise(most likely why its mpg slightly low).

It wasnt too bad but it was just alot of steps to do such a simple task. I would and will be doing it again very soon so its not like it spooked me but I didnt want to make that DIY seem "easy" because most shouldnt be trying it. hope that DIY helped you out if you used it!

 

[H22_J30_K24]

Thanks for the more detailed review!

Esp. Glad to hear the 1-2 shift is smoother...before the TSX I had gone 5 yrs since having a manual (Lude) so I was doubting my shifting ability since getting this car - when in actuality the CL9 just has a shitty 2nd gear ratio! If Acura had ever done a type S for the tsx they could've done a LOT just with what you did - plus some new springs and wheels!

I have the Reflash and nothing else (icebox waiting to be installed) so I'll be curious to hear your impressions when you get Reflash vs getting your tranny upgrade. I think the tranny upgrades would be a huge improvement to our cars!

Lastly...I read once changing. 3rd gear messes up the speedometer - no issues in your case?

 

[adamlee05]

Thanks for the more detailed review!

Esp. Glad to hear the 1-2 shift is smoother...before the TSX I had gone 5 yrs since having a manual (Lude) so I was doubting my shifting ability since getting this car - when in actuality the CL9 just has a shitty 2nd gear ratio! If Acura had ever done a type S for the tsx they could've done a LOT just with what you did - plus some new springs and wheels!

I have the Reflash and nothing else (icebox waiting to be installed) so I'll be curious to hear your impressions when you get Reflash vs getting your tranny upgrade. I think the tranny upgrades would be a huge improvement to our cars!

Lastly...I read once changing. 3rd gear messes up the speedometer - no issues in your case?

Speedometer is 12% off in all gears. Reads faster than you are going. With the exception of the odometer being incorrect, it's not a big deal. A few. MPH unless you're going too fast legally anyhow.

 

[din9lebeRrY]

Get different tire size to compensate, if thats a real concern, correct?

 

[adamlee05]

Get different tire size to compensate, if thats a real concern, correct?

I wouldn't compensate with tires personally, but you could. I'm going to use an adjuster that's about $80 to calibrate it correctly.

 

[tottenham12712]

Theres numerous companies that make this but heres one: Adjustable Speed Calibrator and converter | K-Tuned. Race Proven.

I hear that hybrid racing makes a good one as well. I wouldnt buy one that was "generic" or "universal" get one that is meant for a k series trans