Is My Stock 11th Gen Civic 1.5T Clutch Going to Hold and What If It Doesn’t?
Well well well….you’ve finally found yourself making some serious power on your L15 equipped Civic or Integra or maybe you are considering power upgrades and want to know if a clutch upgrade should be part of the plan.
Maybe, you’ve heard some chatter about how good or bad the stock Civic clutch is from Honda…or maybe this is just your first rodeo and you want to figure out how much power the stock clutch can hold?
Well sit back and relax, because today we’re going to lay out exactly what may or may not happen to your stock clutch with all that powah and what to do about it because a clutch change with parts and labor can cost upwards of a few thousand dollars. For many of us, we may want to postpone that as long as possible while having some fun along the way.
Photo Credit: mrclutch.com
First, a little refresher. What does a clutch even do? A clutch is simply a mechanical device that connects and disconnects the engine from the transmission. When the clutch is engaged (pedal not pressed) the clutch plate is pressed against the flywheel (which is connected to the engine) by a pressure plate and springs. This connection allows the engine’s power to be transferred to the transmission and ultimately to the wheels i.e. engine power makes its way to the wheels and you move. When the clutch is disengaged (pedal pressed down), the clutch disk is released from the flywheel by a mechanism that pulls the entire pressure plate away. This breaks the connection between the engine and the transmission, allowing you to change gears in your 1.5T Civic or Integra without stalling the engine. Here are some key terms you should be familiar with:
Flywheel – Connected to the engine and spins with it
Clutch Disc (Friction Plate) – Sits between the flywheel and the pressure plate and is responsible for transferring power when engaged
Pressure Plate – Applies pressure to keep the clutch disc pressed against the flywheel
Release Bearing & Fork – Helps disengage the clutch when the pedal is pressed
Clutch Pedal – The driver-operated pedal that controls engagement and disengagement
Our main focus today will be on the Clutch disc and pressure plate itself. Depending on the material selected, the clutch disk friction material can be low or high friction. Well, why would a brand like Honda spec a lower friction material? For drivability and ease of use primarily.
The downside is a low friction material, while more daily driver friendly, can only hold so much power.
The pressure plate also matters. They work hand in hand. A higher clamp load pressure plate can apply more force on the clutch disk to prevent slipping. In conjunction with a high friction material, the clutch assembly can hold more power. But! Higher clamp load pressure plates are stiff(er) so the clutch pedal will get heavier the more load the plate is able to apply.
Yeah, you sometimes can’t have your cake to eat it too. We won’t dive into the differences in full face vs “puck” style clutch disks today or even talk about different sizes of clutches. We’ll leave that for another time, but all you need to know is the friction materials and pressure plate loads matter.
So, what’s up with the stock Honda 11th Gen 1.5T clutch?
Well, it’s a fairly small clutch (about 230MM) so that limits the amount of power it can hold. More importantly, it’s a low friction organic material and the pressure plate clamp load isn’t very high. Once you start adding power, it may not hold the power! We’ve seen some of them slip as low as just 250 WTQ, but we’ve also seen some hold over 300 WTQ so YMMV. A lot of it depends on driving habits and how you use your clutch. Easy on those launches? Your clutch might hold for a long time. Hard on your clutch and like to launch it at high RPMs? Well, you might need to replace your setup much sooner.
Now, just to be clear, we are not talking about stock power levels here. At those levels, the clutch is never a concern (unless you abuse it). We’re talking about modified cars that are tuned. That could be just a simple basemap you threw on there or stage 1/2 or a full custom tune. Generally it’s in the area of 50 or 100 or more HP over stock that clutch slippage becomes more likely.
So, what are my options if my clutch starts to go and how would I even know?
A telltale sign is if you are in 3rd or 4th gear and put your foot down, the RPMs will jump very fast while the car will feel like it's not accelerating. IYKYK. In the case this happens, you can run a less aggressive tune to preserve your stock clutch i.e just turn down the power a bit. Another option is a clutch upgrade. These range from simple clutch disc upgrades (low cost) to full replacement kits featuring new flywheels and aggressive friction materials for the disc itself. Whatever you decide, just know that there are several solutions out there to enjoy all the power those new bolt-on mods give you.
We don’t see anything wrong with postponing a clutch upgrade to get some extra power on a budget. Just be prepared either to dial it back a bit if it slips or start saving up for a clutch as you get into the +50-100 HP over stock on the L15 turbo.
We’ve been testing various clutch options for a while and hope to soon offer a kit we can recommend later this year so that you can truly put the power down and enjoy your modded 2022+ Civic or Integra to its fullest potential. In the meantime, drop any questions you may have below…
REDEFINE the Aftermarket
-Vlad