Wednesday, September 10, 2008

The White Bunny Special


Follow the White Rabbit...


Here in Japan there are a lot of great places to get second hand parts for cars, especially Nissans. I see *used* Super Single Clutch kits selling on Yahoo Auction Japan for as a little as $150. Friends would sell stock SR engines w/ aftermarket clutch set ups as well as all necessary wiring and ECU for less than 7 bills.


I've searched the American auction sites like eBay and have found very few used aftermarket clutch set ups. I've instead found F1 Racing Clutches, many no-name company clutches which mix composites such as Carbon Fiber and Ceramic into their clutch materials. These organizations sell these clutch sets for around the $150~$300 in new condition. There's the saying "You get what you paid for" =/. Haven't had much experience with the products of these "new" companies, but for such a cheap price... I am very wary of putting such parts on my car. I would put little gadgets and materials I purchase off eBay for my car, but for something as important as the Driveline, I try and shy away from anything that can wreck havoc on adjacent parts because I wanted to cheap out on using quality parts.


The purpose of an aftermarket clutch is to complement added horsepower you have or plan to make. The stock clutch of your vehicle is rated to handle only so many ft/lbs of torque. When you make more power with your engine, it will produce more ft/lbs of torque and likely turn your stock clutch into strands of organic spaghetti. An aftermarket clutch is designed to handle increased torque as well as provide more feedback to the driver of the workings of the driveline from the bottom of their left foot.
Video of Destroyed Clutch

There are good quality parts companies that provide support in the form of aftermarket clutches to the U.S.-Spec 240sx. Exedy, ACT (Active Clutch Technologies), Centerforce, Clutchmasters, etc. These companies have basic upgraded clutches which start around the $300 mark and above depending if you are getting a more serious set up involving Super Single kits or Multi-Disc setups.


This is where the White Bunny comes in. The phrase "White Bunny" refers to the 1998 White 240sx Turbo SE owned by s14turbose of 240sxforums. The White Bunny Clutch Set Up uses a mix of Nissan/Datsun clutch and driveline parts that act as an aftermarket clutch kit.

The KA-series engine uses a 225mm Clutch Disc while the White Bunny Clutch Setup uses a 240mm Clutch Disc. With a wider diameter clutch disc, this would, in theory, give you more of a usable area that your clutch can engage compared to the smaller clutch disc and give you more room to play with horsepower.


Parts include:
Nissan D21 Truck Flywheel
Nissan 280Z Turbo/Z31 300zx/any Nissan clutch disc that has a surface area of 240mm along with clutch cover
240sx/Z32 Throw Out Bearing
240sx M/T Pilot Bearing
A few extra clutch cover bolts.

This setup will cost around $215 or less depending on where you get the parts. It was suggested to me by BigGameHit to use www.thepartsbin.com for the clutch and clutch cover.


The following write-up is from BigGameHit on NicoForums borrowed from 240sxAddict on 240sxForums


240sx white bunny clutch setup

Yup well after more research i went with this setup, i would explain, but ill just show the facts from another buddies setup. I have had a mixture of different clutches over the years ranging from oem to ACT Xtream. i just like to try new things. my current setup with lighten flywheel is failing becuase of Weak Diaphragm.
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(taken from 240sxforums 240sxAddict/creator from another forum)

The "White Bunny Special" was first created and explained by s14turbose, the "white bunny" being his 98 S14 turbo SE. KA24's come stock with a 225mm clutch surface area, but using parts from other nissans allows you to run a 240mm clutch, which by logic gives you more tractable area for the clutch to grab onto thus reducing the chance of slippage.

We used the flywheel of a 1993 D21 Pickup(4 cylinder model), which is the standard flywheel to use because it carries the same crank bolt pattern as our cranks but is a 240mm flywheel. I believe any year will work, 87 being a common year people use but to play it safe use the 93 because I just installed one and it fit fine. There is also talk of lightened 240mm flywheels, but I have yet to see any that arent custom made.

Now the pressure plate and clutch disc are varied. We used the stock setup of the afor-mentioned 93 D21, but common clutches used are off the 280Z Turbo, the 300ZX Turbo, and the RB series clutches. You can use both aftermarket and stock as long as it is 240mm. But one rumor surrounding this special is the truck and 280Z clutch can hold balls of torque, some saying near 400ft/lbs and they still retain stock pedal feel and longer life than aftermarket clutches. I'm still searching for the answer, but I read it went on Mike Lee's T66 KAT, and it had no problems holding 500rwhp.

One very important point is that the 240mm clutch uses 9bolts to hold the pressure plate onto the flwheel, while your stock uses 6. Be sure to pick some up before you attempt this. Also, you'll have to break the small pin on the crank off to bolt up the flywheel, as it has no slot for it.


Update:installation pictures

White bunny test video

after about 2 cans of brake cleaner still had 2more to go

as a result of not running my dust cover this happen. i thought it would help with cooling, but was I wrong..................yup

more size difference pics




tools used to remove old worn pilot bearing for act bearing

putting new setup on

the little bulge that you see at the bottom of the dust cover is what the flywheel will grind down. when the noise has stopped, you will be able to insert your bolts at the bottom of the bell housing. after that, more noise will sound for about 1 minute. after that your all go.


My pictures ( total price $215 dollars)



- Mainichi Tuning

2 comments:

markapple0507 said...

is there way this can be applied to the sr20. like i know the clutch and flywheel aren't the same as the ka, so that's why I ask.

Unknown said...

Not just Ebay or any other online selling sites but there are now few trustworthy companies that sells Centerforce clutch and all other parts for all the Car brands. You will get this products for almost the same rates from them too.

Anthony Hom

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San Diego, California, United States