[SFAL]

On June 24, 2006, I purchased from gripforce-clutches (An ACT liscesed distributor) an ACT Stage 1 Heavy Duty Clutch kit for my Acura Integra. The clutch kit was $315 plus $18 for shipping. The clutch arrived on July, 11 2006. From that time until August 13, 2006, the clutch was stored (unopened) in my bedroom. The time was spent gathering other parts for the car, which were going in at the same time. On August 13, 2006, when we were ready to assemble the clutch, we ran into a problem. Upon opening the clutch pressure plate, we found severe rust. Rust up to 1/8” deep. This kind of rust can not form in the 32 days that I was in possession of the clutch. Unfortunately, there was no way of knowing that this rust was present until after it was opened. The top view of the clutch was not rusted, because it is painted yellow. However, you can not see the bottom side because of the wrapping. Gripforce claims that they inspect each clutch prior to shipment. That may be true, however the part in question was not visible when the package is unopened. They claim that the part is soaked in oil to prevent rust. This also may be true, however I believe that the part sat on an inventory shelf for months. This oil dried out, and allowed rust to form. Mike from Gripforce agreed with me, that this kind of rust is too severe to occur in only 30 days. Due to Gripforce’s 30-day return policy, I was not eligible for a new pressure plate, since I discovered it a mere 2 days late. However, their auction advertises a “12 month, 12,000 mile warranty against manufacturers defects.” Since it is so blatantly obvious that the rust on my pressure plate occurred LONG before I received it, I can’t imagine that it wouldn’t be ruled a defect part. However, Gripforce sent pictures of the clutch to ACT to be inspected. ACT ruled that the clutch had to have been drenched in water, and it was not defective. It wasn’t drenched in water, and it didn’t even get moist! Even the cardboard box showed no signs of water damage, and that pressure plate never even left the box. You can tell when a piece of cardboard gets wet. I paid $333 for a clutch kit that I cant use. The best that gripforce could do for me was replace the pressure plate, for another $245, including shipping. So in total, I paid $578 for this clutch that is only worth $315.

ACT SUCKS!!! Ive used their clutches before with great sucess, but their customer service SUCKS! Im switching to exedy, and not looking back. Im also filing a despute with paypal, and contacting the Better Business Bureau. If nessecary, I will file a Small Claims Court case. This is bullshit.

 

[DriftKingBP]

Yea they should replace that for free, you know gripfags or whatever their called can easily take a $300 loss, their just taking advantage of you because your 2 flippin days late, that really is BS, sorry dogg.

 

[[Buffalo]]

[...] Im switching to exedy, and not looking back.[...]

:tu :btu

 

[SFAL]

I hope this goes all the way to court.

My mom is a lawyer.

 

[honda_racing101]

Wow thats shitty. Thanks for the heads up.

You should definetly argue your case in court. Good luck if you do!

 

[BlueBallz]

That sucks..., but both my clutches are ACT's, and
are much better than stock, IMO. I think it's Gripforce's
problem; they need to get their "act" together :bash.
EDIT: Write a letter to ACT, an actual letter, stating
your grievances, and include the site you purchased
it from, (Gripforce, right?). It might help, but sometimes,
even big dealers are like: :byye after they make a sale.

 

[SFAL]

That sucks..., but both my clutches are ACT's, and
are much better than stock, IMO. I think it's Gripforce's
problem; they need to get their "act" together :bash.

Oh, no doubt. Their clutches are great, but their customer service is enough alone to keep me from buying another one. Im going to leave them positive feedback so they wont leave me a neg, and then pursue getting my money back. My first step is to notify paypal.

I talked to Dean from ACT, and he would not budge one bit. As far as hes concerned, its 100% my fault! If paypal cant get my money back, ill contact the Better Business Bureau. If that doesnt work, ill file a lawsuit. Hopefully it wont come to that.

 

[illusion]

Yeah, ACT customer service blows. I had problems with some pretty bad chatter on an ACT 6 puck. I was expecting some chatter, but not the insane amounts this thing had. I yanked out the clutch and the freaking material was flaking off(it looked like a nice fluffy croisant) with less than 50 miles on it. Act claimed I had heated it up to much, but I sent them pictures of the flywheel to show there was no bluing and not even any wear yet. They pretty much told me "oh well, how do we know you didn't use it on another flywheel", even though I bought their streetlight FW and the damn clutch at the exact same time. Real good CS, assuming all customers are lying. The 50 miles on it were from local driving absolutely babying it. I took it in the shorts and bought an Exedy cermetallic 6 puck and loved it. Strange that the exedy had almost the same clamping force as the act, but the pedal pressure was less, the chatter was much less, overall just far better. Although after the last round of upgrades the exedy 6 puck would slip, so now I have an exedy twinplate. Its great at the track, but so light that it turned the car into a dog off of the line, nothing worse than a grabby clutch with barely any flywheel weight behind it on the street.