Competition Clutch Stage 3 Clutch for Accord/Prelude/CL

Competition Clutch Stage 3.5 Clutch Kit - Accord, CL & Prelude (F22 / F23 / H22)

If your clutch is slipping every time you get into the upper revs, or you've built an F-series or H-series past what a stock disc will hold, this is the street/strip answer. The Competition Clutch 8014-2600 pairs a segmented ceramic disc with a performance pressure plate, rated at up to 150% more torque capacity than stock. It's the step up that actually holds without going full race clutch.

Why Ceramic Over Organic

The material is the whole story here.

A full-face organic disc engages smoothly, which is why it's what came on your car. What it doesn't do is handle repeated heat well. Launch it a few times or slip it hard on a hot day and organic material glazes, which is the point where a clutch that was holding fine suddenly isn't.

Segmented ceramic handles heat far better. It won't glaze the way organic does under repeated abuse, and it grabs considerably harder, which is where the capacity increase comes from.

The honest tradeoff is feel. You get a narrower bite point and some chatter. That's the nature of ceramic, not a defect, and it's what you're accepting in exchange for a clutch that holds.

Stage 3 Or Stage 3.5? Same Kit

Worth clearing up if you've been comparing listings. This kit shows up under both names depending on where you look. Competition Clutch's own 2600 Series documentation calls it Stage 3, and plenty of retailers list it as Stage 3.5.

Same part number, same contents, either way. If you've seen both and wondered whether they're different products, they aren't.

Be Honest About Your Car

Worth thinking through before you order, because this is a real step up.

Ceramic is already grabby in traffic. If your Accord or Prelude is primarily a daily that sees the occasional canyon run, you'll likely be happier with one of the organic 8014 kits, which give you more capacity than stock while keeping the pedal civil.

This kit makes sense when the car is genuinely making more torque than stock, when you're running it hard enough that an organic disc is glazing, or when the car is street/strip rather than purely street. If that's you, this is the right stage.

No Flywheel In The Box

Important, and it affects how you plan the job. This kit includes the pressure plate, disc, alignment tool, pilot bushing, and throwout bearing. It does not include a flywheel.

So resurface yours or replace it while the transmission is out. Don't bolt a fresh ceramic disc to a glazed flywheel and expect it to save you, because the flywheel is half the friction surface and a bad one will ruin a new clutch.

The 500 Mile Break-In Matters

Take this seriously, particularly with ceramic. Competition Clutch specifies 500 street miles.

Shift often, stay out of launches, and let the ceramic bed into the flywheel and pressure plate properly. Skip it and you'll be chasing chatter for the life of the clutch, which is a miserable outcome given the work involved in getting there.

While You're In There

The transmission being out is most of the labor, so use the access.

Inspect the rear main seal, the slave cylinder, and the clutch master. This matters more than people think, because a tired hydraulic system behind a stiffer pressure plate feels worse than the clutch itself does. If your master or slave is marginal now, a heavier plate will make that obvious immediately, and you'll blame the clutch.

Fitment

1997-1999 Acura CL
1990-2002 Honda Accord
1992-2001 Honda Prelude

2.2L and 2.3L four-cylinder manual transmission only. Covers F22, F23, and H22 applications. Does not fit V6 Accord or CL, and does not fit automatics.

Who Should Run This Kit

This is for the F-series or H-series owner who's slipping the factory clutch and needs real capacity, and who's willing to accept a firmer, grabbier pedal to get it. Street/strip cars, built motors, or anything that's outgrown what an organic disc will hold. Resurface your flywheel, check your hydraulics, do the break-in properly, and stop backing off the throttle.

Fits: 1997-1999 Acura CL, 1990-2002 Honda Accord, 1992-2001 Honda Prelude, 2.2L and 2.3L four-cylinder manual only. Part number: 8014-2600. Series: 2600 Series, listed as Stage 3 or Stage 3.5 depending on retailer. Disc: segmented ceramic. Capacity: up to 150% increase over stock. Includes: pressure plate, disc, alignment tool, pilot bushing, throwout bearing. Not included: flywheel. Break-in: 500 street miles required.

Fitment

This kit is for 2.2L and 2.3L four-cylinder manuals only. It doesn't fit a V6 Accord or CL, and it doesn't fit an automatic. Competition Clutch never names a V6 on these pages, so don't order 8014 for a J-series car. If you want the organic street kits on this chassis, those are 8014-STOCK, 8014-1500, and 8014-2100, already in the catalog. The sprung Stage 4 is 8014-1620, also already cataloged.

Stage 3 (8014-2600) is segmented ceramic, up to 150% over stock per manufacturer. Stage 4 (8014-0620) is ceramic 6-paddle with a solid hub. Stage 4 is rated up to 250% over stock. Solid hub is harsher than a sprung 6-puck. Spline, diameter, and clamp load are not published.

(1) Pressure Plate
(1) Clutch Disc
(1) Alignment Tool
(1) Throw Out Bearing

Competition Clutch install instructions require replacing or resurfacing the flywheel and replacing the pilot bearing or bushing. Clean rust inhibitor off friction surfaces before assembly. Use the alignment tool and confirm disc orientation. Do not over-grease the hub.

A 500 to 700 mile break-in with normal street driving is required per the manufacturer install sheet. Failure to follow the published install steps voids the warranty.