There is a strange looking clutch in my car. The mechanic said he'd never seen anything like it. It is a three pronged rather that circular metal clutch plate, made by Mazdaspeed. Anyone know anything about these. I'm curious as to why it was fitted as the engine is standard spec, so why upgrade the clutch? (1/00)

That was a Mazda speed racing clutch. By all accounts a very good clutch. They are very strong but I had heard that they can be a bit 'snatchy' for road use. Those clutches are pretty common in racing circles, I'm surprised that the mechanic hadn't seen anything like it before. Why put that clutch in a stock motor - dunno??? (1/00)

I think they're called paddle clutches, presumably because of the number of "paddles" that come out from the centre of the driven plate. They are a bit snappy than an OE clutch - simply because there's less friction material. Also, less metal so lighter than a standard clutch too. (1/00)

I've seen 3 pronged clutches - I think they were metal faced (instead of asbestoslike material) for wopping power hikes eg nitrous or radical turbos. A lot of eunos's were seriously modified by their japanese owners & they may have removed the mods before flogging them for export. It wouldn't be worth the effort taking a clutch driven plate out. It does suggest to me that your eunos may have had a more interesting past than you have hitherto supposed. It may be worth checking what sort of diff you have & whether your compression ratio has been lowered. (1/00)