Best 240SX Clutch Kits (KA24DE): Nissan Buyer's Guide

The best clutch kit for a Nissan 240SX (KA24DE) is the one matched to your power and how you drive — an organic OE disc for a stock commuter, a cerametallic or 6-puck single for a built street/strip car, and a twin-disc for high-horsepower KA-T builds. The 1991–1998 240SX left the factory with the 2.4L DOHC KA24DE making 155 hp at 5,600 rpm and 160 lb-ft at 4,400 rpm, and the stock clutch was sized for exactly that — nothing more. Add boost, sticky tires, or a few hard clutch-kick transitions and a worn factory disc starts slipping fast. This guide compares five 240SX clutch kits we stock at NLP Performance in Tampa, FL, from a $105.99 OE replacement to a $2,153.38 race twin, with real torque ratings, disc materials, and exact fitment so you order the right kit the first time.

Why the Nissan 240SX (KA24DE) Needs the Right Clutch

The KA24DE is the 2.4L twin-cam four that powered the 1991–1998 240SX (S13 from 1991–1994, S14 from 1995–1998). It makes a modest 155 hp and 160 lb-ft from the factory, and the OE clutch is rated to hold roughly that figure with a margin for a stock car. The problem is that almost nobody leaves a 240SX stock. The KA24 block is a popular boost platform — turbocharged "KA-T" builds routinely make 250 to 400+ wheel horsepower — and the S-chassis is the most popular entry-level drift car in North America, where repeated clutch kicks generate the kind of shock-load and heat a factory organic disc was never designed to survive.

When a 240SX clutch starts giving up, the symptoms are textbook: the engine revs climb but the car does not accelerate to match (slipping under load in 3rd or 4th gear is the classic early sign), the bite point creeps higher and higher up the pedal travel, and you catch a sharp burning smell after a hard pull. A factory-style clutch on a daily-driven 240SX typically lasts 50,000 to 100,000 miles; an abused one on a boosted or drifted car can be cooked in well under 20,000. If yours is slipping, the smart move is to match the replacement to your actual power level rather than dropping another stock-spec disc back in.

How to Read a 240SX Clutch Spec: Disc Material and Disc Count

Two specs decide whether a 240SX clutch fits your build: the friction material and the number of discs. Get these right and the rest (throwout bearing, alignment, flywheel) falls into place.

Organic vs. cerametallic vs. ceramic friction material

Organic discs use a resin-and-fiber compound. They engage smoothly, are quiet, and are the friendliest to drive in traffic — which is exactly why they are stock on most cars — but they overheat and fade under repeated slipping or boosted torque. Cerametallic (a ceramic-and-metal blend) holds more torque and tolerates far more heat, at the cost of a more abrupt, on/off engagement that takes a little finesse from a stop. Full ceramic pucks go further still on heat and clamp, and are what you find on dedicated drag and drift discs. As a rule: organic for a stock/light street car, cerametallic or ceramic once you add boost or drive the car hard.

Single-disc vs. twin-disc: why two discs beat one big clamp

A single-disc clutch holds more torque by either using grippier material or squeezing harder with a heavier pressure plate — and a heavier plate means a stiffer, more tiring pedal. A twin-disc clutch instead doubles the friction surface area, so it can hold big torque with a much lighter clamp load and a near-stock pedal. That is the whole appeal of the twin-disc for a street-driven KA-T car: race-level holding power without a left leg that hates you in traffic. Exedy rates its 240SX twin-plate clutches at approximately 500 ft-lbs at the flywheel and its triple-plate units at roughly 800 ft-lbs — well beyond anything a single organic disc can manage.

The 5 Best 240SX KA24DE Clutch Kits We Stock

Every kit below is in stock at NLP Performance with verified KA24DE fitment. We have ordered them roughly by price and intended use, from a stock-feel OE replacement to a full race twin.

If your 240SX is stock or close to it, you do not need to spend $500 on a clutch. The Exedy OE kit is a complete cover, organic disc, and release bearing engineered to factory KA24DE clamp loads, so it drives exactly like the clutch Nissan shipped — smooth, quiet, and predictable in traffic. At $105.99 it is the cheapest way to fix a slipping or chattering stocker, and Exedy is the OEM clutch supplier to Nissan, so fitment and feel are spot-on. This is the only kit here that fits the full 1991–1998 KA24DE range (both S13 and S14).

The Stage 2 is Exedy's go-to upgrade once a KA24DE makes more than stock torque. The cerametallic friction material handles the abuse of a modified engine — more heat, more clamp, more slipping — without fading, and the thick three- and four-puck disc design adds heat capacity for durability in hard street and strip use. Engagement is grabbier than the organic OE disc, but Exedy's sprung hub keeps it civil enough to daily. For a bolt-on or low-boost S13 making solid mid-200s wheel horsepower, this $503.44 single is the sweet spot of price, holding power, and drivability.

ACT's XT (Xtreme) pressure plate uses an aggressive diaphragm to maximize clamp load, paired here with a sprung 6-pad race disc. The XT plate increases static clamp roughly 60% over a stock-style cover, so it pins the disc hard for repeatable hard launches and clutch-kick drift without slipping. The sprung hub on the 6-pad disc softens driveline shock so it is more tolerable on the street than a rigid puck. This is the pick for an S13 owner who wants single-disc simplicity but maximum bite at $595.00.

This is the kit we recommend most for a power-adding 240SX. The Comp1 twin-disc uses two ceramic friction discs to hold serious turbo torque while keeping the pressure-plate clamp — and therefore the pedal effort — far lighter than a single big-clamp puck clutch. The result is race-grade holding power that you can still daily without destroying your knee in stop-and-go traffic. It is the only multi-disc kit here that covers the full 1991–1998 KA24DE range (S13 and S14), and at $1,132.79 (29% off the $1,599.99 MSRP) it significantly undercuts comparable twin-disc setups. For the 250–450 wheel-horsepower KA-T builds we see most often, it is the best balance of capacity, drivability, and price.

When a built KA-T or SR swap is making the kind of power that overwhelms everything else on this list, the Exedy Hyper Twin is the answer. Exedy rates this twin-plate cerametallic unit at approximately 500 ft-lbs at the flywheel, and the sprung-center disc damps driveline shock for surprisingly streetable manners given its capacity. It is a genuine motorsport clutch — designed for drag, road, and rally racing as well as high-power street — with a price ($2,153.38) to match. For an S13 making 400+ whp that still sees the occasional street mile, it is the most capable kit we carry.

240SX KA24DE Clutch Kits Compared

Here is the quick side-by-side. Disc type and intended use are the two columns that should drive your decision; price follows from there.

How to Choose the Right 240SX Clutch for Your Build

Match the clutch to your power and your use case, not to the biggest number you can afford. Over-clutching a street car just gives you a brutal pedal and grabby launches for no benefit.

Stock or lightly modified daily driver

If you are near the factory 155 hp / 160 lb-ft — intake, exhaust, maybe a cam — stick with an organic disc. The Exedy OE kit ($105.99) restores stock feel and reliability for the least money. There is no performance benefit to a race clutch on a stock-power car; you only add pedal effort and harsher engagement.

Bolt-on, mild boost, or street/strip

Once you are into the mid-200s wheel horsepower — a small turbo, a built N/A motor, or a car that gets launched and drifted — move to a cerametallic single like the Exedy Stage 2 ($503.44), or the ACT XT 6-pad ($595.00) if you want maximum clamp for hard launches. Both add real holding power while remaining a single-disc job to install.

High-horsepower KA-T and race builds

At 250 whp and up — especially boosted KA-T cars driven on the street — a twin-disc is the move. The Comp1 twin-disc ($1,132.79) gives you the torque capacity with a livable pedal, and it is the only multi-disc kit here that fits the S14. For a dedicated 400+ whp race car, the Exedy Hyper Twin's ~500 ft-lb rating is the ceiling of this list.

Installation Tips From Our Tampa Shop

A clutch job is involved on the S-chassis — the transmission has to come out — so do it once and do it right. A few things our techs never skip on a 240SX clutch swap:

Always replace the throwout (release) bearing and pilot bearing while you are in there — both are cheap and a pain to do twice. Use the supplied alignment tool to center the disc before torquing the pressure plate, and follow the manufacturer's break-in procedure (typically 300–500 miles of moderate driving) before you start side-stepping the clutch on a cerametallic or twin-disc unit. You can browse our full clutch kit collection and the complete Exedy lineup for matching flywheels, lines, and accessories.