Exedy might not be a name you hear often with regard to off-road builds, but the company has made a big stride in helping out the Jeep Wranglers of yesteryear with an intriguing kit designed to help these 4x4s’ manual transmissions. In its inaugural offering to the Jeep market, a Stage One and Stage Two kit has been made to upgrade the clutches of these vehicles.

“This kit is for the Aisin AX15 or New Venture 3550,” said Exedy’s Steve Kaminski. “Stage One and Two both use the same pressure plate with a clamp load of about 2,500 pounds. Compared with OEM clutches, this is an increase of about 25 to 30 percent.”

The Stage One kit includes an organic disc using Exedy’s proprietary Ultra-Fiber material. “It’s an organic type, but not in the traditional sense,” said Kaminski. “It has a lot of copper and doesn’t have a steel-backed lining, so it has a very high burst strength and very low weight. The material is very resilient, to where if it gets heated up and cools back down, it will not lose any of its grippiness.”

The Stage Two kit has what Exedy calls a “cushion-button disc.” This has a segmented cera-metallic facing, and between the two facings is a cushion spring that delivers good driveability. “This is going to be a great option for vehicles that do a lot of off-roading, submerging it in water from river crossings, mud bogs, and so forth,” said Kaminski. “The facing will survive better than the organic material in the Stage One kit.”

So whether you need a new clutch replacement or a clutch that’s more stout, Exedy has you covered. See more on the company’s website, and check out more SEMA coverage coming soon!