[99cobra!]

As some of you may know, my clutch gave way friday night, the thing is only 7 months old, I have heard some horror stories about SPEC. Who makes the best and most durable clutches and pressure plates? I have heard centerforce?

[1rnkpny]

Centerforce used to have a bad rap. Have you checked into FRPP clutches?

[nutnbutcustm]

my spec stage 3 is holding the termi power very well i have no complaints so far,did you break it in properly or let someone drive your car that doesnt know how??? just throwin some ideas out there?

[99cobra!]

broke it in for 1000 miles to be safe, it was suppose to handle 669ft/lbs of TQ and my car only has 381/376 at the wheels. I am pretty disappointed in the clutch.

[Doc8224]

So the one that broke was a spec? which spec? I have a spec stage 2 that is holding up very well for me.

[futureMACH1racer]

My Spec Stage 2 didn't last worth a shit. I ended up going with a Mcleod, and it was the best decsion that I have ever made. Hands down the best part I installed on my car. It never faded even through all of the passes at the track that I had made. Pound for pound the best clutches on the market IMHO.

[Reloaded]

I hear about "stories" having to do with Spec also... I have put 20,000 miles on my car, all with Spec clutches. Started with a Spec stage 2 before it was supercharged, and now have a Spec stage 3. I haven't had any problems with either and the stage 3 GRIPS like crazy.

[Lefty]

Originally Posted by futureMACH1racer My Spec Stage 2 didn't last worth a shit. I ended up going with a Mcleod, and it was the best decsion that I have ever made. Hands down the best part I installed on my car. It never faded even through all of the passes at the track that I had made. Pound for pound the best clutches on the market IMHO.

Good info right there.

[99blkcobra]

my stage three lasted 2 months, im getting a termi clutch

[ZOOTOXIN]

Originally Posted by Reloaded I hear about "stories" having to do with Spec also... I have put 20,000 miles on my car, all with Spec clutches. Started with a Spec stage 2 before it was supercharged, and now have a Spec stage 3. I haven't had any problems with either and the stage 3 GRIPS like crazy.

Spec stage 3 plus and spec flywheel here and it kicks ass. no problems at all. It takes a little adjusting with the feet when "TRYING" calmly to move when the light turns green. but I love it. It grabs so damn tight and quick for instant responce.

are most of the guys having problem with the Spec powershifting at all?

[96Snaker]

I'm in the same boat as you, 99Cobra. Looking for a clutch here as well. Heard the same "stories" about SPEC, but we have so many guys in my local club with 600-800rwhp terminators running SPEC Stage 3+ and SPEC flywheels, that I can't say a bad thing about them.

[1rnkpny]

Clutches take very little time to break in. 1 week of normal driving.

[ReverendDexter]

Don't overclutch your car. The clutch SHOULD be the weak point in the system.

I've got a Macleod Stage I in my car, and I love it. The pedal effort is REDUCED from stock, yet it still has more holding power. I think it's rated for up to about 375 lb-ft, so it'd be a little light for your application. For your car, I'd go for a unit rated for ~450 lb-ft unless you have soon-to-be-realized plans for more power.

[99blkcobra]

Originally Posted by 96Snaker I'm in the same boat as you, 99Cobra. Looking for a clutch here as well. Heard the same "stories" about SPEC, but we have so many guys in my local club with 600-800rwhp terminators running SPEC Stage 3+ and SPEC flywheels, that I can't say a bad thing about them.

well ive spend too much money tring to use the spec clutches thats why i went with a termi clutch its cheaper and dont think it should be bad for my application.

[Derek@DRI]

The top selling clutch for us is Spec. I can honestly say that I have had very few problems. Second choice would be Centerforce again very good track record. Personally for your application I would recommend the Dual Friction just because it is very street friendly and I like the pedal feel on it. If you are making more than 550rwhp then Spec hands down.

[ZOOTOXIN]

Originally Posted by ReverendDexter Don't overclutch your car. The clutch SHOULD be the weak point in the system. .

I cracked a crank shaft bearing with stock clutch. Clutch was the weakest point but held up. I have close to 500 rwhp if not slightly over and I put only 37,000 miles on the stock clutch. I hope I have better luck with spec. My mods are in my garage.

[Cricket]

I haven't seen you around here in a long time man. Last time I saw you around here I think was when I just getting my GT.

[ZOOTOXIN]

Originally Posted by Cricket I haven't seen you around here in a long time man. Last time I saw you around here I think was when I just getting my GT.

Whatz up?! I started a new job and it has been consuming. I def miss you guys. I see and talk to Richard 07stanggt maybe once a month. Now that I am making money again, I am excited to talk stangs again. Its hard to be into when you cant afford to mod.

[bitemark46]

Every company are going to have good and bad stores about them. You shouldn't buy a clutch based on the company but rather on the type of clutch and its specs. A lot of them get their parts from the same manufactor. You need to find out why type of material the disk is made of and if its a sprung hub or non sprung hub and if you want a full face or puck style. Next you need to find out the clamping force of the PP. Typically all diaphram clutches have about the same unless you go with an adjustable one like a the ones mcleod offer. I always tell people this and give them a list of disk types to make the decision easier and help them avoid buying a clutch they don't like.

Disks

Organic- OEM material. Engages like a stocker. Many factory clutches come with this.
Kevlar- More agressive than stock. May have slight chatter. Will hold more than organic
Semi-metallic- More agressive than Kevlar. More resistant to heat. Higher chance of chatter.
Carbon- More aggressive than semi-metallic. Abrupt engagement. Will chatter if you try and slip it. Should hold a lot of power
Sintered Iron- Way more aggressive than carbon. As it heats up it grips harder. On/off type of engagement. Likes to eat flywheels. lol. Very rough of drivetrain. This is basically a race only disk.

So those are the basic material types of disks. Some companies now mix and match the flywheel side with say a kevlar disk and a organic material on the PP side. This thinking was to get an agressive hold on the FW side but smooth engagement on the PP side. I'm not a fan of this. As you increase your chances of the PP slipping on the disk.

Then you have the shape of the disk. They have 2 options. Full face and puck style. Full face allows a smoother engagement and disapates the heat over the whole face of the FW. A puck style is geared more towards racing. More of an abrupt engagement (more lbs per sq inch theory). With an agressive disk material a puck disk has been known to twist or snap input shafts on hard launches.

Also there are disk that come with a sprung hub (springs in the center of the disk) and a non sprung hub. Sprung hubs allow a smoother engagement of the clutch. Non sprung hubs are more for race type setups. Again not really fun on the street. Non sprung hubs are also more stressful on parts.

Pressure Plate
Lastly, you have the pp. There are basically 2 designs as well. Diaphram or individual arms (Borg&Beck or Long). Diagrams are typically used in street cars and the individual arms are used in race cars (oval track, drag, auto xing). The B&B or long are adjustable so the faster it spins the more clamping force it gives. The B&B/Long are also much more expensive than a diagphram clutch. I gotta hand it to McCleod. Their website is very detailed and explains the differences between pp and disks. Very informative site.

So there you have it. A crash course in clutches. I wont get into the twin disk clutches as many people don't want to fork over 1200$ for one or 2000$ for a softlok type clutch. I did my research on clutches after I my stocker went. What I have found out is that the harder you are on a clutch the shorter the life span (duh, obviously). But the ratings some companies state are not true. There is no one clutch you can put in and forget about it. They won't last as long as you want them to.

I'll give you a little history on my clutches that I've gone through.

Stocker - Lasted maybe 25k miles (no sticky tires though). very few track passes.
Centerforce DF- Lasted around 9k miles. Slipped on its maiden voyage on DR's
Spec stage 3- Lasted 10k miles and about 50 passes before I managed to end its life (another story...my fault)
Spec stage 3- Lasted about 5k miles and about 25 passes before it started to slip. At this point my input shaft was twisted causing the clutch to slip. Not really the clutch's fault. Too much abuse over time.
Spec stage 3+- Current clutch in the car. Only have about 800 miles on it. Feels good so far. Will be testing its limits this winter.

Hope this helps. Sorry for the long post.