Ivan280zt Posted August 20, 2004 Share Posted August 20, 2004 Hey guys, Question about stock turbo clutch. I am running stock OEM nissan 280zx turbo clutch and afther "proper" brake in i have put about 2k miles on it which included about 10 1/4 mile pases quite few street races and such. So far it has been holding great at 10psi from t-3. So here is my question i really dont want/can afford to change clutch right now and that brings me to question myself just how far can i take stock clutch. My plan is to run 15psi on t-3 but if thats too much i can live with 10psi for few months. I have seen posts where people have had better luck with stock clutch than with one from clutchmasters and i have heard from one big z fanatic how he swears that stock clutch is really one stout part. Do any of you guys have experince or have you heard of anyone making about 275-300whp with stock clutch without killing it in two passes . Thanks, Ivan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bastaad525 Posted August 20, 2004 Share Posted August 20, 2004 I was running an ACT six puck metallic clutch and heavy duty pressure plate.... was convinced by I dont know how many guys that I NEEDED that setup for my turbo... that a stocker just wouldn't hold. Then jmortensen from these boards came along and opened up my eyes... that I didnt' need to suffer thru that insane clutch to hold the amount of power I was running or aiming for. His advice to me was to run a stock organic clutch disk, with a heavy duty pressure plate. I opted for the Daikin brand heavy duty pressure plate, which oddly only cost me about $125 for the whole set, clutch, PP and bearing at a local clutch place. Supposedly the Daikin has about twice as much clamping force as the stocker. Well I've been running that for a few months now, and let me tell you I abuse the heck out of it, hard launching slipping the clutch out slow at 3000rpm to build boost. At first it was on my non intercooled 10psi setup, now I'm running an I/C and 13psi, 226rwhp/248ftlbs to the wheels, and it's still holding up fine, no slippage, no problems. And it's sooooooo much easier to live with on a day to day basis than the ACT was... way softer pedal, way smoother engagement, NO chatter... I'm sure my drivetrain thanks me. I'm not sure just how much power this clutch/pp combo is good for. I do believe that the stock pressure plate may start to give out on you if you do bump boost up to 15 psi though... then again, you won't know until you try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivan280zt Posted August 21, 2004 Author Share Posted August 21, 2004 Me no want to try . I am having so much fun just driving the damn thing finally that even if i had free act or something like that i would not change it any time soon. Drove the living crap out of it tonight for about four hours on the crusing strip then i took it downtown Chicago through few tunnels and went hard third and fourth 10.5psi and it was not slipping but launching it will only tell for sure . Ivan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onephatz Posted August 22, 2004 Share Posted August 22, 2004 I installed a NEW oem clutch from autozone. up to around 10psi is ok then I cranked up the boost to 15psi and added an intercooler. when crusing in 3rd or 4th or 5th and put her to the floor the boost would hit and the rpms would rise to about 4500 rpm and just stick there till the car caught up to the motor. never could get her to spin up past 4500 rpm when it slipped for some reason. I just recently removed my motor and tranny, and the clutch still looked new. I think the word about a stronger pressure plate is correct. jesse Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivan280zt Posted August 22, 2004 Author Share Posted August 22, 2004 onephatz If you bought your clutch from autozone then its not OEM nissan clutch. When i sold my 84 300zx turbo my old ACT clutch was pretty much gone so guy that bought it changed it with replacement clutch from autozone broke it in right way and it sure did last about 750 miles with 12psi of non-intecooled furry from mighty t-3 and afther that it was pretty much gone lol. Ivan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sean73 Posted August 23, 2004 Share Posted August 23, 2004 I ruined my stock Exedy clutch in about 300 miles at only 8 psi. Although, I did not observe the proper break-in for the clutch. I think if I would have observed proper break-in, it would have been ok. Now, an RPS 2400 lb clutch is going in. It set me back $370, but I hate changing clutches, and I'll pay a premium to not have to do it again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drax240z Posted August 23, 2004 Share Posted August 23, 2004 Proper break in is key with any friction surface like a clutch, tires, brake pads, etc. As some of you have found out the hard way! Clutch: 500miles of CITY driving (ie: stop and go) before applying full engine power. Tires: Most like an initial heat cycle, followed by 24 hours cooling time while not on the car. (R-compounds anyway) Brake pads: 6 or 7 'slows' from 50mph to ~5mph, without bringing the vehicle completely to a stop. Brakes should then cool for 1 hour without being driven. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Cronic Posted August 24, 2004 Share Posted August 24, 2004 I make 266whp, and 324ft/lbs. Im on stock clutch. I've been making this power for about a year. I removed my clutch in March, durring a tranny swap, to have it checked and replaced if needed. They asked me how long I've had the clutch, as it looked brand new. I replied Im making nearly 350ftlbs of tq, and they couldn't believe it. I've had about 15 runs down the track with this clutch, and I've put about 70K Miles on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivan280zt Posted August 24, 2004 Author Share Posted August 24, 2004 Cronic Thanks man thats the answer i was looking for. I will stick with 10psi and when winter comes very close i will go 15psi so that way if it goes i wont fell bad about it . Ivan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Cronic Posted August 24, 2004 Share Posted August 24, 2004 You'll be fine my friend. I run 20psi. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onephatz Posted August 26, 2004 Share Posted August 26, 2004 cronic are you using a "nissan" oem clutch and pressure plate? jesse Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bastaad525 Posted August 26, 2004 Share Posted August 26, 2004 Hmmm... a stock clutch and pressure plate holding 266hp and 324lb ft??? Cronic you certainly seem to get away with a lot of stuff that other guys cannot. Same as how you got away with 15psi of boost with bone stock EFI (before the extra injectors). You must have a very tolerant Z or a damn busy guardian angel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onephatz Posted August 26, 2004 Share Posted August 26, 2004 Hmmm... a stock clutch and pressure plate holding 266hp and 324lb ft??? Cronic you certainly seem to get away with a lot of stuff that other guys cannot. Same as how you got away with 15psi of boost with bone stock EFI (before the extra injectors). You must have a very tolerant Z or a damn busy guardian angel. I don't know about the stock pressure plate, but I was running 14psi with intercooler and stock electronics. o2 sensor said it was runnin ok, except I had a hella bad overheating problem. all I know is my autozone clutch(for a 82 turbo) started to slip when the 14psi hit. jesse Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Cronic Posted August 26, 2004 Share Posted August 26, 2004 When I first pulled the clutch out, I noticed the plate was grey, and thought it was aftermarket. When I brought the clutch and plate into the machine shop, and asked them to test it for me, and make sure everything was great, I also asked them if it was aftermarket, becasue the pedal is MUCH stiffer then my Civic is, and I have a staged plate in it (1600lbs). They told me it was a stock clutch, and couldn't believe how it looked brand new after the abuse I put on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onephatz Posted August 26, 2004 Share Posted August 26, 2004 ok ok I can see now. sounds like you have a stock clutch disk with maybe a better pressure plate. I don't really know what the stock pressure of the pressure plate is, but seems yours is stronger than mine(autozone's). from what I gather the stock clutch disk is ok for 300-400hp or so but I don't think my pressure plate is anywhere near that capable. does this sound right or am i speaking out of my ass??? jesse Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted August 26, 2004 Share Posted August 26, 2004 I don't think there is a reasonable "limit" to the disk itself. As long as the pressure plate is strong enough to hold it from slipping, the disk material shouldn't really matter. The only limitation I know on disks is rpms. I had a friend with a 4x4 that had dual transfer cases. He coasted down a hill in 4 low/4 low 1st gear with the clutch in. Got up to about 15 miles an hour, which to the clutch disk was like 20,000 rpm and the material literally got ripped off the disk by centrifugal force. Barring something stupid like that I don't think the organic material has a hp limit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Cronic Posted August 26, 2004 Share Posted August 26, 2004 As far as I know, this is a stock replacement pressure plate. I can't remember the name offhand, but the clutch shop said it was a company that made OEM clutches. Perhaps this is from the same company, but staged? It DEFINATLY still spins the tires in 3rd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted August 26, 2004 Share Posted August 26, 2004 Paraut makes the pp for Nissan, at least the NA ones. The NA ones aren't painted either... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bastaad525 Posted August 27, 2004 Share Posted August 27, 2004 Cronic - I'm not trying to doubt you.... just that you do seem to get away with stuff that others would swear is not possible, or at least, possible for very long. But then, it wouldn't be the first time. Perfect example, when I first dynoed my turbo motor with stock everything, 10psi, and ran way lean on top, and everyone was betting it was my fuel pump... everyone was convinced that a stock pump just could not support that much power (200hp to the wheels). So I ran out and bought a new, better pump, and immediately went back to the dyno and.... no difference at all. Stock pump was handling the power fine after all, it was the EFI that wasnt up to snuff. So... maybe there are some limits that we are all sure of but really who has tested them? Like... who has really tested how much boost stock EFI can support or tested how much boost you can run w/o an intercooler? Everyone says 10psi w/o the I/C, yet there was a guy posting over on Zcar.com for a long time when I used to frequent there that was running 12psi unintercooled every day and had no problems. Would I do it? Heck no... but just goes to show. Cronic... too bad you're the only one pushing your stock stuff like this, you could just be a fluke, if another person came along and did some of this stuff we would know that stock stuff is just that much more capable than we think. About the clutch thing, you know, when I bought it, the guy told me it was a heavy duty pressure plate, but for the price I paid ($125 for the clutch, pp AND throwout bearing as a set) I and a few guys on here had our doubts... for that price I'd think it was all just stock replacement stuff. Well here I am pushing the power I"m pushing and having no problems either... so maybe stock stuff CAN hold a lot more power than we think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Cronic Posted August 27, 2004 Share Posted August 27, 2004 Well, interestingly enough, getting on it in 3rd gear tonight. Guess what happens? The clutch slipped... bad. hit about 18psi and the RPMs jumped to 5k, and the car wasn't moving... slowly they fell down to about 3500and the car started moving again. Welp. I found the limit anyway! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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