Mikelly Posted December 28, 2004 Share Posted December 28, 2004 SO I just got the word that my tranny will get shipped in the next two weeks, and I need to buy a clutch kit for the 383 stroker... Which kit guys? 10.5 inch or 11inch? It is a 26 spline. Mainly going to use this car on the track doing road course instructional events... What are you guys using? Most sessions run 30 minutes in length... Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heavy Z Posted December 28, 2004 Share Posted December 28, 2004 For the last couple years I've been using a McLeod 11" street/strip unit with no complaints. The petal is stiffer than normal but not a workout. Their T/o bearing, disk & pp are well made and grip, and they have HD units for your application. I've heard people running both 10 1/2" and 11" with success. Are you going to run a countergear stabilizer or are they unnecessary on G-force transmissions? Good luck with your tranny, Mike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jolane Posted December 28, 2004 Share Posted December 28, 2004 Mike, I too just bought a tranny to put behind my full roller 383 SBC. I was also wondering about the clutch. I got the TKO-600 tranny from Keisler Automotive Engineering. They recommended (and supplied) a Sachs clutch. They say it is good to 600 lb-ft. I guess I will find out. I also used their hydraulic throw-out bearing, which is similar to (or the same as) those used in new BMW's, etc. Supposedly very high quality and it doesn't have to be bled. Somehow it is automatic bleeding. Looks very nice, at least how the line goes into the slave (unlike the McLeod which looks weak to me). I don't know if any of this stuff will work with the T-5, but it may be worth a phone call. Great servive, very helpful and friendly. Joshua Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Posted December 28, 2004 Share Posted December 28, 2004 How about the Centerforce “dual-friction†setup, 11†diameter? I used that between my 454 (with 168-tooth Hayes aluminum flywheel) and my Doug Nash 5-speed, before the engine grenaded. With a McLeod hydraulic throwout bearing and Tilton 3/4" master cylinder (not sure about that dimension, but it sounds right) the pedal throw and pedal force felt reasonable. I plan on recycling all of the above when my engine comes back together again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikelly Posted December 28, 2004 Author Share Posted December 28, 2004 Michael, I had the Centerforce DF setup with the T56 and the pedal pressure was nice, running a 7/8th Tilton master... However, the DF Clutch kits are PRICEY! I'm trying to get the best bang for the buck. As for release bearings, I was going to go with a traditional setup and a factory T5 Slave cylinder unit and clutch fork. Jolane, Sachs makes good stuff and I've used their OEM replacement parts previously... maybe I'll see what they have! Heavy, My Gforce doesn't require a counter gear stabilizer... However, GForce is a big fan of the McCleod product line... I couldn't get them on the phone to answer some of my questions when searching for an SFI Bellhousing and ended up with a Lakewood unit, which is why I'm now looking elsewhere for clutch parts... Maybe they were at SEMA when I was trying to call! Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt1 Posted December 28, 2004 Share Posted December 28, 2004 Mike, I'm using one of the Ram lightweight 10.5" road racing clutches in mine. Been in there two years now and the last time I looked at it it was still in excellent shape. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pparaska Posted April 3, 2006 Share Posted April 3, 2006 Mike' date='I too just bought a tranny to put behind my full roller 383 SBC. I was also wondering about the clutch. I got the TKO-600 tranny from Keisler Automotive Engineering. They recommended (and supplied) a Sachs clutch. They say it is good to 600 lb-ft. I guess I will find out. [/quote'] Hi Joshua, Wondering how the Sachs Clutch worked out. I'm now moving to G-Force T-5, away from the Tremec TR-3550 (wanted more strength and better shifting). I've been running the GM nodular iron 15lb flywheel, the Camaro 1LE pressure plate, and a McLeod dual friction clutch disc with the 327 and a bit with the 400, while it was alive . (I'm having Mark at G-Force do the work on my busted T-5. Very easy to talk to and seems very knowledgeable.) I can get another McLeod disc for the T-5 (the Tremec was a 1-1/16" 10 spline input, T-5 is 1-1/8" 26 spline), but the cheapest I can find it is like $160 bucks. I found the Sachs Performance Clutch kit for the T-5 for less than $250. http://www.car-stuff.com/performance/quote.php?make=5&year=1983&model=30&brand=1068&part_name=137&category= That's the same part number I found on the Sachs site, for the 26 spline Camaro clutch for that year, PC1675-21. Desktop dyno says my 400 will put out 550lb ft of torque. If I can hook that all up, I'm hoping the Sachs clutch would hold up. So how is it working out? Thanks, Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikelly Posted April 3, 2006 Author Share Posted April 3, 2006 Pete, I wouldn't scrimp on the clutch disk... Go with the Mcleod disc and re-use your pressure plate. You know that disc is good for the power. I'm sure the Sachs would hold up to a lot of applications, but at the levels you're looking at, I'd wonder when I was going to be doing the swap again... Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pyro Posted April 3, 2006 Share Posted April 3, 2006 I think you need to stay with the 10.5 inch clutch for clearance issues. You need to use the 153 tooth flywheel. I use a Ram clutch and pressure plate with a 6 puck metallic pads. Summit Racing, Ram-6129, 184.60. And a Ram pressure plate (diaphragm style, 3000lbs), Summit Racing, Ram-401, 149.95. This clutch lasted a few years of drag racing behind a 362 sbc with 11:1 cr, 150shot n20, GM T5 and MT drag slicks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
331CI 280z Posted April 3, 2006 Share Posted April 3, 2006 Pete, You should probably junk that nodular flywheel and go with a billet flywheel for safety reasons. My friend Ed had a flywheel let go in his AMX last summer and it was not pretty. Let's just say that he had an aluminum bellhousing and no scatter shield, and the floor was modified by the flywheel coming apart. Just a thought. They're $230 from Summit and cheap insurance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pparaska Posted April 3, 2006 Share Posted April 3, 2006 Thanks for the thoughts on the flywheel, 331CI 280z. The 15 lb. nodular iron flywheel (PN 14085720) has been used in racing for years and is recommended in the Chevy Power manual by the racing engineers. It's not your typical OE flywheel. Quote: "This flywheel in new condition has been tested at speed to 10,000 rpm and is quite suitable for most small block racing applications." They go on to say that if you overheat the clutch, it weakens the flywheel and rapidly lowers the burst speed. I believe thats true for any flywheel, let alone pressure plate. Since I have a blow proof bellhousing, I've been willing to risk the flywheel not being SFI approved. But I may change my mind and get an SFI approved AL/steel flywheel. Mike, I'm concerned that the 1LE clutch pp won't be able to hold the 400 once it's tuned correctly and I'm running drag radials. If I do get 550 ft lbs of torque, I'm concerned that flywheel, even with the McLeod Dual Friction disc won't hold it. I'm still looking at options for disc, PP, flywheel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pparaska Posted April 3, 2006 Share Posted April 3, 2006 Pyro, I'm using a 153 tooth sized blow proof bellhousing, so I'm stuck with 10.5" max clutch diameter. I'm going to guess that a 3000lb clutch PP was pretty stiff to push in. Since this is a street car, I don't want a bunch of effort needed to disengage the clutch. How bad was the pedal effort, and was this in a Z? What clutch linkage/ hydraulics setup did you use with it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
331CI 280z Posted April 3, 2006 Share Posted April 3, 2006 Pete, I am considering junking my T5 for a tremec. How notchy is your trans? My T5 is not holding up, and I have to be gentle with 2nd gear shifts. I'm just looking for your input. I've run a Centerforce DF clutch with no problems but I'm not at your horsepower level yet. I spoke with a friend who has a '68 Lemans with a 468 Butler Pontiac in it, and he recommended Hayes 6 puck clutches. He stated that the clutch is either in or out, which can make it a bit difficult in traffic, but it has held up well in his car that runs 10.80 on the motor. Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alf Posted April 4, 2006 Share Posted April 4, 2006 I went with a Hays street/strip 11" unit. It has moderate pedal pressure but nothing serious. I've been running this settup for a while now with quite a few street miles and a lot of trips down the 1/4 mile. Clutch holds good for a 1.7 60' in a 3500+ lb car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike C Posted April 4, 2006 Share Posted April 4, 2006 Pete, I'd Get away from that 10.5" clutch, it's the best thing you can do. I know, I know. But it's only money. If I remember correctly, there is a significant increase in grip with no increase in pedal pressure. I ran a McLeod 11" hybrid Borg & Beck/Long pressure plate that would be awesome in a street strip car, but expect high pedal pressure. I have a Centerforce II in my car now with a McLeod Street/Strip disc on the same Hays billet steel flywheel and Lakewood scattershield. This has been an awesome combo for my car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikelly Posted April 4, 2006 Author Share Posted April 4, 2006 This post was the product of doing to many things at once...I misspoke when I typed the bellhousing clearance would be more of an issue, and it would, so long as Pete stays with his pan for the Sonic unit, which has far greater ground clearance than the McLeod Unit I ended up with, or the lakewood unit he currently has... Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pparaska Posted April 4, 2006 Share Posted April 4, 2006 Ian, the Tremec takes getting used to, and if you drove a truck, you'd feel at home . I haven't changed the fluid in over 5000 miles, so that might be why mine is a bit more notchy than it used to be with fresh fluid (Synchromesh). The Pro 5.0 shifter helped, but I can still miss a shift because of the notchiness just driving around town taking it easy. Not often, but it does take some concentration that I don't need driving my other 2 manual trans cars. I'd consider having the T-5 rebuilt with the G-Force parts, personally. Alf, thanks for the response. But I need to stick with a 10.5" clutch, as the bellhousing I'm going to use (the new one from Tilton Sonic for 153 tooth flywheels only) won't handle an 11" clutch. MikeC, I agree it'd be a lot easier to go to an 11" clutch to get the holding power. But as you can see, I'm stuck. I COULD use the Lakewood bellhousing I have now and go with a larger flywheel and clutch, but that stuff already has a new home promised, and I'm not sure I wouldn't have starter / T/C rod bracket interference, (referencing the JTR manual). I hope I don't have to go to a twin disc to get the holding power! That would mean a different Hyd TO bearing setup, a different flywheel, etc. etc. $$$$ It seems that to get enough grip with a 10.5" clutch, you have to go to a puck design that can be prone to giving you an on/off action, and/or a stiff pressure plate that I don't want either (heavy clutch pedal). Something tells me there's technology to get around the above though - like a kevlar/ceramic disc and a light pressure PP. I'll have to get on the phone and talk with the tech people at Sachs, Ram, etc. to solve this I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
v80z Posted April 5, 2006 Share Posted April 5, 2006 I have been looking at the SONIC units close. I used to run 10000rpm brand double disc racing clutch. http://68.10.5.69:8081/videos/clutch.wmv they make sevral for V8 apps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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