new clutch suggestions anyone?

[Guest jjohart]

I did a bit of surfing, and there's so many opinions of merit, but...

my own is that Spec "hybrid" sucks...which I bought about 20K miles ago, street duty only, and the unit has chattered within a year of installation, so now, in only the 2nd year, I've got to look for a new setup for my 83 280ZXT, I/C and 3 in. exhaust, running 11-13psi boost, mostly highway use.

IF I'm only keeping the car another year or so, should I just go with an aftermarket replication of the stock clutch, or am I going to need a higher rated unit just to keep up with the extra boost/hp rating-car never dynoed. If so, I see PepBoys has Centerforce and Exedy...I assume the latter's crap. Most of the chatter on clutch searches here shows a preference for more esoteric brands like Superior clutch and ACT...given that I already paid big bucks for a aftermaker set up which toasted quite early, IMHO, am I wrong to assume that high performance clutches in general are like ultra high performance tires in that they can handle higher power for a while, but the secret truth is they wear down faster anyhow?

Thanks

John-Natick, MA

[randy 77zt]

i ran a stock replacement daiken for years in my 77z /turbo conversion and had great luck with it.only time it let go was on a 5000 rpm sidestep and sac drag strip.it cooled off and worked 2 more years.it broke loose again on a chassis dyno run but always worked later.i have a 240mm act street set up in it but car hasnt been running since i am working on megasquirt install.the act clutch has a stiffer pedal feel and is a is harder to let out without chatter.i will see soon if it holds on a dyno run.hope to see 300hp.clutch is rated to 400 hp.for just a daily driver the oem daiken should work.avoid reman junk.those 1 day clutch shops can get new daiken kits at around $160 or so.kit comes with disc,pressure plate,bearings,line up tool.

[JMortensen]

In general a stiff aftermarket clutch should last longer than a stock clutch, because it doesn't slip as much. It sounds like your problem is clutch chatter. Clutch chatter is not an indication of a worn out clutch. It is an indication that the clutch might be wearing a groove in the flywheel, but it doesn't mean the clutch is bad. The universal clutch test which is really hard on everything so you don't want to do it too often: Find a hill that you can drive up at 2000 rpm in 4th gear. Do that, then push in the clutch, rev it to 5000, and side step the clutch. If the engine rpms come right back down to 2000, then the clutch isn't slipping. If the engine hovers at 5000, then slowly creeps back down, then the clutch is dead. Again, this is really hard on everything, so use that at your own risk.

 

Stiff pp, and a normal non puck style disk is my solution. Gives you a higher clamping force on the disk, so more torque capacity, without using the super aggressive pucks which will dig into the flywheel. ACT makes a more aggressive than stock non puck style clutch. That might be a good option if you feel that a stock friction disk isn't aggressive enough.

[mtcookson]

If so, I see PepBoys has Centerforce and Exedy...I assume the latter's crap.

 

The former... I always hear bad stories of centerforce clutches. Exedy is usually held as a very good clutch company.

[pparaska]

CenterForce pisses me off that they won't sell just the DF disc.

 

Not to worry, McLeod's Performance Pressure plate is a "Dual Friction" type of design, with Kevlar on one side. I'm using one (10.5") with a Camaro 1LE pressure plate (easy pedal pressure) and it has held up well behind the 327 and 400.

[Alf]

the chatter may be oil or brake fluid on the disc. how does the slave cylinder mount, inside the bellhousing or outside? ive had decent luck with Hays street strip clutch in my Camaro, it holds good enough for a 1.78 60'.