SVT high performance clutch options / Feedback wanted!

[bigboostingsvt]

I'm running JRSC/BBK so my choice would be a stage 1 (daily driver) with no extra need for more than 250WHP and TQ and of course under 1K.

[kennan J]

Randy How many Test vehicles do you have now?

[Voortrek3]

Hey Randy, I would also be interested in the clutch/flywheel for my '03 SVT. The 2nd stock one is slowly going out but 65,000+ miles per clutch is pretty good.

[carlingskie]

how's everything goin?

[FocusSportVP]

See post #50.

[CaysE]

Nobody thinks 300tq is somewhat excessive for the applications you're all listing? Everybody seems to have written "street/auto-x" or "mostly street." This is not going to be friendly to your clutch's longevity if you don't actually have 300 ft-lbs at your disposal.

I would think your best-selling options would be a 175 ft-lbs kit for OEM/bolt-ons, and a 250 ft-lbs kit for the JRSC'd cars.

[99dot]

Originally Posted by CaysE

Nobody thinks 300tq is somewhat excessive for the applications you're all listing? Everybody seems to have written "street/auto-x" or "mostly street." This is not going to be friendly to your clutch's longevity if you don't actually have 300 ft-lbs at your disposal.

I would think your best-selling options would be a 175 ft-lbs kit for OEM/bolt-ons, and a 250 ft-lbs kit for the JRSC'd cars.

That’s cool and all, but how many clutches have you gone thru?
Its not that everyone is making this much torque the problem is every other clutch out there including stock is not capable of holding much more than stock.

Or they use a friction material that wears fast in the belief that it gives them more holding power. I for one would like to see a full disk opinion with a stronger pressure plate. If your car is blown and you’re using say a PWSC and your using a puck for DD then every stop is like a launch at the strip. Because the pressure plate is not what is raising the friction coefficient, it’s the clutch material.

Presently I’m running a full disk that has the power to hold more torque than I have right now. It’s by far the best clutch I’ve had. I don’t think Randy and FS would be trying to find a better clutch option if it wasn’t needed. I’m going to be increasing my power and torque very shortly, and the clutch I have now is rated at 350ftlbs.

True is a little bit more than I need, but it’s the 7th clutch that I’ve had. So I think I know what I’m talking about. Randy already knows what he wants to see as an option, there’s a reason they replaced the stock clutch with the TSB parts (technical service Bulletin) that’s because they didn’t work.

So, if you like what you have great. If your going to build it for more power cool, and yes there are a few out there that say they want something and will never buy a thing. I’m willing to beat about 70% of the people on this board fit this group.

Only for the 20% that track their cars and increase the power any option that has the ability to increase the clamping force to 300-330 ft-lb of torque is truly needed.

Randy anytime you want to start post clutch reports with mileage, and track laps feel free.

[CaysE]

Originally Posted by 99dot

That’s cool and all, but how many clutches have you gone thru?
Its not that everyone is making this much torque the problem is every other clutch out there including stock is not capable of holding much more than stock.

Or they use a friction material that wears fast in the belief that it gives them more holding power. I for one would like to see a full disk opinion with a stronger pressure plate. If your car is blown and you’re using say a PWSC and your using a puck for DD then every stop is like a launch at the strip. Because the pressure plate is not what is raising the friction coefficient, it’s the clutch material.

Presently I’m running a full disk that has the power to hold more torque than I have right now. It’s by far the best clutch I’ve had. I don’t think Randy and FS would be trying to find a better clutch option if it wasn’t needed. I’m going to be increasing my power and torque very shortly, and the clutch I have now is rated at 350ftlbs.

True is a little bit more than I need, but it’s the 7th clutch that I’ve had. So I think I know what I’m talking about. Randy already knows what he wants to see as an option, there’s a reason they replaced the stock clutch with the TSB parts (technical service Bulletin) that’s because they didn’t work.

So, if you like what you have great. If your going to build it for more power cool, and yes there are a few out there that say they want something and will never buy a thing. I’m willing to beat about 70% of the people on this board fit this group.

Only for the 20% that track their cars and increase the power any option that has the ability to increase the clamping force to 300-330 ft-lb of torque is truly needed.

Randy anytime you want to start post clutch reports with mileage, and track laps feel free.

I'm at 73k miles and on the TSB clutch that was done somewhere around 15k. So it's on its 2nd clutch. I'm under the impression that the TSB was performed because of a flaw in the design that caused it to break, not because the clutch wouldn't hold when you floored the gas. I believe your 20% figure of people who track their cars is over-estimated, and I believe that over-doing the torque-holding capability of any clutch will cause the other "80%" of people to prematurely wear them out from daily driving stop-and-go.

I don't think my suggestions were too low. The vast majority of naturaly aspirated SVTs put out nowhere near 175ft-lbs of torque, and the vast majority of boosted SVTs put out nowhere near 250ft-lbs. We can argue the semantics of "250ft-lb rated clutches" but it's not going to get us any answers. I'm talking about clutches that can handle that amount of power.

[99dot]

Originally Posted by CaysE

I'm at 73k miles and on the TSB clutch that was done somewhere around 15k. So it's on its 2nd clutch. I'm under the impression that the TSB was performed because of a flaw in the design that caused it to break, not because the clutch wouldn't hold when you floored the gas. I believe your 20% figure of people who track their cars is over-estimated, and I believe that over-doing the torque-holding capability of any clutch will cause the other "80%" of people to prematurely wear them out from daily driving stop-and-go.

I don't think my suggestions were too low. The vast majority of naturaly aspirated SVTs put out nowhere near 175ft-lbs of torque, and the vast majority of boosted SVTs put out nowhere near 250ft-lbs. We can argue the semantics of "250ft-lb rated clutches" but it's not going to get us any answers. I'm talking about clutches that can handle that amount of power.

Well theres your problem, the lever arm of the presure plate is too small to effectively hold more torque. I understnd what your saying as I see your point, but for the hope of actully getting a clutch that will solve the design flaws.

There needs to be an option for more if needed and right now there is not. So I understand your view but try to see it from the other side, if you did make the power and don't have an option.


Then again, the idea that one shoe will fit everyone makes about as much sense as arguing about things you can't understand or don't personally have knowlege in, which is alway a problem in internet forums.

[CaysE]

Originally Posted by 99dot

...Then again, the idea that one shoe will fit everyone makes about as much sense as arguing about things you can't understand or don't personally have knowlege in, which is alway a problem in internet forums.

And how! LOL

[carlingskie]

can't wait. lol

[focusownerskid]

Originally Posted by CaysE

Nobody thinks 300tq is somewhat excessive for the applications you're all listing? Everybody seems to have written "street/auto-x" or "mostly street." This is not going to be friendly to your clutch's longevity if you don't actually have 300 ft-lbs at your disposal.

I would think your best-selling options would be a 175 ft-lbs kit for OEM/bolt-ons, and a 250 ft-lbs kit for the JRSC'd cars.

A 400lb/ft capable clutch is not going to wear/tear faster on a 100lb/ft car.



- Drew

[CaysE]

Yeah it will... you have to rev the car to 4k and ride it out just to keep it from stalling in 1st.

[focusownerskid]

No, no you don't.

Do you have personal experience w/ a properly designed high end clutch kit?

The Exedy Hyper Single is stiff but not at all difficult to drive and it is plenty capable of 380lb/ft.

If they were that hard to use, people wouldn't even put them in high torque developing vehicles because it would be too difficult to work with.

I have experience w/ the single most difficult clutch made for a MTX-75 and after 2 hours of driving I had no issues w/ it whatsoever.

I can also almost gurantee, ANYTHING that Exedy/LUK/Sachs puts out or FS for that matter, will not require that much of a learning curve.

- Drew

[CaysE]

Yeah in an '89 Probe GT. I can't even count how many times I stalled that damn thing with a Stage 4 clutch in it and no engine mods. Excuse me for not being the leetest driver in the world.

I really don't know why you have some beef against me, man... you've been dogging my posts for weeks. I have full confidence that FocusSport will put out something that works.

[focusownerskid]

No beef.

But, when I see well organized(ie your posts) mis-information I just don't want it spreading.

I have all the confidence in the world that you mean well, but you also openly admitted to 'just getting into' the performance side of things.

So please, take my constructive criticism w/ a grain of salt.

Also, anything put out for an '89 GT is not going to be very advanced or well designed piece.

I cannot tell you how many posts are on the Probe forums about clutch issues from the aftermarket.

- Drew

[CaysE]

Fair enough. Personally I don't want to deal with that kind of snap response on a street car, and obviously with a JRSC about to be installed I'm going to be in the market for a better clutch. That's why I posted in here. I personally believe I would wear out an overly grabby clutch while sitting in traffic 5 days a week. If I'm wrong, I'm wrong; but you have a pretty judgemental way about posting up and letting me know about it.

And please do not misquote me in your own well organized post. I'm 'just getting into' the performance side of things with Focuses only... I've been working on Camaros and Supercoupes for much longer. I had no need to even look at either supercharger kit in that other thread because I was planning on a turbo system, until this deal fell in my lap; why would I have known the Powerworks was intercooled if I never cared to look at the kit?

In any case, my apologies Randy for mucking up the thread... I think I've made my opinion pretty clear. Drew, feel free to PM me or drop me an email to talk about things if you like.

[99dot]

Originally Posted by CaysE

I don't think my suggestions were too low. The vast majority of naturaly aspirated SVTs put out nowhere near 175ft-lbs of torque, and the vast majority of boosted SVTs put out nowhere near 250ft-lbs. We can argue the semantics of "250ft-lb rated clutches" but it's not going to get us any answers. I'm talking about clutches that can handle that amount of power.

Like I said before its nice to have the option for a clutch than can hold more. I'm tuned now and these are my numbers at 19psi and I'm tuned to 24psi.

I'm sure glad my clutch is rated at 350ftlbs of torque.

[FocusSportVP]

Thanks to all that have posted. I'm going to close this for now. I'll reopen it or start a new thread when its appropriate.

[FocusSportVP]

OK, time to open this back up again. I had thought that a few companies were starting to get it right with regards to the SVT Focus. However, with the recent failures I'm seeing from various brands, I'm not so sure.

How would you guys feel about a Hyper Single for the SVT? Too pricey? Worth it? Just right? Lemme know!

[focusownerskid]

The Hyper Single is the piece I want for my SVT.

- Drew

[CaysE]

What kind of failures have you been seeing? Are the newer clutch/fly combo kits not working out for people?