Clutch Brands for Quads

[dhenderz]

Looking for some feedback on the brand of clutch you're running on your quads. Think its time to replace the clutch on my black 92 GTZ. Didn't realize how bad it had gotten until I got the quasar 92 GTZ on the road yesterday. What a difference in pedal feel (quasar is much lighter) and enagement point (quasar grabs within the first inch of letting the pedal up). The black car clutch effort is comparable to driving a Mack truck and doesn't grab until about half way up the travel. Hard to believe that its time to replace since it was just replaced about 20k ago according tot he receipts I have from the previous owner, but it sure seems like its time. Its not slipping, but just doesn't feel as nice as the quasar.

Anyway, what are you running? My cars are both stock and will stay that way for the time being. No intention of boost ever so max torque is going to stay at/near stock. I would like something that will last a long time, have good pedal feel and not cause me to forgo squats in the gym since I got the workout with the clutch. Thoughts?

[woody90gtz]

I've been happy with the SPEC clutches in my Camaro and the Beretta. Granted that's a 350 and 3400, but I think the Quad clutch is about the same as the 3400. I got a stage 2 for the 3400 and the pedal is really light (actually too light for my liking) but it grabs well.

[3400beretta]

You can't really go by pedal feel to judge how worn your clutch is - unless the pedal is going right to the floor and nothing happens.. There are other factors that come into play here. Not every pressure plate is created equal - and many different companies mix stronger pressure plates with less grabby discs, or weaker pressure plates with more grabby discs - and end up with the same toque capacity.

Also you could have air in the lines, a leak in one of the cars, or one could simply be an internal slave and the other is an external slave which could account for the difference in pedal feel. Also you can adjust your pedal inside the car, the one car may have the pedal up way higher.

If you have a receipt showing the clutch was replaced THAT recently, I highly doubt the disc is worn out already.

Pull off the inspection cover on the tranny and have a look. You can see how much is left on the disc if you rotate everything to the right spot.

However, if your are bent on replacing it, I would go with a OE replacement. There is no reason to waste money on an expensive clutch if your car is stock. I've had good success with Exedy clutches, and I've heard LuK is also very good.

[dhenderz]

You can't really go by pedal feel to judge how worn your clutch is - unless the pedal is going right to the floor and nothing happens.. There are other factors that come into play here. Not every pressure plate is created equal - and many different companies mix stronger pressure plates with less grabby discs, or weaker pressure plates with more grabby discs - and end up with the same toque capacity.

Also you could have air in the lines, a leak in one of the cars, or one could simply be an internal slave and the other is an external slave which could account for the difference in pedal feel. Also you can adjust your pedal inside the car, the one car may have the pedal up way higher.

If you have a receipt showing the clutch was replaced THAT recently, I highly doubt the disc is worn out already.

Pull off the inspection cover on the tranny and have a look. You can see how much is left on the disc if you rotate everything to the right spot.

However, if your are bent on replacing it, I would go with a OE replacement. There is no reason to waste money on an expensive clutch if your car is stock. I've had good success with Exedy clutches, and I've heard LuK is also very good.

Both cars are external slave. I wasn't aware you could adjust the clutch pedal inside the car. Are you refering to when it disengages/engages the pressure plate or something else? I don't think its a leak issue since there isn't any fluid on the garage floor. Would air in the system cause a really stiff pedal effort?

To be honest I am most interested in improving the pedal effort. This car is a bitch to drive in stop and go traffic and compared to the quasar, its like night and day. The clutch was replaced by the shop that installed the new engine. I suspect that threw in whatever they could find that was cheapest.

[3400beretta]

How stiff is the pedal? Like ridiculous? Air won't make the pedal stiff, it will make it soft. It is possible that you have a restriction in your hydraulic system, actually the more I think about it that is probably what your problem is. Have a look at all the lines, see if you can see anything that is bent/crushed. Then I would try and bleed the system, perhaps some debris is in there partially blocking an orface.

It is also possible that there is something wrong with the pressure plate - that it is binding up or something. I've never had this happen personally, but I suppose anything is possible.

[Barry]

^^ Do that.

Another thing to consider is lubricating the pivot points on your clutch fork. You could also have a bad clutch fork bushing... I have seen that happen too.

If you do replace it, LuK makes a great OEM replacement. They make the OEM clutches for a few companies I think.

I use a SPEC stage 3. The pedal is super light. It holds up to my beating, but its annoying to drive. I get crazy chatter in reverse, the engagement point seems to change sometimes, and it engages late. But it does not slip and I like that

[woody90gtz]

My SPEC 2 is nice and smooth in the Beretta, and the SPEC 3+ in my Camaro is crazy strong (stronger than my last rear end) and also smooth as can be. The 3+ is quite a bit more expensive than the 3, but worth every penny as far as I'm concerned. I'm sure a SPEC 2 would be more than enough clutch for a stock quad.

I would agree with Rodney. I don't think a 92 trans has the same fork setup as my 91, but if bent that would definitely give you issues.

[3400beretta]

Oh yes, I forgot about the fork. That may be your problem too. But if you get that far into it, you might as well replace the clutch anyways.

Woody - it should be the same setup as your 91.

I have a spec 3+ in my car, and thats good to know Barry that you have similar issues. My engagement seems to change all the time as well. I had my pressure plate clamping force increased from 1600lbs to 2500lbs by a local clutch shop. The pedal effort didn't change at all, it just engages WAY quicker now, its like on-off. So that just goes to show you that pedal stiffness really has very little to do with how much power a clutch can hold.

[woody90gtz]

Rodney, were you having issues with slipping before changing the clamping pressure? The 3+ in my Camaro (I know, different diameter & design) is rated for like 800ftlb, and it held tight when the rear end broke.

[3400beretta]

The 3+ for the beretta is rated at 450ft/lbs. It may have been my imagination, but I thought I felt it slipping on me in 4th & 5th gear on the highway.

Since I blew up the engine, and had everything apart anyways, I called Spec because they now offer a "super high clamp" pressure plate option with all of their clutch kits, which they say would increase my torque rating from 450 to over 600ft lbs. However, they wanted like $400 us + shipping or something ridiculous for JUST the pressure plate since I did not want to buy a whole new kit. So I contacted a local company (eurodrive clutches) to see if anything could be done. When they measured the clamping force of the pressure plate at 1600lbs (they told me stock was 1200-1400), I told them to go ahead and increase it as much as possible.

I found the formula online before, and with my new pressure plate I should be good for like 650ft/lbs.

[woody90gtz]

Wow, that's big money. They sold me just the stg 2 pressure plate for about $150-175 when I was a retard & put my throwout bearing in backwards. Maybe they felt bad for me being so stupid...haha

[Mikey Morris]

Avoid Centerforce. Every car I had with them-they failed way too soon