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| If you need to purchase a new clutch there are several factors that you must take into consideration before choosing the unit for you: The type of driving your car sees, engine torque output, and your budget are the primary items your need to think about before purchasing a new clutch.
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Full Faced Sprung Hub
Full Face Disc If you primarily use your car as a daily driver you will want a clutch that is easy to slip and has light pedal feel. The best type of clutch disc for this application is a sprung, full-faced disc. A full-faced clutch disc has more surface area to grip and will ensure smoother engagement, which is ideal when driving in most traffic conditions. There are different clutch materials available with different power handling capabilities and inherent driving characteristics. An organic disc will have smooth engagement and it is typically found in stock clutch discs. The organic material has the ability to come back after it has been burnt from abuse but still has a limited life. Kevlar discs have higher torque capacity but they do require a break-in period of 400 - 800 miles. Ceramic clutch discs have a higher torque capacity and are only recommended for race use. The ceramic material tends to be loud and have harsh clutch engagement.
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4 & 6 Puck Clutch Disc
"Pucked" Disc
On the other hand, if you compete in some form of motorsports and are comfortable with harsher engagement and a little noise from chattering, a pucked clutch may fit your needs. A "puck" refers to the blade-like area of the disc; this is the area that the clutch engages. Different manufacturers offer 3-, 4- or 6-pucked disks in various materials. A pucked clutch can shudder and cause the car to shake during engagement. For this reason pucked clutches are not usually recommended for daily driven cars, however if your daily driver has a load of toque, a pucked clutch may be your only option.
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Multi Disc Clutch Kit
Multi Disc Clutch
A multi-disc clutch is for typically only recommended for race use only. Multi-disc clutches have very high torque load capability and usually come packaged with a flywheel. These types of clutches are very expensive and not at all necessary for a daily driver or weekend racer.
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Aluminum Flywheel
Aluminum Flywheel Another component of the clutch is the flywheel. A light weight flywheel will help improve throttle response and is causes less drag on the engine. A lighter flywheel will allow the engine RPMs to climb faster but they will fall off more quickly than a stock flywheel too. Since RPMs fall off faster, more attention must be paid to keep the engine in its power band. While a flywheel that is lighter than the OEM unit can improve performance and fuel economy, going to a super light flywheel is not recommended for most applications as the lighter the flywheel the harder it is to drive in traffic and extremely light flywheels may also cause a check engine light in certain applications.
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General Info In most cases single-disc clutches and flywheels are sold separately and come with their bearings and components unassembled (there are some exceptions and these are noted in the vehicle specific product pages). Twin-Disc clutches usually include the clutch and flywheel due to their component dependent design. A solid clutch hub mated with a solid flywheel will have very harsh engagement and will chatter.
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| While getting the "strongest" clutch might seem like a neat thing to do, you might want to consider what the clutch is connected to before making that leap. It is not a good idea to put a high stage clutch on a car that has a weak transmission, differential, or drive axles. A strong clutch that is very grabby and harsh will put a lot of shock load on these components, resulting in catastrophic failure-add on stickier tires, and your drive train is at even greater risk. For example, it would not be wise to put a heavy duty, 4-puck clutch on the 5-speed manual gear box in the Subaru WRX unless you have an upgraded gear set, otherwise you will be fishing chunks of gear teeth out of the bell housing. Remember, a slipping clutch is less labor intensive and cheaper to replace then a blown gearbox or differential!
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| Clutch Disc Materials |
Organic
- Easy to slip
- If burnt it can come back
- Still has limited life
- Stock type disc for most consumer vehicles
Kevlar
- Higher torque load capacity
- 500-800 mile break-in
- Will not come back after being burnt
- Relatively easy to slip for daily driving
Carbon
- Rough engagement
- Harsh on flywheel
- Commonly bonded with Kevlar
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Ceramic
- Race use only
- Rough engagement
- Harsh on flywheel
- Increased noise
Metallic
- Race use only
- Very rough engagement
- Very harsh on flywheel
- Very loud
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| Disc Configuration |
Sprung
- Soft engagement
- Street applications
Solid
- Harsh engagement
- Race applications
Full face
- Daily driver
- Smooth engagement
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4 & 6 Puck
- Not daily driver friendly
- High torque capacity
- Harsh engagement
- Shuddering is common
- More complex in their operation
Twin Disc
- Designed for high power applications only
- Can take extensive abuse
- High torque capacity
- Slightly less harsh then a pucked clutch
- Race application only
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| Pressure Plates |
Stock
- Low pedal effort required
- Relatively low torque capacity
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Aftermarket
- More pedal effort required
- Higher torque capacity
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| Light Weight Flywheels |
Steel
- Stock type flywheel material
- Can be resurfaced
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Aluminum
- Lighter then steel
- Usually have a replaceable friction surface
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