SBR 3500 Clutch Questions/Concerns Help Please.

[ChiGGz]

I've emailed slowboy about this but got no response so now it's out in the open.

Slowboy claims the SBR 3500 has more clamping force than the ACT 2600, but then they go on later saying that it is rated at 2500 PSI. Not to mention the 3500 product name doesn't relate much either.

Am I missing something here?

 

[David15151]

maybe a typo? meant 3500 instead of 2500? who knows .

 

[98RedGs]

Full Details On The Clutch From Slowboy is.

Slowboy:
Custom SBR Spec Clutches! Less Pedal Pressure than the 2600 and More Clamping Force!

This kit uses a 2500psi pressure plate with 1/2 the pedal pressure of an ACT 2600. Its easier on hydraulics, pivot balls, clutch forks, and best of all THRUST bearings. The This kit also uses an alloy backplate to act as a heatsink for more durability. The disc is made of Carbon Kevlar weave NOT Fiber like Clutch Masters (CM requires perfect break in otherwise it slips). Our clutch has no Break in, just put it in and drive! The lining of our discs are softer than ACT and will not chatter (perfect replacement for ACT street disc). Kit includes a factory Mitsu throwout bearing and alignment tool.

ACT Claims:
ACT Xtreme (2600psi Clamping Force) For High Horsepower cars that see time at the Drag Strip. Clutch Pedal becomes harder to push in, but the clamping force will hold whatever power you can generate.


My Thoughts: So basically it looses 100psi of pressure which isn't much of a difference at all and also does HALF of the pedal pressure of the 2600. Believe me I've owned and drove a act2600 equipped car and if you live in an area that is heavily populated and has alot of stop/go traffic you will either get strong enough to outkick a kangaroo or hate driving your car. Either way should be fine in my opinion but I'll see if I can get ahold of some of the guys at slowboy and see if they will checkout this thread and reply to it to help you with your question.


-Thank you
John

 

[SlowboyCSE]

Thanks for PM'ing John so that i could respond!

To give you a little background before we jump on this topic, the reason we have the SBR-3500 and SBR-4000 are because of some problems that rumored to be going on with many other clutch companies including one that shall remain nameless. Some had trouble with a certain company, and Competition Clutch called looking for a great time to jump into the industry.

What Competition Clutch had was a great looking street disc with more rivets holding the outside of the disc to the hub, semi enclosed springs in the center hub of the disc, an aluminum alloy back plate that they say acts as a heat sink, a 2500 lb. pressure plate and a standard throw out bearing.

We ran some of these combinations with good and bad results for a over a year in Mark's, Nathan's, and Huml's cars before releasing them to the public with various motor combo's (2.0's, 2.1's, 2.3's etc.) different transmission combo's (some old grinding all wheel drive tranny, a few fwd trannys, and one John Sheperd anti bomb proof special in Nate Dogg's car). We fell in love quickly because we had no problems once the right combo's where found!

Our kits are combined to be a Heavy Duty and Extreme setups respectively relating to the SBR-3500 and SBR-4000. We wanted them compete with the ACT2600 and ACT2900 which they have done very well to date and have not shown many signs of problems.

First the SBR-3500,

Clutch Kit Contents -

SBR/CC Semi Organic/Kevlar Weave Street Disc
SBR/CC 2500 lb. Heavy Duty Pressure Plate
Mitsubishi OEM Throw Out Bearing
SBR/CC Mitsu Style Clutch Alignment Tool

Why use a Semi Organic/Kevlar Weave Disc? First off being that the disc is semi organic, it doesn't make much noise no matter it bangs on, so she doesn't chatter like a 2 year old in the snow. Stock clutches are organic which allows us to be sure that it engages nicely buzzing around town and works adequately under normal to medium loads. Lastly the organic material in these discs is pretty soft, so break is almost non existent so you can back on the road in a hurry! Secondly, Kevlar woven into the disc in layers helps it work even when slipped to an extent to make heat and has a greater coefficient of friction above that of organic components so when the power is applied she can hold great up to 400 foot lbs of torque.

Why use a 2500 lb. Pressure Plate? It has always been rumored that once you go above a 2500 lb. Pressure Plate that transmission components like the pivot ball and clutch fork seem to wear and bend faster. We feel thoroughly that this is correct and we basically borrowed to schools of drive train building thoughts to build the SBR-3500 with tons of help from Competition Clutch. If we use a disc with a high coefficient of friction like those in a Centerforce clutch kit, but combine those with a pressure plate all most as stiff as ACT's, we really had a kick ass combination that felt great on the foot (like an ACT 2100 or Centerforce Dual Friction) but could hold the power of the next step up (like an ACT2600 or Clutch Masters Stage III). So when you run our SBR-3500 setup, unless you are a launching monster, you are probably done bending up clutch forks.

Why use an OEM Mitsubishi Throw out Bearing? Some of us have been around since the days of elders professing "DO NOT USE ANYTHING OTHER THAN OEM THROW OUT BEARINGS” Search and you will find statements like these. But that’s not primarily why we went with a stock throw out bearing. At the time the clutches were introduced, Competition Clutch had not found a throw out bearing already produced, nor was able to manufacture one in time for kit shipping. We had tested with OEM throw out bearings and they had worked great and we also figured if we could eliminate the old sayings of "Do not use ACT’s TOB because it's poop" or "Do not use SBR's TOB because it's rubbish" or "Do not use ClutchMasters TOB because it's prone to be noisy", then we would just run with what we new worked! Charlie Brown would almost agree that "if it isn’t broke, don't fix it!"

Why use a Clutch Alignment Tool? Because you will need one to put the clutch in, that’s all

Secondly the SBR-4000,

Clutch Kit Contents -

SBR/CC Sintered Iron 6 Puck FULLY SPRUNG HUB Disc
SBR/CC 2500 lb. Heavy Duty Pressure Plate
Mitsubishi OEM Throw Out Bearing
SBR/CC Mitsu Style Clutch Alignment Tool

Why use a Sintered Iron Disc? We love this disc and it has now held great pressure down to an advertised 10.3's on a gutted first generation car. The hub of the 6 puck disc is fully sprung so it still launches and drives around fine with quick, but enjoyable engagement. Before this sprung hub disc, you could not really drive a 6 puck on the street with out biting your lip in fear of shearing and axle off. Sintered Iron is also one of those substances that likes heat and grabs harder and harder up to a temperature that is pretty hot. The only downfall of this disc is that it is sintered iron and when it contacts a steel flywheel surface it does chatter somewhat when she is cold, but it's because it's metal on metal contact. But if you need to hold big power without paying mega bucks, this is a small trade for the power this disc is capable of controlling! The clutch is rated by Competition Clutch to 500 foot lbs of torque.

Why use a 2500 lb. Pressure Plate? Just as I commented above, when you use a 2500 lb plate, reliability goes up because you are not bending clutch forks and wearing pivot balls excessively.

Why use an OEM Mitsubishi Throw Out Bearing? Same answer as above!

Why use a Clutch Alignment Tool? Same answer as above!

Kit recommendations to debate prior to install!

How old is your clutch fork? If your clutch fork is bent, it's tough to make the clutch engage!

How old is your pivot ball? It might be better to state, how worn is your pivot ball? If your pivot ball is worn out I have scene all kinds of tricks to get around spending 12 dollars on a new one!

What is the step height of your flywheel? Step height is critical during a clutch install. For SBR clutches, we can not tell you enough times that the flywheel step height needs to be in the range of .608 to .610 for proper engagement and disengagement. If the step is out of spec, you are fighting an up hill battle right from the start!

Is your master cylinder and slave cylinder in good shape? For many of us we are capable of rebuilding the slave but it never seems to get done the same day we put the clutch in and usually we are fine, but if found to be leaking, nothing helps out like a rebuild kit or a new slave cylinder! The same goes for the master cylinder, if she's letting air in, your going to get sub par results.

If you open up the fluid system other than from any place other than the cap and allow air to enter, you will have to bleed the clutch appropriately as air bubbles will result in off the wall results like slow disengagement, spongey pedal etc.

Also remember that if you bleed the system, you will need to add fluid when you let fluid/air out to replace what is lost!

If anyone has any questions, we love answering emails and chatting things out on the phone. Feel free to email or call anytime!

Cragger

 

[98RedGs]

ChiGGz, did Cragger's reply seem to answer your questions or no? If not simply respond to the thread or Pm him and he'll be happy to answer I would think.


Thank you
John