What clutches are you guys using 400-500whp

[untouchablecc]

I wanted to see what single disk clutches you guys are running between the 400-500 whp number. Now I know most of you guys are going to say ACT 2600 or Southbend which I have had experience with both. I wanted to see some reviews and opinions from the fan favorites I just listed and I would really like to see some reviews from the odd balls like Clutch masters, Comp clutches, Spec, Centerforce, ect. I also want to know what rpm you are running them too along with what disk. There really isnt a ton of info out there on some of these clutches and I wanted to see what I could dig up.

I am in the need for a clutch in the near future, 1 too many antilag launches has left my clutch less then happy with me and I have no idea what clutch is in this car I picked up but aside from a small slip here and there its been awesome.
My current car is a hx35 8 blade stock bottom end with bc272s and link v2.5.

The reason im trying to stray from the ACT is from having a pressure plate blow several fingers off and take out a shep stage 2 transmission during daily driving. I have no gripe with ACT they make a good product and sent me a brand new clutch. Maybe I just got a bad one or the quality control wasnt all there I dunno. ACT clutches have always held the power I have made on multiple dsms ive owned but I could never get a higher shift out of one, maybe 7k -7.5k or so. I had proper step height and clutch pedal to slave replaced and still couldnt ever get a high shift. I wanted to try something else this time around if at all possible but if it boils down to it Ill get the tride and true ACT 2600 and deal with the gremlins that come with it.

 

[DECODER22]

Southbend SS-X TZ/B i love it

this is from tmz website just to give a little detail on it

This custom clutch uses the super-heavy-duty SS-X-Series High-Capacity Pressure Plate with an aggressive dual friction full-face Kevlar/segmented Ceramic sprung-hub clutch disk. It is designed for higher torque capacity, and higher temperature capacity than the TZ/FE-Series clutch disk, and cannot friction weld itself to the pressure plate or flywheel friction surface.
It is an excellent choice for DSM's making up to 550-650+TQ while retaining better longevity at the race track. This is a very streetable clutch unit that works great for daily use driving, and handling lots of launches on high-horsepower setups.

 

[boost97gst]

Comp stage 4. 6 puck sprung and whatever PP it comes with. IIRC, its very heavy, like a 2700lb PP. The feel compared to stock is crazy. Its not that streetable imo and im a pretty strong guy.
Its coupled with a fidanza flywheel with the replaceable friction material.
I would be confident in it holding 500hp. I have no dyno numbers but from airflow i think im a tad over 400whp.

Have you considered twin disk? I know theyre very expensive but its guaranteed to hold as much power as a 4g63 can throw at it. If i had to do it over again i would def go w twin disk just for future power upgrades.

Overall, after a few thousand miles im very happy with the comp 4. I cannot comment accurately on high rpm shifts as the tranny i have in it is extremely worn out with 200k miles on it. I can shift pretty well at 6k rpms but ive never tried anything over that.

 

[untouchablecc]

Southbend SS-X TZ/B i love it

this is from tmz website just to give a little detail on it

This custom clutch uses the super-heavy-duty SS-X-Series High-Capacity Pressure Plate with an aggressive dual friction full-face Kevlar/segmented Ceramic sprung-hub clutch disk. It is designed for higher torque capacity, and higher temperature capacity than the TZ/FE-Series clutch disk, and cannot friction weld itself to the pressure plate or flywheel friction surface.
It is an excellent choice for DSM's making up to 550-650+TQ while retaining better longevity at the race track. This is a very streetable clutch unit that works great for daily use driving, and handling lots of launches on high-horsepower setups.

THanks for that I have been on his site and read up on his clutches. To be honest with you I had that same clutch but I had gotten it used and it had been glazed. I tried to clean it up but it never held any power. I do currently have a new full cermanic disk from south bend so I could probably grab up one of there pressure plates.

I was leaning toward a 4 puck sprung disk though. Its something I havent tried yet and I wanted to see how it takes a shift.

Comp stage 4. 6 puck sprung and whatever PP it comes with. IIRC, its very heavy, like a 2700lb PP. The feel compared to stock is crazy. Its not that streetable imo and im a pretty strong guy.
Its coupled with a fidanza flywheel with the replaceable friction material.
I would be confident in it holding 500hp. I have no dyno numbers but from airflow i think im a tad over 400whp.

Have you considered twin disk? I know theyre very expensive but its guaranteed to hold as much power as a 4g63 can throw at it. If i had to do it over again i would def go w twin disk just for future power upgrades.

Overall, after a few thousand miles im very happy with the comp 4. I cannot comment accurately on high rpm shifts as the tranny i have in it is extremely worn out with 200k miles on it. I can shift pretty well at 6k rpms but ive never tried anything over that.

That pressure plate sounds killer. I felt the 2600 was very streetable being I daily drove many of them so I dont know if this is for me but thanks for the review.

I am not really interested in a twin disk because of the cost and lack of mileage that can be put on them. They are awesome when it comes to a high shift but the problem is most last between 10-15k miles. I dunno about you but I do not want to be spending 800-1500 dollars every 10k along with doing that many transmission changes. I believe PTT or some company states there twin disk last 20k but its also more expensive then the other twin disks. At that price I had better have a fully built engine and trans before spending that kinda coin on a clutch.

 

[StarFawkes]

ACT Twin here. I like it. It does its job. Although I admit that I bought it when my goals were higher.

 

[Tim_I]

I will be running a PTT twin disc but only cause i got it in trade.

 

[dsmcurse]

ACT 2900 pound pressure plate with ACT heavy duty street disc. me and boostdriven both run this combo and were both 600awhp daily drivers with no problems at all

 

[WES_393]

A vote for South Bend. I have the SS/TZ setup and it's very street friendly. The pedal is light and you can still get some slip from the disk, but it still bites down when you need it. In retrospect I should have gone with the SS-X plate, but so far this one has been able to handle whatever I can throw at it.

 

[donniekak]

With all the launching you do get any good brand name upgraded pressure plate, and a unsprung puck disk.
If you get one of the Kevlar disks, you'll be upset when it slips after a few launches.

 

[KFred 513]

I'm using a fidanza setup. V2 pp, 6 puck sprung disk, and 8lb flywheel. I don't think I like it. The friction zone feels to be too much, and somewhat unpredictable. I find myself riding the clutch because of that. The pedal is more firm than stock for sure, but isn't really a consistent engagement. Hard to find the "sweet spot" for sure.

I've also driven a 1G with an ACT 2600pp and 6 puck unsprung disk which felt a lot better. The pedal was stiffer, and the clutch was much more responsive. A little tougher to drive on the street, but a few hours of driving would be enough to adjust to it.

Does anyone else have anything to say about the fidanza? I'm thinking about swapping it out for something else.

 

[leepen]

ACT 2900 pound pressure plate with ACT heavy duty street disc. me and boostdriven both run this combo and were both 600awhp daily drivers with no problems at all

Good to know thats my set up to, didnt have time to get on it much before bearing failure

 

[Dyesuperman]

I love my Southbend setup. I have the full face Kevlar disk and 2200# pressure plate. Last Sunday I did 5 quarter mile runs at the track in roughly 3.5-4 hours with no slipping at all. That isn't anything like back to back runs but it still holds up very well. I also daily the car most of the time and its fantastic for daily driving. I trap 118-120 in the quarter in a full weight 2g awd with a small sub and amp in the back so I would say that's a decent amount of power that its holding

 

[untouchablecc]

With all the launching you do get any good brand name upgraded pressure plate, and a unsprung puck disk.
If you get one of the Kevlar disks, you'll be upset when it slips after a few launches.

While I would love to agree with your statement I can't say me and a few friends have seen much reliability with this set up. My previous set up was a 6 puck unsprung 2600 that took out my shep transmission. I think the unsprung it too abusive on parts. There almost needs to be springs in it to help out with the give in the drive train. I have ran street disks and the six puck and I can tell you there is almost no difference in engagement and streetablity but mine failed, my friends car stripped out the splines on the clutch disk. His dads did the same exact thing and these were all on cars well under 450hp. I will not be going with a solid hub on anything anytime soon.

 

[954g63gst]

Same as dsmcruse. 2900 pp. Heavyduty street disc. But I have a 6 puck for track when needed.

 

[hotrodssnova]

You'll have to remember that when shifting at those higher rpms, a lighter disk is required. You're asking a lot from your synchos when banging gears at that rpm. Shaft shimming should also be taken into account. The tighter the shims, the higher your shift points can be, but at a cost of heating up the bearings, and more frequent rebuilding.....just a thought.
I was running an exedy pp and a nd clutch disk, but it started slipping at 22 psi, so I threw in the act 2900 and got a bigger left leg and all the clutch grip I need

 

[bastarddsm]

While I would love to agree with your statement I can't say me and a few friends have seen much reliability with this set up. My previous set up was a 6 puck unsprung 2600 that took out my shep transmission. I think the unsprung it too abusive on parts. There almost needs to be springs in it to help out with the give in the drive train. I have ran street disks and the six puck and I can tell you there is almost no difference in engagement and streetablity but mine failed, my friends car stripped out the splines on the clutch disk. His dads did the same exact thing and these were all on cars well under 450hp. I will not be going with a solid hub on anything anytime soon.

Your clutch didn't take out a trans. You did. Puck clutches are the best thing for a DSM.

 

[GSXftw]

Your clutch didn't take out a trans. You did. Puck clutches are the best thing for a DSM.

Yes pucks seem to handle heat way better. Not sure if your goals might be a little high for it but surprised no one else has thrown their hat into the XTD stage 4 unsprung six puck yet. Ive seen a lot of great reviews including friends I know. I have 1200 miles on it with the chromolly FW, DD duty, its perfectly managable but very very grippy and you have to be super aware. Although Im only putting about 370 whp to it I know theres people in the mid 400 range, and you cant argue with the price either.

 

[CONSIGLIERI]

Yes pucks seem to handle heat way better. Not sure if your goals might be a little high for it but surprised no one else has thrown their hat into the XTD stage 4 unsprung six puck yet. Ive seen a lot of great reviews including friends I know. I have 1200 miles on it with the chromolly FW, DD duty, its perfectly managable but very very grippy and you have to be super aware. Although Im only putting about 370 whp to it I know theres people in the mid 400 range, and you cant argue with the price either.

I heard the Stage 4 XTD actually have 2300lbs Plate. Can you confirm that ?

I am using one of those myself, but after 4 weeks, my Crank got LOTS of play. Maybe even crankwalked =( Here's a video
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nev0YqX22KI]2g dsm 7 bolt Crank Endplay - YouTube[/ame]

I have a 7bolt

 

[GSXftw]

I heard the Stage 4 XTD actually have 2300lbs Plate. Can you confirm that ?

I am using one of those myself, but after 4 weeks, my Crank got LOTS of play. Maybe even crankwalked =( Here's a video
2g dsm 7 bolt Crank Endplay - YouTube

I have a 7bolt

Ouch sorry to see... I honestly dont know but I do know its lighter pedal feel than the F1 racing stage 2 that came out, that was a full face kevlar and handled years of tourment but once I started breaking into the 12s at the track it started to slip

 

[dsmcurse]

id be pulling that crank pulley dampener off and investigating that crank if i were you... looks like it may need major surgery...

 

[coupe_nasty]

I just had the Southbend SS kevlar kit installed with #2200 pressure plate. pedal pressure feels even softer than stock.

 

[Archer Fabrications]

I'm using an act2600 sprung 6 puck i like it and daiky drive it, but inthink my next will be an act 2900 with another sprung 6 puck. I like the stiff pedal

 

[Jaxness]

Southbend with the Kevlar disk and 2200# pressure plate. Holds my 492+hp, and is a perfect (and comfortable) clutch for my daily driver. I never plan on buying anything else.

 

[ceedawg]

South Bend Kevlar disk and pressure Plate here for my AWD in my sig profile!

 

[xxNocturnalxx]

Little baby ACT2100 street disc here