[scott70]

Maybe another loaded question but Im going to replace the centerforce clutch when I put in the new tkx trans. Been very happy with the centerforce but its been in there many years and would like to start new. Its just a single disc which Im fine with but does get spirted driving and a few dragstrip passes a year. Peddle pressure is good with the diaphram style. So if i use the original flywheel which is original to the car its for a 11" . Going from 10 spline to 26. Any preferences?

[PontiacHO]

My last clutch disc was a Hayes and used a Centerforce pressure plate. Worked fine and was less “grabby” than the Centerforce disc.

[AG]

If you want to go dual disc, I would go with the Ram Concept 10.5 over the McCleod dual disc since one of the discs had a Marcel carrier and a sprung hub, where the McCleod only has a Marcel carrier and no sprung hub on either disc. Do your homework before you make a choice.

[scott70]

I think Ill stay single disk. Maybe centerforce dual friction?? Also looking at a RAM flywheel 1557LW billet steel. The 1557 is 35LBs and the LW is 29 lbs. From what Ive read my stock flywheel is 30?

[AG]

I've used a CF DF before and it worked well with a 450 Hp motor, not sure of the power limit for them though. Should work well for your 1970 GTO.

[HWYSTR455]

I am so not on board with the CF counterweight setups, I've seen many fail.

Lately I've been recommending SPEC clutches, and have one for my TKX setup. It appears the same clutches are made/rebranded by others, but regardless of branding, they are certainly great quality performance clutches.

https://specclutch.com/

I was hard core Mcleod for years, but they do have some oddities. Have to be careful when ordering, and their' pre-sales support is marginal. I've never had luck buying any of their' 'kits', always had to buy individual stuff and piece a kit together. For the longest time, their' diaphragm PPs were junk, but think they've improved on them a lot over the last 10 years.

Never had luck with RAM or ZOOM, back in the day, they were the cheapest stuff out there, and would fail frequently.




.

[scott70]

Originally Posted by HWYSTR455

I am so not on board with the CF counterweight setups, I've seen many fail.

Lately I've been recommending SPEC clutches, and have one for my TKX setup. It appears the same clutches are made/rebranded by others, but regardless of branding, they are certainly great quality performance clutches.

https://specclutch.com/

I was hard core Mcleod for years, but they do have some oddities. Have to be careful when ordering, and their' pre-sales support is marginal. I've never had luck buying any of their' 'kits', always had to buy individual stuff and piece a kit together. For the longest time, their' diaphragm PPs were junk, but think they've improved on them a lot over the last 10 years.

Never had luck with RAM or ZOOM, back in the day, they were the cheapest stuff out there, and would fail frequently.


Would you recommend the stage 2 with spec? Reading prior questions about people asking the which clutch question the opinions were all over the place. I should have known. I guess the question should of been which ones to
definitely stay away from.
.

Would you recommend the stage 2 with spec? Reading prior questions about people asking the which clutch question the opinions were all over the place. I should have known. I guess the question should of been which ones to
definitely stay away from

[Skip Fix]

You know having those extra weights spinning around at 6000 on Centerforces always worried me!

I had good luck with Zoom and even Weber back in the 70s Still have a could that were on my 409 from then.

[soupman]

I used a modern driveline clutch for my TKX. They, MDL, manufactured thier own clutches, prices where pretty decent, might want to check them out.

[tom s]

For the past 25 plus years of having at least 3 stick shift Pontiacs and have had used only McLeod B&B pressure plates.They no longer do B&B but do rebuild them.Tom

[Formulajones]

Like AG said I use center force II behind 400-500hp applications and they've always served me well.

Ive been using them for about 25-30 years off and on and never had a single issue with them. Nice light pedal feel, even my wife drives one daily with no complaints.

Before that I used zoom, a lot of hays when I was running umtr and the last stint of that got into the center force. All of them treated me well.

I did have a mcloud in my son's mustang for a while. It worked fine but pedal effort was a little too stiff for my liking and trying to slip it more than one or 2 passes at the track induced some pretty heavy chatter so it didn't like that much at all. Daily driving was fine other than like I said pedal effort a little high. I didn't care for high pedal effort on a cable actuated clutch so I pulled it for a center force year before last and it's been great.

I used spec many many years ago when running 4th gen Camaros. That was back around 1999-2002, they were popular with that crowd back then. Worked ok.

For my street drivers that see the track 2-3 times a year, the center forces have been my choice for a long time now.

[HWYSTR455]

I haven't used MDL clutches, so really can't comment on them, but have seen a number of folks comment that the were working well for them.

I used the McLeod B&B pressure plates for years, and their' most aggressive disc which still has marcel. Aside from the heavy pedal, they were very streetable and held up to high power levels. Just have to make sure your linkage is up to snuff.

Some that do a lot of stop & go would comment they were 'too heavy' on pedal psi, but I never seemed to mind, and I would commute in Wash DC stop and go traffic for years.

I have used some of the Weber setups, they were not 'bad', but due to my power levels, I always had to step up to more aggressive setups.

What manufacturers list as 'power levels' or 'applications' for 'performance' apps usually don't measure up to what I experienced in actual use, and others found that to be true too. So because of that, I still use the same approach for all my apps with selecting the most aggressive setups where the disc still has marcel.

You can look at what the diff is here on levels of SPEC clutch offerings:

https://specclutch.com/products/#performance-clutches

The last 2 clutch setups I used/recommended were Stage 3+, but could probably get away with 2+ in most applications. The added cost of the 2+ over the base 2 is like $25, so the step up seems worth it.

When searching for a clutch where an application is required, I usually use a 1970 GTO with a 455 as the app.

The nice thing about SPEC on their' PPs is that they use a 'flat finger' design, so there's even pedal psi over the entire range from rest to disengagement. Most legacy design PPs with the raised fingers have the typical nose-over pedal feel, and that design is more susceptible to hanging at RPM.


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[AG]

Years ago I used a Hayes B&B with an organic disc. It was hard to depress and hard on the linkage, stop and go was no fun, it's on my shelf now with only about 3000 miles.

[HWYSTR455]

Yes. The PPs I would get were the B&B 3200 version, and the pedal was noticeably heavy.


.

[scott70]

My current set up is a 11" centerforce II thats been in there since 2003.I have seen on youtube where the weights would get off center on people and cause a vibration but I would assume thats gotta be rare or they wouldnt keep making them like that. They ended up cutting the weights off.I dont believe Ive ever had a problem like that. I had looked at MDLs clutch,,,they actually had the part # when they gave me a quote. KK4-504. Ive had the B&B before and didnt like it. MCleod has their 75221.

[Formulajones]

Clutches have come a long way. You don't need crazy stiff pedal pressures to get the clamping forces you need in higher HP applications.

No need to abuse the clutch linkage.

I've tried a bunch of clutches after breaking some clutch cables with some stiffer setups and simply got away from the heavy pedal feel stuff just for that reason. The easier pedal effort in traffic is just another bonus.

[HWYSTR455]

Friction material has come a long way for sure.

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[Skip Fix]

I had to add a brace to my Impala's linkage with the stiff pedal from the B&B PP! Ben a stock one!

[i82much]

I used to go through parts store diaphragm clutches like crazy. Switched to a Hays Borg and Beck and it lasted much longer. But that was the 90's. These days my Ram diaphragm is holding up great, could be I just drive like a sissy due to old age, receding hairline, and an overall lack of manliness. Sad!

[AG]

Could be worse I82, you might not have a car to drive like a sissy.