Stock Clutch Threshold and/or aftermarket choices?

[cheekychimp]

Does anyone know what sort of horsepower or torque the stock clutch is good for?

I have a bone stock car that is in need of a clutch replacement. Obviously a stock replacement is all that is required at this point but it is likely that the turbo will also need replacing in the near future and an EVO III 16G would be a logical well priced choice at that point. Assuming the relevant supporting mods are in place and the car is running 15-23 psi, will the stock clutch hold up or not?

If not, any suggestions for an aftermarket replacement.

This will be a street car with very minimum mods, I am not looking to fit anything bigger than the EVO III 16G and I really do not want a 'heavy' clutch. I definitely do not want a twin plate on this car. I would consider spending a little more for a kevlar or similar material if it offers more grip with a light pedal feel.

Budget is $500 USD max. I can get a stock clutch here for about $300 USD.

 

[Dan D]

I ran a stock clutch (twice) for 90k miles each. I don't launch or NLTS or anything else that makes short work of clutches and much of the time the car was either stock or lightly modded (less than 300 hp). Within 500 miles of installing an ETS intercooler and upping the boost on my e316g from 16 to 20, my clutch slipped badly. Reducing back to 15-16psi and it held.

 

[marvinmadman]

I Ran multiple 12.8 passes and about 20k miles on a stock replacement from oreillys. I sold the car with it so don't know how much longer it lasted.

 

[grocery_getter]

Paul,

I have had numerous 1g/2g cars with stock clutch slip badly on the dyno. They usually start slipping at around 240-260awhp depending on how fresh the clutch is. IIRC, a bone stock 1g dsm only makes about 160awhp.

 

[belize1334]

I figure the stock clutch is good for about as much torque as the stock fuel system. As soon as you start putting in injectors, MAF, pump then you should put in a beefier clutch. A decent budget setup would be an OE replacement pressure plate with a clutchnet 6-puck disk. On the other hand, My ACT 2100 never slipped even at 265whp so an ACT 2100 w/ street disk is a great first clutch. The only problem there is that the disks are known for popping springs. If I ever get another organic disk I'll probably go back to ACT 2100 or 2600 and use the clutchnet street disk. Those setups are rated at 300ft-lb and 400ft-lb respectively.

 

ACT 2100 or equivilent sounds like what you need. You definitely dont want to do it twice. Something with a full face disk and a pretty easy going PP.

 

[belize1334]

The reason I like clutchnet disks is that they offer an extensive lineup ranging between full-faced organic to hybrid kevlar to 6-puck, 4-puck, 3-puck. So you can pick the pressure plate you want for your left foot and then pick the disk you want for torque. But, the BEST thing about them is the enclosed spring cages. You'll NEVER pop a spring on those disks. The only problem is that they don't list their pressure plate clamping loads. According to Jesse the Red2x is roughly 2200lbs, so basically like ACT2100 but way easier on the foot. If you're worried about it, just buy an ACT2100 pressure plate and then buy the clutchnet organic disk seperately.

 

[grocery_getter]

Becareful when you are mixing PP and disc betwen different manufacturers. Disc thickness is not all the same and sometimes certain disc thickness can only work (engineered to work) with a certain PP.

 

[cheekychimp]

Quoting Dan D:
I ran a stock clutch (twice) for 90k miles each. I don't launch or NLTS or anything else that makes short work of clutches and much of the time the car was either stock or lightly modded (less than 300 hp). Within 500 miles of installing an ETS intercooler and upping the boost on my e316g from 16 to 20, my clutch slipped badly. Reducing back to 15-16psi and it held.



Quoting grocery getter:
Paul,

I have had numerous 1g/2g cars with stock clutch slip badly on the dyno. They usually start slipping at around 240-260awhp depending on how fresh the clutch is. IIRC, a bone stock 1g dsm only makes about 160awhp.



Yeah this was my concern! I got your PM too Andre, thanks for taking the time for writing. I really don't know much about the EVO III turbo having never used one. I originally thought 15-16 psi was pretty low boost and was wondering if the turbo would be inefficient at that boost pressure. Having converted the figures I realized that that's actually about 1.0 bar which is really going to be more than enough on a daily driver/street car in my opinion. The EVO III still seems to be the most logical replacement if/when the stock turbo does fail. I drove my other car for years at 0.9 bar and was very happy with the power in stock guise.

I looked at clutchnet's site. Is anyone running a clutchnet 2X PP and the hybrid kevlar full face disc? Isn't that what chris was using? From the discussion above and the numerous suggestions of an ACT 2100, that particular clutchnet combo sounds as if it will do the job at 15-16 psi but that if boost is turned up to 23 psi or 1.5 bar that that together with most of the commonly used 'light' street setups will also fail.

I have some time so I will explore a few other turbos and have a look at centreforce and QM etc but I really don't want to end up spending big bucks on this car and I am already thinking the above sounds good. The EVO III sounds like it will be as much turbo as I'll ever need on that car, and at 1.0 bar should have a healthy service life; and the clutchnet sounds as if it can handle that power and isn't ridiculously expensive.

Any other suggestions, observations before I bust out the plastic?

 

[beaner]

Stock clutch's are garbage IMO. A 2600# setup is beyond tried and true, and will take anything a stock Evo turbo will throw at it.

 

[Dialcaliper]

The back of my napkin says that on average, the stock clutch (1650 lb plate) with a typical 225mm organic disc should be able to stand around 270 ft-lbs of engine torque. The practical number is probably a bit less, since that doesn't include any other factors like reduction due to heat or a worn disc