Choosing
the Right Clutch the First Time
First and foremost you need to decide
what you plan to do with your vehicle. Think to
yourself, "Am I going to race the car or simply drive it on
the street, or maybe both? The big difference here is,
if you plan to race the car at ALL it will change the decision
on what type of clutch disc you will require. Using a
"street' disc for racing (drag or any type of slipping
environment) will "glaze" the surface of this OEM type
material. A street disc is made of
organic material made for long life and smooth engagement. It
is not in any way intended for drag racing!
A street disc combined with a high clamp load pressure plate
(Max series) will hold good power once fully engaged.
This makes the street disc great for road racing and normal
driving with high power and also good for high speed freeway
runs. Remember what the duty of your clutch CAN be,
getting a 3600 LB car moving from a dead stop and spinning the
flywheel at 4000 to 8000 RPM and wanting the two to connect.
Using a smooth organic material is not going to work for long!
Doing this will absolutely glaze the disc or tear it.
Once the disc is glazed, it will no longer hold the same power
and it will slip.
On the other side
of the coin comes the "pucked" disc.
A
6 (or any #) puck disc is designed for this type of abuse.
The 6 puck disc has a variety of different materials in
it; which includes ceramic and brass. This material will bite
harder and slipping it will not glaze the material,
but will accelerate wear.
Picture this type of disc as a sticky tire. It will
stick and hook much better, but will wear out faster.
The 6 puck disc with the latest materials are lasting about
20K on average. Of course this all depends on your left foot
AND if it is properly adjusted!
(see our adjustment page here)
A street disc when not drag raced can last about 40K on
average in a high powered Z. The 6 puck material has
come a long way over the years and it tends to last
much longer now. They also have become much
smoother as well.
RPS makes the sprung hub 6 puck and it is
very streetable.
If you plan on drag racing at all
I would suggest only a six puck unless you step up to a carbon
carbon.
Now onto the next
deciding factor, pressure plate holding power.
To answer this one you need to evaluate the
amount of power your vehicle makes. In the case of a Z32
TT we recommend Sport series pressure plates for anything
using stock turbos with or without bolt-ons (modifications).
If the turbos are upgraded we then can recommend the Max
series pressure plates. For the ultimate hardcore drag
racers using stock turbos, we ALSO
recommend the Max series. The Max does have a
slightly heavier pedal feel, but once again it is
highly streetable. We hope
this makes the selection process much easier for you!
Attention!
