Which Clutch up to 450hp Street car with some drag racing?

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cawcislo

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What clutches are people running for 450 hp and 500 ft/lbs torque? It will be beat on and taken to the drag strip from time to time so I will live with sacrificing some street manners for something that won’t be slipping on me at the track. I’ve looked at the Centerforce, Hays, Spec, McLeod, and ram clutches still not sure what to get. So what real world experience do you guys have with clutches Used on the street and strip and hopefully ones made in the past couple years because it sounds like lots of vendors have changed clutch components and stuff made Years ago may not exist anymore.
 
There all really good at these low power levels. The difference in the clutch that will effect you directly and mostly is if it is a Borg & Beck 3 finger pressure plate that is a bit stiff or the Diaphragm pressure plate which is very soft in pedal effort but should require the over center spring to be removed. That is a royal PIA by the way.
 
I like my CF diaphragm PP
I bought it with a CF-II, dual-friction disc, metallic one side/organic on the other. But I didn't like it for long;as a streeter, it was too harsh for me, and I broke parts with it, on the street, with 295s.
So I swapped in a 340 disc straight from the Mopar Performance catalog, P4529136, or possibly P4876911 Not sure which ones I have used.
They don't last all that long, but the last time I took the aluminum case A833 down it was 17 minutes on a drive-on hoist, including dropping the TTI pipes and the GVod; so no big deal anymore.
For me the discs have failed by cracking the spring house and spitting out the springs, or by shredding the friction material off. Neither has been catastrophic, so again no big deal.
I am getting older now, and longer have access to a drive-on hoist, so I am learning to be nicer to the poor clutch.
The PP has given no trouble, other than that the flyweights occasionally hang up, causing a slight vibration during my 2250 rpm cruise. I just clutch it and blip the throttle a time or three, until it smooths out. No big deal.

If yur counting, that makes 3 no big deals, so yur call.....
 
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I'm running the Ram Borg & Beck Powergrip HD clutch behind my mild 340 pushing 392HP/381TQ and like it. The 418 340 im building will have the same clutch. Have not had any problems while beating the heck out of it. Not having any slip or chatter running hot laps down the strip. Its manageable on the street, granted you have some more force on the peddle than a diaphragm style clutch. At the end of the day it is personal choice...
 
I was thinking about the Powergrip from ram which is organic one side and metallic on the other good to 550hp. The Powergrip HD is metallic on both sides and good up to 650hp. That seems a little overkill for my motor which will never make more than 450-475 hp. Anyone run the ram Powergrip (dual friction clutch)?[/QUOTE]

The Ram Powergrip would be similar to the McLeod super street pro clutch (dual friction disc) but mcleod is a diaphragm pressure plate vs rams’ borg and beck. The Powergrip HD would be similar to the McLeod extreme (I could only find it on brewers site).
 
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This is the 2nd SPEC clutch i've ran. First one was a Stage 2 in a 450hp AMC powered sand jeep weighing 3,500lbs. It was a diaphragm style kevlar clutch. I ran 35" tires with 4.56 gears on the street and did MANY big burnouts on the street not to mention lots of sand drag racing running aggressive paddle tires. That clutch was nothing short of outstanding. Never any slipping issues and zero chatter. It felt like a stock easy clutch. Because of this, i'm running a SPEC stage 2+ in my 69' Dart. I understand why many people don't like diaphragm clutches and swear by B&B clutches, BUT I can honestly say these SPEC clutches are awesome and worth every penny. Clutch technology has came a long way and SPEC proves this no question.

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black954 said:
This is the 2nd SPEC clutch i've ran. First one was a Stage 2 in a 450hp AMC powered sand jeep weighing 3,500lbs. It was a diaphragm style kevlar clutch. I ran 35" tires with 4.56 gears on the street and did MANY big burnouts on the street not to mention lots of sand drag racing running aggressive paddle tires. That clutch was nothing short of outstanding. Never any slipping issues and zero chatter. It felt like a stock easy clutch. Because of this, i'm running a SPEC stage 2+ in my 69' Dart. I understand why many people don't like diaphragm clutches and swear by B&B clutches, BUT I can honestly say these SPEC clutches are awesome and worth every penny. Clutch technology has came a long way and SPEC proves this no question.

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I’m a little weary of Kevlar because of a poor experience I had with it drag racing with slicks on my 2.2 turbo Daytona car years ago . It was excellent on street tires but with slicks at the track it slipped and once it slips it won’t recover.
 
cawcislo said:
I’m a little weary of Kevlar because of a poor experience I had with it drag racing with slicks on my 2.2 turbo Daytona car years ago . It was excellent on street tires but with slicks at the track it slipped and once it slips it won’t recover.
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I can understand that for sure. I was apprehensive as well when I first tried one. But after going through 3 LUK HD clutches in an extremely short period of time, I had to try something different. I wasn't drag racing at a drag strip, but i'm pretty sure launching 35" E Load range tires that are heavier (60lbs + a piece) than slicks put considerably more load on the drivetrain. Not to mention drag launches in the sand with paddle tires. I know, it's not an apples to apples comparison, but just my personal experience.
 
Brewers recommends Mcleod MC75209 for small blocks up to 550hp for $411.42. They don't show an assembly for 350hp-450hp. I paid all of $200 for my clutch and diaphram pressure plate custom made for me by a local clutch retailer. My 414 stroker makes 511ft;lbs. I'm amazed how at it's held up. 3300 miles so far and I don't baby it. Absolutely no slippage what so ever! Yes the overcenter spring has been removed.
 
I think most clutches will be just fine on the street where there’s no traction and with street tires. However this changes big time when your launching it With slicks on a sticky drag strip. I do think that a dual faced (organic/metallic) clutch is what I may go with like the 75209 from McLeod or the Ram 98766. Just not sure if I want a diaphragm pressure plate (McLeod) or Borg and Beck pressure plate from Ram.
 
I think the first cutch I put in my car was an O'Reilly's heavy duty clutch LOL that lasted for years even after I had the Stroker put in the car. It took a couple seasons at the drag strip with slicks for it to start slipping in 4th gear....
I then bought and act technologies six puck diaphragm clutch which made short work of my 8 3/4 rear end LOL (I now have a Dana 60) I took out that six-puck clutch disc and put in a Hayes organic. That's been in there for a couple of years and I just took it out and looked at it and it's got a little wear, but far from worn out so I just put it back in...
My experience....
 
Yes it’s a balancing act. Not enough clutch it slips, too much clutch then you start busting axles or driveshafts...
 
oldkimmer said:
So this is for a hydraulic clutch? Or is their 1 for linkage? Kim
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Both kind of.. I have the original clutch Tamer that works with regular manual linkage. Probably in the hundred and $80 range. He also has what's called the hit Master which is for a hydraulic clutch and has timers and things like that. It gets upwards of $425 but is believed to be a much Superior product... Can look at it all on clutch Tamer. Com. And don't let the fact that it's had great success in the Ford Coyote class deflect from its across-the-board uses...
 
oldkimmer said:
Thanks Jason, I was just curious as the 340 will be going in the Cuda soon. Kim

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No problem I highly recommend the product... I could tell if I had it years ago I would have not broke parts. Also it's one less thing you have to worry about when you're drag racing. Instead of trying to work on having the perfect clutch slip at the perfect RPM you can just watch the light and dump the clutch and the clutch Tamer does it for you... It's a very interesting read...
 
With a clutch tamer would you go with a bit more aggressive clutch setup? The next stage from the dual sided clutch disc (organic/Metallic) would be a metallic/metallic clutch like the 73209 from McLeod (I can only find it on brewers page, maybe discontinued) or the powergrip HD from Ram 98766HD.
 
cawcislo said:
With a clutch tamer would you go with a bit more aggressive clutch setup? The next stage from the dual sided clutch disc (organic/Metallic) would be a metallic/metallic clutch like the 73209 from McLeod (I can only find it on brewers page, maybe discontinued) or the powergrip HD from Ram 98766HD.
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Brewers is a reseller parts for the most part just like Hughes engines. They could possibly have a stand-alone clutch that they're only allowed to sell. But likely you could look up the same serial numbers at Summit and get something very similar for a lot less.... I think my point was when I first posted is it's just a clutch. LOL..
Look up clutch Tamer. Com... you can call Grant and he's easy to answer the phone and easy to talk to... you don't necessarily want too much clamping power... He'll explain all that if you look it up and it's very easy reading and very explanatory...
 
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