What's your clutch preference?

[i8urSS]

Getting ready to do my first clutch swap on my 98. Wondering what people prefer and why?

It has a SPEC 2+ right now (bought it like that). Seems a bit overkill and I hate the effort. I had a centerforce in my 03 that was pretty decent but I figure there is definitely better options.

Not gonna do any power adders. Right now it has LT's, h-pipe, intake and 4.11's.

 

[cobra_neill]

I have been through a few clutches with my car. A lot of them have made noise in neutral with clutch out. The current one has a reasonable pressure but not the hardest to disengage of all of themi have tried. Its a valeo unit. Smooth, quiet, grips great.

Neill

 

[Martin6107]

Yup - Ford King Cobra (Valeo) setup in my 96 NA. Movement is smooth. No funky noises. My car is a weekend cruiser that sees zero track time. The Ford clutch is plenty enough for me. You should still be able to get a Valeo from rockauto.com

 

[ImThatGuy]

Factory Ford replacement. Its tried and true, even with a mild power adder.

 

[SVTCOBRA9629]

King cobra clutch(Valeo), does see the track.

 

[projectslideway]

McLeod RXT

Lighter than stock pedal effort. 1000+hp holding capacity.

For your application, OE replacement.

 

[Whit Clark]

yes i was wondering this myself about the OEM clutches as mine has the King Cobra, dont know which KC as i bought her like that. i plan on adding a t56 and a procharger to mine way down in the future so even then would a OEM work as well ? i dont really see me pushing near 500 RWHP anytime soon even with the procharger so itll be fine ?

 

[ImThatGuy]

yes i was wondering this myself about the OEM clutches as mine has the King Cobra, dont know which KC as i bought her like that. i plan on adding a t56 and a procharger to mine way down in the future so even then would a OEM work as well ? i dont really see me pushing near 500 RWHP anytime soon even with the procharger so itll be fine ?

A factory clutch will be more than ok, but just be warned cranking up the boost is expensively addicting!

 

[cbrown9064]

Ram HDX. Effort like stock. Holding fine with 10psi on a Novi 2000. Cant say the same about the tires...

 

[ZeroDCX]

McLeod RXT

Lighter than stock pedal effort. 1000+hp holding capacity.

For your application, OE replacement.

This! I don't have the RXT/RST, but their single disc lower end setup. I can push my pedal down with one finger and it makes not noises at all.

 

[nathan67stang]

I have a centerforce dual friction clutch. I like it a lot! No slipping with 360rwhp and great drivability!

 

[98 N/A 4V]

95% of the pressure plates are made by valeo so the clamping force (or pedal effort) is going to be the same as diaphragm clutches usually are. If you want smooth engagement, you get a disk that has organic material on the FW side and whatever you want on the PP side (Kevlar is popular).

But if you really want it to hold under harsh conditions, the more aggressive the clutch, the more chances it's gonna chatter.

Smooth to harsh in that order:

1. Organic (OEM)
2. Kevlar
3. semi-metallic
4. Ceramic
5. Sintered Iron (race only)

-Mark

 

[Whit Clark]

very good to know guys. thank you 98 N/A 4V, ive been doing some reading and what you said has made alot of sense. thank you all for the other responses as well. my KC clutch is horrible and i truelly believe it does need replacing. usually it goes smooth but sometimes here and there its like it gets stuck or....hard to explain youd have to feel it, its like mid way itll act like it caught something. still goes down like its supposed but you feel that in motion. then if you have to floor and slightly as in an inch or two let up and then press back down it acts like theres something blocking it from going all the way down and on several occasions i have found it to slip rolling in first and punching the throttle at about 2200 rpm. i dont race this Cobra at all but i do get on it for the enjoyment here and there for myself. so for me ive never dumped the clutch or started anything from a dig in this one. but the guy i bought her from obviously did as he informed me that it was the second transmission in the car and the first one he broke the forks in and after the second him and his brother would race each other back to back on the street all hours of the night, then tried to tell me the clutch only had about 500 miles on it. mmhm yea. but anyways. thank you guys.

 

[cbrown9064]

A couple of other thoughts...
1.Get only Ford Racing throw out and pilot bearings. Even if your clutch kit comes with them. They are good bearings and it is a lot of work just to replace a bearing if the clutch kit ones go bad. And it is irritating...

2. Get new flywheel (because you should take it off and get it resurfaced) and pressure plate bolts. Toss the old ones away. Use blue locktite. Torque the pressure plate bolts EXACTlY how the clutch manufacturer wants.

3. Really look hard at the clutch fork and pivot ball for wear. If any, replace. Cheap in the scheme of things.

4. Consider a new clutch quadrant, firewall adjuster and cable. I highly recommend the Maximum Motorsports cable. It is the same as OEM. Same for quadrant and adjuster, but there are lots of others. This is not needed, but if you cable is wonky, then consider the upgrades.

5. Break in the new clutch. Beating on it (doesn't sound like you) out of the box can lead to a short life.

 

[Shake&Bake]

This! I don't have the RXT/RST, but their single disc lower end setup. I can push my pedal down with one finger and it makes not noises at all.

Love my McLeod. Effortless pedal feel and no noise. Always use a Ford Racing throw out bearing no matter what brand clutch you buy.