Well, I have the Spec 3, and for the second time it welded itself to the flywheel at the track. I know this was an issue with these clutches, and they made the 3+ after. Has this problem occured in the plus series??? Or should I try the LS7 clutch that everyone has had good comments about?

 

pewterscreamin has a 3+ in his car, redscreamin also hs a 3+, they have had good luck with them... and they ride those things out hard at the track, I'd think if it could happen one of them would have had it happen, but they're having good luck.

I don't know anyone that has put an ls7 in a car, but it's a viable option if ya aren't gonna race much I'd think

 

I have the LS7 and the fidanza alum flywheel. I love the street manners of it.. but i was even suprised at the track. The thing grabs just as good as my RAM clutch did. I am only launching at lower RPM because of my rear end, but it grabs fine and i can chirp the tires going into 2nd, 3rd, and 4th down the track. The ONLY complaint I have is that the alum flywheel generates a tad bit more noise than before, but its ok. I have a radio, or a girl in the car.

 

Ussually the most common causes of welding the clutch is 1- doing a burnout on a dry tire or with the TC on. 2- Not dumping the clutch on a burnout,rather slowly let off which spins the clutch.3-riding the clutch all the time -overly slipping it from stop lights ect.

I've seen almost every brand clutch out there weld itself or completely grenade with these driving technique's.

If a car/driver has alot of problems welding SPECs then a LS7 will burn up or explode the friction material.

 

A slight correction Jay Pewter has a regular Spec 3 and Screamin Red has a 3+. Red's been workin fine, Pewter's clutch just started to give him **** in about 8k. It wants to slip in 6th, same thing with Red's old regular 3. I think I am going to try out the 3+, or LS7, im not making a ton of power The only time I've heard a clutch welding to the fly wheel is a 2nd gearn burn out with out much water on the tire.


Dont feel bad im at the clutch cross roads now, I cant be racing the car until it gets done, but at least it drives mint so I can cruise the whole summer.

 

I did have the TCS on one of the first burnouts, but the one that made it stick I let the car have it but it was bounching off the rev limiter so I let off the gas too much, and the RPMS dropped too much, so I tossed it into neutral, pulled forward and it was stuck. I am never on the clutch, and I dump it when I launch and do a burnout.

So, my question is, does the LS7 take the abuse at the track? I don't want to downgrade, but I have just seen a lot of people recommending these. And by abuse I mean launching by dumping the clutch at 6K.

 

how much racing are you going to do with the car.... if it's gonna see alot of track use, you might want to go to something even beefier then a 3+.

One of those tcs reversal modules wouldn't be a bad idea either... I actually stick a sticky note on the dash that says "TCS OFF" at the track just so I don't forget. At least until it's all ripped out completely LOL.

 

steph get a SPEC 3+ its a great driving clutch, and will like the 5-6k dumps at the track cus i was doing it at the track hot lapping and pulling the wheels no problems at all

 

Yea I think I will go for it, thanks Chef.
Jay- that really wouldnt be a bad idea. It is just waiting around, and turning the car on and off in the staging lanes that I forget to turn the TCS back off again

 

For some reason I think Steph has the 3+ already?

 

I have the 3i. I remember I got it maybe 3 months before the 3+ came out. You put the 3i in my car in end of May 2005

 

ive got the spec 3 in my car now im not sure if i like it yet, i need somebody to check it out to see if what its doing is normal . when im taking off normal from a stop light the whole car shakes but not every time, more on long drives and on hotter days. Plus in high rpms it doesnt like to come out of gear, if im trying to drive it hard shift around 5800-6000 rpms it wont come out of gear till around 5400-5500 rpms it sucks. That may mean other problems though.

 

1slow the symptoms you are having make me think you are boiling the clutch fluid.. get some fuel tubing and heat wrap tape and cover the line going from the master to the tranny with a piece of fuel line, then wrap that with heat tape. Then get a turkey baster, suck the fluid out of the master and refill with DOT 4 brake fluid, pump the clutch about 20 times, repeat until no more black is coming out of the line. It will probably take 12 to 15 times of removing the fluid and replacing, but it will make teh clutch feel a TON better.

Steph you probably should do this too, I bet the fluid is black. Everyone I've had do this always says it feels a ton better afterwards. The slp tcs reversal module is like 70 bucks new, ya might be able to find a used one in the for sale section for less... but the sticky note, cost about a penny

 

Didn't you replace it at the end of last year? The 3I was an awesome clutch in my Vette.I burn't the hell out of it. Launch at 5500-6000rpm with serious clutch slip to pull 1.60's on the DR's.

Either way,if it sticks once it needs to be taken out and atleast the disk needs to be changed.

 

Do not get the LS7 for the track!! I had it and it won't take the abuse. It's a great street clutch but not good for the track. I just made the move from the LS7 to the Textralia OZ700 X grip and it feels great. I haven't been to the track with it yet but I'll be bolting on the tires and testing at one of our local "proving grounds." To this point I'd highly recommend the Tex and the X grip is a full disk vs. the Z grip which is a 6 puck design, therefore the X is nicer on the street. Both are rated for the same power.
No matter what clutch you go with it's a good idea to replace the master and slave and use some fresh fluid. I like DOT 4.

Couple questions: Are you using a line lock while doing your burnouts?
I've seen plenty of people burn up their clutches from power braking and line locks are much cheaper than clutches.

Are you doing your burnouts near the water and not in the rubber?
I've also seen many people hurt their clutches by pulling too far up into the track prep and try to do burnouts.

Good luck getting everything straightened out.

 

I'd say mcloud dual disk steph mine lasted 30k plus and I am abusive to clutches When I am done with this clutch that is what I am going back to.

 

I have a Ram HD clutch sitting on my desk at home. 325$ takes it. Brand new, still in the box.

 

i must agree with don, sounds to me like user error. no offence steph, but it sounds like you need to beat that thing. you are heating it up.
my cousin has a spec 3, old school in his car for the last 10,000 miles and he drives HARD!!! with spray and all, round and round at the track (camaro firebird shoot out, i thought it was nascar!!) he has no issues, we are replacing it because it is getting worn, and he is doing a 12 bolt and more spray so i think it will be on its last leg, but i think the clutch is fine.

i have an ls7 for my vett, just havent put it in yet, but they are nice as well, i did one in my buddies bolt on with great luck, and it is much better then spec street wise, just be sure to put the spacer in

 

Yes I use line lock.

Did I ever say it wasn't user error? I thought I kind of made that clear my second post. I am fully aware that it doesn't just weld like that. If I didn't make that point clear enough: THIS CLUTCH WELDED BECAUSE OF MY ERROR IN DOING A BURNOUT. When I did the burnout, I reved the car to the point that it hit rev limiter, I let off the gas TOO MUCH (my error), the tires started to hook and the car started to bogg, I pulled out and it was stuck. I can see where you misinterpreted me. I meant to say I remember others saying they had the problem with the 3 before with it welding, and I remember Don saying when SPEC came out with the 3+ that SPEC said the new tech in the clutch should make it less common for them to weld. This again, was 2 years ago.

Anyway, I am going to have the flywheel refinished.

Don, this happened before when I was at the track with you. Just because it welded like that, do you suggest getting a new clutch? I thought it would be toast. I mean, I've had no problems what so ever since that one time until this weekend. And I did not change it last year, it is still the same clutch you put in. Maybe we will just take it out and see what it looks like, since I do believe the flywheel will need to be refinished.

 

I have the 3+ in my car and its real nice for aggressive street driving but I have yet to make it to the track. Like others have said you might want to think twice about the LS7 if you plan on tracking the car a lot, I hear they dont hold up to well to that type of abuse.