Do you have a 3D printer? If so I can send you a model that you can use for checking belt alignment. You will have to buy a $30 bore sight laser off Amazon to use with it. It works surprisingly well. I designed it when I was setting up the 8 rib drive when I pieced together my blower drive. I've never had belt issues since.

 

Damn, I do not have a 3D printer, unfortunately. Any way I could pay you to print me one?

 

I'd have my kid print you one, but his laptop got a virus.....

 

I can, you don't need to pay me anything for it though. Do you need it soon, otherwise I can just add it to the print ben the next time I print something which might be a couple weeks.

 

No, it's sitting down until spring and I have a ton of other mods to do. It can wait. Do you happen to know what bore sight laser fits?

 

Decided to take the plunge and add a Hitmaster Clutch Tamer to my car, both to see how much it can improve my launches and to help keep my trans from breaking. I was stumped as to where to install the valve in my car that would be unobtrusive, but quickly figured out that it would fit in my console behind the TCS switch panel. My old TCS switch bezel is broken and will no longer stay snapped in place, so I ordered a new one from Hawk's which should be here this week if I'm lucky. In the meantime, I used the broken one as a "proof of concept" piece and took a die grinder to it to cut a slot and hole for the valve and **** to protrude through. Inside the console, I used a die grinder again to cut a small half moon at the very front of the console that would allow the valve to nest against it, with the upward force provided by the carpet and padding. Even just with test fitting and not having the bezel able to snap into place, the valve fit like a glove. I ended up adding a grommet to the bezel for a more finished look and to make the valve more secure, as well as clean up the looks of the ground in hole.

On the bottom side of the car, the solenoid needed to be mounted and it's placement was dictated by where the clutch lines split from the master cylinder to the slave cylinder. Marked some holes on my floorboard and used a right angle drill with a unibit to drill them out. Unfortunately, the first hole I drilled went too far, so I was unable to use a rivnut in that hole. The other two went through fine, so I added rivnuts to those. Had to pull the carpet back to install a bolt and nut on the first hole, but that wasn't difficult. After that was done and the valve was mocked up in the console, I used a piece of Parker tubing to measure how long of lines would be needed to go from the valve to the solenoid. Ended up needing a 24" and a 32" -4AN line. My local speed shop carries teflon lined braided AN hoses preassembled, so I went there and found two hoses in the length I needed, plus an additional 12" hose to connect the master cylinder to the solenoid. The master cylinder line routing made the hose outlet face in the same direction as the fitting on the solenoid, and I didn't want to completely redo the routing just to hook it up. The 12" line was a perfect solution. I haven't fully plumbed the system yet, as I needed to bench bleed the valve, so I did that tonight. I may finish it up tomorrow, at least on the hydraulic side. On the electrical side, I have to wire in the solenoid to Holley with a relay, but also figure out how to use the factory TCS switch to arm the clutch tamer through the Holley.

 

So, what does this thing do and how will it help improve your launches?

 

I have one of these to install as well. I purchased some 1/4 flexible drill extensions with the plan to mount every thing by the clutch master and just have the flexible extension go into the passenger compartment. Not sure if it will work, but will try it.

 

Copied this from their website:

WHAT DOES A CLUTCH HIT CONTROLLER DO?
With any hydraulic clutch hit control system, how much fluid is allowed to initially return when the clutch pedal is released is what determines where the throw-out bearing actually lands during launch. Where the throw-out bearing lands during launch is what controls how much clamp pressure gets applied to the clutch disc during launch. How much clamp pressure gets applied to the clutch disc during launch is what determines how long it takes for the clutch to lock up. The clutch hit controller turns off after the car has gained enough speed to allow clutch lock-up, which in-turn allows the throw-out bearing to fully retract and transition to full clutch clamp pressure. That transition to full clutch clamp pressure prevents further slipping, saving wear/tear on the clutch.It's also important to note that the more rigid your clutch assembly is, the more critical the overall precision of your clutch control system will be. In some applications just a few thousandths variation in throw-out bearing position during launch can have you chasing your tail instead of making progress.

WHAT MAKES THE HITMASTER THE MOST ACCURATE HYDRAULIC CLUTCH HIT CONTROLLER AVAILABLE?
The key to the Hitmaster's high level of accuracy is the Hitmaster valve's adjustable-stroke in-line metering piston (provisional patent application for this feature was submitted back in April 2019), which directly limits how far the throw-out bearing can retract during launch. With a direct hose connection between throw-out bearing and metering piston, there is no needle-valve/orifice/solenoid in the way to slow reaction time. Basically if the Hitmaster's metering piston stroke is set to allow 4.92cc of fluid return in the Hitmaster's 1st stage mode, EXACTLY 4.92cc of fluid will return during launch regardless of any external variables. Precision return fluid volume control is especially critical in small clutch / big power combinations, it's why some of the quickest/fastest stick-shift FWD/AWD cars in the world now use the Hitmaster after trying many other clutch control products.

Here are some external variables that have ZERO affect on the accuracy of the Hitmaster, but can affect other clutch control systems...
...fluid temperature/viscosity changes (cold morning fresh off the trailer vs hot afternoon hot lapping)
...how fast you pull your foot off the clutch pedal (tired at the end of the day or excited trying to cut a good lite?)
...system pressure changes (amount of clutch lever/finger centrifugal feedback pressure which varies with launch rpm)
...accuracy/precision of a trigger switch and it's installation geometry/adjustment
Once again, these external variables have ZERO affect on the throw-out bearing placement accuracy of the Hitmaster!

The Hitmaster is very easy to dial in...
...if the tires spin or the engine bogs during launch, turn the adjustment **** clockwise (reduces metering piston travel distance)
...if the clutch slips too much during launch, turn the adjustment **** counter-clockwise (increases metering piston travel distance)

The Hitmaster does have one other thing to adjust, that's when the system shuts off which in-turn allows the throw-out bearing to fully retract. Typically set to happen around 0.80sec out or around 20mph, this function can be controlled by either a button activated timer or a mph switch function programmed into an ecu. Exact timing of when this transition occurs is not critical to performance, as by that point in the run the clutch should either be already locked up or very close to it.

Is reaction time important to you?
When you dump the clutch with the Hitmaster, fluid returning from the throw-out bearing or slave is not slowed down by any sort of restriction/orifice/solenoid like it is with other systems. A restriction might not be a problem if your track uses a full tree, just dump the clutch earlier. But on arm drop, flashlite starts, or even a pro-tree, any sort of delay in the clutch hit can be a problem!

The Hitmaster can also greatly improve your consistency against changing track conditions. If you dial it in for a no-bog dead-hook launch on a poor surface, then your results won't change much if the surface improves.

Some more experienced racers wish they could change the clutch setting before staging, depending on what they see on the starting line. With the Hitmaster, just reach over and turn the **** without removing your gloves.

 

I finished plumbing everything tonight, but bleeding the system took awhile. Don't do what I did, I was in the car bleeding the valve itself and pumped the clutch pedal one too many times and ran the reservoir dry, which meant I had to rebleed everything again. I still don't know if it's fully bled, but my clutch pedal feels about like it did prior to installing it. I'll let it sit for awhile and bleed it again just to be safe. Other than that, just waiting on my new bezel and the installation will be complete. Then it's onto the wiring and programming my Holley to control the solenoid, which should be a fun project.

 

The latest digital Clutch Controller with Bluetooth App: Great fine tuning abilities


www.bangshiftbilly.com

https://www.youtube.com/@thebangshiftbilly/videos

 

I don't feel that's as good of a design. It leaves open inconsistencies due to fluid viscosity and how quickly you release the clutch with your foot. It basically only includes the solenoid portion of what I have, and no manual valve to dial in the exact amount of fluid that gets returned to the master cylinder. I don't know all the ins and outs of either setup, obviously, but maybe @weedburner could chime in.

 

You ever did a pass flat foot shifting it?

 

No I have not, I still have a T-56 and while it's built, I think flat foot shifting would kill it pretty quick. That's partly why I'm adding the clutch tamer, so I can add a little cushion on shifts so I can flat foot shift it.

 

Wouldn't it constantly keep it in boost as well instead of having to gas out of it to shift?

 

Yes, that would be the biggest advantage that I can see. I have my Camaro set up to flat foot shift and it's gained close to a half second in ET, just because I can shift faster. But it's naturally aspirated, where my Firebird is turbo.

 

Finally got down to business and replaced my brake booster today, as it had started making my brakes stick upon release and was annoying as hell. I wasn't looking forward to doing it, and for good reason. It was a pain in the ***! I at least thought ahead and removed a bunch of stuff in my engine bay to make it easier to remove. Still was like playing tetris to get it out. I watched videos on how to get it done, and unfortunately most of them were automatics. Having the clutch pedal in the way made the left side bolts a little tricky to remove, but I managed it. After that was done, I did some final fitting for my Hitmaster valve, which entailed grinding a bit more out of the front of my console ( hidden ) and cutting a hole and slot into my new TCS bezel so it would snap into place, as my old one had a broken tab and wouldn't stay in. Of course, I slipped with the grinder and scratched the face of the bezel. Oh well. Matches the rest of the interior now, lol.

Old booster:


Hard to reach nuts:


Finally out!


Fully installed:


New bezel fitted:

 

Evan Smith interviewed Richard Guido (1965 GTO mid 8 second car stickshift):
In the video Richard mentions he has timing and boost cut on the shifts.

 

Sounds like he's doing full clutchless upshifts, interesting method of doing so.

 

Not using the clutch is only possible because he has a dogbox in there, it's not your average manual transmission. Whether he used an actual strain gauge on the shift lever or the type of shifter he has, it accomplishes the same thing.

Before I did the dogbox/strain gauge in my Viper I was still using a WOT cut on the clutch pedal to keep it in boost during/after shifts and it made a HUGE difference. Not having it have to come back up into boost after every shift on a turbo application is a big deal.