I have a 4 puck Spec 3. I dont race my car, just drive it to work once in a while, and around town.

Is there any way to get this clutch to be smooth? It also seems like I have to let it burn the clutch for a few seconds to take off. Is there anything I can do short of swapping it out to make this car smooth?

I am about to just go buy a LS7 clutch and be done.

 

IMO a puck style clutch is just too big a pain to be street driven. I stage 2 disk clutch from any of the sponsors should do nicely. Match that with the Tick Adj. Master and you are ready to go.

PS you sig shows a 96 Camaro not entirely sure an LS7 clutch is compatible with the LT1 trans.

 

OP

any "puc" type disc is prone to chatter. They don't want to be slipped so they are more on/off otherwise slipping them will wear them quickly and typically cause chatter.

a LS7 clutch won't work in LT1/4 "pull" clutch cars.

A full face disc will be less prone to chatter. If the stock organic material won't hold up to your build something like the 3+ may be worth looking at. I don't have any personal experience with it though.

After a series of stock to more aggressive puc type single disc clutches I installed a McLeod Street Twin. Drives like stock and is very smooth. It holds like nothing else I have used. Not cheap but best of both worlds, driveability and holding power.

with that said for a bolt on or cam only motor a "stock" replacement clutch should hold up OK if you don't race it with high RPM clutch dumps running a tire. IIRC NAPA sells the LUK clutch under their store brand name.

 

OP

any "puc" type disc is prone to chatter. They don't want to be slipped so they are more on/off otherwise slipping them will wear them quickly and typically cause chatter.

a LS7 clutch won't work in LT1/4 "pull" clutch cars.

A full face disc will be less prone to chatter. If the stock organic material won't hold up to your build something like the 3+ may be worth looking at. I don't have any personal experience with it though.

After a series of stock to more aggressive puc type single disc clutches I installed a McLeod Street Twin. Drives like stock and is very smooth. It holds like nothing else I have used. Not cheap but best of both worlds, driveability and holding power.

with that said for a bolt on or cam only motor a "stock" replacement clutch should hold up OK if you don't race it with high RPM clutch dumps running a tire. IIRC NAPA sells the LUK clutch under their store brand name.

 

Sig is old, I have a 98 LS1 now...Ill change that.

Ill just plan on swapping it out for a normal clutch then.

 

I have a spec stage 2. I love it. A little more grabby than stock, with a slightly stiffer pedal, but is very very streetable.
I daily mine 60+ miles a day. Which is why I went with the stage 2. Puck clutches aren't daily friendly. And unless you have crazy power, its really not needed

 

Sounds like you've built up a glaze from riding the clutch as that will make it more prone to chatter, you need to deglaze it and actually want to slip it less to keep it smooth. The best way to describe it is to simultaneously release the clutch and feed in throttle to take off, hope this helps.

 

Yes I agree that once the metal surfaces are glazed, clutch chatters and wont hold.

Is there any truth that if you do repeated clutch dumps, you can de-glaze it? I personally don't see how that would work.

 

If you're dumping the clutch and smoking the tires, there's not much strain on the clutch. If you're doing a rolling clutch dump in to 3rd at 70mph then yes or another way to deglaze it is to do a speed shift at peak torque without lifting.

 

As noted, chatter from a puck type clutch is not unusual. A 4-puck will chatter more than a 6-puck and both of these will chatter more than a full faced option or a hybrid disc. That being said, glazing is possible but it's easy to fix by being a bit more aggressive with your usage. Glazing occurs as a result of riding the pedal during release. That being said a 4-puck will not ever be as smooth as a stock clutch. If you wanted to move to another disc you can. Give me a call and we can discuss this further. Thanks!

 

I think this is just more aggressive clutch than I am looking for. I can drive it fine, you get used to it pretty quick but Id rather sell it while it still has some useful life than just beat it to death.

 

If you go that route let me know. I would be happy to work with you on another unit. Thanks!

 

I had that SPEC 3 ceramic back in the day and put 50k on it in a daily driver, you need to just give the car a few light blips of the throttle and release the clutch and go, do not try to slip it like driving mom's honda....

I have shown countless people how to drive these clutches and it helped them all...

for the last several years I have has the SPEC 3x in my car and love it

 

Perhaps my tune isnt helping matters either. Im more of a slip the clutch kind of guy.

Heres a video of me taking off and going through a few gears. This clutch will not slip no mater how hard you dump it, it just grabs.

The car is getting paint later today.

 

Chef, if you had a 6-puck it would have been smoother than the aforementioned 4-puck. Less surface area leads to greater potential for chatter.

 

I didnt put the clutch in, previous owner did. He had big plans for the car, I just want to make it a nice cruiser that can keep up with modern stuff.

 

There are other disc options that will be inherently smoother. That being said give me a call and we can discuss this further. Thanks,

 

Sorry for the thread hi-jack, but my car has been doing driveway maneuvers and driving onto an alignment rack (a lot of low speed clutch in and out)... I smelled it tonight, so I feel like its glazed... do you mean not lifting off the accelerator? so power shifting?

 

Switch to the Stage 2 Kevlar disk. I had that clutch in my TA, and it drove almost like stock, but was strong enough to break the axle on slicks. My buddy had the Stage 3 carbon and it chattered a bit, and was tough to modulate, but he got used to it.

 

OP, what are your mods? I've got a monster stage 3 and its perfect to me. It feels just like my car did when it was stock. I've heard people complaining about the same issue as your having, but at the same time a lot of people feel the way I do about them. Maybe it has to do with drive/shift.