Turbo LS1 SS

iTrader: (7)

i have a spec 5, and i also have the high engagement of the pedal. THIS IS NOT GOOD. you guys need to address this because:

not only was the pedal engagement high, the throwout bearing was RIDING the PP, which was PUSHING MY CRANK (AND YOURS) FORWARD. needless to say, this took out my thrust bearing, which in turn took out my crank (crank is done, you can literally push it back and forth .045", which is alot), and fooked my #1 counterweight, all the main bearings, rubbed my #1 cap..etc etc etc. i had no idea until i took the motor apart. be careful guys

kwiksilverz

I asked spec and they said no to any single disks. A friend of mine is making similar power and is having very good luck with Tex clutches and their support of any problems he has had along the way, I am regretting not going that route now .

I don't expect it to work like a stocker, but I do expect it to work as advertised. I also don't have a problem with on/off engagement- I have driven/owned numerous clutches over the years with very finicky clutches. The problem is it grabs all the way at the top 1/4 to 1/2" and never quite felt "right", like it the pressure plate was never fully "unsprung" before the pedal hit the stop.

With my air gap being as tight as it was and the fact that it is now slipping, I am convinced it is just that the clutch assembly is about 1/8" or so too tall for this application, though machining the slave or throw out bearing are an easy fix. Just sucks that they always have the "never heard of that one before, they grab about half way" answers when apparently numerous people have encountered the high pedal issues and tight throwout to pressure plate air gap. I wish they would offer to help more with figuring out why their $1500 clutch isn't working properly instead of saying "nope, clutch works fine- it's the car that's off"... I feel that the clutch should be made for the car, not the other way around . And if it is the other way, they at least need to tell you what to look out for and what may need to be addressed in order to use it instead of saying "nope, never heard of that".

I would not have a problem if they told me from the start that it sounded too tight instead of me having to pull my trans AGAIN to figure it out for myself... Now, if it is worn due to the slave riding on the plate this whole time- *I'M* the one who has to pay for new disks when I was told by Spec that it was normal. Of course I'm going to be a bit upset .
Joe

kwiksilverz

Yup, not uncommon for something like that to happen if it is too tight. Of course, spec will say they never heard of it before and it mus have been your setup, not the clutch . Like I said, they at least need to let people know how critical the slave to pressure plate air gap measurement is in the instructions and not tell you to just put it in then tell you that you must have done something wrong if there is a problem.

If I find a thrust issue with my motor when I pull the trans, I will be beyond FURIOUS- and that's putting it nicely!
Joe

Turbo LS1 SS

iTrader: (7)

i would try moving the balancer in and out just for the hell of it. hey, its only money right? $4000 of parts down el drano. other than that, the clutch holds up good

kwiksilverz

If it is pushing on the pressure plate that hard though, it will be hard to push the balancer anyway. I'm just going to pull the trans tonight, so I'll check it then. Like I said- FURIOUS is putting it nicely if there is a problem caused by this!

kwiksilverz

OK, trans is out. Thrust is good, clutch "looks" good, but I'm waiting for my wife to get home with new batteries for my calipers (can't find my analog set) and I'll measure the disks to be sure. I also need a hand measuring the trans face to throw out bearing height, so I'll volunteer her for that when she gets home also . From what I can get trying to measure by myself and hold the straight edge and such, it appears to be no more than ~1/32". I don't know if that's enough to make it slip or not, but something is going on.
Joe

kwiksilverz

OK, measured it last night- I am ~3/32"-1/8" too tight!!! No wonder my pedal has never felt right and it is now starting to slip. My disks only have about .004 wear on them, so they're good at least. I wonder if Spec is going to step up to the plate and come up with a solution for this thing being almost a full 1/4" too tall to properly fit my application (1/8" too tight + the 1/8" air gap required) or if I'm stuck with a $1500 paperweight...
Joe

AINT SKEERED

iTrader: (2)

spec has always done me right with warranty and customer service. Hope they take care of you as well. My spec 3+ is great and is rated to over 850 ft/lbs tq.

kwiksilverz

Everything up to this point has been "send it in and we'll measure it, if it is right, then there is nothing we can do"- well, making it fit the car would be a nice start . Hopefully there is something they can offer to make it right- this is nuts. I have had issues from day one with this thing being too tight and they just leave it in my hands to make it fit. I can't magically get 1/4" from somewhere...
Joe

kwiksilverz

Just wanted to keep this updated. Jeremy from Spec gave me an RMA to send it in and they'll check it out, my dime though, of course. I just don't want to pay to ship the thing, then wait forever just to find out "nope, it's all ok" and still be in the same predicament, so I don't know what to do.

I did assemble a stock clutch and flywheel and measure it along side the Spec and guess what- the spec is exactly 1/4" taller- exactly what my error is and how much space I figured I needed to come up with somehow...

Here is a pic of the spec and stocker side by side. The shadow makes it look like a bigger gap than there is, but there is exactly 1/4" between the clutch fingers and the angle bracket I used to measure it. Also, to rule out any bends or variations in the metal I used, I flipped and rotated it every way possible and the difference was the same. While I wouldn't say it is straight enough to measure thousandths with, it certainly was straight enough to measure a 1/4" .

Tiago

iTrader: (27)

I see no pic?


I don't see why they wouldn't recommend a single disc stg 5. Myself and several others have put over 1200 rwtq though them. They advertise them at 1200 tq rating.

kwiksilverz

fixed, I hit submit instead of "go advanced" by accident .

kwiksilverz

Because this one is $1500 probably would be my guess . They did say that this is more streetable though. Maybe when it works right, I dunno..
Joe

bowtiguy

iTrader: (10)

what part number is your clutch? Is it F-body specific? I just purchased a slightly used P trim Spec dual disc locally out of a C6Z06. I'll be running an LS7 in my car with the LS1 T56 and I know Spec has them listed as different part #'s. Hope I don't have the same clearance issues, at least we don't have a plastic throw-out bearing mount liek teh C6 guys do. keep us posted.

kwiksilverz

Mine is for a GTO. I don't recall the PN off the top of my head, but it is a carbon metallic disk setup.
Joe

KtownGoat

yep I am having the same exact problem with a GTO...GREAT!

kwiksilverz

Slipping too? I think you need to call Jeremy and tell him about the problem and see if he can help. He gave me an RMA to send mine in to be inspected/repaired, but I am waiting on a measurement from him before I decide if I am going to send it out to them and deal with the wait or just machine the slave and throw out myself and be done with it.
Joe

KtownGoat

Let me know what happens

kwiksilverz

I am sending mine back. I spoke to Jeremy today and the fact that it is 1/4" too tall in itself has him wanting to see it, plus there were some other things that were off too so I'm not going to mess with trying to make it work when it isn't right to begin with. I'll be UPSing it to them tomorrow and hopefully will know more by next week. I mentioned to him that you are having the same problem and he said for you to call and take it from there, but I'm thinking seeing mine may point to a possible issue with others too. This is not a fact though, just a hunch I have.
Joe

98 T/A raptor

iTrader: (2)

This isnt looking to good. Spec need's to own up and take responsibility by replacing peoples ****.