Question to ask before you buy a new clutch
09-03-2015, 06:50 PM
#1
Melting Slicks
Thread Starter
Question to ask before you buy a new clutch
This is probably for the number of us that aren’t mechanics, so techs feel free to add anything I forget. This info is based on my recent experience in buying a clutch which is on this thread. You don’t want what happened to me happen to you.
1.cutch, twin disk or single disk?
2. aluminum flywheel or steel flywheel aluminum is lighter
3.*** Does the clutch make noise and is it considered normal,or will it be as quiet as my OEM.
4. How many clutches have you put in corvettes, If none or a few, run, run fast and find someone who has done quite few. Would you want to a be brain surgeons first real patient????
5. Cost, and if you have headers make sure they are aware of it before the quote
6. How long will it take, in hours.
7. Are you charging by the hour or by the job, try to go with someone who goes by the job. There is a mechanics book that gives a set of hours for certain jobs, make sue your aware of how your charged.
8. what is the hourly rate or job rate, could there be any potential for unforeseen cost
9. If you provide the clutch make sure you mechanic is familiar with them if not you take your chances. How long do you warranty your workmanship.
10.Did you get suggestions by others before you buy a clutch...do your homework
11. Word of caution, do not go to a chevrolet dealer to do the work, pay extra money, drive the extra miles to get a good tuner or speed shop to do it, dealer techs are good guys probably but their ability to work on high power cars is... ugh, well
not so good, I know first hand.
12.If you ask these things or if you are aware of all this you will be in better shape than I was to get a decent clutch with good workmanship.
13. Mechanics, anything else to look for
1.cutch, twin disk or single disk?
2. aluminum flywheel or steel flywheel aluminum is lighter
3.*** Does the clutch make noise and is it considered normal,or will it be as quiet as my OEM.
4. How many clutches have you put in corvettes, If none or a few, run, run fast and find someone who has done quite few. Would you want to a be brain surgeons first real patient????
5. Cost, and if you have headers make sure they are aware of it before the quote
6. How long will it take, in hours.
7. Are you charging by the hour or by the job, try to go with someone who goes by the job. There is a mechanics book that gives a set of hours for certain jobs, make sue your aware of how your charged.
8. what is the hourly rate or job rate, could there be any potential for unforeseen cost
9. If you provide the clutch make sure you mechanic is familiar with them if not you take your chances. How long do you warranty your workmanship.
10.Did you get suggestions by others before you buy a clutch...do your homework
11. Word of caution, do not go to a chevrolet dealer to do the work, pay extra money, drive the extra miles to get a good tuner or speed shop to do it, dealer techs are good guys probably but their ability to work on high power cars is... ugh, well
not so good, I know first hand.12.If you ask these things or if you are aware of all this you will be in better shape than I was to get a decent clutch with good workmanship.
13. Mechanics, anything else to look for
09-12-2015, 09:32 PM
#2
Drifting
This is probably for the number of us that aren’t mechanics, so techs feel free to add anything I forget. This info is based on my recent experience in buying a clutch which is on this thread. You don’t want what happened to me happen to you.
1.cutch, twin disk or single disk?
2. aluminum flywheel or steel flywheel aluminum is lighter
3.*** Does the clutch make noise and is it considered normal,or will it be as quiet as my OEM.
4. How many clutches have you put in corvettes, If none or a few, run, run fast and find someone who has done quite few. Would you want to a be brain surgeons first real patient????
5. Cost, and if you have headers make sure they are aware of it before the quote
6. How long will it take, in hours.
7. Are you charging by the hour or by the job, try to go with someone who goes by the job. There is a mechanics book that gives a set of hours for certain jobs, make sue your aware of how your charged.
8. what is the hourly rate or job rate, could there be any potential for unforeseen cost
9. If you provide the clutch make sure you mechanic is familiar with them if not you take your chances. How long do you warranty your workmanship.
10.Did you get suggestions by others before you buy a clutch...do your homework
11. Word of caution, do not go to a chevrolet dealer to do the work, pay extra money, drive the extra miles to get a good tuner or speed shop to do it, dealer techs are good guys probably but their ability to work on high power cars is... ugh, well not so good, I know first hand.
12.If you ask these things or if you are aware of all this you will be in better shape than I was to get a decent clutch with good workmanship.
13. Mechanics, anything else to look for
1.cutch, twin disk or single disk?
2. aluminum flywheel or steel flywheel aluminum is lighter
3.*** Does the clutch make noise and is it considered normal,or will it be as quiet as my OEM.
4. How many clutches have you put in corvettes, If none or a few, run, run fast and find someone who has done quite few. Would you want to a be brain surgeons first real patient????
5. Cost, and if you have headers make sure they are aware of it before the quote
6. How long will it take, in hours.
7. Are you charging by the hour or by the job, try to go with someone who goes by the job. There is a mechanics book that gives a set of hours for certain jobs, make sue your aware of how your charged.
8. what is the hourly rate or job rate, could there be any potential for unforeseen cost
9. If you provide the clutch make sure you mechanic is familiar with them if not you take your chances. How long do you warranty your workmanship.
10.Did you get suggestions by others before you buy a clutch...do your homework
11. Word of caution, do not go to a chevrolet dealer to do the work, pay extra money, drive the extra miles to get a good tuner or speed shop to do it, dealer techs are good guys probably but their ability to work on high power cars is... ugh, well
not so good, I know first hand.12.If you ask these things or if you are aware of all this you will be in better shape than I was to get a decent clutch with good workmanship.
13. Mechanics, anything else to look for
Great points Gary.
I have to say, knowing the story or to the current situation you are at now, it was not a great experience to say the least. That being said;
# 11 Do not bring to dealer. I kinda feel split between this one. first off, the particular one that serviced your car are to blame and not all dealers would have done the same thing.
Also, their techs can do a clutch as good as any. it's not about high power, it was more about it not being an oem part and them not sure of what or how to proceed with diagnostics. But as far as I know (correct me if I am wrong) the tech that did the work, did it correctly.
Now unless yours is pulled apart and we discover something was done or assembled incorrectly, we can't and shouldn't blame any tech for the work done on the car.
Who we can blame however, is the service advisor that thought 6hrs of extra labour is fair because you have headers. that's nonsense. Removing oem exhaust to install headers is no more than a 3hr job. afterwards, 6 bolts that are very accessible on the driver side and the header will practically fall on the floor, and the passenger side, you can get away with taking those 6 bolts out and leaving it there, just work it away from the bellhousing. At the most an extra 2hr would ok 6 is a robbery.
Also I think everyone should try to understand his/her wants/needs. Having a long list of available brand names like, Monster, Mantic, RPS, RAM, Centerforce, Mcloed, Spec, Exedy, and on and on there no shortage of good and bad reviews for all makes.
If you want a little over stock but all drivability, I really recommend the LS9X ZR1 clutch from Katech. it's oem, it's twin discs, it has an aluminum Flywheel and saves you 8lbs, and it doesn't make a damn peep. Also handles 800/800
If OEM has worked for you and you plan keeping same power, why not reuse oem as a least you know it's worked for you before.
It's very easy looking at available brands and figure why not get a clutch that can handle 1200+ hp even if you don't need it. Problem is, that usually comes at the cost of pedal stiffness, chatter, and drivability.
For those who ask what do you mean about drivability.....
What I mean buy that is, stock or more friendly clutch will let you slip into engagement. Like coming from a full stop, you can slowly release the pedal and without adding throttle you can ease out and get moving. Very aggresive clutches on the other hand, almost act like an on/off switch. You have to give more throttle input as you release the clutch or when it bites (no slip) it will just stall. of course there are many grades as you go through options but generally the more power it can handle the less drivable it will be.
09-12-2015, 11:27 PM
#3
Aluminum Flywheel
Great points Gary.
I have to say, knowing the story or to the current situation you are at now, it was not a great experience to say the least. That being said;
# 11 Do not bring to dealer. I kinda feel split between this one. first off, the particular one that serviced your car are to blame and not all dealers would have done the same thing.
Also, their techs can do a clutch as good as any. it's not about high power, it was more about it not being an oem part and them not sure of what or how to proceed with diagnostics. But as far as I know (correct me if I am wrong) the tech that did the work, did it correctly.
Now unless yours is pulled apart and we discover something was done or assembled incorrectly, we can't and shouldn't blame any tech for the work done on the car.
Who we can blame however, is the service advisor that thought 6hrs of extra labour is fair because you have headers. that's nonsense. Removing oem exhaust to install headers is no more than a 3hr job. afterwards, 6 bolts that are very accessible on the driver side and the header will practically fall on the floor, and the passenger side, you can get away with taking those 6 bolts out and leaving it there, just work it away from the bellhousing. At the most an extra 2hr would ok 6 is a robbery.
Also I think everyone should try to understand his/her wants/needs. Having a long list of available brand names like, Monster, Mantic, RPS, RAM, Centerforce, Mcloed, Spec, Exedy, and on and on there no shortage of good and bad reviews for all makes.
If you want a little over stock but all drivability, I really recommend the LS9X ZR1 clutch from Katech. it's oem, it's twin discs, it has an aluminum Flywheel and saves you 8lbs, and it doesn't make a damn peep. Also handles 800/800
If OEM has worked for you and you plan keeping same power, why not reuse oem as a least you know it's worked for you before.
It's very easy looking at available brands and figure why not get a clutch that can handle 1200+ hp even if you don't need it. Problem is, that usually comes at the cost of pedal stiffness, chatter, and drivability.
For those who ask what do you mean about drivability.....
What I mean buy that is, stock or more friendly clutch will let you slip into engagement. Like coming from a full stop, you can slowly release the pedal and without adding throttle you can ease out and get moving. Very aggresive clutches on the other hand, almost act like an on/off switch. You have to give more throttle input as you release the clutch or when it bites (no slip) it will just stall. of course there are many grades as you go through options but generally the more power it can handle the less drivable it will be.
I have to say, knowing the story or to the current situation you are at now, it was not a great experience to say the least. That being said;
# 11 Do not bring to dealer. I kinda feel split between this one. first off, the particular one that serviced your car are to blame and not all dealers would have done the same thing.
Also, their techs can do a clutch as good as any. it's not about high power, it was more about it not being an oem part and them not sure of what or how to proceed with diagnostics. But as far as I know (correct me if I am wrong) the tech that did the work, did it correctly.
Now unless yours is pulled apart and we discover something was done or assembled incorrectly, we can't and shouldn't blame any tech for the work done on the car.
Who we can blame however, is the service advisor that thought 6hrs of extra labour is fair because you have headers. that's nonsense. Removing oem exhaust to install headers is no more than a 3hr job. afterwards, 6 bolts that are very accessible on the driver side and the header will practically fall on the floor, and the passenger side, you can get away with taking those 6 bolts out and leaving it there, just work it away from the bellhousing. At the most an extra 2hr would ok 6 is a robbery.
Also I think everyone should try to understand his/her wants/needs. Having a long list of available brand names like, Monster, Mantic, RPS, RAM, Centerforce, Mcloed, Spec, Exedy, and on and on there no shortage of good and bad reviews for all makes.
If you want a little over stock but all drivability, I really recommend the LS9X ZR1 clutch from Katech. it's oem, it's twin discs, it has an aluminum Flywheel and saves you 8lbs, and it doesn't make a damn peep. Also handles 800/800
If OEM has worked for you and you plan keeping same power, why not reuse oem as a least you know it's worked for you before.
It's very easy looking at available brands and figure why not get a clutch that can handle 1200+ hp even if you don't need it. Problem is, that usually comes at the cost of pedal stiffness, chatter, and drivability.
For those who ask what do you mean about drivability.....
What I mean buy that is, stock or more friendly clutch will let you slip into engagement. Like coming from a full stop, you can slowly release the pedal and without adding throttle you can ease out and get moving. Very aggresive clutches on the other hand, almost act like an on/off switch. You have to give more throttle input as you release the clutch or when it bites (no slip) it will just stall. of course there are many grades as you go through options but generally the more power it can handle the less drivable it will be.
09-13-2015, 02:22 PM
#4
Premium Supporting Vendor
The flywheel is only half the equation. You also need to look at the mass of the clutch. The LS9 has a very heavy clutch/pressure plate so it balances well with an aluminum flywheel.
