sothpaw2

Hi,

My C5Z has about 60k mi now and probably 13 HPDE events. I purchased at 14k mi and the previous owner drag raced it, hard, w/drag radials maybe 20-30 passes. I have maybe 10 passes on it.

I've never done the clutch but the hydraulics always need frequent fluid change w/SRF. This makes it work.

Question: how long are your stock clutches going with use like this? I have no compliants about slipping but I wonder if I should just change it now before summer (a lot more driving and a busy time).

Thanks,

Andy

travisnd

Bought my current car two years ago with 119,xxx miles on it with the stock clutch. Two years later, track only race and TT use, 122,xxx miles now and zero clutch issues. I removed the clutch assist spring to mitigate any possible "sticking" pedal issues. I periodically suck out the fluid in the reservoir and replace with fresh ATE Superblue.

sothpaw2

LS1 or LS6 or LS2? Sounds like I should not worry about clutch failure.

travisnd

2001 Z06 so LS6. I've had a few of these cars and they're hit or miss. Some will take a beating for years w/o issue. Others are sticky SOBs where the pedal hangs up if you even thing about a hard shift. My old Z06 was good on the stock clutch, but when I put in a Luk Stage-II it got sticky. Tried all the tricks to mitigate it with marginal results. My old C5 vert could take a beating over and over and over and the clutch worked perfectly... same for my current race car, never have any clutch issues. If it ain't broke don't fix it.

FWIW I don't subscribe to the "clutch dust infusion" theory. I do change the fluid in the reservoir just because it removes one more variable, but some drag racers swear that clutch dust gets into the fluid through the salve and causes degradation. Also, once you go to LT headers you can exacerbate clutch issues via increased heat radiating on the hydraulics.

Timz06

I haven't had clutch issues since I was 16. Back then I liked to slip the clutch and burned them up quite often.

Since then I have changed my driving style and the clutch is in and out as quickly as possible. Road course driving should not be hard on the clutch at stock power levels.

AS far as the drag racing goes, that is a problem, but if you are not slipping the clutch, I would have expected something else in the driveline to go first.

Tim

sothpaw2

Yes I have long tubes. It'd be great with it all out to protect the lines.

PushinTheLimit

I've had clutch issues with mine pretty much ever since I bought it. I've changed the fluid very frequently (usually after each weekend of racing) and haven't had much luck. But it comes and goes. Seems like its more likely to stick in the early morning practice sessions than later when everything got warmed up. I would do a 4 to 3 shift and not realize the clutch stuck to the floor until I started smelling it.

At Roebling, it started to slip bad as I ran the entire race in 4th gear. But then I ran it at Nashville SS and Road Atlanta and had no issues

It's going to be gone anyways since I now have a Quartermaster 7.25" going in soon.

travisnd

Pullin' out all the tricks are we

travisnd

I wrap my clutch hydraulic lines in DEI cool tape. Also, on my old car I had the headers ceramic coated with this black 2000 degree stuff. However, if I were to put LTs on a track/race car I'd put header wrap on the lower part of the header/collector as more protection from heat radiating into the bell housing and heating up the slave.

PushinTheLimit

Trying too... it will be much improved the next time it sees the track. Now the driver just needs to improve as well.