I have a new centerforce dual friction clutch and fidanza aluminum flywheel installed in my 92. For some reason I have a ton of chatter on taking off. Its so rough it shakes the dang car. It also shakes everything as u shuft gears and engage it slowly. Anyone have any ideas? Will it break in? I hate to rip it apart again!

 

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think dual friction clutches like to be slipped much at all. More like very aggressive takeoffs and that's about it. We have a race car with multiple disc clutch pack and you can't slip it much. It likes a higher rpm aggressive clutch release.

 

Centerforce claims it us great for street use and has smooth engagement. !?!?!

 

http://www.centerforce.com/products/...-crate-engines

That is the link for the clutch I used ..

 

I have used the centerforce dual friction in the past and it was a great clutch. Very easy on the startup from a light or from the tree. We put a monster clutch in a 06 GTO and it chattered like you are describing yours so we ended up pulling it out and sent it back to monster. They called and said that the disc was bent. 090 and that was the problem so they sent me a new one. Disc plate is pretty thin compared to stock.

 

Damn. That is not good news. This thing shakes bad. I was hoping it was just so rough that it would just need a good break in period.

 

EDIT! Thought i found the issue, I was wrong. :/

 

http://www.streetperformance.com/SPE...pany_id=101343

That is the link to the fidanza flywheel I used..

 

Is your disc a solid hub or does it have a set of springs in it. The springs dampen the vibration transmitted from the flywheel-pressure plate engagement.

 

After going over all my pictures and doing a little research on the fidanza flywheel I realized my last post was wrong. The flywheel I used from fidanza is a dual mass to single mass conversion which is the correct part. The clutch kit I used also seems to be right. The plate does have the springs.

Searching the forums, there seems to be alot of people having issues with aftermarket clutches like this but There doesnt seem to be alot of replies as to how they fixed their issue. I read a few posts about getting use to driving the car like that. I.E changing how aggressive you drive it. Others state that the clutch wears in after about 500-1000 miles. I guess I will limp it around and see what happens. Winter is coming soon so if It doesnt settle it I will replace it when the car is in storage.

 

Well, assuming everything is correct with the installation.

I put in the Spec lightweight steel flywheel and the Carolina clutch stage II. I too experience the 'chatter' or more accurately gear rattle when taking off at lower rpms. It is my understanding from research that is is pretty typical. However, by bringing the rpms up a bit at take off, this is reduced greatly.

Now, as I understand it, the lighter the flywheel, the more this is apt to occur. The gear rattle is from the cut of the gears in the transmission. Now we didn't have this problem with the dual mass for two reasons. 1) the two surfaces with a large spring between them, this absorbed much of that vibration. 2) The 40+ lbs of mass of that flywheel also added a momentum factor. Thus keeping the vibration down as well. (I think I have that right)

So, without that extra mass and momentum of the rotating assembly, the engine requires a higher rpm to compensate to overcome the still inertia of the rest of the drive train. Without that rotating inertia, it's much like starting from a stop in 4th gear, the driveline will vibrate as it struggles to get the wheels turning. So try starting off at a higher rpm and you should be able to slip the clutch a little easier.

But the gear rattle is there to stay. Although I understand there is a shim that goes on the countershaft to help ease this.

Anyway, this is how I heard it explained. If this is incorrect, then any correction is appreciated.

 

Well that makes sense I guess, although it seems it would take a lot of the fun out of driving the car. :/

 

Yes and no. Yes in that it is noisey, and can be annoying. However, if I know what that noise is, and why it's there, and know that the transmission isn't falling out, I'm okay with it.

As far as fun though, well letting loose of 20+ lbs (in your case, closer to 30 lbs) of dead weight off the rotating assembly does wonders for seat of the pants acceleration, and that my friend, makes it fun to drive.

 

I can deal with the rattle/noise. Thats not what bothers me. Its the shuttering of the car when letting the clutch out. I havent tried any higher rpm takeoffs with it but I know if i try to drive it smoothly like I do my z06, or any other manual car for that matter, it doesnt like it. The smoothness of the car is gone. It litterally shudders and shakes if you attempt to pull away from a light smoothly.

I am going to try driving it a little more aggresively and see what happens. The car makes a ton of power and torque so it is a blast to drive.

 

It may need a little break in time. I've heard where these dual friction clutches are more like an on/off switch rather than allowing slip at start off. Grip is what they do, and it sounds like that's what it's doing. But I imagine with a couple of hundred miles, it will smooth out a bit.

 

Yup its definitely grippy. Ill put some miles on it this week for sure. The car is fresh off the dyno with a new engine so it needs some good break in time to loosen things up a bit. I hope it gets better. If not, ill swap it out for something else.

 

It's the flywheel.... specifically it's all the counter sunk holes where the cast iron friction insert is bolted to the Alum FW.

As the clutch disk drags across them, it causes the chatter you hear and feel.

Give it some time... it will get better as it breaks in, knocking the edges off the counter sunk holes.

My SPEC Stage 3 (6 puck disk) sounded like an angle grinder on a sheet of metal for about 150 miles.... took it apart 3 times before i figured out what was going on.
Will