My C5 has about 110,000 miles on it and recently the clutch started slipping on hard acceleration. I think I am going to replace it myself. Want to ask which clutch and pressure plate is best to use. It dynoed at 383hp a few years ago. Also, in addition to a clutch and pressure plate recommendation, is there a particularly good youtube video you guys recommend?

 

I love the LS 7 clutch in both of our C 5's, new throwout bearing with slave cyl, add remote bleeder, check or replace driveshaft trunnions,check the posi plates/bellville washers in the diff. and do this https://www.cspracing.com/tick-perfo...k/tickshimkit/

 

+1 for the LS7 clutch. I had it in my 2nd C5 and it worked great. The car made 450 rwhp and 475 rwtq. Took it drag racing several times, the clutch never even got hot. Stick with organic clutches until you need a ceramic clutch to hold the power - organic clutches like the LS7 are smoother, quieter, have less pedal effort, and are more durable. They just can't hold as much ultimate power.

 

Thanks for the input. I am also wondering about the lighter flywheel. I am looking at the Monster clutch package and talking to someone at Tick Performance. Notice in his comments he is saying the lighter flywheel can cause noise, vibration and driveability issues?Jake from Tick said:

"Here is the link for the appropriate bleeder: https://www.tickperformance.com/tick...-firebird-ls1/
​Typically if it is a street car I advise against the lightweight flywheel for corvettes. Sometimes it can cause noise, vibration, or a little worse driveability due to the torque tube balance.
​​With Monster clutches you do not need a shim as they are built to order and they set up the stack height properly before shipping out. "

 

If you're racing the car and hundredths of a second count, then a lighter flywheel might be worth it. But for a street car, no. You wouldn't be able to see the difference in a quarter mile ET - the difference in time from run to run is greater than the improvement the lighter flywheel would make.

Which Monster clutch? I've used both Monster and the LS7, and as long as you don't exceed the torque capability of the LS7, you can't beat it. I had a level 1 Monster clutch in my first C5, and it worked great. However, it did chatter a little in neutral (all ceramic clutches do, more or less) and the pedal effort was greater than stock. the LS7, on the other hand, basically behaved like a stock clutch except it would handle the output from my heads/cam engine with ease.

I'm a fan of organic clutches over ceramic. Not only do they have better street manners, they are more durable. When a ceramic clutch overheats, it's toast. When an organic clutch overheats, it (usually) will start working again once it cools down, unless you've just beat it to hell.

In my own case, I went drag racing the other night and burned the twin disk Spec clutch that was in the car when I bought it. The equivalent clutch from Monster is a twin disk ceramic unit that is rated for 1000 hp (My car makes 670 rwhp). Price is $1300 on the Monster site. However, I'm opting for the triple disk organic unit that's rated for 1100 hp, 1) it has better street manners, and 2) it's more durable. Price for the triple disk unit is $1900. The price difference is worth it to me.

 

our C6 Z06 has 76k on it with about 600 to the rear, and the stock clutch is still going strong, a bunch of those miles are AutoXing and the car is not babied !!!!!!

 

Here's a file with pics.

 

Wow. What an excellent post and documented repair.

 

Add another vote for the ls7. Ive had mine in my 98 for pushing 15k niw and its probably one of the best feeling clutches ive ever driven

 

I daily drive a Monster Stage 2 clutch with a light weight flywheel from tick performance and I absolutely love it. Faster throttle response and excellent clutch feel.

 

Thanks for the input, guys! Love this site. Will be ordering clutch parts next week and plan on doing the replacement next weekend. That pdf from feeder82 is awesome! Thanks for that.

 

Hi MAVetteGuy, do you have vibrations or noise, and what kind of rev "dropoff" during shifting do you notice?

Here is what Jake at Tick Performance said when I asked more about the stuff that some people complain about:

"The biggest one for me is shifting. When shifting RPM will fall quicker and you may have to rev match some. Its not all cases but sometimes the light weight flywheels can cause some noise or vibrations through the torque tube that some people may not like. It does rev quicker but the rpm also falls quicker if that makes sense. It can just be a little different or take some getting used to when driving and shifting at part throttle. "

 

It was very noticeable to me. But I'm use to it now

 

I did not experience any additional vibration. However, Jake is dead on about the rev speed (raising and falling). It really comes down to how you drive your car. For me, i think its pushed me to be a bit of a better driver. If I'm rowing through the gears with this flywheel i need to be on it, fast and precise shifts and footwork. It really rewards proper drivings. Now, like i said i do daily drive my car, so on my way home from work after a long day i cant say i'm driving properly. In these cases i typically skip gears (1, 3, 5 or something like that) that lets you be lazy without the car punishing you for it. Personally i really like it and would do it again next time around.

 

I did a Spec Stage 1 alum fw/pp and absolutely love it. If you're a 90 year old geezer, then you may not like the added pedal effort and miniscule change in clutch modulation. I'm used to it, feels about like stock to me now. There was a very noticeable increase in throttle response and acceleration, and mine is a street car. I can't stand people spreading misinformation about moderately lighter clutches, they're plenty easy to live with in a DD and the difference is very apparent. That's why I've done it to more than 1 vehicle. It's free power just waiting to be had.

 

I had an aluminum flywheel on my ls1 TA, similar experience - very quick to rev (up, and down) when not in-gear, keep that in mind, unlike the heaver stock setup where the flywheel 'absorbs' some of the momentum of the spinning components. VERY fun to drive, and much advantageous at the track, although I do see where it *might* be too much for DD, unless you are able to get used to and skilled to take this into account.

Also remember, the LS7 clutch is several pounds heaver than stock, with the stock LS7 flywheel (due to the actual clutch being heavier)...this is why a lot of people upgrade to the aluminum flywheel with the LS7 clutch, it brings it back to stock-like revving (unlike many other applications of an alum fw). I do not know if there is even a lighter (than the 18lb RAM al fw IIRC) to *really* take advantage of less rotating mass (with the LS7 clutch).

 

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/luk-04-216?rrec=true

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/l...1/applications

 

I have the Ls7 clutch the housing is upgraded and clutch pad & cylinder is nearly identical to the stock however the fly wheel is heavier . Using all those parts and a different fly more close to the stock weight is prob more ideal , you do get a slight load on the clutch as u let off due to the heavier fly at very low 2-3 mph speeds ! Other then that it’s some getting used to as it takes off more towards the floor.

 

Have you decided what Clutch/Flywheel you are going to be Implementing ?

 

you are probably aware of McCloud clutches, but just in case, The RST (red street twin) is a twin disk organic , rebuildable, and will hold 800hp with perfect street manners, perfect modulation. A lot of guys like the part, and Old man McCloud started painting his products red so drag racers could see which clutch worked in the pits, back when clutches didn't have paint jobs. They have a full line, if you want to go racing. They look nice, and come in a regular cardboard box, not a fancy display extravaganza, as some manufactures choose.

In the discussion here, no mention is made of how light the lightweight flywheels are. Most of the flywheels classified as lightweight are aluminum, while my steel flywheel is also lighter than stock, but not like aluminum, and is perfect for my street needs. I guess it kind of splits the difference , but not an educated guess.