When searching for a clutch, it is a commonly held belief that going with the highest horsepower rating will be more than sufficient. Well, there is such a thing as too much clutch and mounting a triple carbon up to your 4-banger with basic performance upgrades is not only a waste of money but it can cause problems with your motor and driveline. At the 2010 SEMA Show, we stopped to talk to SPEC owner David Norton about what new applications they have been working on and what we can expect to roll out as 2011 unfolds.
鈥淥ur new flagship is the Super Carbon,鈥� said Norton. 鈥淭he Super Carbon is an all-business twin or triple carbon plate clutch that will handle up to 1500lb-ft of torque and drive great doing it. But that is only one segment of our vast line of SPEC clutches. We have an application for all modification and drivability combinations.鈥�
The various lines SPEC offers breaks down like this and they even added 鈥減lus鈥� lines to appease in-between owners and offer them a more tailored application.
Stage 1 鈥� high clamp pressure plate with woven organic material disc and sprung hub
Stage 2 鈥� high clamp pressure plate with Kevlar disc and sprung hub
Stage 2+ - high clamp pressure plate with Kevlar / Carbon Graphite disc and sprung hub
Stage 3 鈥� high clamp pressure plate with Kevlar disc and high torque sprung hub
Stage 3+ - high clamp pressure plate with Carbon semi-metallic disc and high torque sprung hub
Stage 4 鈥� high clamp pressure plate Carbon Graphite friction material with solid hub
Stage 5 鈥� high clamp pressure plate with full-metallic disc and solid hub
Applications for 700-1500lb-ft of Torque:
Super Twin 鈥� Carbon Graphite plates with integrated steel or aluminum flywheel
Mini Twin 鈥� Various material plates with integrated steel or aluminum flywheel
Super Carbon 鈥� Full Carbon Fiber plates with integrated steel or aluminum flywheel
Logging on to the SPEC website, we see all of the pull down menus that list all of their applications. The SPEC pages for each make, model and year of vehicle also lists exactly which stage clutches are available for that application. Beside each stage and type of clutch is the recommended torque rating of your current mods and then the cost, to find that balance of price to performance that enthusiasts want.
Norton added a number of applications and if your car is new to market, chances are they have a variety of clutches for it already. Cars like the 2011 Mustang, 2011 Subaru WRX/STI, VW GTI and, of course, the all-new Scion tC. Norton says they are currently developing a couple of applications on the horizon for the Nissan Juke turbo and the Chevy Cruze turbo as well.
Source:
SPEC Clutch
High Performance Clutches
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