School me on clutches

Ok I get the general concept of a clutch and all that good stuff but have some questions…

Can you replace the friction disc only? I don’t really understand why you can’t re-use the pressure plate if the contact area looks ok.

Can you mix and match pressure plates and friction discs?

3, 4 and 6 puck friction discs with a spring hub, most places recommend them for race applications only. I feel that if the hub has springs its fine for the street. Anyone have any experience with 3 pucks?

How much chatter /harsh are the solid hub clutches? I feel like this could be a good option as they are lighters and in most cases cheaper.

My current issue it the clutch holds power fine but always seems to be engaged. I haven’t pulled it apart yet, but I did bleed the system and it is acting the same. Clutch pedal to the floor and it won’t go into any gear, I can start in 1st or reverse but I hear the clutch dragging and the car wants to creep. I’m planning on replacing everything, but what is causing this? Can I space out the release or something to gain life no or on the new set up?

I can’t get into the details on the PP/disk/etc setup, as I don’t have the knowledge to tell the difference performance/use wise.

But your symptoms are more of a hydraulic issue more than a PP/Disc issue. Sounds like something is worn and/or leaking in the master or the slave cylinders.

This might sound like a stupid suggestion, but usually there is a clutch pedal adjustment on the pedal assembly. There might be some slack in the linkage.

^^This. I know my Z has an adjustment under the dash. Definitely not easy to get to, at least for me and me “small” stature.

I run a 5 puck un-sprung in mine and I can tell you the difference, from what I know, from the traditional sprung disc clutch I had. I know have a little more “chatter” or “shudder” if I don’t feather it just right, especially in reverse. I do notice a substantial increase in ease of shifting from gear to gear. Much smoother and quicker. I had a thread on this with pics. on here some time ago. I guess the cost of the trade off would depend on you personally.

I had a GTI that the clutch was doing the same thing, I bleed it like crazy replaced slave and master… Then took the trans out to find this:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v467/badnewsmini/GTI/DSC_0035.jpg

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I fear I have the same issue Mike, there are no hydraulic leaks at all. Bleed them like crazy with no change.

I will look for a clutch adjustment though that’s a great idea. Thanks for the help fellas!

I’ve had quite a few clutches over the years.

My favorite by far was an ACT sprung 6 puck utilizing a 2600 pressure plate. There are people out there that say 6 pucks are horrible in stop and go traffic, but unless you run into hour long backups every day, it’s no big thing. And even then you learn where it engages and how to feather it. Worse case is your leg gets really strong from pushing that heavy clutch all the time.

Prior to that I had an ACT 2600 street clutch. It was ok, just didnt agree with the power I was making.

Right now I’m on a Power train technologies (PTT) twin disc. It grabs hard as fuck and is pretty easy to drive. Even compared to the two ACT setups I had which weren’t that bad. People have told me not to expect it to last too long on the street but so far no problems. It chatters like crazy though. Really only the downfall so far. Anybody that rides in my car is always like, “wtf is that!!!??”

I feel I have something going on in the Legacy GT clutch. It engages at the pretty much the floor. The fluid level is fine and never goes down. I went to adjust the clutch peddle itself but it was such a bitch trying to separate the peddle from the plunger, I just stopped being that it was mothers day and taking longer than I wanted. I feel that the clutch has its times where it feels like… its slipping, but other times I can get all up on it and not have a single issue. I’m not familiar with clutches since I’ve never had to replace one. I have had someone else drive it and he thought it was strange the way it drove.

Is there such thing as a clutch glazing over and slipping once in a while and where it might clear that glaze off and why I dont feel that slip?

Good thread.

I’ve mixed and matched disks and pressure plates before with varying results. 6 puck clutches aren’t all that nasty, but 3 and 4 puck clutches are a bit harsh for the street. I guess it depends how much holding power you really need. If the pressure plate isn’t damaged, scored, warped or overly worn you can re use it but I usually replace them. Same with flywheels

How do you know when a puck breaks off?

The shit probably goes clank clunk and makes a lot of bad noises.

Thank you. I figured that would be the case but I had to ask. Thanks for answering.

My favorite engineer :lol:

Just ordered a 4 puck solid hub haha. we’ll see how it goes.