Attention CON OFE Owners:

[C. Harlan]

Have y'all removed the clutch and noticed that it carves out the flywheel a bit?? I noticed this tonight when I removed my clutch, and need some responses!



-Chris-

 

[jlccc]

Originally posted by charlan

Have y'all removed the clutch and noticed that it carves out the flywheel a bit?? I noticed this tonight when I removed my clutch, and need some responses!

Some clutch manufacturers put the organic side against the flywheel and the ferramic side against the pressure plate for that very reason. The organic-ferramic clutches I sell are this way.



Yes, the flywheel can soak up more heat than the pressure plate, but pressure plates are cheaper than flywheels. When I have a flywheel resurfaced, I don't want to take off any more than I have to.

 

[John Berger]

Thanks for the info. My truck goes to the dealer on Monday for the leak in the transmission. I'll have them look for that.

 

[Texas Diesel]

Yep, my CON OFE eats the flywheel. I sure wish SBC had put the feramic (whatever) side to the pressure plate for the reason just stated above. Buying a new flywheel skeers me. On the plus side, the clutch has never slipped or overheated.

 

[South Bend Clutch]

Folks,



We do it this way for many reasons. Engagement is smoother, the life of the clutch is extended and foremost the flywheel is plenty thick and CAN be resurfaced. Do not let anyone tell you that it can not be done!! Especially a dealer... they want to sell you another flywheel. We have been in this business for over 40 years and know the tolerances. I only see a competitor trying to create doubt to promote his own product. The company that jlccc is using has been building their dual friction 5 speed clutches with the organic to the pressure plate side and ceramic to the flywheel side for a long time. (for a reason) There was an event in Texas with many people that viewed their clutch to witness. Now that they are TRYING (NOT THE SAME) to copy ours they needed something different then ours so they could promote theirs and try to make people doubt ours. Feel free to call Kwik Kurt aka Sparky who has been using our clutch for a long time. I told him to try and ruin it. In 80,000 miles he has beat the living crap out of 3 clutches with sled pulling, pulling semi's out of the desert and anything you could possibly dream of with my all feramic clutches. He has resurfaced his flywheel every time without one problem.



Please do not let this ploy detour your thinking, even after you work through our clutch that uses the feramic, the flywheel can be resurfaced again and even again. This has been proven many times.



Peter

 

[Texas Diesel]

Thats good to know, I was under the impression that 2 resurfacings is the max because of limited clutch hydraulic travel I always wondered, if that was the case, why you couldnt shim the flywheel.



Peter, one more question, is the "roughing up" of the flywheel one reason the clutches dont slip, and have you had a chance to see how the 03 HO (350HP) OEM clutches are different?



TIA

 

[South Bend Clutch]

Tejas Deezul,



You have a lot of room to work with. If you think about it this way, the slave cylinder travels 7/8" to 1" and only requires 1/2" to release the clutch thus giving you room in there for resurfacing. But with the flywheel being so thick and being able to handle the heat, yes, a shim could be used later on down the road. That is done frequently in the clutch world. As for resurfacing the flywheel, it's not really roughing it up that you are trying to have as an end result, but to make the flywheel flat instead of tapered as it is OE. This gives more friction surface to be used on the applied force.



As for the '03 clutch, we did get one in, and upon inspection, the clutch disk is identical to the earlier model, the pressure plate in overall appearance is the same, but we did notice a slight difference in curvature in the diaphragm, VERY slight. After we tested and compared the plate loads, it appears to be a 100 lb. increase of clamp force. So the '01 '02 runs approximately 2650 stock and the '03 runs 2750 stock. This will enable the truck to go a little further in horse power then the previous '01 & '02. We're guessing for extended time purpose, around 335 hp. vs 300 hp. Time will tell.



Peter

 

[Mad Bomber]

con ofe

Peter, you the man. I love your clutch and even if I had a problem I know that you stand behind your clutches and would do what it takes to make it right for GREAT customer service!!!!! Thanx Eric Wagener

 

[KWIKKURT]

Originally posted by charlan

Have y'all removed the clutch and noticed that it carves out the flywheel a bit?? I noticed this tonight when I removed my clutch, and need some responses!



-Chris-

Chris, Your flywheel is fine. Just have it machined as should be done with any Clutch Replacement job. Our Flywheels used in the CTD is EXTREMELY HeavyDuty. There is no Problem with Running the Feramic material on the Clutch side. In fact as Peter (SB) has stated there are many advantages to this.



I have Tortured, Slipped, and SPARKED my SouthBend Clutches as much or more than anyone I know and my FlyWheel is still the Original. Pedal travel, Feel and Engagement are better now then they were 112,000 miles ago.



There are videos of me SlipStarting the clutch in too high of a gear trying to get more speed out of the Sled. I had more HP then the Clutch could clampdown But the SB clutch setup still did not give up and pulled the sled down the track even while throwing up a light show (For the entire Pull). Three / four? Pulls at that event. Then off to the Drags the next day. Since that day I have continued to Run 1/4 drags, Give numerous "DEMO RIDES" each week and hook up to huge, Heavy trailers for R&D work at way over GVW. Even at 25,000lbs GVW I still try for the lowest 1/4 mile ET with that same clutch.



As I am currently R&Ding a couple of Fuel systems that are increasing my HP 100+ I removed that clutch (40,000 miles later) to install a stronger (Clamping Force) Pressure Plate. SAME Flywheel just resurfaced it and its back in and working better than ever. For a streetable clutch that will hold amazing amounts of HorsePower and is easier than stock to push and hold down in traffic The SouthBend Line is the #1 choice for 95% of my customers.



In my opinion any Clutch that will hold the Same HP as the SouthBend will wear material from the flywheel and I have yet to see one that will outlast the SB Clutch Line.



Thx Kurt Yardley 505-534-0434

MILD TO WILD PERFORMANCE INC

AND Very Proud to be a SouthBend Dealer / Installer.

 

[John Berger]

Peter, jlccc did not start this thread. I take your point, but I didn't see where he was being misleading or bad-mouthing your clutches. Most people around here wouldn't believe someone bad-mouthing the clutches you sell. To many satisfied customers.

 

[C. Harlan]

Here it is in Easy terms: Peter is the Piers of Clutches!!!

Simply Stated, Peter, and the whole SBC crew are second to none for clutches!!! THANKS A MILLION, PETER!!! You did not have to do this, and I can not thank you enough!



-Chris-

 

[jlccc]

Originally posted by John Berger

Peter, jlccc did not start this thread. I take your point, but I didn't see where he was being misleading or bad-mouthing your clutches. Most people around here wouldn't believe someone bad-mouthing the clutches you sell. To many satisfied customers.

I do not mean to badmouth anyone. Peter makes a great product and everybody knows it. That is undisputed.



That being said, I still like the ferramic side against the pressure plate for the reasons I stated previously. But if someone wants a clutch disk with the ferramic side against the flywheel, we can certainly accomodate.



I like to think that SBC and jlccc are after different markets. We're not really after the heavy duty street racing market. Too many things break and I know a lot of R&D goes into Peter's work. We are after the market of persons who have added an EZ and DDII's to their truck and are just slipping the stock clutch. We also like to sell to people who use their vehicle for serious towing work and need a streetable clutch with increased holding power. We aren't looking for people who have 400+hp and intend to slip the clutch every day of its life. SBC excels in this market, but it'll cost you.



We are simply offering an alternative, at about $300 less. We also have a fully ferramic version of the clutch disk available for those who want it.



SBC makes a modification to their pressure plates to increase the clamping load. The modification is a well known one and it is effective. We do not do this to our clutch kits--just the standard LUK Pro Gold pressure plate.



Again, no one here is knocking SBC. If you believe you are better served by his product, please buy it. If you think the clutch we sell will suit your purposes, please buy it and put the cash you save towards more toys for your truck.



Now please, let's let this settle any perceived disputes between the two clutches. Peter is great, no doubt. But the company I get my clutches from has been in business since 1954 I believe. They also know a thing or two about clutches.