South Bend Clutch-which one?

[SSalzer]

Since I began using my Triple Dog downloader, my clutch began slipping under heavy acceleration. I will be replacing it with a South Bend. I am not sure if I should go with the Con OFE or the FE. I do not want a clutch pedal that feels heavy or grabby. The heaviest I tow is a tandem axle dump trailer full of top soil and/or firewood (Not sure how heavy). I regularly tow my 7x12 enclosed toy box.

I also want a clutch that will not slip if I upgrade my downloader to the Crazy Larry program. Any advice from people that are using these clutches? Thanks.

 

[RobertP]

if the crazy larry is all that you have planned for the truck then an OFE will be what you are looking for. pedal will not be tough or grabby at all, with the FE you will have a tough time with how it grabs. my OFE has really surprised me in how well it has held up to my abuse. if you do plan on much more power then i would start looking into the new sprung dual discs, they will handle all the power you can throw at them and still tow with ease.

 

[oneshotkyle]

ditto on the above. i sure love my double disc though... ... ..... damn Robert you made it to the 600 hundee mark... ... ... Oo.

 

[RobertP]

ditto on the above. i sure love my double disc though... ... ..... damn Robert you made it to the 600 hundee mark... ... ... Oo.

i sure did. it should have been more my poor little cp3 just couldnt keep up.

 

[jmccart]

I just ordered a 3250, Southbend, DD. I contaced Southbend and asked if I should get a DD or the G56 single conversion. I told him that I need my wife to be able to drive my truck in case I hit a couple beers too many. He said the DD is the friedliest high HP clutch they sell. I had a Valair, 3400, ceramic in my last truck. It never slipped a bit, 3rd gear clutch dumps were fun as heck. 5th & 6th full throttle blasts from 1500 RPM's were no worries. But, my wife absolutely could not drive it because the pedal was heavy and it was very grabby. Good thing it was $500 to my door.



FYI

 

[RobertP]

yeah i can tell you that those new dual discs from southbend are the best thing since sliced bread. i have installed a few in customers trucks and wow them things are awsome.

 

[KaiHartman]

Currently running the 3250 ceramic DD and I am very happy with the holding capacity. I always run on the highest settings I have--crazy larry and Edge #5, and haven't had any problems yet (about a month or so). It does add a LOT of rotating mass to the engine though. For about a week or so after I installed it, it was very grabby. It has gotten a little better (still bad in traffic sometimes), but the noise has gotten louder too (I expected it from a double disk). I have a friend with an 03 that claims to have slipped two of these clutches pulling on the circuit already, but I'm hoping to not have any issues with what little I do... .

 

[SSalzer]

How hard are the DD setups to install? I plan on doing my clutch myself and don't have very much experience installing single discs, never mind a dual.

It seems like the general consensus is that the FE is not so hot for a daily driver that I really don't beat on.

 

[TheWolf]

I run the FE and do not have any problems. I tow a 20 ft enclosed trailer and the only problem is backing up slowly( but then I just put in 4low). The first Fe I had was a little grabby but I was having problems with it and peter sent me another one and I haven't had any problems with it. I sold an FE to another guy with a second gen and he likes his and doesn't say about being too grabby. The OFE has held over 600hp on more than 1 occasion though.

 

[KaiHartman]

They aren't too bad to install. I called Peter just for one clarification when I was doing it... The weight (a little under 150 lbs if I remember correctly) is what made it the hardest. You have to line up two discs and hold it against the fly wheel why you're doing it. Even though I know better (and I have even seen the damage that can be caused from doing so), I ended up getting lazy and pulling the transmission in with the bolts. Although I was careful, this is very dangerous as you can crush the sleeve or damage the pilot bearing.



Aside from having to handle two seperate discs and line up two sets of splines (which did take me quite long), it's just like any other clutch. I just hope I never slip it... that's what will make me a happy camper

 

[RobertP]

i agree you have to take your time lining things back up, going through two discs takes some time. but once it falls into place your good to go.

 

[SSalzer]

If the OFE can hold 600 H. P. I think that's plenty for me.

 

[BothellDiesel]

Load the Dyno and it won't hold at 600. Mine let go at 548

 

[RobertP]

mines still holding somewhat ok on the street.

 

[oneshotkyle]

somewhat ok huh. any third gear launches in 4HI yet? LOL..... no doubt in my mind they will hold the 600 ponies but i know from experience they won't last much abuse on the street. but it is possible that my 35 toyo's didn't help out any.

 

[RobertP]

your right there. no 4 hi, third gear laucnhes hear. none of my clutches have ever held one of those. i wouldnt know how that feels :{ maybe one day.

 

[AndyMan]

My stage 2 Zoom ZVT clutch from Perfection Clutch just held TWO 4hi 3rd Gear launches at the track two weeks ago. One at ~2200RPM and one at ~3500RPM. The truck fell on it's face both times off the line, and jumped around like a horse, but the clutch never slipped. It was a pretty brutal display. Even had a couple of guys come up and ask who's dual disc I was running.



SSalzer, read my post here: https://www.turbodieselregister.com...tall-new-zoom-zvt-intall-findings-review.html

regarding a botched install of a clutch on my truck. We had some really interesting findings when installing the ZVT.



And for your purposes, if you want a South Bend, I'll lay my vote for the OFE. I think you'd most likely be dissatisfied with the FE. The one I had was pretty grabby.

 

[RobertP]

theres no doubt that the OFE has held more power than it was intended to.

 

[johncameron]

theres no doubt that the OFE has held more power than it was intended to.

Thats for sure, I'm approaching the "limit" of an OFE and mine hasn't flinched and I'm sure it won't either.



BTW it WON"T hold a 3rd gear launch at the 1/4 I tried



JC

 

[KaiHartman]

This may not be the right place to ask this (?)... but has anyone else had any troubles getting the NV5600 into reverse after the SB clutch install?



I have found that the gears want to grind pretty bad... . pushing the pedal all the way to the floor and waiting a couple of seconds helps a little, but it still hits gears pretty bad sometimes. I've started experimenting with putting it into second first, then to reverse..... but if anyone else has any suggestions, I'd appreciate it!