car Diagnostic service
Clutch / flywheel upgrade
So, Why an Upgrade?
Now let’s look at why you may want to upgrade that system and where to focus those upgrades.
Heat Management: You may have noticed the word “friction” popping up in the previous descriptions a lot. Whenever a clutch is disengaged and then reengaged, friction is produced as the clutch components take up those mismatched speeds. Obviously, those friction events will be more intense and more frequent during a track lap that requires 10 high-rpm shifts than during a gentle cruise down the highway.
So, a high-performance clutch is designed with heat management and resistance as prime characteristics. Usually this manifests as different friction materials on the disc–metallic and ceramic compounds instead of organic materials common in OEM clutches–but more thermal-resistant materials can even be used on the pressure plate assembly as well.
The tradeoff is typically a more aggressive friction characteristic during engagement. Metallic and ceramic compounds have a higher coefficient of friction than organic materials.
More Friction: But that previously mentioned tradeoff with metallic and ceramic compounds can be an upgrade of its own. More friction means more and quicker torque transfer at lighter clamping forces relative to organic friction materials. More friction can also mean less drivability, but modern clutch designers have done amazing work to make high-performance materials and designs extremely livable.
More Clamping Force: Clamping force is important to the total amount of torque a clutch can transfer, so as engine output rises, clamping force may need to rise as well. The clamping force of a clutch is dictated by the strength of the aforementioned diaphragm spring, and although some trickery can be done with arm lengths and leverages, more clamping force typically means that more force is going to be required to actuate that spring.
That translates to higher required pedal pressures. Again, there are ways to mitigate these effects: through tuning of finger lengths and fulcrum points on the diaphragm spring; through the hydraulic actuation system of the clutch; or even through the rod or cable systems that actuate the clutch on some cars.
Bottom line: An increase in clamping force does not always mean a fully corresponding increase in pedal effort. In fact, a dramatic increase in clamping force is usually available with only a small increase in pedal effort.
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When would i need a upgraded clutch
Normally, on a standard engine, a standard factory-fitted clutch is up to the job. There are exceptions, and the way you drive the car can really make a difference. For instance, doing repeated hard-launches or kicking the clutch during drifting can have your clutch slipping in no time.
Once you start tuning the engine, particularly on torquey turbocharged cars, at some point you will probably need an uprated or performance clutch. Exactly when can be a bit of grey area as some vehicles come from the factory with very beefy clutches and transmissions, while others may be just adequate for the stock torque figure and quickly give up the ghost when the vehicle is remapped. It also depends how careful you are with the clutch.
Do I Need a Performance Clutch?
Clutches are one of those components that you probably don’t immediately think about when tuning a car, but which nevertheless perform an essential function in getting the power from your engine to the wheels.
The role of the clutch is to connect your engine to your gearbox. When you don’t have your foot on the clutch pedal, the clutch connects the engine to the gearbox, and in turn your wheels. This means that a clutch that can hold the torque your engine makes is essential for your car to go anywhere!
The main figure that determines whether a clutch is up to the job is how much torque it can hold. Torque is a measurement of force. There’s probably a whole blog article on the relationship between torque and horsepower, but for now let’s keep it simple and say that torque is the preferred figure for rating clutches because modern turbo-charged engines can pile on the torque very quickly at low revs. Any clutch you fit needs to be able to deal with the torque figure your engine is putting out.
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