pablocruise

Hey guys,
Just doing some maintenance on the Vette, and pulled the clutch. It is a SPEC III carbon fiber. I take it to the strip and bolt on slicks and it does pretty good. Car is my daily driver also. The friction material is just about to the rivets and time to get myself a new disc.
I looked in the archives, but not many posts on "McLeod".
At this point, I didn't plan on doing a twin. Am wondering about something within the McLeod line similar to the SPEC III that will take 450 HP/slicks/daily driving duties.
Chime in with comments. Thanx
-Paul

rcolling

Paul,
I put the McLeod Street in mine. So far only about 3,000 miles with maybe 12-15 passes at the strip on street tires.

DRs are going on order next week.

However, I would talk to Chris at Speed Demon and see what he recommends. I bought mine from him. Good price and pretty knowledgeable about the clutches.

pablocruise

Thanx Bob. What series clutch is it? What were the selling points you liked about it? Didn't see your car at the last race.

jburnett

I run the McLeod "Magnum Street Twin" in my '90...It's a dual disk setup. It releases and engages like the stocker (very smooth) and will hold 1300+ hp. I rape my car at the track; I have no qualms whatsoever about side-stepping the clutch at 5500 on slicks. The McLeod sticks and has NEVER let me down. To about 550-600 hp I used a RAM '900' series single disk clutch setup and it worked very well on motor with slicks until I started spraying it heavily.
-Jeb

pablocruise

Thanx Jeb!
About how many miles did it last for you? How were it's street manners? Kind of flywheel at that time?

SPD DMN

If you are over 380 RWHP, then McCleod does not have a clutch that will hold the power to the ground with slicks (and last more than a few track days)other than the dual disk setup which is a very sweet setup.

I ran the street/strip clutch from McCleod several times. My clutch disks would last about 6-8 months with a few track days in there.

I am actually surprised you have already worn out the SPEC so quickly! SOunds like you ought to do the Dual Disk one and be done with it. They take a beating and last a VERY long time for most setups.

pablocruise

I should've typed in "at the crank" above. I don't know at this point what RWHP is.
Hmmm.... doesn't seem like much. About how many street miles? Do feel the spray accounted for the accellerated wear?
Me To Chris! I drove 3 hours to the track Saturday did a few runs and drove 3 hours back. It was 103* It held fine till I got off the freeway and in the last 2 miles before my driveway, the clutch slipped like crazy. Motor revved to 4K and car would barely move. I thought oh it's just over heated. Later that night after it cooled down, it was back to normal. Monday, I am driving along, and I bottom the clutch to make a shift and......"rattattaattaataatatttaat". Only at the very bottom of pedal travel. I thought the fork bent again. So I took it all apart to see everything. It was the roll pins in the pressure plate rubbing the fork. Looking at the SPEC, all pucks look fine and look like they can go another good while still except one. It is very thin. Maybe a millimeter to the rivet. It seems very premature considering I don't have many miles on it. This is why I ask about mileage on the McLeod above. Trying to get a feel of approx life expectancy on these things. I want to be fair in judging and not bash a company if I am within normal wear and tear under the circumstances.
Yeah, but how much are they? My broke asz wallet can't quite do that right now. Sounds killer tho. I might do it in the future. Thanx for the suggestion!

jburnett

The RAM was pretty nice on the street... It chattered a little bit on release but not enough for me to really care. It also bit better the hotter it got (to a point; read big dose of N2O). I was running RAM's single mass billet steel flywheel with it which is a 15 lb. piece.

The McLeod dual disk is the best, hands down, for any kind of power... It's also the last clutch you'll ever buy. I've had mine quite awhile and it's taken a buttload of abuse and is still ready for more; plus when you wear out the discs you can send them back to George and have them reline them. When I was still working for a speed shop we sold the Street Twin setup for Vettes for right at $900. It's expensive but you'll throw more crappy SPEC's away trying to save money. I've never seen a SPEC that's worth a damn on a domestic application!
-Jeb

larrybsp

Hey Jeb,
I just sent my Mcleod 8-1/2" magnum twin disc clutch and hydraulic cylinder from my 90 road race car back to Mcleod to have them check it out.
I'm having shifting problems. I have another ZF to go in but I want to make sure its not a clutch problem. Everything looked o.k. except the two discs were not wearing evenly. It seems as if the disc at the flywheel is wearing faster. I'm using the light weight Mcleod aluminum flywheel. One thing I learned. Getting a Mcleod twin disc clutch out is one of the nastiest jobs I've done in a long time. I had to cut away a large section of the tunnel so I could
slide the XSM and bell housing back far enough so I could reach in and disconnect the hydraulic throw out bearing lines. You can't disconnect the XSM from the bell housing unless you do this. I don't know how I'm going to realign the XSM on a floor jack with the bell housing mounted and get the input shaft to align with the clutch splines. You'll probably hear me cursing at your shop.
Larry

:banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :cry :cry :cry :cuss :cuss :cuss

jburnett

Larry I don't know what could be causing uneven wear unless the disc or flywheel has excessive runout. Ask George about it...He's a good dude as long as you remain "nice," he can be wholly unfriendly if you get nasty (though so can I). We did a bunch of R&D for them and they sponsored our Super Stock Vette for awhile; they're pretty cool.

They are a bitch to get out and to set up properly, but once you do you'll never have another problem!

So THAT'S the yelling I kept hearing outside this morning... Man, you've got some lungs to reach all the way to Little Rock!!! :D
-Jeb