diaphram vs. three finger clutch

[268darts]

For a mild 360/4 speed will a diaphram last on the street or should I go with three finger? Anybody know what ft. lbs. the stock 11" pressure plate is?

[slow_motion]

most diaphram clutches just wont hold behind a stout engine. Although they are harsh in terms of powershifting and launching the car(its not meant for racing), i consider the duel friction setup from centerforce to be a decent setup that will hold a fair amount of power. It is a diaphram style but it'll hold more pressure the faster it spins because of the centrifical weights on it. For a moderate street car, that would be my choice.
--chad

[Tyler]

Don't use a diaphragm clutch. I agree with the recommendation for the Centerforce clutch in a mild streeter. A 360 with a 4 speed can be a fun combo. My brother had an original 1974 360 four speed "Cuda. He wishes he had kept it. Fun car with the four speed.

[268darts]

Thanks Chad,
Moneys tight right now and I was hoping to save a few bucks. Yeah, I know better. But I have never used a diaphram type clutch so I wasn't sure what to expect. Guess I'll get out the pry bar and open up the ole wallet. BTW are you the one that had the turbo Dart? If I knew anything about turbo's I'd like to build one. Where did you get all your info?

Phillip

[slow_motion]

You can put whatever clutch you want in the car, but understand that you know as well as we do that if you try too get on it and/or do some holeshots your going to smoke the cheap clutch. The pedal pressure on a 3 finger is usually pretty high, and you'll get clutchitis if you have to do alot of stop and go driving. Center force does make a a Stage 1 and Stage 2 clutch, but if you can  swing it, the dual friction would be the way to go in my opinion for your car.

Yes, i am the former owner of that turbo dart. My info was mostly gathered off of turbomustangs.com. Alot of reading and watching what was going on there. A turbo is cool, to do it "right" isnt cheap though. I didnt know of all the "little things" when i started that car, and in the end, all the little things really killed me. It hasa good home know in New Jersey so you may see it again. I know the new owner is making some more headway with it.

--chad

[Hemi GTS]

This could help in Your selection. Good info here.These are great clutches.

http://centerforce.com/clutches.tpl?cart=1120862036124873&subsection=clutchtypes
http://centerforce.com/faqs.tpl?cart=1120862036124873

[268darts]

Thanks ya'll. Looks like the centerforce DF is going to get the go ahead. I was having thoughts about the cheap clutch putting hot spots on my flywheel. Aahhh...what's a few hundred more $ at this point. 
  @!#    Merry Christmas!

[PureGTS]

I cheat when it comes to manual trans & clutch combo's. I prefer the bisexual clutch disc. By bisexual,I means the clutch has two different materials on each side. The P/plate gets ceramic and the flywheel side gets a HP fiber material. This works best for some slippage around town and a garranteed lock up when under stress. The last time a used a fiber material with my 383 street engine the inside of my car looked like John Force was making a pass because of all the smoke inside the car. There was that much smoke and lack of lock-up. Of course with the bisexual clutch it had enough holding power to shear off an axle when I side stepped it at 4000RPM. Lesson learned!

Three finger only! Diaphrams are for truck air brakes!

[Dono]

Hmm I have never had a problem with the diaphram.....

[A13Dart]

I installed a centerforce in my street driven 383 roadrunner and didn't like it at all. I could never get used to the light clutch pedal feel. I'm old school so I'll stick to borg & beck heavy duties from now on, so what if my left leg is 1 1/2 times bigger than the right

[Steve DeTar]

Diaphram clutches like to stay stuck on the floorboard when trying to shift at 6,000 rpm if you don't take the over-center spring off!   Been there done that.

[268darts]

I had a friend tell me if a clutch is set up correct the pedal will not stick to the floor. I have always used a three finger pressure plate and the pedal has always stuck to the floor when shifting hard. Boooing....yeap that's the sound of the O/S spring getting yanked. Oh well I guess I will never know how to set one up correctly. <):

[Hemi GTS]

The thing I like about Center force is the fact They ask You to tell them about Your application so that the clutch can be done to meet Your specific needs.

[slow_motion]

Steve is right, but they way to get that to stop is to either adjust the pedal properly or add a pedal stop. I prefer to remove the overcenter spring and set the pedal close to the floor. the pedal only needs to move a few inches----not the whole distance a stock pedal will. Yes, it looks funky with the pedal almost touching the floor compared to the height of the other pedals, but having a proper working clutch is far more important to me than where the pedals are located.

--chad