Last year I had a new clutch fitted in my 4x4 sapph which runs 320 bhp, this was built by a specialist clutch builder, we told them we did the odd track day so they said that we would have to have a heavy duty organic one that would handle it or they wouldn't guarantee it. When it was first installed it was really heavy and difficult to get in gear with my foot nearly going through the floor, they blamed it on the clutch pedal adjuster so I got a graham Goode adjust able pedal which didn't make any difference they just said it would bed in, It's being in for just over a year and had some track use at the national day and done about 500 miles but I hate driving it the clutch is so heavy it's just hard to drive normal around town. Any ideas what I should do? Change the clutch? Which cost a fortune if so what for? At the moment I am just not taking her out as it's not a pleasure to drive. HELP!

 

Hydronic conversion

 

To be fair at that power level a standard cover and uprated organic clutch plate would be fine. Your problem sounds like it has a uprated cover making the pedal very heavy. I had the same problem on my saff. Mine was 400bhp and I was running a standard cover with a 6 paddle ap plate. I abused the hell out of it and it never slipped

 

I have a Helix 6 paddle clutch in my 2wd plus the Hydraulic Clutch conversion and it is really light and easy to use. The hydraulic clutch conversion is one of the best mods you can make. Mine was awful before I had it done, very heavy and either on or off within half an inch of peddle. It will cost a fair bit but it will transform the way your car drives.

 

How heavy should the pedal on a normal Cosworth clutch be? The pedal in my YB is quite heavy, especially compared to the 24v. A few times when I stepped into the 24v after driving the YB I thought the cable snapped when I pressed the clutch, as the pedal is that much lighter. But I don't actually know what clutch is in the YB, I'm only assuming it's standard...

 

for normal and fast road use on standard cable: <350 Bhp 4x4 LuK standard clutch (good to drive and nice durability, will take some abuse)

hydraulic: what you want

 

If I knew what I know now I most likely would have gone for the hydraulic conversion as the Graham Goode pedal was nearly Ł200, it's going to cost me another Ł200 + parts to change this clutch.

 

I've just put a helix 6 paddle in mine not as stiff as I was told I'm very happy with it.
Was it cj clutches in beeston ?

 

Yes it was, I had a paddle clutch from them fitted in a RST that was hard but not that bad, still usable around town but the Cossie one is a LOT worse.

 

I just took mine back as it wasn't working he kept changing bits after the 6th time of refitting it I told him to shove his clutch, got a helix one worked first time.
Since then spoke to a lot of people who have had problems with his clutches not just fords either

 

If you get BMW hydraulic clutch parts it'll only cost you Ł70 to make a conversion kit.

I think it was Richie on here who done it that way.

 

Noting worse than a heavy clutch, just do the hydraulic conversion on what you currently have and try it, if not try a different cover. I have a brand new ap one plus one other if you need it.

 

400 hp in mine, standard clutch, balanced bottom end and hydraulic conversion, tyres slip before the clutch

 

How much do you want for the AP cover?

 

Sounds like your clutch itself is fine and you need to convert to hydraulic as others have said?

How much torque does your car make and at what rpm does it peak?

My car made 330hp but 387 ft lb on a t34.48.With a standard clutch cover with an ap 6 paddle centre, still suffered slip but only in 5th gear on the motorway whenever you put your foot to the floor at about 80mph as it was at peak torque.

Going up through the gears no matter how hard you tried it was fine.

Had to go for the heavy cover to stop it

 

The tyres will also slip before the clutch does (unless the clutch is really worn). It's in 5th gear where the clutch starts to slip first, as the resistance of the car to accelerate is highest there, so the load on the clutch is also highest. The highest load ever would be holding a constant speed, but at full throttle at peak torque.

 

I will work out a good price for you, cam you pm me on Friday or sat this week and I will sort it.

 

A worn clutch cable will cause the clutch to feel heavy. Might be worth fitting a new cable.

 

Had a new cable with the adjustable pedal.

 

As I said, if you want a light clutch with plenty of feel the only way is hydraulic conversion. I put up with a heavy clutch for years and I think it is the best thing you can do. There is no comparison to the old cable operated system. I got all the parts required from Reyland Motorsports.

 

I would convert mine but i do not wanna cut the bulkhead. I would like a master mounted on the pedal box.

 

The cost for a hydraulic conversion is too much to handle at the moment so most likely going for a standard cover and see what happens, I just want to be able to drive her around on sunny days like today.

 

Been there seen it and even got the T shirt. Spent over 800 quid on clutches.
First was 130 quid on a fake ap organic from techniclutch.
Next was a standard ford motorcraft which was good for 400bhp but not 400 lbft slipped in 4th and 5th
Next up is a helix 6 paddle which is a little heavy but works lol

 

Been running a Alcon 6paddle with standard cable for many years now in my Sapp. with at MSD380 setup .. no problems at all ...except when going slow in a queue, then there is a bit of "shaking". Its about as easy as a standard clutch to press and it has never slipped. Also I've been doing about 20 track days with no problems at all ... best clutch ever and still going strong !!!