Clutch of Kings: ClutchMasters 850 (Detailed Pics Inside)

[gearhead1186]

Huge thanks to one of EPL's dealers, Jason @ AMD, for giving me a GREAT deal on this setup. Huge help and couldnt be more friendly. Spent close to an hour on the phone with him. Twin cerametallic unsprung discs. Installed pics to follow.

[AudiSportB5S4]

Awesome Mike, looks great! When are you going to take me for a ride in this animal? It seems you just keep buying more parts!

What is the expected feel of that clutch around town? A whore?

[gearhead1186]

Awesome Mike, looks great! When are you going to take me for a ride in this animal? It seems you just keep buying more parts!

What is the expected feel of that clutch around town? A whore?

Parts to feed the hungry beast. I hope to have the car running by next week but I'll have an rs4 intake/80mm TB on it with my old tune so I wont be able to do any crazy pulls. We can def putter around tho

I came from a 6 puck sprung ceramic SouthBend so Im expecting something similar being that this has solid discs. To be honest driving my SB in traffic through the city wasnt that bad. Just have to get used to the small window of clutch engagement.

[bigern45]

lol.. that thing is gonna hook like a bitch on cocaine!!! awesome!! i start on my install tomorrow!! waiting for the metal sc...

[NYCVR6]

This is the king of clutches..


The one you got would be my second choice.. Really nice, should have great drivability as well.

[RolledMySTi]

The looks like an on off switch that is going to suck in traffic. Hopefully big hp numbers will make it worth it.

[gearhead1186]

This is the king of clutches..


The one you got would be my second choice.. Really nice, should have great drivability as well.

Have you seen what happened to EvilEvo's Tilton with low mileage? What looks like a manufacturing defect and Tilton's refusal to replace or partially compensate EvilEvo is a huge minus for Tilton in my book.

[gearhead1186]

The looks like an on off switch that is going to suck in traffic. Hopefully big hp numbers will make it worth it.

I guess "on off switch" is kind of relative. IMO my SB sprung ceramic 6 puck was very driveable in stop and go traffic. I expect twin unsprung discs to drive similair. Obv compared to a kevlar/organic it will be "on-off" feeling

[Haenszel20v]

The looks like an on off switch that is going to suck in traffic. Hopefully big hp numbers will make it worth it.

The 850 in general is not on/off, however I believe he did make a mistake getting twin unsprung cerametallics. I'm MUCH happier with a single sprung disk.

[lotusgardener]

Yeah I have to tell you the unsprung discs was not a good idea. The on/off switch will literally be there now. Even if you wanted the ceramatallic discs you really should have kept one sprung which would have given you slightly smoother engagement.

[bigern45]

mike, let me know what you measure as far as your bolts and what you have to remove. im going to measure tonight as i do mine, but id like to have a colleague to confer with...lol...

i have 1.373" as my starting bolt measurement, 1.628 total bolt length... .09" is the taper on the end of the bolts. i also have a steel spacer, someone told me maybe they have me that to take up the slack, but i think its because i now have an aluminum flywheel, so the bolts would def screw up the flywheel without the spacer. i think the spacer is not there for that reason. ill get back tonight/tomorrow with what i measure as depth through the flywheel and into the crank.

[gearhead1186]

The 850 in general is not on/off, however I believe he did make a mistake getting twin unsprung cerametallics. I'm MUCH happier with a single sprung disk.

Yeah I have to tell you the unsprung discs was not a good idea. The on/off switch will literally be there now. Even if you wanted the ceramatallic discs you really should have kept one sprung which would have given you slightly smoother engagement.

My s4 is nowhere near a DD and calling it a weekend car is also a slight stretch. Ive discussed how my car will be used with Jason @ AMD and this is the setup he suggested. Clutch feel is a very subjective topic. What is too aggressive for some is fine for others.

[gearhead1186]

mike, let me know what you measure as far as your bolts and what you have to remove. im going to measure tonight as i do mine, but id like to have a colleague to confer with...lol...

i have 1.373" as my starting bolt measurement, 1.628 total bolt length... .09" is the taper on the end of the bolts. i also have a steel spacer, someone told me maybe they have me that to take up the slack, but i think its because i now have an aluminum flywheel, so the bolts would def screw up the flywheel without the spacer. i think the spacer is not there for that reason. ill get back tonight/tomorrow with what i measure as depth through the flywheel and into the crank.

I will def let you know. The "steel spacer" is a torque plate to protect the aluminum flywheel. I might not get to the install until late tonight but I will get it together.

[BENI_BOY]

Awesome Mike, looks great! When are you going to take me for a ride in this animal? It seems you just keep buying more parts!

What is the expected feel of that clutch around town? A whore?

you really want to ride mike dont you? you f4g!

[NYCVR6]

Have you seen what happened to EvilEvo's Tilton with low mileage? What looks like a manufacturing defect and Tilton's refusal to replace or partially compensate EvilEvo is a huge minus for Tilton in my book.

No, i havent heard the story.. My experiences with Tilton have been great, from clutches, to pedals, master cylinders and such, they always had top notch customer service. The Carbon/Carbon clutch i posted the picture of, drives absolutely like a stock clutch, pedal feel and all.. The discs never contact the flywheel surface as well, so there is never a need to resurface the flywheel. When the clutch wears, you can purchase larger spacers, and the replace any part on the the whole system if needed. No doubt about it,the price is crazy, but i havent had a problem with it yet, and i cant believe how stock it feels. I was going to get a CM850, before i got this, Im happy with my decision. Both are top notch pieces, but the carbon carbon design is based on F1 technology, cant top that.. Good luck with the build, sounds sick... I see you're local to me as well... Maybe we can link up when your car is done for some friendly pulls.

[nthusiastt]

No, i havent heard the story.. My experiences with Tilton have been great, from clutches, to pedals, master cylinders and such, they always had top notch customer service. The Carbon/Carbon clutch i posted the picture of, drives absolutely like a stock clutch, pedal feel and all.. The discs never contact the flywheel surface as well, so there is never a need to resurface the flywheel. When the clutch wears, you can purchase larger spacers, and the replace any part on the the whole system if needed. No doubt about it,the price is crazy, but i havent had a problem with it yet, and i cant believe how stock it feels. I was going to get a CM850, before i got this, Im happy with my decision. Both are top notch pieces, but the carbon carbon design is based on F1 technology, cant top that.. Good luck with the build, sounds sick... I see you're local to me as well... Maybe we can link up when your car is done for some friendly pulls.

Yeah, from what I've heard by the supra crowd that tilton clutch is pretty epic. For the price though the CM sounds like a great buy.

[bigern45]

i was suggested the tilton carbon/carbon at first as well, green @ USP personally told me it was the best clutch hes ever driven. i went with the FX850 just due to the 2000 dollar difference, plus my connections led me there to a degree. its kinda the poor mans tilton, i think. and i felt like i wasnt getting "the best" at the time, after have personally talked with adam and his experience, am a little relieved that i am putting in a clutchmasters. and im sure there are some bad clutchmasters twin disc experiences out there as well, every company has a few mishaps.. but if you look at evilevos thread and what went bad on the clutch, its an obvious manufacture defect. that says a little something about customer service to me..

yah know mike, this was stupid. maybe the admin can consolidate our threads, you shoulda just put your pics/info in my thread, or i shoulda waited to get it all in one on your thread... oh well..

[gearhead1186]

No, i havent heard the story.. My experiences with Tilton have been great, from clutches, to pedals, master cylinders and such, they always had top notch customer service. The Carbon/Carbon clutch i posted the picture of, drives absolutely like a stock clutch, pedal feel and all.. The discs never contact the flywheel surface as well, so there is never a need to resurface the flywheel. When the clutch wears, you can purchase larger spacers, and the replace any part on the the whole system if needed. No doubt about it,the price is crazy, but i havent had a problem with it yet, and i cant believe how stock it feels. I was going to get a CM850, before i got this, Im happy with my decision. Both are top notch pieces, but the carbon carbon design is based on F1 technology, cant top that.. Good luck with the build, sounds sick... I see you're local to me as well... Maybe we can link up when your car is done for some friendly pulls.

Yeah, from what I've heard by the supra crowd that tilton clutch is pretty epic. For the price though the CM sounds like a great buy.

The CM850 follows the same idea. No need to resurface the actual flywheel, just need to buy a new wearing surface. Actual pressure plate is separate as well. Really no need to buy an entire "clutch kit" ever again. My comment above might have come across wrong. Im not against Tilton as a company. Got their brake proportioning valve and master going into a 73 cuda but based on my needs, the carbon carbon setup wouldnt make sense for me. The tilton clutch that would have fit my needs was the 7.25 that evilevo is running. But based on his experience with the clutch and tilton's response to it, I would never buy it or recommend it to anyone.

[davenew]

Parts to feed the hungry beast. I hope to have the car running by next week but I'll have an rs4 intake/80mm TB on it with my old tune so I wont be able to do any crazy pulls. We can def putter around tho

I came from a 6 puck sprung ceramic SouthBend so Im expecting something similar being that this has solid discs. To be honest driving my SB in traffic through the city wasnt that bad. Just have to get used to the small window of clutch engagement.

I have the same clutch. It definitely requires more concentration to drove smoothly in traffic but not as bad as some think.

[gearhead1186]

I have the same clutch. It definitely requires more concentration to drove smoothly in traffic but not as bad as some think.

glad to hear.

[bigern45]

mike, where are you on your swap?? i got all that i could apart on mine, then realized that i had left my 8mm allen socket at work. couldnt remove one of the tranny bolts, or any of the trans mount brackets. 2 engine to tranny bolts, 2 trans mount bracket assemblies, the shifter assembly, and the slave cylinder is all that i need to have this thing out. 2 buddies helped for about 2 hrs.. so im assuming i can have it out with help in 2.75-3 hrs..

[NYCVR6]

The CM850 follows the same idea. No need to resurface the actual flywheel, just need to buy a new wearing surface.

The Tilton carbon carbon discs NEVER contact the flywheel surface at all, they float between plates which are the actual contact surfaces. The surface of my flywheel is made of full aluminum, it never sees any friction as the plate mounted to it is solid, then the first disc sits on that... No need to ever resurface or change wearing surface. Kind of hard to explain, but here is a pic of the flywheel:


Im not shitting on your clutch at all, i really like the 8.50" CM design, and it was my second choice.. But as for kings of clutches, this style tilton is clearly the best around.

[HotSauce]

Just kidding. I can't wait to see/hear about this when it's done. I've been following since day 1 and have to say I'm really impressed with the build/parts selection/PATIENCE.

[Evilevo]

About my clutch.

Titlon said it was improperly aligned and that is why it failed. Now I dont really know how you can improperly align a clutch when the input shaft will only slide in with everything aligned, but that is what they said. I than talked to VAST who said because I installed the clutch first before they got the car, they can not warranty it. I dont really know what happened with it, but at this point I am so fed up with this car that I just don't care anymore. If it fails again, than we know it is a problem with the Tilton and the car will no longer be owned by me.

Everyone I know with a Tilton clutch, either with an S4 or other car, has never had a problem like this. All the Supras run Tilton and this is the same clutch used in NASCAR.

[Haenszel20v]

If it fails again, than we know it is a problem with the Tilton and the car will no longer be owned by me.

Quitter.

[Evilevo]

Quitter.

I think I have had almost as many problems as you

I dont have the funds anymore to keep throwing money at the car. It is my only car and it has been broken longer than it has been on the road while I have owned it.

[PAT@RSW]

Thats one mean looking SOB !

[gearhead1186]

mike, where are you on your swap?? i got all that i could apart on mine, then realized that i had left my 8mm allen socket at work. couldnt remove one of the tranny bolts, or any of the trans mount brackets. 2 engine to tranny bolts, 2 trans mount bracket assemblies, the shifter assembly, and the slave cylinder is all that i need to have this thing out. 2 buddies helped for about 2 hrs.. so im assuming i can have it out with help in 2.75-3 hrs..

didnt get to it last night. i have a buddy coming over today so Ill have the clutch on and the tranny back up by tonight.

[gearhead1186]

Rich, I will post the measurements of the bolts tomorrow. Left my notes in the garage.

[davenew]

Rich, I will post the measurements of the bolts tomorrow. Left my notes in the garage.

the bolts had a cone shaped tip with slight cup shape at the end that I assume is from the rolling process. All I had to do was grind for about 20-30 seconds to remove that tip.

[bigern45]

cool, ill do that today. same torque proceedure? 45ish ft. lbs. and then 180*. i got the pics up of what was left of my other clutch on my thread.. lol.. SB was GONE!!!!

[gearhead1186]

the bolts had a cone shaped tip with slight cup shape at the end that I assume is from the rolling process. All I had to do was grind for about 20-30 seconds to remove that tip.

I ended up doing a little more to be safe. Modified length of the bolt shaft only came out to 1.25"