rstone

I was looking in getting the south bend 3250 dual disk or the con fe? How is everbody liking the 3250 is it pretty smooth and how hard is the pedal compare to stock clutch? I am just trying to keep the truck driveable for the wife to drive. OR should I just go with the con fe? How bad does the 3250 dual disk rattles?

snoyes

Well, let's see,

I have the SBC with the 3250. I also had the 3600. If you are looking for the stock pedal pressure, then the DD are not for you. They require more pressure, no way around it. And my wife will not drive my truck now... Yes, it rattles. Again, even with the sprung DD it rattles, and the 3250 or 3600 or even higher doesn't make a difference on the amount or rattling. My first rattle was loud enough where I could not hold a conversation with someone outside the truck, my second clutch is much quieter. The only way around that is to get the fluidampr, at a cost of $450.00. But that's the bad..

The DD is a great set-up. I haven't slipped it, most guys doing serious truck pulls, etc. are running it. The 3250 is less pedal pressure than the 3600, I have no idea how some guys are everyday drivers with the 3850?!? Can you say leg workout!! And the company has been great. Peter has been good to work with...

454hp is right on the cusp of needing it. If you plan to continue building up more HP, you are going to need it. If you can live with where you are at, then the Con Fe may work... Just my .02 worth....

rstone

thank you, you answer all my question I have. I think I am going to stick with the con fe and all I am going to add next is a 62/14 turbo and maybe 50hp stick in it. I am not going to sled pull or even drag race just want to be able to play on the road. So you think the con fe should hold fine?

jmccart

Hey Snoyes, did you notice a big difference in noise with the Fluidamper?
Thanx.l

bob4x4

imho the dd is easier to drive than the FE,ask Peter.

Bob

kuhkuhkyle

I have the Con FE. Its really grabby. So pulling a trailer is going to be almost impossible with it. Or so peter told me. The pedal is close to stock, but is alot stiffer. The install was actually easier than I thought. And it handles everything i can throw at it for now. Even with another box, and a turbo Peter told me it would hold as long as i dont go to a 37 inch tire. It will handle over the 500 horse rating he also said. I talked to him for a good while, because when i got it, the friction disk is actually the same thickness as the stock friction disk. .325" compressed. I thought i got the wrong one and made the call. I have the right one. I think you'll like it. Just takes abit to get used to, and if taking off from second revving up a bit will help it take off smoothly.

snoyes

I haven't tried the Fluidampr yet... Kinda got to let the old wallet recharge before I press on. However, there was a long thread about it and most said it did the trick...

As for the FE, the only ones I have ever used/installed were in Powerstrokes. They were grabby, but the pedal pressure was smooth and those guys said over time they got used to them. However, like bob4x4 says talking to Peter is a great idea, he works with these every day...

JCLeary

I had a 3250# DD in my '03. A couple of weeks later I installed a Fluidampr. It made a huge difference in noise.

The biggest benefit was being able to drive in direct w/o the transmission sounding like it was going to fall apart.

After a couple of months I pulled it and installed an OFE. It was almost as smooth as stock. It also held 500+ horsepower. It held on the drag strip. It took everything I threw at it within reason. Peter told me no 3rd gear launches. Other than that, the OFE is good to go.

I did not want the grabbiness of the FE. Additionally, I've heard from others that if you're running hard and slip the FE, it won't grab until you back off. The OFE will slip a bit and then grab again. I couldn't verify, as I never slipped my OFE.

jmccart

Is there any "jerking/grabbing" action with the OFE? I had a ceramic single in my last truck, it would hold everything fine, but it was very annoying on the street. Is there any jerking/grabbing with the 3250?

snoyes

The 3250 is slightly grabby, but not so much that you can't pull a trailer. Compared to the stock you definately have to learn to play it out, with just the right amount of engagement vs. RPM. Too much RPM, not enough engagment you will get a squeal from the plates rubbing. Too little RPM, you will lug it into a grabby condition. But I got used to it, after a few thousand mile trip pulling a 10000# trailer from Alaska to Illinois I got it figured out... Now, backing up the trailer, wow, that's a pain.... Dodge has got to lower that reverse gear.... Either you are riding the clutch, or you are doing like 10 MPH in reverse....

jmccart

That was some quality information there, thanx. I am wondering if I should sell my 3250 DD and get an OFE. I want my wife to be able to reverse up a steep driveway w/o bouncing all over the place.

dodgezilla04

john, there is no jerking with my ofe. it is quite smooth, and holding 540hp.

JCLeary

Pretty much mirrored my experience.

Peter rates his clutches conservatively...

jmccart

Was it quiet or noisy? The single, ceramic, Valair I had was very loud at idle. I would like the clutch to be silent, like a stocker. Thanx.

dodgezilla04

you cannot hear an ofe