I got to reading that clutch rebuttal, although I never read the post that started all that trouble. I have been looking forward to buying a South Bend for my truck to take all the power upgrades I'm planning. (I figured this was a smart first step after gauges)

To get down to business, I want a clutch that's right for my application. Right now I'm stock, but have a whole bunch of good stuff planned. I plan on towing, although not a lot of the time. I was planning on getting the clutch rated for over 450HP to handle it all. Will that affect the drivability before I get that much power? May as well just buy it once.

I suppose my question is "what is your opinion of the ideal clutch for my application?" (not towing too often, but when I do it'll be a lot, and I still want something to take my power upgrades. And what about single plate vs. multiple plate clutches?)

Thanks all
-SFB

 

Just want to say I got the same question. Figure I want to get into the 650-700 ft.lbs area eventually, when I get my truck!!!!<br><br>Will gross out about 25,000 when pulling, across country trips. Want good reliable and drivable. Also wouldn't mind hooking on to a sled once a year

 

Im generally not a fan of dual disks for street trucks. Two things happen: the extra weight of the dual disks make life harder on the tranny syncros and the hubs are not sprung in many of them and the vibration dampening is lost. Tranny wear increases with these factors. Shifting can be a bear because the syncros are trying harder to syncronize the extra weight and number of disks spinning around. Further, many dual clutchs rattle and make a bunch of noise when disengaged. For competition sled pulls the duals are king, but 4 street trucks, I like them very little.<br><br>The SouthBend clutch is the best answer for 450HP trucks that will still remain driver freindly.<br><br>Don~<br><br><br><br><br>

 

Back in the days when the only two clutches avialable for ETH/DEEs (2 years ago) were the McLeod dual disk and Joe's Sachs, there were several of us who went to new clutches at the same time. I went with Joe and everyone else went the McLoad. Every one of those other guys ended up swapping out their McLeods with South Bends. Biggest complaints were the unsprung hub and pedal travel to disengagement.

I'm still happy with my Sachs (my only complaint being the extra pedal pressure), but have no problem recommending the South Bend for any one in the market for a good clutch.

 

I absolutely love my new South Bend clutch. I got the 13&quot; Con Fe and it rocks. I pulled my first load with it Wednsday but didn't get to really throw the coal to it becuase of all the snow we got. But with the light 18k I was hauling it did great feels really good and solid when going through the gears. 8) You will be really suprised at the difference it makes having a clutch that gets the power to the ground.<br><br>South Bend is what I would recommend, Peter really can make one heck of a clutch.<br><br>DB