RedSrt007
Active Member
Centerforce Clutch Review:
As debates have been brought time and time again on the differences between difference clutch manufacturers, we decided to bring facts to the table! :burnout: This allows manufactures to show the quality of there product, allows members to get a feel for the product before purchasing!
My journey started with an order placed to Centerforce. The customer service was very good and very prompt. We discussed the differences between their clutch and other manufacturers' clutches. We also went over the break-in period and how important it is to properly 'seat' the clutch to the flywheel. He made sure I was knowledgeable about their clutch, and that he was knowledgeable about my truck, that we were on the same page.
My order was placed on Thursday, June 29, 2006, and I received the Package on July 1, 2006. That was about as fast as could be possible, which was good because the appointment for the installation was on the 1st :2in1: .
The packaging was as expected, very good and protected the contents which were located inside very well.
Everything was packaged individually and also wrapped to perfection, with the Centerforce name printed on all material. Included were instructions on "Do's and "Don’ts", and tips on how to make the clutch longevity longer.
Now for the solid specs
Pressure Plate
It is apparently obvious by first looking at the pressure plate that there a Centrifugal Weight System. Why is that?? Centerforce has engineered this plate to evenly apply and depress pressure evenly; something the Factory "LUK" pressure plate did not have. This will not only help with the longevity of the clutch disk, but it aids in the seating (won't slip) of the clutch in high stress situations. As the RPM increases, the pressure on the clutch increases, thus providing a stronger, better hold.
The (measure) specifications on the factory pressure plate and the Centerforce pressure plate are nearly the same, as the application would need to be, to fit the bell housing. The spring specifications are unknowns at this time until further information is gathered from Centerforce.
Clutch Disk :
The Centerforce Dual Friction clutch disk is made of carbon composite and has an apparent puck-style design to help with holding capacity, and effectively transferring heat. The Centerforce clutch disk is dual friction, meaning it has a full "face" on one side, and "puc" style on the other. This design greatly increases holding capacity (up to 90% Centerforce says) unlike the factory clutch which has a full face on both sides, allowing heat to be generated with the non-aggressive design. As you can see from the pictures, the OEM pressure plate was not allowing even distribution of pressure to the clutch disk, resulting in uneven wear. The inside ring of the clutch disk material was being applied and the outside ring of the material was not.
Installation
Installation was fairly simple, if following the Dodge SRT-10 repair manual. The Centerforce Clutch does not include instructions on how to install the clutch into the SRT-10, the only documentation was tips and advice to increase the clutch longevity. For this installation / comparison, we followed the installation manual to a "T", allowing us to do a very equal comparison between different clutch manufacturers. The Centerforce clutch was made very well and met manufacturer's specifications quite nicely. First thing that is VERY important is that the flywheel must be new or resurfaced in order for the clutch disk to properly seat against the flywheel. Here you can see the comparison between the OEM flywheel and a OEM resurfaced flywheel...big difference! Once the flywheel was installed and torqued to manufacturer's specs, the clutch plate was installed. Since this is a dual friction, we want to make sure that the "puc" style and the full face style was on the right side; thankfully, Centerforce labels them with a sticker that reads "flywheel side". Once the clutch disk is installed, an alignment tool is installed to properly align the clutch disk to the flywheel and pressure plate; this is important, as even wear on the disk / pressure plate / flywheel must be achieved. It is now time to install the pressure plate, which is VERY VERY heavy. Once in plate, all bolts were loctite and torqued to manufacturer's specifications. Pretty isn’t it ?? Now that the installation has been completed, we can reinstall everything back together!
The Test
Once everything was put back together, it was time to take it for a spin around the block. Once inside, my first reaction was, "Is there a new clutch in here??" as the pedal felt exactly the same as the OEM Luk clutch. I started the truck and began driving....with the clutch fully disengaged, I placed it in reverse and slowly started engaging the clutch, not knowing where the engagement point was located. The clutch engaged approximately 2-3 inches from the floor compared to the 3-4 inches with the factory clutch. As stated by Centerforce, the clutch needs a 'seating period' for the carbon composite material and chemicals to mate with the newly surfaced flywheel. So when leaving the clutch, I was very easy, shifting at 3k rpm, and no full throttle driving. In stop / go traffic, there is no chatter and the clutch feels like it has a lot more grab then the OEM clutch. I will not be able to tell how the clutch performs under stress until the break-in period is reached. Updates will follow....
Conclusion
I expected to see a lot more differences (measurement-wise) in the amount of material that was on the Centerforce Pressure plate & disk then on the OEM pressure plate & disk, but the numbers were basically the same. Installation was very simple and the specifications on the Centerforce were very good. The alignment of the holes on the pressure plate matched those of the flywheel and no minor or major modifications were needed. An alignment tool is needed to align the clutch disk to the flywheel and pressure plate, since the Centerforce kit does not include one. As for the clutch "feel", it feels the same as OEM and definitely has a better engage / disengage on the gears. The true test of how the Centerforce Dual Friction Kit holds the power will be at the track, where 620tq will be applied to Drag slicks @ approx 5500 RPM's, but until the break-in period is reached, this cannot be tested. (Updates will follow).
OEM?? I think not!
Ratings
Customer Service - 10 / 10
Ordering, Shipping, Handling - 10 / 10
Installation Material (for the do-it-yourself-ers) - 7 / 10
Quality / Craftsmanship - 9 / 10
Drivability and Comfort - 10 / 10
Performance - 9/10 (currently - updates will follow)
Overall Value - (10/10)
UPDATE : 7/11/2006
The Centerforce Clutch Kit has reached it's "Break-in" period, and all is well. There is VERY SLIGHT chatter in 1st gear (almost to an unnoticable point) which does not happen on a frequent basis; Overall, the clutch feels stock pressure-wise and engages quite nice. I never noticed that my stock clutch (which had 3500 miles) might have been slipping, until the installation of this clutch was performed. With the Centerforce clutch, I can give it full throttle and there is a noticeable difference on the way it accelerates, almost like it has more power then before, which could be possible if I was loosing torque due to drivetrain slippage.
The SRT was taken to the 1/8mile drag strip to see how it hold up to the 617 ft tq, with M&H Drag Slicks. The SRT was launched at 6 different interval RPM's : 3500, 4000, 4500, 5000, 5500 and 6000 with NO slipping, just "popping" the clutch pedal.
It launched very different then the factory clutch, as the Centerforce felt very solid when the clutch was released. At the 5500 & 6000 RPM range, there was no smell of clutch material or no sign of clutch 'burning'. The shifts were solid as the gears were changed from 1st to 2nd, and engagement and disengagement were not a problem. By the 8th pass, the hydraulics began to heat up and I started loosing the "easiness" of being able to shift between gears. I feel this problem is not the fault of the clutch kit, but rather a result of the hydraulic system reaching boiling point and becoming unreliable. The Centerforce clutch kit with the same condition, same track, same RPM, and same vehicle setup, resulted in a .102 gain in 60-ft times. It is quite apparent that this is a large gain over the stock clutch, and the force applied by the Centerforce is in fact greater then the factory clutch kit.
All-in-all, the clutch is working very well !
Thank You
Updates will continue....
UPDATE : 8/21/2006:
Well, as many of you know, I started having clutch releasing issues. After bleeding the fluid we knew we had to get into the bell housing again and figure out what went wrong; it was either the hydraulics or the clutch. After meeting Dan at DC Performance, we dropped the transmission and began our work. The transmission was dropped, the clutch was taken apart and inspected, and a failure analysis was began. The clutch assembly was in great shape and did not look like the reason for the failure in gear engagement. So we reinstalled the Centerforce clutch assembly, then decided to replace the OEM plastic hydraulics with the SRT-10 car hydraulics (metal instead of plastic). Once reinstalled, the hydraulics were bled, and topped off with motul 600 Hi-temp fluid. As of now, the clutch is working very well, and shifter as if it was factory. While discussing the situation with centerforce, we feel that with performance clutches the added force from the pressure plate is too much for the already weak stock / plastic hydraulics. It appears that when you swap the oem clutch kit with a performance kit, odds are you will need to upgrade to the metal hydraulics (might as well while the transmission is out anyways
)
I will be out testing the clutch kit September 23rd at Famoso Raceway, gathering my data compared to the runs with the factory clutch. Centerforce might be joining us
Updates Will Follow....
UPDATE : 9/25/2006:
Well, on 9/23/2006 (sat.) the clutch kit was put to a test. The goal was to see exactly how much stress we can put on this clutch kit, here are the following results:
5000 Clutch Drop - 1.795 - 60ft
5500 Clutch Drop - 1.711 - 60ft
6000 Clutch Drop - 1.766 - 60ft
The Centerforce Clutch kit is very impressive, to say the least it gripped with no apparent slippage. Making shifts was a breeze as the clutch disengages properly and swiftly. I felt very confident knowing the this clutch has been installed and was not going to fail me compared to the factory clutch. There is no chatter or any issues as of now, future updates will follow.
Patrick
As debates have been brought time and time again on the differences between difference clutch manufacturers, we decided to bring facts to the table! :burnout: This allows manufactures to show the quality of there product, allows members to get a feel for the product before purchasing!
My journey started with an order placed to Centerforce. The customer service was very good and very prompt. We discussed the differences between their clutch and other manufacturers' clutches. We also went over the break-in period and how important it is to properly 'seat' the clutch to the flywheel. He made sure I was knowledgeable about their clutch, and that he was knowledgeable about my truck, that we were on the same page.
My order was placed on Thursday, June 29, 2006, and I received the Package on July 1, 2006. That was about as fast as could be possible, which was good because the appointment for the installation was on the 1st :2in1: .
The packaging was as expected, very good and protected the contents which were located inside very well.
Everything was packaged individually and also wrapped to perfection, with the Centerforce name printed on all material. Included were instructions on "Do's and "Don’ts", and tips on how to make the clutch longevity longer.
Now for the solid specs
Pressure Plate
It is apparently obvious by first looking at the pressure plate that there a Centrifugal Weight System. Why is that?? Centerforce has engineered this plate to evenly apply and depress pressure evenly; something the Factory "LUK" pressure plate did not have. This will not only help with the longevity of the clutch disk, but it aids in the seating (won't slip) of the clutch in high stress situations. As the RPM increases, the pressure on the clutch increases, thus providing a stronger, better hold.
The (measure) specifications on the factory pressure plate and the Centerforce pressure plate are nearly the same, as the application would need to be, to fit the bell housing. The spring specifications are unknowns at this time until further information is gathered from Centerforce.
Clutch Disk :
The Centerforce Dual Friction clutch disk is made of carbon composite and has an apparent puck-style design to help with holding capacity, and effectively transferring heat. The Centerforce clutch disk is dual friction, meaning it has a full "face" on one side, and "puc" style on the other. This design greatly increases holding capacity (up to 90% Centerforce says) unlike the factory clutch which has a full face on both sides, allowing heat to be generated with the non-aggressive design. As you can see from the pictures, the OEM pressure plate was not allowing even distribution of pressure to the clutch disk, resulting in uneven wear. The inside ring of the clutch disk material was being applied and the outside ring of the material was not.
Installation
Installation was fairly simple, if following the Dodge SRT-10 repair manual. The Centerforce Clutch does not include instructions on how to install the clutch into the SRT-10, the only documentation was tips and advice to increase the clutch longevity. For this installation / comparison, we followed the installation manual to a "T", allowing us to do a very equal comparison between different clutch manufacturers. The Centerforce clutch was made very well and met manufacturer's specifications quite nicely. First thing that is VERY important is that the flywheel must be new or resurfaced in order for the clutch disk to properly seat against the flywheel. Here you can see the comparison between the OEM flywheel and a OEM resurfaced flywheel...big difference! Once the flywheel was installed and torqued to manufacturer's specs, the clutch plate was installed. Since this is a dual friction, we want to make sure that the "puc" style and the full face style was on the right side; thankfully, Centerforce labels them with a sticker that reads "flywheel side". Once the clutch disk is installed, an alignment tool is installed to properly align the clutch disk to the flywheel and pressure plate; this is important, as even wear on the disk / pressure plate / flywheel must be achieved. It is now time to install the pressure plate, which is VERY VERY heavy. Once in plate, all bolts were loctite and torqued to manufacturer's specifications. Pretty isn’t it ?? Now that the installation has been completed, we can reinstall everything back together!
The Test
Once everything was put back together, it was time to take it for a spin around the block. Once inside, my first reaction was, "Is there a new clutch in here??" as the pedal felt exactly the same as the OEM Luk clutch. I started the truck and began driving....with the clutch fully disengaged, I placed it in reverse and slowly started engaging the clutch, not knowing where the engagement point was located. The clutch engaged approximately 2-3 inches from the floor compared to the 3-4 inches with the factory clutch. As stated by Centerforce, the clutch needs a 'seating period' for the carbon composite material and chemicals to mate with the newly surfaced flywheel. So when leaving the clutch, I was very easy, shifting at 3k rpm, and no full throttle driving. In stop / go traffic, there is no chatter and the clutch feels like it has a lot more grab then the OEM clutch. I will not be able to tell how the clutch performs under stress until the break-in period is reached. Updates will follow....
Conclusion
I expected to see a lot more differences (measurement-wise) in the amount of material that was on the Centerforce Pressure plate & disk then on the OEM pressure plate & disk, but the numbers were basically the same. Installation was very simple and the specifications on the Centerforce were very good. The alignment of the holes on the pressure plate matched those of the flywheel and no minor or major modifications were needed. An alignment tool is needed to align the clutch disk to the flywheel and pressure plate, since the Centerforce kit does not include one. As for the clutch "feel", it feels the same as OEM and definitely has a better engage / disengage on the gears. The true test of how the Centerforce Dual Friction Kit holds the power will be at the track, where 620tq will be applied to Drag slicks @ approx 5500 RPM's, but until the break-in period is reached, this cannot be tested. (Updates will follow).
OEM?? I think not!
Ratings
Customer Service - 10 / 10
Ordering, Shipping, Handling - 10 / 10
Installation Material (for the do-it-yourself-ers) - 7 / 10
Quality / Craftsmanship - 9 / 10
Drivability and Comfort - 10 / 10
Performance - 9/10 (currently - updates will follow)
Overall Value - (10/10)
UPDATE : 7/11/2006
The Centerforce Clutch Kit has reached it's "Break-in" period, and all is well. There is VERY SLIGHT chatter in 1st gear (almost to an unnoticable point) which does not happen on a frequent basis; Overall, the clutch feels stock pressure-wise and engages quite nice. I never noticed that my stock clutch (which had 3500 miles) might have been slipping, until the installation of this clutch was performed. With the Centerforce clutch, I can give it full throttle and there is a noticeable difference on the way it accelerates, almost like it has more power then before, which could be possible if I was loosing torque due to drivetrain slippage.
The SRT was taken to the 1/8mile drag strip to see how it hold up to the 617 ft tq, with M&H Drag Slicks. The SRT was launched at 6 different interval RPM's : 3500, 4000, 4500, 5000, 5500 and 6000 with NO slipping, just "popping" the clutch pedal.
It launched very different then the factory clutch, as the Centerforce felt very solid when the clutch was released. At the 5500 & 6000 RPM range, there was no smell of clutch material or no sign of clutch 'burning'. The shifts were solid as the gears were changed from 1st to 2nd, and engagement and disengagement were not a problem. By the 8th pass, the hydraulics began to heat up and I started loosing the "easiness" of being able to shift between gears. I feel this problem is not the fault of the clutch kit, but rather a result of the hydraulic system reaching boiling point and becoming unreliable. The Centerforce clutch kit with the same condition, same track, same RPM, and same vehicle setup, resulted in a .102 gain in 60-ft times. It is quite apparent that this is a large gain over the stock clutch, and the force applied by the Centerforce is in fact greater then the factory clutch kit.
All-in-all, the clutch is working very well !
Thank You
Updates will continue....
UPDATE : 8/21/2006:
Well, as many of you know, I started having clutch releasing issues. After bleeding the fluid we knew we had to get into the bell housing again and figure out what went wrong; it was either the hydraulics or the clutch. After meeting Dan at DC Performance, we dropped the transmission and began our work. The transmission was dropped, the clutch was taken apart and inspected, and a failure analysis was began. The clutch assembly was in great shape and did not look like the reason for the failure in gear engagement. So we reinstalled the Centerforce clutch assembly, then decided to replace the OEM plastic hydraulics with the SRT-10 car hydraulics (metal instead of plastic). Once reinstalled, the hydraulics were bled, and topped off with motul 600 Hi-temp fluid. As of now, the clutch is working very well, and shifter as if it was factory. While discussing the situation with centerforce, we feel that with performance clutches the added force from the pressure plate is too much for the already weak stock / plastic hydraulics. It appears that when you swap the oem clutch kit with a performance kit, odds are you will need to upgrade to the metal hydraulics (might as well while the transmission is out anyways
)I will be out testing the clutch kit September 23rd at Famoso Raceway, gathering my data compared to the runs with the factory clutch. Centerforce might be joining us
Updates Will Follow....
UPDATE : 9/25/2006:
Well, on 9/23/2006 (sat.) the clutch kit was put to a test. The goal was to see exactly how much stress we can put on this clutch kit, here are the following results:
5000 Clutch Drop - 1.795 - 60ft
5500 Clutch Drop - 1.711 - 60ft
6000 Clutch Drop - 1.766 - 60ft
The Centerforce Clutch kit is very impressive, to say the least it gripped with no apparent slippage. Making shifts was a breeze as the clutch disengages properly and swiftly. I felt very confident knowing the this clutch has been installed and was not going to fail me compared to the factory clutch. There is no chatter or any issues as of now, future updates will follow.
Patrick
