candymanjl

Punched it today in 4th and the revs climbed way faster than I was accelerating ha ha. Oh well, the clutch has seemed iffy lately and with the cold weather I guess it's got less grip than it used to.

Looking into replacement clutches now, never bought one for a domestic before, always owned imports. What are good brands? Someone mentioned a dual disc clutch the other day but I can't remember the brand. I like that idea since then I don't have to worry about holding the power.

Thanks in advance!

BruceH

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Blacksmoke

Exedy or Mcleod

Mcleod is going to be very expensive though.
Exedy is also a GREAT clutch.

Those are the ONLY two I would recommend.
STAY AWAY FROM SPEC CLUTCHES ON THESE CARS.

I don't care what anyone here says though.
Too MUCH clutch is bad.
You don't want a clutch that holds 1k horse power if you are
only running 300 HP.
It can damage your transmission.

BIGPHIL

I cant comment on the Exedy, but I have first hand experience with both the McLeod RST and the Spec 3+. I dont know why you say to stay away from the Spec clutches. Im sure some people have had some problems with them, but you could say that about almost any product...nothings perfect except Jessica Valerio's ***! I had some serious issues with the RST setup and its my opinion that it has a slight design flaw. Its my opinion that the splined hub does not have enough surface area that contacts the input shaft. when not engaged i think the parts float to much and can cause binding issues. Again, my speculation only, but I cant see anything else that could cause the problems I had except for that, but after two RST installs and the same issue with both, I had to dump that setup. Look at some images of the RST disc hubs vs that of the Spec twin disc hubs...huge difference. Anyways...I dont want to start a war, but my vote would be for a Spec stage 3+. Its rated to hold 850 ft-lbs so plenty for your setup and it also has the feel of the stock clutch...very street friendly...no chatter either, very quiet clutch setup. Also...others have had some good findings with the Centerforce clutches...again, some bad reviews on this setup too. Ive installed three Spec clutches in the S197 platform and all worked as expected.

BruceH

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Blacksmoke

SPEC has had a WIDESPREAD problem with the S197's.
The 3 and 3+ seem to have not had as MUCH problems as their other ones but
they have had a GOOD amount of problems.
The other ones are notorious for having problems on these cars.

I had a SPEC 2+ that I had to yank after less than 600 mi. on it.
Spec tried to blame me for the problems.
1st they tried to blame a faulty install until I informed them it was done by a dealer.
Then they tried to blame it on the slave until I told them I had replaced it with a new one.
Then they tried to tell me it was my driving.
Then they tried to tell me it was the break in period.

I had a HORRIBLE noise coming from the clutch from a stop and sometimes when switching gears.
It was so horrible people in the car next to me would give me strange looks.

I for one would not buy from them again based on customer service ALONE. They refused to stand by their product and tried their BEST to put the blame on me.
After all was set and done I was still left to eat the cost.

Just check these forums ALONE to see all the people that have had
problems with SPECs in these cars.

SPEC has developed a reputation with the S197 community for having problems.

siggyfreud

The Saleen guys like the Mcleods, and it seems people here do as well. I'm using their disc, but its really too early to say anything good or bad about it for me.

everett

I have a centerforce dual friction on a mustang with all the usual bolt ons and nitrous. It feels great,pedal is as light as stock and holds great when I spray a125 into it.it holds 450 hp and slips awesome. Macleod is a great clutch as is should for the price. Before I bought my centerforce my friend let test drive his 2000 gt vert. I have the same car but it's a coupe and he had just installed a spec stage 2 and was singing about how great it was so I tried to order one. I was told a 5 day wait for shipping but I needed car right away so the centerforce was rated at similar hp so I bought it. Well my same friend called about 3 weeks later whining that his clutch failed after about 5000 kms and he was having a birch of a time trying to get spec to warrantee it. He babies that car so I know it wasn't his driving habits. Well after 3 weeks with no car spec finally says ship them the clutch so they can "inspect" it. 2 more weeks with no car and they tell him they will apply a new friction surface and send it back "free of charge". Sure,he paid shipping to get it there,5 weeks with his Dd at a tranny shop,700 for original install plus 400 for clutch plus 200 for removal plus 50 for shipping to spec plus 500 for re-install cause the guys at the tranny shop felt sorry for him. I went online and it appears the spec stage 2 has this issue come up pretty often as I have read similar horror stories in other forums I am in. So I guess the gods above were telling me centerforce because of the shipping wait on the spec. And centerforce uses these weights in their clutches that actually make them grip better as the rpms climb. The spec stage 3 is like an on/off switch which makes for a pretty jerky start. I am suggesting Mccleod if money isn't an issue but I absolutely love my centerforce and trust me I drive my car hard. John force would be proud of me. Whatever you choose be sure to drive easy for the first 500 miles. More if it's alot of highway miles to properly mate the 2 friction surfaces. I hope this helps and happy driving. Go to the corral and Modded mustangs forum and see if you can find any horror stories and mention the ones you are thinking of buying in the title so the members can chime in. Happy driving

Simon1

++1000!

Not a better clutch made for our car. Quiet, smooth, good engagement, light pedal and no chattering. Stock slave and like stock driving.

I have driven S197s with 5 different clutches. The Ncleod shined above the rest.

I have 250+ passes on my clutch@500+ hp. It runs great.

Simon1

That's the main problem with aftermarket single disc clutches.

As afar as Spec goes, you can take that company and throw it in the dumpster. Their customer service is garbage! There have been so many here that have bought the 2 and 2+, only to end up buying a clutch that works correctly. After seeing how Spec treats it's customers and it's lack of support, I would never buy a clutch from them.

As far as the RST input shaft binding issue, that's the first I have heard of that.