Diesel Bombers - clutches??

Quote:

Originally Posted by lukesdiesel (Post 305027)

So why is the 12.25" rated at 550hp and the 13" rated at 600hp? Just curious

Luke

Luke, it is simple. If we were able to put a larger clutch in your bell housing, room permitted which it is not, the torque rating of the clutch would go up. A Chevy Sprint has a 6 1/2" clutch in it with about 2000 lbs of clamp load. Put that sucker in your mighty diesel and see if you can take off in fist gear. :ouch: You can think of it this way. Lets take a clutch with a 13" outside diameter and a 10" inside diameter with an applied pressure of lets say 3000 lbs. If we cut away in sections the friction material, outside to inside, every inch leaving an inch of material cutting away the other, we will obviously gain pounds per square inch do to lack of material. This is why semis use button clutches, less friction material more pounds per square inch. Now lets take it to a mathematic equation. What we have learned as I stated above is the equation of "means". Lets move the inside diameter out (friction area) and create the friction area more toward the outside of the applied pressure very similar to a torque converter and you are able to not only create more pounds per square inch but enhance the "means" of the clutch to create more torque. Actually, after rereading your question you answered yourself. I thought you were the guy that I quoted in my other post. :argh:

Peter

---AutoMerged DoublePost---

By the way, we do not rate our clutches at these ratings. Maybe our competitors do and all i can say is buy them and see what they will do. It is our findings that a ceramic button single disc clutch will hold but be miserable for the driver and be short lived do to the grooving of the castings. Been there, done that, and the consumer said NO!

Peter