Centerforce II clutch upgrade ?

Mike Braddock · #1 (**permalink**) 02-23-2001, 12:23 PM

Greetings from Florida. I'm thinking about upgrading my stock clutch to a Centerforce II unit after reading some of the positive replys from fellow members concerning this clutch. My question is Centerforce sells a 'regular' Centerforce II as well as the dual friction unit and I was wondering what the pros/cons of each are. I see the dual friction unit is more expensive, but does it also increase the pedal effort? I've got a mild 351C with about 330 hp. Thanks!

Mike

Roscoe · #2 (**permalink**) 02-24-2001, 03:35 AM

Mike,
I went with the Centerforce Dual Friction because I was told by everyone I respect that the pedal effort is much easier. I do not have my car on the road yet so I cannot tell you for certain but I expect it to be much easier than a standard clutch.

I'm running it in a 'tweeked' 351W.

Roscoe

Mike I · #3 (**permalink**) 02-24-2001, 03:40 AM

Hi Mike,
I've got the dual friction disc clutch in my car and I can tell you that pedal effort is very light compared to most other high performance clutches, and it holds tighter as the RPMs go up. You can probably go with the standard CFII if you want to save some money and it'll probably work just as well for your application.

Mike

Mike Braddock · #4 (**permalink**) 02-27-2001, 06:08 AM

Okay, question number two. Several places I've spoken with has suggested I go with the high performance Ford clutch instead. What do you guys think? From what I've heard the CF clutch is a better unit. But is it worth the extra $75-$100 for a street car? Thanks!

Mike

Roscoe · #5 (**permalink**) 02-27-2001, 06:16 AM

Mike,
Penny wise...Dollar foolish?

Spend the extra bucks..you will get a much higher quality clutch, easier to use and will last much longer (although that depends on you.)

Roscoe

Mike Braddock · #6 (**permalink**) 02-28-2001, 02:26 AM

Thanks, Roscoe.

RobMcQuarie · #7 (**permalink**) 02-28-2001, 05:45 AM

I also second the dual friction set up. The 11" is preferable to the 10 or 10.5" if you have the 164th flywheel-should for any 351, Cleve or Windsor.

I prefer the McLeod's over the Centerforces, but either will perform very well. We have sold a lot of the McLeod Dual friction/diaphram units on all sorts of engines-always have had very good reviews from customers-low pedal effort, great grip, no slip/chatter, smooth.

Mike Braddock · #8 (**permalink**) 02-28-2001, 11:32 PM

Rob,

What's your price on both the Centerforce dual friction and the McLeod? Thanks.

Mike

RobMcQuarie · #9 (**permalink**) 03-01-2001, 07:28 AM

Mike,
We haven't used any Centerforce parts in a number of years and I am no longer set up with them.

However, we are a warehouse distributor for Mcleod and your cost for a dual friction disc and matching 11" performance diaphram pressure plate is $275/pair. Just need to know what trans/input spline you have. A matching HD T/O brg will run $46 for the small spline trans.
Rob

Lou Borntrager · #10 (**permalink**) 03-01-2001, 07:43 AM

Mike,

I am running the Centerforce dual friction on mine and am amazed at the light pedal pressure. The main reason it’s easier is because it has a diaphragm pressure plate instead of the three-finger type, typical of a Ford clutch. The Centerforce clutch made my Cobra much easier to drive around in town and I have been very pleased with it so far. It’s actually the best change I have made to my car.

Mike Braddock · #11 (**permalink**) 03-01-2001, 11:14 AM

Rob and Lou,

Thank you for your valuable input. I too am after soft pedal pressure in hopes it will make my cobra more comfortable to drive for my father who has a weak leg. Rob, in your opinion, do the Centerforce and McLeod units have comparable pedal pressures? Thanks again

Mike

Cobranut · #12 (**permalink**) 03-01-2001, 01:59 PM

Come on guys, put a REAL MANS clutch in that thing.

But seriously, I have the McLeod 12" Long style clutch assy and the pedal pressure is quite high, but it holds extremely well.
I actually enjoy the workout it requires while driving.
I drive an Explorer every day with a clutch you can depress with two fingers. The Cobra makes me feel a little more macho, but it would probably get tiring in a traffic jam.

The McLeod rep I spoke to when ordering mine said that there is a big difference in pedal pressure between their diaphragm and long style pressure plates. I'm sure the diaphragm will do the job for you.

Later,
David

Roscoe · #13 (**permalink**) 03-01-2001, 02:15 PM

At the time I got mine the best price was from R&E Racing http://www.re-racing.com/
Picked up the Centerforce Billet Flywheel and 11" Dual Friction Clutch.
Roscoe

RobMcQuarie · #14 (**permalink**) 03-02-2001, 05:36 AM

Mike,
The Centerforce and McLeod's are pretty close on pedal pressure. The Centerforce pressure plates use little weights hung on the clutch fingers to help reduce the pedal pressure. Red at McLeod doesn't like this idea(though I havn't heard of any problems with it), and they use a different design that uses more leverage in the clutch to keep the pedal pressure down. They, of course, still offer the long style clutches for those with the HE-MAN legs.

Mike Braddock · #15 (**permalink**) 01-12-2002, 03:29 PM

As a followup to this original post, I purchased a McLeod 11" clutch for my C but I'm disappointed in the quality of the pressure plate (PN 360850). I have the 164 tooth flywheel with the standard 5/16" pressure plate bolts and the McLeod pressure plate comes drilled with a combination of 3 holes that are 120 degrees apart that are 5/16" ID and the second set of three holes are clearance for 3/8" bolts. So I've effectively reduced the shear area of the pressure plate bolts by 1/2, which really bothers me. Has anyone else had this problem?

George at Weber (McLeod) said this is how they mount and they haven't had any problems with it. Looking at it makes me feel like I spent a lot of coin for a part that doesn't fit half as well as the stock setup. Is the CF pressure plate this way as well, or does it have the proper 6 5/16" ID holes in the pressure plate?

Also, I've read several posts of the 'old' cobraforum that the clutch disk which ships with the CF DFII setup doesn't last very long--often less than 7k miles. Have any of you had problems like this and if so, what did you do? I've read two people had good luck with the CF DFII pressure plate and the stock Ford disk. But now I'm really confused about which way I should go. I want a clutch that will hold the torque of my 351C but with low pedal pressure for my father who has a weak leg. Should I return to the stock long style clutch? Everything I've read says the diaphram clutches have less pedal effort than the long style but also that they require a spherical TO brg, which no one seems to sell anymore (they are all flat now, which is meant for the long style clutches).

Fun, fun, fun

Thanks for any further input on this matter...

Mike

hound dog · #16 (**permalink**) 01-12-2002, 05:56 PM

I noticed that a couple of you said that you had the 164 tooth flywheel. I also read in the Ford Performance Parts catalog that the 164 tooth flywheel that they sell is for the 4.6 litre engine, but the 302's and 351W use the 157 tooth wheel. They don't list one for the Cleveland of course. SO, I went and bought a 157 tooth Centerforce flywheel for my '74 351. Now that I've had the whole mess balanced, someone please tell me I didn't "screw the pooch" on this one!
h dog

pbrown · #17 (**permalink**) 01-12-2002, 06:22 PM

hound dog,

I too have purchased the 157 tooth billit flywheel for my 393 stroker. I plan on using the Centerforce DF 10.5" clutch. I feel that these cars are so light, that a 10.5" clutch will hold fine. I don't plan on racing.

Mike Braddock · #18 (**permalink**) 01-13-2002, 09:54 AM

Hound Dog,

I didn't mean to confuse anyone else

. Your 10.5" clutch and 157 tooth flywheel is exactly what you want for you motor. We would have used the smaller flywheel ourselves if we needed to buy a new one, but we're using the stock flywheel, which is the 11" version on the C engines. A good 10.5" clutch will handle an obscene amount of torque, so you should be in good shape with what you have.

I'm going to give the McLeod setup and try and see how it works out. I've heard good things about them, so I'll trust those I've spoken to and keep my fingers crossed.

Mike

hound dog · #19 (**permalink**) 01-13-2002, 10:19 AM

Thanks Mike! Scared me for a minute there!

h dog

Jack21 · #20 (**permalink**) 01-13-2002, 10:28 AM

Two things.

Running 351w that's supposed to be good for 435#/ft tq. Didn't want to develop Corvette truck clutchitis in my left leg, or break any seat mounting bolts stuck in traffic with this due to high pedal effort.

Used the Centerforce 10 1/2" single disk clutch & PP that fits late 5.0's and 351W's using 157 tooth flywneels. Had 3 locating pins, and 6, 5/16 bolts supplied with clutch. Can't see any need for dual disks unless you're at the track every weekend with it. Expect service life on this to be 30k - 50k miles. Grabs smooth, and no slippage.

The CR (and my guess is several others) uses '78 Mustang 302 clutch linkage cable and firewall mount setup. This seemed to be the weak link in the system. Absolute junk!

Late Mustangs use a Nautilus Machine type cam to pull the cable, a heavier teflon coated cable, a firewall adjuster which provides a stronger firewall mount, and clutch adjustment at the firewall, and an adjustment at the clutch fork end of the cable as well. Summit (among others) sell a BBK version of this that I grafted onto the Cobra. Have shots of the conversion if anyone's interested.

Anyway, clutch can be depressed by hand it's so light.