Perils of a Race Clutch on the Street
 

Well, last week with the great weather I decided to take the coupe out for a "DRIVE".
DISCLAIMER: DO NOT DO THIS. PROFESSIONAL DIRVER ON CLOSED COURSE.
right?

First, we all have our priorities in life, good food, good company, good beer, good fudge, good s**. These can be moved around acording to each one's preference.

OK, after cursing around a little and getting the oil to about 200, I felt the """"need for speed""".

Hay, you all have been there!!! Right!!!

I figured just a quick blast up Preston Rd then home before you know who spots me. Ha, ha, ha.

I caught the light just turning yellow and made the right turn onto Preston from **** in 1st gear. No traffic = no problem. I pushed the throttle, it seemed almost instantaneously the tack (blurry) whipped around to somewhere between 6500>7000, grabbed 2nd pretty hard and felt it in my hips.
GOD, the sound. Makes the heart beat ""good"". (may need some more seat padding)
Again, 2nd gear, the tach hit 6500 or maybe 7k, not sure as my visibility was obscured by the big grin, yea baby, get 3rd reallllllllllllly hard, bang, again I felt it in my hips this time but much harder. AND I mean hard.
Boy, just writing this makes me sweat.
I'm sure there was some tire spin during each shift but the car was straight as an arrow. No squiggles or slides, it just hooked.

I didn't let 3rd go too high as I noticed we were VERY illegal. I pulled it into 4th gear and all was well,.....all the way home no problems.
Pulling into my drive, which is kind of downhill, I eased it into neutral and coasted into the garage. Then, bump, bump clank, thump, oh GOD, I know that metal sound and it ain't good.
I got out and was in that "limbo-kind-of-state" hot and sweaty from an incredible feeling of HP/torque/sound/speed/blurred vision/getting away w/out a serious speeding ticket, but also feeling a little sick.

I didn't want to think what I broke. NO, not yet. OH GOD, this is going to be expensive. GET BEER, LOTS OF IT.
Next day and a few friends later, plus some tequila, oops, it was decided that 3rd gear was trash, maybe 4th too.
Standard Transmission in FW said it was too soon to tell but it should be less then the $2200 for a new TKO600. Man, I sure hope so.

I'm in the process of pulling out the engine and trans and looking into a smoother "street" clutch. More info later but still sweaty.
See ya.

NOTE: when we stop getting so excited about driving an incredible 'so called' "kit car" and going so fast that you quit sweating = your dead.

"Sid" (the coupe) may miss the next lunch but I'll try to make it.
Jeff W

How much horsepower?

Ha ha..That's great I was smiling while I read this..Great descriptions..I could hear the pipes and feel the wind as I read along..You pretty much summed up how I feel each time I head out in the cobra. Another great opportunity to haul ass are freeway on ramps.....I also felt your pain of when s**t goes wrong on these cars. I hope you fix the problems and get back on the road soon..

I had a race clutch in my cobra which I changed to a street clutch this year. I had a new flywheel and pressure plate built to link up to my tranny etc. The race clutch was so stiff It felt like a leg workout every drive. Now it's alot better to drive around town.

Lee

HP??? A lot but more significantly big TQ #s.
We'll have some HP/TQ numbers before track time next year. Thats if the $$ gods hold out.
Lee, yea, I've done the one-legged-Poppeye before. Ha, more later.

My typical Cobra package for the small blocks includes a RAM HDX, Powergrip, or Powergrip HD clutch kit. None of the above have a "heavy leg" pressure plate. The HDX clutch is rated for 450hp, the Powergrip is rated for 550hp and the HD is rated for 650. These are all 10.5" diaphragm pressure plates and are available for most input shaft sizes.

I'm curious to hear what your previous combination was. If it was a stock T5, then it really doesn't matter which clutch you were using, they don't last long behind most high horsepower engines.

blykins, 3550 TKO, 5.5 tripple disk from Quartermaster. When I bought it 2000, it was the toughest on the market = long time ago. Lots of upgrades since.

Indeed a nice setup....

Unfortunately the clutch was rated for some big horsepower while the trans is not. I can see why you're looking for something else. ;)

I could feel the heat from the engine and smell the exhaust:3DSMILE:!