What are the benefits/downsides to using a ridgid clutch disc?

 

Benefit- maximum strength . Downside- extremely noisy, rough beyond description. For race car use.

 

When you say rough, do you mean jerky? Sort of like an on/off feel rather than gradual? The car will see mixed track/street use.

 

Engagement will be very harsh because of lack of springs to cushion. Unless your making stupid amounts of power and the car is a dedicated track machine there no need for this. Are you making 600 plus horsepower? Is this gonna be a drag car? If not theres really no need for a solid disk. The springs in the disk also help save the driveline from aggressive clutch engagement. If you don't have a built driveline again no need for this.

 

All of the production solid hub discs out there are very aggressive and will do the things said above. However, I think a lot of that is due to the friction material used and lack of a marcel spring between the friction surfaces. I am planning to have a custom disk made with a solid hub and a full face friction material. I think this will give me a more direct clutch engagement feel while not being as harsh as a pucked disc. It will also be lighter weight and eliminate any buzz from the springs in the hub.

 

I may be incorrect on this. My thinking says the soft springs of the stock clutch absorb most of the buzz/noise the clutch produces. The much stiffer springs of say a Stage 4 clutch transfer lots more noise/vibration/harshness of the driveline through the car. Would it not stand to reason a solid hub would be even worse. I have driven a mustang with a solid hub, puck type clutch and it was horrendous as far as street use is concerned. The car was built as a drag car. On the strip it was amazing though. I personally had a comp puck style stage 3 and the NVH was about at the limit of what I consider tolerable for street use. I would assume a stage 5(same clutch pressure plate with solid hub disk) would be most undesirable for the street. I know some of the big power turbo guys have used a solid disk. Maybe they will chime in. I personally went to a dual friction sprung hub clutch and couldn't be happier. Holds my 400hp and drives very close to a stock type clutch.

 

When I get around to having this disk made, we'll see. It should be in the next few months, or whenever I can get a USDM AP2 trans over to Germany.