detroit1994z28

I plan to buy this clutch for my 94 camaro z28. Anyone here have bad experinces with this clutch. Also how long do these centerforce clutches last for with street driving - No strip. I wanted to stay away from Spec. I heard to many people had problems with that clutch.

96camaroSS

I'm not completely happy with mine. Let me explain. The clutch doesn't chatter. Not even during break in. It grips very well. Hasn't slipped with Sportsman Pro's or BFG Drag Radials. But here's the rub. If you shift at high rpm's it becomes difficult to get in to 1st and reverse from a stop because the clutch doesn't completely disengage. My thinking is that the centrifugal weights used to enhance clamping force are too much for the slave/master cylinder to handle and causes it to incorrectly adjust. It does go back to normal after a day or two with no driving or VERY conservative driving and stays that way until the next time I hammer on it.

If you can live with that downside, it's a good clutch for the money grip-wise and feels like stock with just a hint more pedal effort.

As for me. I don't like it. I've tried a Spec stage 3 ceramic in it's place. Really didn't like that because of the excessive chatter. I put the Centerforce back in biding my time until I buy the McLeod Twin disc.

Bayer-Z28

the Centerforce dual friction is the one w/ two clutch disks? Would it do the same w/ the single?

orange terror

I have a centerforce dual friction on my '80 Z28, and I love it. However, this is a manual linkage setup and that pedal is a hard to push. Thing I love about that is you can feel the clutch so much better, and being its a manual setup, I get full disengagement. That monster grips like there is no tomorrow.

wrd1972

The reason this happens is because the clutch disk is slightly thicker than the OEM spec. This means that when the clutch is fully disengaged there is still a slight pressure being applied to the disk which makes putting it into 1st and reverse hard. Ideally when disengaged there should be no contact to the disk.
The problem has nothing to do with the weights applied by centerforce.

An easy fix for this is to install shims between the PP and the flywheel like maybe .010" or similar if you can find them.

The air gap between friction surfaces when the clutch is disengaged is extremely tight on these pull clutches and that is what causes the problems.

I have heard that some people with the dual friction clutch encounter this issue and some dont.

Overall its a good clutch, I dont have one but I do have a custom made dual friction disk made from asbestos and Kevlar which engages buttery smooth and bites like a pit bull which is very similar in design to the Centerforce DF.

detroit1994z28

Thanks for the info everyone. - Mike

96camaroSS

wrd1972. I did that. Shimmed it out .020". Same result. Trust me, it's not related to disc thickness. Not heat related either. I installed this clutch for the first time before I added the blower. The disengagement problem was not present when it was new. It gradually became more significant. After the blower, it seems that with the ability to spin up the rpm so much more quickly, it became a real problem. And as I stated. It will right itself when not driven for a day or two and does not return unless I hammer on it. I've had it out several times also so I do know that there is not any wear or damage to any moving parts that would cause it to remain partially engaged.

This is why I am convinced that it's because of release pressures at high rpm that have strained the master/slave cylinder.

wrd1972

Did you place the 020" shims between the pressure plate and the flywheel or did you place the shim between the flywheel and the crankshaft?
If you placed them between the pressure plate and the flywheel you must have a faulty part.
It could be those weights that CF installs cause the pressure plate is the same LT4 plate that all aftermarket uses. Yours is the same as mine but yours has the weights and mine has holes.
I suspect the weights.

96camaroSS

Yes, it's shimmed between the flywheel and pressure plate. And yes, all LT1 clutch kits use the same Valeo pressure plate. Some have their own little vendor specific modifications. But you're right on the money with the weights. That is how the higher clamping force is achieved with the CenterForce. And when you shift at high rpm the hydraulic components of the system are not only working against the normal spring pressure of the pressure plate but also the additional force that the centrifugal weights add to the fingers. I think it's more than the system can handle reliably.

Z95m6

i remember some guys saying these clutches were junk and wouldn't last very long and then finally someone said you need an adjustable slave cylinder because the disc wouldn't fully disengage.