Anyone heard of any problems with the Dual Friction clutches? I have heard that they grab fast. Is there a problem with this? Only wheeled a manual a few times and am converting My bronco to a ZF tranny and was wondering. Surely some Yota guys have expierences w/ Centerforce.

I just bought a '85 Toyota with a centerforce clutch. It took some getting used to but now I really like it.

Anybody else?

i have a cruiser with 2F and Sm465, with the stg 2. I fawkin hate it! You cannot crawl at all. It is not a clutch, it's an ON/OFF switch...

I had a dual friction center force, it hooked up really well and held up to 400-450hp but I don't think it would be all that great offroad, when it hooked up it was solid!
I've got just a normal centerforce clutch in my jeep and it does just fine offroad.

I`ve got one in my jeep, and like mentioned above.. it's either ON or OFF there is NO really slipping the clutch... it grabs like crazy..

It also takes getting used to, mine is setup with a ligther flywheel so each time you shift you have to give it some gas or it slows noticably and jerks you.. double clutch i think is what it's called :confused:

I wouldn't reccomend it for wheeling...

Replaced my factory clutch with the regular Centerforce a few years ago. Felt pretty much like the factory clutch to me... still going strong with lots of wheeling on it.

4.0L 93 wrangler, AX15 5 speed, Dana300 with a 4:1

I've heard the same as above about the more aggressive Centerforce's... not good... too much grab, hard to contol when crawling.

Yep yall are right. Just drove one w/ a dual friction in a mustang. NO SLIPPING at all. On or off is the best description. I cant see this being good at all for wheeling. One Jegs ordered cancelled. Appreciate the opinions.

had one in my Bronco for 3 years - loved it, had no problems slipping it if needed, once you let it fully engage, it stuck and didn't slip at all. Best clutch I've every owned - tried Luks, brute force, and some other napa one before the dual friction centerforce.

Not sure how they work for gassers, but on high power diesels they suck. The center section will rip out and can't hold the power.
Buy a Southbend clutch (www.southbendclutch.com).

Originally posted by injectedEB
Best clutch I've every owned - tried Luks before the dual friction centerforce.

I dunno about the Dual Friction, but my CF Gold was a LuK clutch and pressure plate painted gold with the concentric weights added on.

Not that I'm complaining.... I like the way the regular CF works. Just pointing out that it is mostly LuK parts.

I have heard that engine torque and horsepower have a dramatic effect on how a clutch works. I am running a dual friction Centerforce and love it. I don't have any issues with it being too grabby. It engages just as smoothly for me as any other clutch. However, I am running a 351W bored and stroked to 427 and this engine clearly needs a little more clutch than most. It sounds to me that smaller engines with less torque (which don't really need an dual friction anyway) might work best with a stock type clutch or a regular Centerforce while the larger engines might work fine with, or even need, a larger clutch.

Tom

I use the Stage II clutch and like it. No slipping, hooks up nicely, and is comfortable to drive on the street. I reccommend it.

My dual friction has been in for a few years now between a very healthy SBC and a T-18, no problems at all. No question it grabs when fully released, but I can ease/slip it just fine also.

Those having had trouble with the dual friction type, could it just be improperly adjusted? Perhapse when you push in your clutch it's only pushing in far enough to just barely release, therefore when you let up a bit it's engaged instantly having had zero room to ease/slip it? That make any sence?

That or yellowbronco may be correct, not enough power for that type of clutch?

It was like an on and off switch in my Zuke. Sucked.:D

Originally posted by Franklin
Anybody else?

I've got one in my AWD sports car, like others said it hooks up real well. It will only slip in higher gears under high load if abused, or if I dump it at 5 to 7K R's... Although I can feather it to some degree.

So I'm not sure how well it be for rockcrawlin, based off some others opinions here, but it can be feathered on my street rig, and only slips when engaged if the german rocket is passing rice bikes at max R's up the 3150 ft twisty mtn rd to my house :D

Ive got the 2nd stage Center force. I really like it BECAUSE of the 'on/off' nature of it. If you've got it in the mud, you want to have the ability to grab a gear and mash it. If you're in the rocks, i could see how it would suck from the on/off. I'd rather have a clutch that positively grabs than one that slips. Its a good quality clutch thoough that will take alot of heat from purposeful slippage. I figure if you're switching from Auto to manual, that you are looking for the positive engagement that manuals offer.

I have a Centerforce stage 3 in my Toyota right now and love it. I also put a stage 3 in my 2wd nissan truck and loved it to. I did notice that the one in the Nissan seemed like it grabbed alot harder. All in all I love them,I will never buy a different clutch.

If you go with the Centerforce Stage 2 it does take getting used to, but while it is on/off it has SLIGHT slip and I like it on the street.

Now I only wheeled it with 4.10s/35s" stock jeep driveline and my crawl ratio was something to be desired.. now that I moved to 5.13s and an atlas 2 I haven't wheeled it yet but I`m sure It`ll be alot nicer than before :rolleyes:

Pretty much before whenever I went to slip the clutch or use it on the rocks it would die/stall... and I know 90% of the time I was on the clutch IN TIME for it to keep running... good thing about it.. once it grabs when your stalling it just stops and dies it doesn't putter sput or chug it just GRABS and dies cuz not enough power... then again that's the On/Off characteristics for you..

If I had to do it over again I'd get one from a "Lifetime Warranty" clutch place... have them install it and get a new one each year.. can't go wrong there..

I had the centerforce 2 in a mustang and would have to agree that that would be the best of the centerforces to wheel with. Unless the rig has low horsepower than the stage 2 is still overkill.

I've got the CentreForce DF hooked up with a 4.0. Haven't any problems of it being too grabby...been installed for about 3 years...had the tranny apart to install a new slave cylinder and the clutch still looks brand new.

Originally posted by 94YJGuy
If I had to do it over again I'd get one from a "Lifetime Warranty" clutch place... have them install it and get a new one each year.. can't go wrong there..

i've done excatly that thinking the same thing and it will REALLY piss you off when your clutch is completely engaged and and ain't pullin the truck at all not to mention it ain't got but 2000 miles on it. The LLT clutch's can NOT handle any off road abuse.... i got a Centerforce II after that and I like it grabs and pulls but still will slip some in there.

I've heard that if you go with the normal Centerforce it doesn't work for wheeling because it slips too much at low rpms and you'll just burn it up.
Good to know that the dual friction is the opposite of that in a bad way. I think I'll save my cash and run a good stocker.

If you try and slip a dual friction clutch it will burn up, they are made to be on / off. The smaller pads on the pressure plate will build more heat when they slip. I have one, it is the only clutch that has held up to abuse. It is on / off but who cares. If you were high geared it might be a problem. But how many of you are not geared to the moon. Stock type clutches did not hold up behind my motor. So if you don't need the extra holding power, don't spend the extra money, stay with a stock type clutch. The lighter clutches also helps out your clutch hardware(slave,bearing,master, fork)

I have a stage two in my YJ. I will not buy another. There has not been any noticeable difference from the stock unit, other than it cost me $150 more. Just no point in spending that much money on a clutch:rolleyes: If you are running some high horse, mud running machine, I could see running the stage 3 dual friction. But for low geared rock crawlers, any of the CFs are overkill.

The dual friction discs use ceramic buttons. These will burn up if you try to slip them. I see it all the time in the heavy truck industry. All of our clutches are ceramic. Very few people run the old style "rag" clutches, usually in old trucks. Slippage kills the ceramics quickly.

Not to mention smells like shit - I let my bro drive my YJ once and he slipped it a TON and it is nasty...