How and a race clutch is optimized for maximum performance compared to your average street car clutch, and what you give up to get it: explained by a motorsports driver. Let's dig into street vs race clutches and explore their strengths and weaknesses!
With cars, everything is a compromise. Street cars sacrifice some acceleration and cornering capability in order to be predictable and forgiving to drive. As you shift the scale more towards racing and maximum performance, you give up things like a smooth ride, quiet road noise, light pedal feel and smooth clutch engagement.
All clutches are composed of 3 key components: a flywheel, a clutch disc, and a pressure plate. Let's discuss the differences between the street and race variants of each:
Street Flywheels are heavy, which helps the car get moving easily from a stop. The engine doesn't lose much speed as the clutch pedal is released and as a result the driver doesn't have to do much throttle modulation on takeoff. There is also more time to complete a downshift or upshift. Race flywheels are lightened considerably, leading to faster engine acceleration, however starting from a stop requires more aggressive throttle modulation and shifts must be executed more quickly to get the timing right.
Stock clutch discs have large springs to dampen the shock of clutch engagement and a full face of organic or ceramic friction material which gives long life and smooth engagement. They are also often more fragile when exposed to clutch drops or dumps like you'd see in burnouts when drag racing or clutch kicks when drifting. Performance clutches often feature pucks and a more aggressive kevlar friction material, along with smaller or no springs. These elements give faster engine acceleration and make faster shifting smoother, but will cause more vibrations when engaging the clutch and may also have some clutch chatter.
OEM pressure plates are easy to depress and modulate with the left foot, but are limited in how much clamping force they can hold: ultimately limiting the engine power you can add to your vehicle. The Racing clutch's pressure plate has a more aggressive spring which holds more horsepower and torque at the cost of requiring more strength to depress the clutch pedal.
*Tandem Talk Newsletter:* https://join.kametrick.com/
Drift tips, behind the scenes content, and raw unreleased drift footage!
Join the Kame Trick Crew:
Twitch at: https://www.twitch.tv/kametrick
Discord: https://discord.gg/ewCbs8T
Instagram: https://goo.gl/EFggGc
Youtube: https://goo.gl/S2o8sW
Facebook: https://goo.gl/NCjEAh
----------What to Watch Next----------
***Is Sim Drifting Realistic?***
10 Drift Techniques IRL vs in Simulator: https://youtu.be/8Ypg8AsyykE
IRL Drifter vs Fanatec Simulator: https://youtu.be/dYhC9GJsqRo
***Sim Drift Car Reviews***
20 Valve 4AGE Turbo Corolla: https://youtu.be/CLAH-L0Hra4
R34 Skyline 4-Door: https://youtu.be/uNXQPlmTkTM
KA24DE 240SX: https://youtu.be/3H_h9zbS4lw
Silvia S13: https://youtu.be/9L1Yr59L9RQ
***Sim Touge Runs***
Sil80 vs Akagi: https://youtu.be/MoLEZNJPKjU
Impreza 22B vs Haruna Grid: https://youtu.be/O7TvsW5DY5c
***How to Get into Sim Drifting***
Set up Assetto Corsa: https://youtu.be/K67RG8fMzlo
Install Content Manager: https://youtu.be/1fAIW7CoeRo
Bind your Sim Hardware: https://youtu.be/EDhoYyBb0Ik
Install Custom Shaders Patch Mod: https://youtu.be/LK7N_Vak5qQ
Install SOL Mod: https://youtu.be/eEYL6GWX7-c
Find the Best Servers and Mods: https://youtu.be/iODiW-fJV_k
Troubleshoot Common Issues: https://youtu.be/v9c_6EQZzAU
***Real Life Drifting***
Dry Tandems: https://youtu.be/bQJ5iMuFKns
Rain Tandems: https://youtu.be/N1D-155tyT8
Street Style Drift: https://youtu.be/872XeYG0Zxk
Stock Angle Rain Drift: https://youtu.be/uTx0hYg3Om0
Truck Rain Drift: https://youtu.be/l3BkvIoiq-E
***Support the Channel!***
Donate: https://streamelements.com/kametrick/tip
***Great Sim Hardware for Drifting (Affiliate links to Support the Channel)***
Thrustmaster Wheel and Pedal Kits:
TX: https://amzn.to/2Om08tS
T300: https://amzn.to/3b8tO7q
Fanatec Wheel and Pedal Kits:
CSL Elite: https://fanatec.com/us-en/racing-wheels-wheel-bases/racing-wheels/csl-elite-racing-wheel-officially-licensed-for-ps4
ClubSport: https://fanatec.com/us-en/racing-wheels-wheel-bases/racing-wheels/clubsport-racing-wheel-v2.5-gt-forza-motorsport-for-xbox-one
Shifters, Handbrakes and Accessories:
Thrustmaster Shifter: https://amzn.to/395onV4
Fanatec Shifter: https://fanatec.com/us-en/shifters-others/clubsport-shifter-sq-v-1.5
Fanatec Handbrake: https://fanatec.com/us-en/shifters-others/clubsport-handbrake-v1.5
Fanatec Xbox Wheel Adapter Hub: https://fanatec.com/us-en/steering-wheels/clubsport-steering-wheel-universal-hub-for-xbox-one
Load Cell pedals for CSL Elite: https://fanatec.com/us-en/pedals/csl-elite-pedals-lc
Fanatec ClubSport V3 Pedals: https://fanatec.com/us-en/pedals/clubsport-pedals-v3
#Motorsports #Drifting #Racing