3sgte clutch kit on a 5sfte????, yes, also detailed info for swappers with the s54 tranny Options

[presure2]

hey guys, as most of you know, i've been running a ACT stage 1 5sfe clutch since i swapped in arts motor back in the day, it has performed great for me over the past few years, with no issues, however, its starting to get some miles on it, and since i have been over the torque rating pretty much since the day i turboed, i cant expect it to last forever.
the problem begins with the fact that even the higher rated ACT clutches (and most 5s clutches for that matter) is that theyre only rated for 350ftlbs at the flywheel, and with 275ftlbs at the wheels, im pretty close to being over even THAT rating.


so after a bit of research, i came up with this info.

the 3sgte friction surface area is 236mm, the 5s is 225mm.
the stock 185 flywheel will not bolt to a 5sfe crank, without elongating the bolt holes a fraction of an inch. guys who build strokers with the 5s crank run into this problem.

the solution can be had in a few ways, either elongate the bolt holes on the 185 flywheel, or use a st-165 flywheel, which will bolt to the 5s crank, however the friction surface is 225mm, like the 5s, which i am trying to get away from.
the fidanza light weight flyhweel for the 3sgte has elongated bolt holes from the factory, specificly for the stroker guys, who use the 5s crank.

SO, what i am going to do, is use the fidanza 3s LW flywheel, 3sgte pressure plate and disk, and the disk will have the s54 spline count.

ACT makes a disk for just this application, and has a part # available for it.

here is a list of the parts that are needed, this list will work for 5sfte guys that are looking for 300+ftlbs at the wheels, as well as 3sgte swap guys that want to use the S54 (stock GT) transmission.

it is a 6 puck, sprung hub disk, with theyre heavy duty pressure plate, rated at 499 ftlbs. at the flywheel. (theyre street disk is rated for 350ftlbs, they dont do that with the 5s spline)

for the 5sfte and 5s based stroker guys, you need a st-165 flywheel, or fidanza lightweight flywheel for the 3sgte (swap guys, the flywheel is an option)

ACT pressure plate PT # TO23
ACT 6 puck sprung disk PT# 6236216
i always recommend a OEM throwout bearing, but the ACT PT# is
ACT throw out bearing PT# RB442
ACT alignment tool PT# AT17

ill post pics of the flywheel when it comes in, it should be here monday, for now, here are a couple of pics of the clutch setup (this is jims clutch, but it is the same disk and pressure plate, just diffrent spline count.)



ignore the spec disk, ill edit in an actual pic of my disk when it gets here.



woot for 500ftlbs worth of clutch!

[Dr_Tweak]

Hey, I just came to check on this thread and it looks like my last post got lost in the latest rash of forum crashes.

Long story short, I spoke to CC about it who admitted that they sometimes used the 8.86" disc instead of the 9.29" disc when they were out of stock, since it's still "within spec" for the holding power of that clutch kit. Needless to say I was little upset since the whole point of using the full-diameter 3S disc IS to have the full-diameter disc. They now have been well-informed that they are NEVER to do that again

That said, I've got a free replacement full-diameter disc for you, if you want it. Of course it's already in the car working well so I understand if you don't feel like pulling it out.

For the record, you must ALWAYS resurface your flywheel (or replace the friction surface in your case) when you replace a clutch so the difference in diameter will not effect you going to an full-diameter disc, if and when you choose to (E153 swap or whatever).

Let me know!

-Doc

[presure2]

Hey, I just came to check on this thread and it looks like my last post got lost in the latest rash of forum crashes.

Long story short, I spoke to CC about it who admitted that they sometimes used the 8.86" disc instead of the 9.29" disc when they were out of stock, since it's still "within spec" for the holding power of that clutch kit. Needless to say I was little upset since the whole point of using the full-diameter 3S disc IS to have the full-diameter disc. They now have been well-informed that they are NEVER to do that again

That said, I've got a free replacement full-diameter disc for you, if you want it. Of course it's already in the car working well so I understand if you don't feel like pulling it out.

For the record, you must ALWAYS resurface your flywheel (or replace the friction surface in your case) when you replace a clutch so the difference in diameter will not effect you going to an full-diameter disc, if and when you choose to (E153 swap or whatever).

Let me know!

-Doc

yea, mine was lost as well.
yea, i always resurface my flywheels when i do clutches, (or just replace the friction surface in my case, like you said.)
i will also have to replace the pressure plate as well if i decide to swap out to the E153, even if its before the PP wears out.
like i said, i knew it wasnt your fault, by any means, so no biggie there, and by the time i figured it out, it had already been installed and driven around on for a while.
the clutch now has a couple thousand miles on it, and a dozen or so track launchs with no issues, and has broken in nicely. (it was very on/off for the first ~ 1000miles, but im sure the lightweight flywheel dont help with that..lol)
hopfully we wont have to pull the tranny for any other reason than to swap to the E153 in the future. lol
thanks for doing the leg work with CC and confirming what i had thought, i appreciate the effort to make sure that things are being take care of.
hopfully i wont have a reason to take you up on the disk offer (although having the spare on hand would be good too), but that is VERY cool of you, and shows your commitment to this community which in this day and age is rare.
thanks tweak.