Porsche Enthusiasts Club Forum

People on here with modded 944 turbos, what clutch are you using?

I know there are 330hp cars with standard but whats its limit?
If i was to get 400ish hp which would be the one to use, dont realy want a paddle.

I've seen a couple of cars with Spec clutches from the states. Not cheap though!

http://www.lindseyracing.com/LR/Parts/C ... EC951.html

I would not recommend a spec clutch, it has a very severe action - either on or off. Having driven a few high power 944's the standard clutch seems to be the prefered option - in fact a 400bhp+ example with a slipping clutch was replaced with a std one & reported to be fine. Its not the power thats an issue but the torque & no doubt over 350ft/lb is pushing it on a std clutch.

I'd talk to John Mitchel at JMG. I got one from him that was little different than the stock one to drive but was considerably stronger. Slightly heavier pedal thats all. only remember it was a Sachs unit. Didn't cost silly money either.

I thought that was more due to the pressure plates but stand corrected. If it's for a track day car an on off clutch may not be a bad thing?

Generally speaking we choose clutches based on torque.

1. For 350 to 400 lbs of torque we tend to use the standard cover and a cup clutch plate
2. For 400 to 450 lbs of torque we use a standard cover and out hybrid friction plate (cup item with much larger surface friction area
3. for over 450 lbs of torque we use a modified clutch cover with double the clamping force and our hybrid friction plate.

We have tested number 3 up to 700 lbs of torque on the road without it slipping,

All three options can be slipped without judder (unlike a spec clutch which will shake your teeth out) for when pulling out of junctions, reversing, hill starts etc.

Only option 3 ends up with a heavier clutch peddle

Only problem we have found is with all clutch options, if your egt's are very high, the clutch overheats whatever you do, this is due to radiated heat from the exhaust crossover, which causes damage to the clutch and slippage.

Generally speaking we choose clutches based on torque.

1. For 350 to 400 lbs of torque we tend to use the standard cover and a cup clutch plate
2. For 400 to 450 lbs of torque we use a standard cover and out hybrid friction plate (cup item with much larger surface friction area
3. for over 450 lbs of torque we use a modified clutch cover with double the clamping force and our hybrid friction plate.

We have tested number 3 up to 700 lbs of torque on the road without it slipping,

All three options can be slipped without judder (unlike a spec clutch which will shake your teeth out) for when pulling out of junctions, reversing, hill starts etc.

Only option 3 ends up with a heavier clutch peddle

Only problem we have found is with all clutch options, if your egt's are very high, the clutch overheats whatever you do, this is due to radiated heat from the exhaust crossover, which causes damage to the clutch and slippage.

Wow. Bit off topic, but how difficult is it to get a 944 Turbo up to that sort of power output? I knew small increases were fairly easy on the turbo, but didn't realise there were people going round with 400+ bhp.

400+ is available from USA - Lindsay Racing do a kit! - and thats based on a 2.5. There are other ways often involving 2.8 3.0 or 3,2 litre lumps some with 16v heads.

We have a handful of 2.5 400 BHP cars with 400 ft-lbs of torque.

Typically it takes the following parts. Turbo, intercooler, MAF kit, piggyback to custom tune, 3 inch exhaust, boost controller, dual port wastegate.

More importantly are using the correct parts. It does not cost the earth (in my opinion) at about £5k including the labour if it is all done in one job. Most of the 2.5's we have done have been ones with 100,000+ miles on the clock.

The new 2.8, 3.0 and 3.2 engines we build with a similar set of components above usually push out far more than this, especially in torque.