Just thought I'd drop a line or two about the excellent work by
Mike Norris on my car again. After spending Sunday running around the track at MTI Fest near Birmingham, Alabama, I continued on up to Indianapolis, Indiana where obviously my faith in getting my SS worked on lays
, plus it gives me an excuse to visit old friends.
I hope Mike will elaborate on the technical details as my knowledge on twin disk clutches amounts to:
1. Better torque/hp holding capacity compared to single disk clutches, for the same disk material type.
2. Center plates need to be strapped to eliminate idle rattle.
3. ZR-1 assembly is the most common used.
4. Install a remote bleeder while the clutch is out.
5. The spacing between the pressure plate fingers and the throw-out bearing is important and at least with the ZR-1 clutch, taken up with a machined spacer.
6. The assembly usually comes with a flywheel.
Mike should elaborate on the install and others should definitely PM him if they have more detailed questions. From a driver's perspective, I find the clutch action:
1. Lighter
2. Shorter
3. About 1 to 1.5 inches off the floor, and growing as the clutch breaks in.
I rather like #3, since I can almost just toe-heel the clutch vs having to move my whole leg. In fact, it makes driving the car a bit easier and more...um...motorcycle'ish especially with a short throw shifter...everything is easier to shift now.
As an aside, I know it's crazy to drive all the way from the Florida panhandle up to Indianapolis just to get a car worked on, but it gives me a nice warm fuzzy knowing that Mike has gone thru the car and addresses any concerns I have. For example on this particular trip, I had a Disturbed Customs (Revxtreme design I believe) catch can that replaced my homemade catch can. "My" catch can design used perforated sheet metal disks and caught at least a teaspon of oil per week. The DC can...well...after a track day and easily 1000+ miles...maybe a teaspoon. I may take my chop saw to it and see if it actually has "any" sort of oil trapping mechanism inside. Also, the fitting for the remote oil line drain is not barbed, allowing the tube to easily fall off the catch can should things get hot and toasty. I think I dragged the drain line underneath my car from about Tennessee, thru Kentucky, and well into Indiana.
So I asked Mike if he had any of his catch cans left (given the hordes of V6 guys buying them up all the time) and he did, so I went ahead and bought his and had him install it along with the dual disk clutch and the remote bleeder.
Fyi, the ACT clutch part number is T1S-G01, and I bought it from the very customer friendly folks (Sean) at Stillen (those Nissan guys) for just over a grand with shipping (ridiculously cheap shipping was like $9 bucks...and it weighed around 44 lbs!) Oh, and the DC guys are very good as well on the customer side. I just don't believe their catch can design is effective "or" I got a bad can.
Back to the clutch, with over 900 mostly highway miles, maybe 40 city, the clutch is still breaking in. I'll report back after a few hundred commuting miles.
Again, if you're lucky enough to live in/near Indianapolis, I highly suggest you consider Mike Norris Motorsports for your Camaro work. (He did not pay me to say that, but if he should decide to give me a discount or a coupon for my next 1500 mile round trip that'd be really cool!) Now, I think those Yella Terra ultra light roller rockers are next....