I don't want to put in a Sachs clutch because mine failed this past weekend as well as another one of my fellow racers. Both had the center disc metal shear apart and become completely free from the asbestos. If this had happened to just one person, it might be a fluke but happening to 2 people with the same failure, I think we have a problem that will be surfacing for others in the near future.

Is there an aftermarket clutch like Centerforce or something better that I can use for 944 Spec Racing that is legal and stronger? Please advise because I need a new clutch put in by next weekend.

Wow that's weird! What track? How old was the clutch? Was there something particular to the track that was unusually hard on the clutch?

The rules say you can run any disk you want, so a centerforce or a sach HD would be legal. I've always used sach clutches in all my pcars and never had a problem. Makes me wonder what else is up...

The first clutch that was put into my car, several years ago, had the same problem at the first or second track event. The builder accused me of missing a shift, etc, ect. The following week, another one failed in a car he did so he replaced mine.

There can be a bad batch. In my case, the clutch company replaced the clutch but not the labor.

I can ask my current engine builder what he put in my car as it has been NO problem.

Let me know if you want me to do that.

Jim

Was the surface of the pressure plate or the flywheel rough? If it was recently surfaced and has too coarse of a surface the cluch will tend to hook up hard rather than slip on takeup, which will completely compress the springs and twist the clutch hub off. Generally only a problem if the clutch isn't bedded in on a freshly cut FW/PP. The surface really shouldn't be more rough than a #4 finish, your typical shop doesn't pay too much attention to this but for racing it's pretty important... Always a possibility of a bad batch.

This ia also why you want to run a HD or racing disk the springs that take up the driveline shock are heavier and with more travel...

Jim,
Please ask what clutch disc you have right now because I really don't want to put in another Sachs.

Here is a picture from Joe Paluch as it happened to him before too. I try to be gentle on my downshifts and do heel toe. Clutch was installed on 6/23/05 with 149,725 miles and the car currently has 165K miles so I guess 4 years and 15K miles later of street, driving events and now racing is not too bad.

I have never heard or seen anything like this happen with other aftermarket clutches so that is why I am trying to find something better that is still legal for 944 Spec racing.

I need to order a clutch disc ASAP in order to finish my car by next weekend. From what I gather, I can not use any aftermarket clutch kits so I have to stick with the OEM Sachs pressure plate but can use any aftermarket disc. There is not many aftermarket discs available so I am going to buy this one from 944online:
www.944online.com/cgi-bin/ASI_Store.cgi?...089+9442+clutch-9442

If you look at the disc and look at the Sachs on the right of it, you can see that this is a much beefier construction. It is am OEM replacement.