Centerforce vs Luk

Which clutch?

  • Centerforce II

    Votes: 8 50.0%
  • Luk Pro Gold

    Votes: 4 25.0%
  • Other...

    Votes: 4 25.0%

  • Total voters
    16

Feld

Registered User
I need some opinions between the Centerforce II and the Luk Pro Gold, for a '94 SC.

I will have the following:

M112
76mm MAF
75mm TB
60# injectors
ported exh mani's w/ 2 1/4 dual exhaust

I have plans for heads/cam but that will be a ways off yet.:cool:
 
No luck with the luk

I have a LUK clutch (not sure what model) but it is the worst clutch I've ever had. The "typical" LUK chatter has been present from mile one, and it's gotten so bad I almost dislike driving the car. On top of that it only has 30K miles on it and it's starting to slip (and I don't drive like an idiot).
 
I have a LUK clutch with a different opinion on a non-runner I bought.
I bought a dead bird and rebuilt the motor going back with the old LUK set.

Flywheel looked even with no hot spots, disc was worn smoothly and pressure plate was uniform and no hot spots either.
Almost looked like new.

I have used LUK clutches in ricers for years as a paid mechanic, never had any issue with one of them, even under hard running conditions with the turbos.

My SC seems to work as smoothly as any I've driven, engages smoothly and ALOT less force than a Centerforce.
My friend has a track car, he rarely drives on the street but complains his Centerforce is real stiff and gets to be a lower back pain in stop and go traffic when he does take her to work.
Guess it depends on your main application but with the HP\Torque you're pushing I think a LUK would work fine. Very similar to my car.
Just my thoughts.
 
I haven't replaced my clutch set yet, but from searching and asking here, LUK seemed to be the way to go. However I thought I remembered reading somewhere that they stopped making the LUK one for our cars??
 
Good to know LUK does make some good clutches. Maybe something else is wrong with mine, or maybe it's just a fluke.

I CAN tell you my Turbo Coupe had a SPEC Stage 2 clutch in it, and that thing was amazing. Little stiff at first, but it lightened up to a perfect level after a few thousand miles, and it was buttery-smooth for as long as I owned the car.

I've read (again, no personal experience, just reading) that the SPEC clutches are superior to the Centerforce units. Bill at SCP used to sell Centerforces, but now is all SPEC. I'm sure personal preference has a lot to do with it, but when I finally get around to replacing mine I'm going SPEC.

Finally, I know RAM makes good clutches as well but I haven't heard of them having an application for our cars. All just food for thought.
 
I'm on my 2nd Centerforce DF and love it. The 1st held up great thru several years of constant drag racing and when I changed it only 4 of the original 10 pucks on the flywheel side were left and it still grabbed fine and got me down the track with no problems. We didn't even realize the clutch was wornout until we inspected it during a tranny swapout. It has moderate pedal pressure and never any chatter.
 
Newsflash - Centerforce pressure plates are LUK. Which is why I bought my McLeod...a true aftermarket clutch.
 
I'm using the stock replacement clutch from Perfection. A brand made by ZOOM.

23K miles and going.
 
Don't use Casey's clutch...it'll cause one wheel to not spin, plus your M5R-Jews. Mine is the money...it's good for one outta 5 runs!
 
Don't use Casey's clutch...it'll cause one wheel to not spin, plus your M5R-Jews. Mine is the money...it's good for one outta 5 runs!

Ha, I guess don't use Micah's McLeod, cuz his does the same thing with his M5RJew.
 
Actually I just turned that one off in the box....it's better now. What, no one else has a variable diff?
 
I have a Spec 1..Grabs great..Great control..Stiff as all heck. With my stang the CF DF worked great as a street clutch not so great under heavy drag abuse( 4 years non slick street abuse however). The centrifigal weights creates more pressure as the engine spins however dependant on your driving style that may be an issue.

The spec clutch also blew out my Master and slave due to that increased pressure I;m thinking. WHat SPEC needs to do is make us one of them there fancy dual plate clutches..That would help us with wheelhop as well as providing a niicee strong lighter pedal pressure clutch then what an allout Spec currently offers
 
I have a centerforce II

I'm not liking it.

Around 50K miles my Stock clutch was getting more and more chattery. While I still had the extended warranty on my car, I had it swapped out for the CF II.

I paid for the new clutch myself thinking it was going to be better/superior and not start chattering. I made sure to have the mechanic swap everything else out too. New Slave Cylinder, T/O bearing and Pilot bearing. The CF II came with the Pressure plate and clutch disc.

Everything felt great for about 10,000 miles. Take off was smooth, stock pedal height (which on my car is a little higher than the brake don't like that either cause my knee hits the steering wheel but that is another problem), Same pedal force needed to engage it. I was happy.

Then it started chatterying. Now everytime I take off from a dead standstill, the whole power train vibes. I have to use more RPM to keep it from feeling crappy. So now I'm taking off from stop at like 1500rpm. Perhaps I have an oil leak and that contaminated the clutch disc. THat can cause chattering too. Won't know until I pull it apart.

Yeah, Now I find out that the CF II is the same disc as the LUK. The Centerforce Dual Friction is what is for the 89-93 Birds. It cannot be used on the 94-95's unless the flywheel from an 89-93 is used.

I drove a 91 SC with a Dual Friction and the B+M shifter. The pedal was stiffer but the engagement was smooth and quick. Plus on that SC the Clutch pedal Height was *exactly* the same height as the brake pedal. Which meant no hitting my knee. Honestly, that set up was light-years ahead of the stock setup.

If I get around to swapping out the clutch, I'd like to try the SPEC clutch and maybe a lighter flywheel.
 
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