Ford GT Clutch kit questions

[Daniel_Iaciu]

Hello, I have a newly acquired Ford GT 2006 coming in soon! I was looking for replacement clutch kits and I see there's an OEM alternative coming as a kit with everything you need for the service, but I see SPEC also offers an aftermarket alternative for high power applications. The Ford GT I ordered is a Whipple 4.0 setup, so would it be worth it to go with the SPEC aftermarket alternative, or go with stock? Links for both below.

Stock:

FORD GT PRODUCTION CLUTCH KIT -- M-7560-GT

FORD GT PRODUCTION CLUTCH KIT -- M-7560-GT

www.fordracingbyspeedshopdirect.com

SPEC Aftermarket alternative:

SPEC Super Twin Clutch Kit E-Trim: Ford GT 5.4L #SGTET

SPEC Super Twin Clutch Kit E-Trim: Ford GT 5.4L #SGTET

www.lmperformance.com

Thank you in advance for help!

 

[mmlcobra]

It really depends on how you drive and the venue.
My Heffner twin turbo car is driven on the street.
Not much abuse.
Stock clutch appears to be fine.
Enjoy!
Best,
Mark

 

[Daniel_Iaciu]

It really depends on how you drive and the venue.
My Heffner twin turbo car is driven on the street.
Not much abuse.
Stock clutch appears to be fine.
Enjoy!
Best,
Mark

Have you had to replace the clutch yet? If so, after how many miles?

 

[mmlcobra]

Have you had to replace the clutch yet? If so, after how many miles?

Original clutch.
6500 miles.

 

[Daniel_Iaciu]

Original clutch.
6500 miles.

Gotcha! The GT I purchased is at 16.5K miles and from my understanding got the 4.0 whipple + other mods around 2K miles. I'm hoping the clutch will last a bit longer cause delivery takes 1 month + for them this side (Europe).

 

[nota4re]

Ford GT clutches driven properly will last a LONG time - prob 100K miles or more. BUT - the life will be CONSIDERABLY shortened with abuse. Abuse may or may not be intentional. I think that by far the most common "abuse" is when new-to-GT drivers inadvertently start out in 3rd gear instead of first and they have to slip the clutch a lot to get the car rolling. In my experience, this is all too common with transport drivers and is exacerbated when they have to drive up a ramp or incline. First gear in the GT is a little abnormal insofar that the gear shift lever is leaned over toward the driver. Intuitively, it feels more natural to have the gear lever straight up and down which is first gear for many cars but 3rd gear for the GT. This is the only bit of instruction I give to newbie drivers of the GT because everything else is so attractively normal about the driving experience.

Regarding HP limits, the OEM clutch simply runs out of clamping force above 850HP or so. We built a couple of twin turbos back in the day where the owner opted to leave the OEM clutch. All was good until they did a couple of passes at a mile venue where ALL available HP is applied at WOT over 10's of seconds. A few of those passes and the clutch is the weak link. I remember well the first time Terry Carlson drove his car at the Mojave Mile event. We had instrumented the heck out of that car so we could keep everything safe. (We dyno'd that car at 1017 RWPH). Anyway, in reviewing the datalogs after the second pass, our first conclusion was that we were having significant clutch slippage with the engagement of 3rd gear. But, we looked a bit further and determined that it was wheel spin. Unbelievable! You all know how tall 3rd gear is and the car is hunkered down real good by that point in the run... and it lights the tires? That's a shitload of torque! Terry's car had the SPEC clutch that survived all of the mile passes but the OEM clutch would undoubtedly start slipping under the same conditions.

 

[white out]

Spec is a love/hate brand, there doesn't seem to be much in between. Not FGT related, but there are many documented builds where Spec did not hold up to their competition and in some instances OEM clutches. Definitely do your research before going that route. . . But the lighter flywheel and pricing is very tempting.

 

[Specracer]

I think we need a thread merge.