Centerforce Clutch or Not?
- Thread starter stacker46
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Transmission questions
I vote for the Centerforce. I don't know anyone with a 4wd that has been disappointed with theirs. I've heard people with hotrods and street racers complain about them, but that's a whole different world. They are really smooth and as easy to disengage as a factory unit, but with the extra holding power.
I vote for the Centerforce. I don't know anyone with a 4wd that has been disappointed with theirs. I've heard people with hotrods and street racers complain about them, but that's a whole different world. They are really smooth and as easy to disengage as a factory unit, but with the extra holding power.
Bounty__Hunter
Super Moderator
I wouldn't waste the money if you have the stock engine, they just don't produce enough power to need the extra holding power. A quality OEM clutch like LUK would work just fine. I'd spend the money elsewhere unless you had more HP and needed more clutch.
I've looked into getting a centerforce for my 93 YJ. The guy at the shop told me he can't put one in mine because it'll hit the slave cylinder since it's inside the transmission. I've heard of people putting them into YJ's before. I don't think he knows what he's talking about so I'm gonna try a few other shops. I had one in the RX-7 I used to own and they're the best clutch I've ever owned. Even if you're not pushing out a lot of power, it'll definately help if you have over sized tires. Guys out here that do a lot of rock crawling use them because you won't get as much clutch slippage and won't burn it out as fast. If you're into a lot of deep mud that damages clutches, it's an expensive one to burn out.
Snitty
New member
dont' do it... they cost way too much for a daily driven jeep... a stock replacement will work fine... you will likely not even notice the difference... a stock clutch disengages easily... don't need that advantage of the centerforce... the stock replacement has plenty of holding power... more than you need... so you won't notice the holding advantage of the CF either
Bounty__Hunter
Super Moderator
I used a Centerforce on my '88 YJ, with an internal clutch slave. This was behind a 350 using the stock Peugeot BA10/5 transmission.
The '93 is the oddball of all YJ's when it comes to clutches and associated parts, different than every other year YJ so maybe there's a legitimate reason there somewhere.
The '93 is the oddball of all YJ's when it comes to clutches and associated parts, different than every other year YJ so maybe there's a legitimate reason there somewhere.
I put one in my jeep and have been very happy with it. Did I really need it? I don't know, but I finally learned if something breaks to beef it as much as you can to make sure it doesn't need to be fixed again for a long time. People told me I didn't need 1 piece axles if I was only running 31's and I sheared 4 or 5 axles before my dumbass fixed the problem by replaceing with superior axles. You probably don't "need" a centerforce but it certainly won't hurt. They really arent't that much more expensive than a regular clutch and if you're gonna do it, you might as well beef it. I've heard good things about Hays clutches too, but went with the centerforce because I wanted a stock pedal feel (which I still have).
Bounty__Hunter
Super Moderator
Clutch life is the same, IMO, the only difference being the extra holding power without the extra pedal pressure.LGR said:
And there IS a big difference in cost.
I'm with wm69 on this one. Who knows, it might be different here in Canada but I priced out the oem clutch and the centerforce II was close to the same price...about a $50 difference... not that big a deal to me. As for aftermarket clutches, the centerforce is one of the most expensive but if you're off roading a lot and riding the clutch a lot such as in rock crawling, then I'd definately go with the centerforce, especially if you're running large tires. I guess it all depends on how much off roading you're planning on doing but when running larger tires, even on the street, you'll have less chance of burning out your clutch with a centerforce. I'm not running a centerforce right now, just stock and it's lasted me 4 years so far but when it goes, I'm gonna try and relocate the slave cylinder and install a centerforce.
Bounty__Hunter
Super Moderator
I wasn't considering the regular Centerforce, just the C II that has the extra holding power with no added pedal pressure. A $100+ difference from what I've seen, and IMO not needed with any stock jeep engine, especially I4 and I6 engines.
The Centerforce Gold(regular one) still advertises 30% more holding capacity. The Centerforce II is like 60% and the dual friction is 90%, or at least that's what they claim. I think mine was $270 for the clutch and to resurface the flywheel, but it been awhile and I'd have to look at my reciepts. Whatever it was, I'll buy another one. There's no question about it, there is a definite performance difference between a factory replacement and a Centerforce.
The 258 makes max torque around 2000rpm, the 2.5l takes more than twice that number to make max torque. In order to get the 2.5l to produce enough power to do certain tasks you need to pop the clutch at substantially higher rpms. That considered, I would recommend a heavy duty clutch for a 2.5l before I would for a factory 258. That's theory though, and in real life I'm gonna add a heavy duty clutch to any of them.
The 258 makes max torque around 2000rpm, the 2.5l takes more than twice that number to make max torque. In order to get the 2.5l to produce enough power to do certain tasks you need to pop the clutch at substantially higher rpms. That considered, I would recommend a heavy duty clutch for a 2.5l before I would for a factory 258. That's theory though, and in real life I'm gonna add a heavy duty clutch to any of them.
I thought the Centerforce II is the dual friction. I had a dual friction Centerforce in my old RX7 and mabye I'm wrong but I thought it was a Centerforce II. It's been a long time since I owned that car so I'm probably wrong but I do know for sure it was a dual friction centerforce......it's nice to have a good strong, heavy duty clutch and still able to maintain stock pedal pressure.Junkpile said:
Maybe when they first came out they only had 2 versions.
The dual-friction is one bad mofo. I would probably still use a Ram or Hays in a really high power street/strip car, but anyone who has ever rowed gears in a fast car with a dual friction can tell you that it's a quality unit and alot easier to live with than other heavy duty performance clutches.
The dual-friction is one bad mofo. I would probably still use a Ram or Hays in a really high power street/strip car, but anyone who has ever rowed gears in a fast car with a dual friction can tell you that it's a quality unit and alot easier to live with than other heavy duty performance clutches.
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