Deadeye
08-29-2005, 03:20 PM
The South Bend Clutch, diesel department, run by Peter Pyfer, is moving forward on the SMF Dual Disc clutch kit faster than I expected. Please consider all the following info as a "Ball Park" estimate since unexpected challenges and changes are normal during any project.
The single mass "cup" flywheel is currently being fabricated (design is complete). This was the most difficult and expensive part of the entire kit and is nearly done.
The "floater/center" plate is pretty simple to make with a laser cutter and then milling/polishing. This is not expected to have any impact on when the kit is finished.
The pressure plate design/type has been determined/ordered/received but will require some modification by SBC. The capital assets required for this modification have been ordered and received, and are presently being installed. The pressure plate will be different than the previous picture posted. The bell housing is not a large enough diameter for to contain the blue pressure plate due to the design type. I expect the pressure plate to look similar to others posted on SBC’s website. The pressure is expected to be quite strong so that the ZF6 Duramax trucks will be able to handle a lot of hp and torque.
The clutch plates and pads are still being worked. The design is intended to allow significant pressure without grabbing or squealing when launching or shifting.
The present estimated price will be about $1,750 to $1,795 plus shipping for the SMF dual disc kit. Warranty will be for one year or 12,000 miles (which ever comes first) due to any part failure due to manufacturing defect. Having said this, please keep in mind that failures or damage due to competition will likely void the warranty. None-the-less, SBC does do a lot of business with competitors.
These kits are designed to able to be re-built if necessary at some point in the future. (Peter told me of a Dodge using a similar kit for sled pulling. They sent it in for a rebuild last winter after 4 years of competition. It had held up very well for many, many sled pulls with no needed maintenance.) The cost to rebuild will probably be $7-800 for the dual disc kits.
The present schedule assumes a test kit will arrive to me the second or third week of September. It will be measured, checked, installed, smelled, tasted, photo-ed, slept with and tested. I hope to do some drag racing and a dyno testing (You all can start voting on what type of dyno to use :D . Unfortunately, I don’t think there will be any local sled pulling events in time to use for early testing. I expect that testing will only take about a week maybe two. Once it passes testing, Peter will begin production and the first kits should be available in a week after production begins.
Having said all this, Peter is extremely confident that there will be no design modifications needed resulting from the tests. I have asked Peter to provide some pictures of the parts as soon as possible so that interested customers can have early access. If this is not possible I will post pictures once the testing is complete. Pictures will be posted on this forum and on Superdieselperformance.com website.
The single disc kit will come along a little later. As we get closer to the dual disc kit the single disc kit design will start to advance faster. I will continue to post information as it becomes available. This is just a guess, but I would be surprised if it would take more than a month to get it to production after the dual disc kit passes testing.
If you are interested in geeting on the list for either a dual or single disc kit please PM me with a phone number and e-mail address. I will contact you within 24 hours.
The single mass "cup" flywheel is currently being fabricated (design is complete). This was the most difficult and expensive part of the entire kit and is nearly done.
The "floater/center" plate is pretty simple to make with a laser cutter and then milling/polishing. This is not expected to have any impact on when the kit is finished.
The pressure plate design/type has been determined/ordered/received but will require some modification by SBC. The capital assets required for this modification have been ordered and received, and are presently being installed. The pressure plate will be different than the previous picture posted. The bell housing is not a large enough diameter for to contain the blue pressure plate due to the design type. I expect the pressure plate to look similar to others posted on SBC’s website. The pressure is expected to be quite strong so that the ZF6 Duramax trucks will be able to handle a lot of hp and torque.
The clutch plates and pads are still being worked. The design is intended to allow significant pressure without grabbing or squealing when launching or shifting.
The present estimated price will be about $1,750 to $1,795 plus shipping for the SMF dual disc kit. Warranty will be for one year or 12,000 miles (which ever comes first) due to any part failure due to manufacturing defect. Having said this, please keep in mind that failures or damage due to competition will likely void the warranty. None-the-less, SBC does do a lot of business with competitors.
These kits are designed to able to be re-built if necessary at some point in the future. (Peter told me of a Dodge using a similar kit for sled pulling. They sent it in for a rebuild last winter after 4 years of competition. It had held up very well for many, many sled pulls with no needed maintenance.) The cost to rebuild will probably be $7-800 for the dual disc kits.
The present schedule assumes a test kit will arrive to me the second or third week of September. It will be measured, checked, installed, smelled, tasted, photo-ed, slept with and tested. I hope to do some drag racing and a dyno testing (You all can start voting on what type of dyno to use :D . Unfortunately, I don’t think there will be any local sled pulling events in time to use for early testing. I expect that testing will only take about a week maybe two. Once it passes testing, Peter will begin production and the first kits should be available in a week after production begins.
Having said all this, Peter is extremely confident that there will be no design modifications needed resulting from the tests. I have asked Peter to provide some pictures of the parts as soon as possible so that interested customers can have early access. If this is not possible I will post pictures once the testing is complete. Pictures will be posted on this forum and on Superdieselperformance.com website.
The single disc kit will come along a little later. As we get closer to the dual disc kit the single disc kit design will start to advance faster. I will continue to post information as it becomes available. This is just a guess, but I would be surprised if it would take more than a month to get it to production after the dual disc kit passes testing.
If you are interested in geeting on the list for either a dual or single disc kit please PM me with a phone number and e-mail address. I will contact you within 24 hours.