First off what a nice peice compared to the oem pos! it was a real straight up install the hardest parts of the install were taking the flywheel bolts out that were covered up by the front half of the dmf, and the little foam rubber peice between the trans and body that keep you from getting to the shifter bolts , oh yeah and the 4 little pos plastic clips that help hold the shifter boot down that are no longer there! so far so good i've logged about 180 miles and no slipping no hard peddel(with edge on 2). the tranny is fairly noisy at idle, but Peter recommended that i install a fluid damper on the engine to quiet it down. I'm also going to try some lucas oil in the trans to try and cushion the gears some because i noticed it being quiter in the morning when the oil was a bit thicker(worth a shot anyhow)!

More Later,
C.B

Nice! How long for the swap? I'm curious about the fluid damper... Just how bad is the noise?

Sorry for all the questions, but I feel like I'm looking into a crystal ball...

it took me excactly 5.5 hours with one freind helping when needed but i had a lift and a tranny jack (helped very much) the gear rattle is about the same as my bad dmf just a little different type of sound.

5.5 hours was with changing the oil also!!!!!

Yeah, the lift is a huge bonus! Nice work. Can't wait for your input after a few more miles. :thumb:

Ty

keep us posted :ro) :ro)

Good Job CB, guess this makes you the first of the Keystone Diesel Posse with an upgraded driveline. See what kind of power that Hot PPE makes now.

Good Job CB, guess this makes you the first of the Keystone Diesel Posse with an upgraded driveline. See what kind of power that Hot PPE makes now.

no doubt that i will, i just have to get alittle more miles on it before i crank it up and i would like to get my ppe upgraded before reinstalling it also!

I'll keep you all posted!

Good Job CB, guess this makes you the first of the Keystone Diesel Posse with an upgraded driveline.

Hey Adam,

Wonder who will be next... :grd:

:ro) :ro)

I love to hear about good running ZF6's, I'm looking forward to seeing some big numbers from you guys this year!!!

Hey Adam,

Wonder who will be next... :grd:


I'm working on it! :ro)

Hey Adam,

Wonder who will be next... :grd:

We need to get you from Smokinram to SmokinJimmy:joke:

:ro) :ro)

I love to hear about good running ZF6's, I'm looking forward to seeing some big numbers from you guys this year!!!

:grd: were gonna try anyhow, right?

:grd: were gonna try anyhow, right?

:thumb: ........................:grd:

05lly,
Compared to stock, how much harder is the clutch to depress.......25%....100%.....??

05lly,
Compared to stock, how much harder is the clutch to depress.......25%....100%.....??

Can't imagine its as hard as the stocker with 50+ extra HP put to it. One time I can bearly push it to the floor and the next time down the road I push it and I almost go thru the floor. D*mn thingCensored

05lly,
Compared to stock, how much harder is the clutch to depress.......25%....100%.....??

i would say that it is about 20 harder but only from about half way down dose it start gettin tighter, you have to push it just a little bit further when shifting but other than that i would swear that it shifts better than it did new!! i have about 300 miles on it now and running my j/a on 5/5 absolutley no slipping, and no hard pedel:ro) -its actually the same pedel pressure every time that u go to push it in!!!!!!!!!

So far i'm lovin it, i would have to say that it is very very capable of being a great every day driver!

Later
Caleb

Sounds like a good clutch! Two questions:

1) What about chatter at take-off?
2) Is there any vibration? I'm talking about shaking, not gear rattle.

I have one of the original Mac's clutch's. It has held up well. In fact, the sprung hub is too the point that the tranny has no change in noise idling in neutral with or without the clutch pushed in! (Once it is warmed up)

I only have two problems. The chatter of the kevlar disc causes some problems backing up with a trailer. I tend to use low range, but still it is noticeable. It seems like South Bend claims their Kevlar doesn't chatter?

More importantly, the engine shakes at idle and the shifter vibrates at 60mph. I can't decide if it is an injector problem or imbalance in the flywheel. I'm concerned about crankshaft life. It vibrated with the stock flywheel also, but the vibration was changed with the new wheel. Craig did have some poorly balanced wheels at first. Mine had two index marks. One was blanked out, and another put on after a supposed rebalance. And so, I have some doubts about the balance....

Funny thing is, I get used to it. It doesn't really shake any more than a big truck diesel. But, then I'll jump in my buddies Duramax/Allison. And no doubt about it, his is much smoother......makes me wonder what's going on...

I'd love to hear your comments about the SBC unit with regard to vibration before I tear into it again. It took me a solid day to do it!

Again, I'm talking a real shaking force, not gear rattle. Gear noise in neutral doesn't bother me.

i was getting a little vibration with my bad dmf and the new south bend is right on, there is absoutley no vibration from idle to 95 mph. it is still a little jumpy when backing but so was the stock setup, i use low range also!!! the buttons on on the disk are ceramic not kevlar. i am very pleased with my purchase, as for the gear rattle i can live with it!!!
right now it is a little sensitive(grabby) on take of but in 325 miles it has improved greatly and is almost normal now

hope this helps, anymore questions just shoot a pm or something
Later,
Caleb

I'm glad to hear it's working so well.How does it handle a trailer. I just wish mine would hurry up and get here so I can find out first hand. My DMF has been bad since June :( .

i havent hooked to the trailer yet but i will this weekend it will be about 6,000lb and up some pretty steep hills so we'll put er' to the test! if you ordered your clutch allready you should get it soon it only took me a couple days i ordered it on wed and had it mon! let me know if you need any assistance on install i'll help what i can along with others here on the DP
Later
C.B

I ordered mine from Deadeye on the 12th and haven't gotten it :(. I sure wish I would have gotten it as quick as you did.Did you get an e-mail from SBC with a tracking # when they sent it?

i had to check i didnt order on wed i ordered on mon from Mass so it took excatly one week, i went through them so i never got a tracking # or anything? Dont worry John will take care of you!

yea hes right john will take care of you hes a 1st class person.

I just got a PM from Peter @ SBC.It said I will get it today :D :D .

Well yesterday i loaded my ppe hot(240hp) on with the edge on 1/5 and the only thing slipping is my little 245 winter tires! i still cant get used to being able to stay in the go peddle all the way to redline and beyond :eek: .

Thanx for a great set up South Bend!
C.B

Well yesterday i loaded my ppe hot(240hp) on with the edge on 1/5 and the only thing slipping is my little 245 winter tires! i still cant get used to being able to stay in the go peddle all the way to redline and beyond :eek: .

Thanx for a great set up South Bend!
C.B

What was the pucker factor? :lol:

What was the pucker factor? :lol:

Not sure if i believe it or not but my edge recorded 5293 rpm:eek: :eek: and i do know that after the shift it was still a bit above the red line, i dont really like to rev it that high but when the tires broke loose it flew up there so quick i couldent get out of it quick enough!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

5293 rpm:eek: :eek:

Well, one thing to keep in mind the Edge is gonna record the highest RPM, so it might have hit that RPM for a sec. That can be very misleading, I remember with memory tachs in racecars trying to get the right gear combo it was a disater with a tattle tale tach. When we put in a replay tack we found that the RPM's on a shift were 250 to 500 RPM higher than what they were at the end of a straight away. Until the replay tach was in though, we took gear out of the car. Nothing was adding up, we couldn't figure out why we were going slower until the replay came along. The highest RPM stufff can often be misleading, but i doubt you hurt anyhting with that shift. If it was sustained then that might be real scary. Maybe someday I'll have to come down to Andy's and we can plug in the EFI Live and do a data-log on the tach and see what difference there is when shifting. Of course I will have to figure out exactly how to get it to work first.

-Adam

I had the opportunity to drive Calebs truck today with that clutch and I have to say, that thing is awesome. A little bit noisy but nothing to really complain about. But it sure does hold the power.

He is exactly right, with the PPE on Kill, the only thing that slips are the tires. I even tried to lug it down a few times to try to make it slip and nothing...

:ro)

CB, Any 1093 problems? I wonder if with the ZF-6 coming with less power from the factory that it won't be an issue with stick shift trucks.

CB, Any 1093 problems? I wonder if with the ZF-6 coming with less power from the factory that it won't be an issue with stick shift trucks.

no 1093 code problems i only got on 1 time and it was when i removed the boost stick to watch the smoke:ro) but i think the reason for not getting them is when you shift and release the go peddle it gives it just a second every shift to recover fuel pressure if i run it hard in 5th and 6th gear for any period of time i will start to lay down a bit

Later
Caleb

OK, makes some more sense.

Deadeye,Duramaxedout,me and some of my buddies got my clutch installed last night :D .I had almost 200 miles on it before I quit last night so I decided to turn the VA 200 up to 150 to start with.It's was awsome,so I went ahead and kicked it up to 200 for a few seconds and it hauls a$$.No slipping at all.:ro) I have some kill stories too but I;ll post them elsewhere.

Deadeye,Duramaxedout,me and some of my buddies got my clutch installed last night :D .I had almost 200 miles on it before I quit last night so I decided to turn the VA 200 up to 150 to start with.It's was awsome,so I went ahead and kicked it up to 200 for a few seconds and it hauls a$$.No slipping at all.:ro) I have some kill stories too but I;ll post them elsewhere.

:cool2: Glad to here that, the kit is awsome aint it!!! Hows your's for the rattle?
LAter,
Caleb

It still rattles.A different kind of rattle but still kinda noisy.I've got over 400 miles on it so far.I have a VA 200+ and there's no slipping.There's going to be some Dodge and Furd kills soon though ):h .

It still rattles.A different kind of rattle but still kinda noisy.I've got over 400 miles on it so far.I have a VA 200+ and there's no slipping.There's going to be some Dodge and Furd kills soon though ):h .
What rattle are you all talking about? Just the center plate on the dual disc when holding the pedal in or the rattle of the trans when idling?

It rattles at idle.With the clutch depressed it makes a little noise but not really noticable. The truck doesn't seem to vibrate like it did,Thankfully :) The peddle is not as hard as I had expected which is great.

What rattle are you all talking about? Just the center plate on the dual disc when holding the pedal in or the rattle of the trans when idling?

It has a little to do with both, primarily you are hearing the rattle of the gears in the tranny. The SMF does not take any of the diesel pulse comming from the motor so it transfers it straight to the gear train.

Hope this helps

It has a little to do with both, primarily you are hearing the rattle of the gears in the tranny. The SMF does not take any of the diesel pulse comming from the motor so it transfers it straight to the gear train.

Hope this helps

I think I read some where that if you have a high idle kit and you bump it up from idle it "smooths" out and is easier on the gears due to less viberation. Does this sound right? I know big trucks rattle much less @ around 1000RPM than they do at idle.

Nathan

yes it dose not rattle at an elevated idle!

yes it dose not rattle at an elevated idle!

:exactly: ...........What he said!!

Who all here has their SBC SMF/DDC In? I know that 05lly,01Duramax6spd,duramaxedout and my self any one i am missing? Just wanted to see hows theirs are doing

I have one in too, had it in for a week or so. I believe Zorganov has his in too, but havent talked to him in a bit.

Who all here has their SBC SMF/DDC In? I know that 05lly,01Duramax6spd,duramaxedout and my self any one i am missing? Just wanted to see hows theirs are doing

Doing great here, just need more power):h .

Is the dd clutch jerky with a gooseneck or any kind of heavy load behind it. I usually take off in second and was wanting to wait on the single so that it will have the same smooth start stop manners as the stock set up. If the dd is as mild mannered as the stock with heavy loads behind it I may consider going ahead but many people have told me the dd's are made for sleds and hot rodding not for pulling trailers and stop and go day to day driving. So what's the real scoop on these, holding power is great but how does it perform in all the other IMPORTANT areas?

i've only towed around my pony wagon 4,200lbs empty, for a little bit to see how it will act and it is not really any worse than the stocker i all ways had to put in low range to back up my gn trailer to keep it from bucking, and pulling out it is a little bit jerkey but not bad at all it reminds me of when i drove coal bucket (Big truck) once it starts to grab you have to just let it out or if you try to slip it it will jump around a bit, but shifting with the ddc is a lot smoother than the dmf as you dont get the loading and unloading of the flywheel springs everytime u shift, i'll be towing heavier soon so i'll keep ervryone posted.

Tralier empty @ 4200lb (empty@4200lb), ppe hot on kill,up steep a$$ hill, no slipping what so ever:ro) .

Later,
Caleb

It's not too jerky with a trailer.I pulled my 24' gooseneck with my rock crawler on it {around 8000lbs} 600-700 miles this weekend.It pulled great.You do have to slip it a little and git some RPM's to make it take off smoothly.It has no slip though.I threw my VA 200+ on kill for a couple seconds on a steep hill with the trailed just to see what would happen.Worked great. I also tryed taking off with it set on kill.It just smokes the tires if you push it to much. Like Caleb said you need 4Low to back up a trailer. It's just different than the DMF and will take a little getting used to. I will be towning up to 20k so I guess I'll see how it works with a big load.

I haven't driven the ceramic nearly as much as the feramic. However, I have not notice significant grabbiness on either. I do know that temperature does have an impact on it. You just need to practice and pay attention to the engagement from a stop-to-start. If you are pointed downhill it is easier to launch than if you are pointed uphill to start (typical on stocks).

One thing I have learned is that install is important. If you bend the clutch plates when you do an install they get more grabby. You may want to call me before you do an install so you can avoid any risks.

I think mine is getting a little less grabby but it's starting to make more noise than it did,just idleing in neutral.Sounds like a bad DMF just not quite as loud. Anyone else notice this?

same thing here, i've noticed that sometimes it makes more noise than others. i do know that in the morning when it cold it makes no noise at all, would it hurt to run thicker oil in the trans rather than the sloshbox oil thats in there now!!!

same thing here, i've noticed that sometimes it makes more noise than others. i do know that in the morning when it cold it makes no noise at all, would it hurt to run thicker oil in the trans rather than the sloshbox oil thats in there now!!!

Just make sure you got the correct level of oil in the tranny. If low it may make the noise louder.

Right now i have it over full nWith one bottle of lucas gear oil in it, and was thinking of filling it with lucas semi synthetic atf Do you think that would cause a problem, some one told me not to do it as the zf is not totally a oil bath lubed trans and it acutally pumps the oil through some of it and that would make sense since furd runs a cooler on their version of the trans.

Thanx
Caleb

Right now i have it over full nWith one bottle of lucas gear oil in it, and was thinking of filling it with lucas semi synthetic atf Do you think that would cause a problem, some one told me not to do it as the zf is not totally a oil bath lubed trans and it acutally pumps the oil through some of it and that would make sense since furd runs a cooler on their version of the trans.

Thanx
Caleb

you can look up ZF on the internet and check their drawing. I doubt it does any pumping but I could be wrong. How did you get the level above the input plug hole?

Mine makes noise when its cold, its raddles all the time, but after i drive it 2 - 3 hours and its siting idling it raddles stops for a sec and starts back and does the same thing. This clutch is pretty awsome for a daily driver and can still hold the power i have about 800 miles on mine. I turned the quad 215 on and hot juice 3/5 and the only thing that sliped was the tires in 3rd gear.

put the truck on a good lean, i just used two floor jacks and some cribing blocks and jack stands, i got about 1 extra quart in, i dont know that it really helped with anything but what could it hurt? i drove the truck to Florence KY last weekend (about)375 miles one way, and i noticed after long distances with out pressing the clutch in that when i finally did have to push it in it seemed really soft, oh well maybe my slaves getting ready to sh!t the bed huh?

Kit so far has 2200 miles on it 1900 of them with the ppe set to kill!!
Thanx again
Caleb

I've noticed with mine, it seems to grab a little less when it's cold (not much more than stock). Then when I drive it some, (I'm assuming the temp. has something to do with it?), it starts grabbing pretty good but nothing too major, I'm pretty used to it by now though..... It's obvious that it has some serious holding power.... (even with the Hypertech)

i drove the truck to Florence KY last weekend (about)375 miles one way, and i noticed after long distances with out pressing the clutch in that when i finally did have to push it in it seemed really soft,
Caleb

mine has done that sense it was new. so soft that the clutch wont disengage. I have to pump the p!ss out of it to get it to work. dealer could not figure it out.

05 LLY:

It would be interesting to check your tranny temps with an infrared thermometer. Usually overfilling a gearbox will increase temps due to excessive fluid friction. You'll find it will not improve the lube of parts, but will run hotter. I notice this happens to you after a long highway trip.

The same applies to a rearend. Overfilling doesn't do what you might think.

I know my ZF-6 will have a case temp of 230 deg F+ on a 100 degree day. This is with no towing! No wonder the factory put synthetic in these tranny's. Also not suprising alot of heat is trapped in the bellhousing area getting the slave cylinder real hot. kind of makes you question the design doesn't it?

Interesting , i'm just looking for a way to keep the oil thicker so the rattle is quited down, dont get me wrong its not a bad sound but if you cand make not do it at all why not do it, right? It was about 12 deg here this morning started the truck, no rattle, drove 10 miles still no rattle, i'm just worried the thicker oil will hurt the trans in the long run, maybe i'm going about this the wrong way and need to just try and keep the oil thats in there cooled down. Another idea i had was to make 2 holding tank type peices that would bolt in place of the side covers to hold more oil wich would keep the oil cooler and would not raise the oil level higher than the fill hole. oh well maybe i just have to much time on my hands to think about this stuff!!!

Thanx
Caleb

05 LLY your transmission doesn't have a pump in it and I think if it were full of semi syn. lucas it could be a problem in cool temps. But I think your right on track with one quart of lucas in with the regular fluid.

mine has done that sense it was new. so soft that the clutch wont disengage. I have to pump the p!ss out of it to get it to work. dealer could not figure it out.

When I started having DMF problems the dealer installed a tranny cooler with pump. I am sure you could find one some where if you were interested in reducing the tranny temp.

When I started having DMF problems the dealer installed a tranny cooler with pump. I am sure you could find one some where if you were interested in reducing the tranny temp.

I have one of those pumps and I rewired it to run on there temp switch and I have a switch in cab to turn on when I want, and yes it helps but not 100 percent.

Not saying that anybody is wrong here but as per ZF's web site they say these trannys do have a internal oil pump. i dont know for sure though i've never had one apart!!!!!!!!!
http://www.zf-group.com/am/pc/lt/ampclt03.phtml

Later,
Caleb

The ford version ZF has a pump but the Chevy version does not, at least up until the 2005 year model. I haven't had a 2006 apart.

How loud is the clutch when the peddal is pressed or clutch is released? Are you using a ceramic or freamic?

I'm running the cerramic disk when its pressed in you can here what i would call a like a light scratching soud and when its out it has some what of a rattle to it nothing to bad but could always be quiter!!

Caleb

Can anyone post a sound clip of the new sbc dual disk with the vibrating sound fromt the gears you guys are talking about? Maybe put it in the video library.

Are u just doing Clutch/Flywheel upgrades or are there any ZF Tranny upgrades I just replaced my Complete Transmission-:t ATS has Billet out for Dodge and Ford but I havent seen anything on there site for Chevy yet? I love my 6speed but bigger is better in my book! Just wondering if there's anything out there Thanks
Chris

Chris,

Did I read your post correctly, you replaced your entire ZF? If so, what did you replace it with? The big question is why? Did the ZF turn loose or was it for performance?

Just curious as H3LL!

Thanks,
MaxRock

Chris,

Did I read your post correctly, you replaced your entire ZF? If so, what did you replace it with? The big question is why? Did the ZF turn loose or was it for performance?

Just curious as H3LL!

Thanks,
MaxRock

:exactly:

I put a complete remanufactured transmission due to abuse 4th syncho was out and i put a 30ft trailer (9200lbs) loaded with tractor(5000)lbs or sod almost everyday. :beerchug: Drunk and stupid with 400+ horsepower and ddc arent a good combo. I slipt it wrong a few times pulling this past year and worn the disk down (due to abuse) and broke a disk. shot it through the front case (bell-housing) :( I love Craigs clutches i've never had a problem with them other than abuse that i and friends included have caused! Truck's wrecked now-:t rebuilding it, hoping to work on some more mods got to talk with Craig though!! Need another Slipper!!

When I started having DMF problems the dealer installed a tranny cooler with pump. I am sure you could find one some where if you were interested in reducing the tranny temp.

hay DeadEye do you have any pictures of this set up i have allwas been interested if this could be done on a chevy ZF and would want to do this on my rig when i git it
sorry for being a lil :offtopic:

Sorry, no. IIRC the pump is a shurflo or coolman. Mounted on inside of frame near oil filter. Connectors and hoses run from drivers side PTO plate thru pump to small (12x12?) "radiator" mounted behind the grill. There is a heat sensor in the PTO plate which kicks off the pump.

Deadeye,
I am scheduled to get the SBC installed tomorrow, and hope to have it back by Tues. evening.........I will give a report ASAP.

How much does one of these units cost?

Im lucky in that Ive got 38k miles on mine without any issues......but it looks like I should be expecting some.....

Roughly $1850 to your door!

How much does one of these units cost?

Im lucky in that Ive got 38k miles on mine without any issues......but it looks like I should be expecting some.....


I thought you were asking about the tranny cooler? :rolleyes: It is a lot cheaper. :ro) Maybe that will fix your DMF POS :lol:

A quick update on my South Bend Clutch kit, I've just rolled over 5500 miles since my install and sill no problems, or issues with the kit, the Gear rattle is still there and not going to leave anytime soon! Still a bit grabby on take off also, nothing to worry about though! Out of 5500 miles about 1100 were towing, and almost all of them with PPE Hot on kill:ro)

No regrets here, this kit was money well spent, Thanx Again Scott (http://dieselplace.com/forum/vendor_redirect.php?id=27)and SmokinRam!


Later,
Caleb

How much does one of these units cost?

Im lucky in that Ive got 38k miles on mine without any issues......but it looks like I should be expecting some.....

Do you do much towing? If not, it maaaaay last a little longer than normal.

Installed mine this weekend.:ro) So far so good. It is a very good and well made looking clutch. Install was just about as easy compared to doing the factory clutch. I was sweating bulllets measuring and remeasuring to make sure it was all even before drawing it in. Has a little more noise than I thought it would have but I knew it would have some. As of right now it is not grabby in the least. The other DMF & SBC clutch disc was a lot grabbier than this thing is right now. I have just about 200 miles on it and I'm a little worried about turning up the heat. Everything feels great I'm just afraid it'll slip. How many miles did you guys wait for before you turnned it to kill and started to be hard on it and did it ever seem to slip at first. Just want to do this right and not hurt it. So far very very pleassed!

Nathan

Nathan,
I put about 200 miles on mine before trying the power. NO PROBLEM AT ALL.......with taking the HP. I really believe it would have been OK from the git-go...........but I held off as instructed.):h There has been NO slippage......period.

I ran the edge on 1/5 form the word go, and then cranked the ppe to kill just over 200 miles.

Caleb

i ran it stock for 300 miles then the edge on 5/5 for 500 then the quad 215, its nice to know it will hold in 3rd i can crob down on her and just get wheel yea awsome i know

Thanks guys. I went ahead and run her stock for alittle over 200 miles and then tonight I turned her to kill and she HELD!!! I never knew how fast this truck could be!! I was coming home and I had to take off from a stop light going up hill and when the chip started to kick in I started backing out of it like I always had to do before and then I thought what are you doing and I got back into it alittle. It was nice not having to back back out of it. It was dark and no one around for head lights so don't know how much smoke I was making. The truck never backed down so i still don't know if I will need a lift pump. I'll get a Tech II and see if shes alright. First time I got on it the boost spiked up to 33psi and I backed out of it when I flew past 30psi. I go back on it slowly and it only went to 31psi so I was OK. I didn't know how much it would make on level 4. Scared me at first.

I would like to thank Peter, Wade, John, and everybody else who helped in the making of these clutches.:thankyou2 Now us handshakers can have some real fun.:driver: :grd:

You are welcome!! I got this started for guys with ZF6 so we could all have better trucks with less problems. This has turned out so well. Makes me feel all the time, stress and $ was worthwhile.

Though I am a vender and make some $ out of this, I recommend you all sharing your experience with other handshakers for a different reason. The more successful handshakers out there the more will be interested in getting a handshaker. The more handshakers, the more knowledge and aftermarket parts will be produced. Will help all of us.

Thanks for your post!!!

Thanks guys. I went ahead and run her stock for alittle over 200 miles and then tonight I turned her to kill and she HELD!!! I never knew how fast this truck could be!! I was coming home and I had to take off from a stop light going up hill and when the chip started to kick in I started backing out of it like I always had to do before and then I thought what are you doing and I got back into it alittle. It was nice not having to back back out of it. It was dark and no one around for head lights so don't know how much smoke I was making. The truck never backed down so i still don't know if I will need a lift pump. I'll get a Tech II and see if shes alright. First time I got on it the boost spiked up to 33psi and I backed out of it when I flew past 30psi. I go back on it slowly and it only went to 31psi so I was OK. I didn't know how much it would make on level 4. Scared me at first.

Does anyone know......how much boost is 'safe'.........how much is too much?

They say more than 34psi your playing with fire. I also depends on your elevation. Some here will tell you that are able to run 35psi all day but I think you will find most of them to be at higher elevations. Unless you are not running just the stocker. Juice loves to brag about his twins and if I was him I would too. I could only build 28psi on level 3 because thats all I could run before the new clutch so it spooked me when I saw it past the 30psi mark.