For the 4sp guys, I have already been through 1 rebuild due to the rear fiasco. But with the new motor being built to be around 850HP before spray, how long or how many rebuilds will this thing need per season. I have the adjustable clutch set at 800 ish static, with no counter, on an aluminum flywheel at 3450lbs. (3400 if my New Years resolution comes true) If I have tons of issues this year, it will be for sale by the end of the season. Launch will be held low, around 5000 RPM, shift points will be at 8000 ish RPM. The Mustang will race in 2 classes this year at Cecil County MD, 8.50 on a small shot of spray, and 10.0 off the gas on motor.

That's enough base to break a car in half much less the tranny. On my 3300lb mustang @ 675hp my base is 150lb using around 13grm on each finger counter weight. Always use the least amount of base you can get by with. Counter weight in less violent than base. I leave starting line @ 7800 shift @ 7400. I found it was really hard for clutch to recover leaving at the lower rpm, and driving in to the clutch,with the torque of a 428.
Just my two cents, hope it helps.

Jeff Colvert
Jeff Colvert Racing CNC Cyl.Heads
69 Mustang SS/G first in the 9's
68 GT500KR 2330

with a clutchless Jerico are well stated in the link below: clutch slippage is a must, not enough and one must abort a run!

Sounds like your base is way too high. As they recommend, start low (too much slip) and work your way up.

http://www.jericoperformance.com/25.html

"What YOU need to decide is: Is it cheaper to buy clutch discs in order to achieve proper spring settings, or buy gear sets along with other broken transmission components?"

************************************

1967 FE 390GT engine: 416 CID 233/238* @ 0.050 Solid Lifter w/ 4 spd TL.
1968 GT/CS Mustang. 289/c4
1995 Mercedes e320 I6 DOHC, 216 HP wagon.
2003 Tundra SR5, 4.7 DOHC, 4x4.
Another Galaxie (one day.)

Oh and a Bicycle - daily driver to save gas for the 'F'un 'E'xcursions.

I have the clutch assisted with the long V-gate shifter. The RAM rep would not sell me the 150 lb plate, he said back when I had "only" 650 HP that I needed to go with the 800 lb plate, last year I ran a static of 1040 (2 turns). This year will go with no turns, can not go below 800 without modification to the plate. For some of you, how is your clutch set up at launch, can you feel it momentarily slip?

The Jerico is rated at 1200 HP 1000TQ. But having said that.... the clutch is EVERYTHING! You and I have both broke everything behind the disc so I know you know what I mean!



I ran a Toploader for years and got by, then boom, then another boom.....I went to a Jerico. When I did, I changed my clutch also, there was no comparison on both accounts. You have a Jerico so lets talk about the clutch. The old clutch I had was a RAM adjustable and I started with the 800# springs, I broke a few things and eventually went to the 360# springs, cost me 60 bucks to convert.... well actually maybe a grand or better! I still broke stuff with it down at 400# and 15 grams of counter-weight.



Like Mark said and other "clutch rebuilders" have told me, different manufacturers or builders # numbers are all over the map. I went to a Soft-lock and it is so much better than the RAM it isn't funny. How many pounds base in my car or yours or his is irrelevant, it is how many turns and how much counter-weight in your car's combo that matters. My McLeod is smooth and consistant and it responds when you adjust it. It has an aluminum pressure ring and steel heatshield and the RAM has a nodular iron pressure ring, it is heavier and can only be rebuilt a few times....the levers are different also.



I think you would be better off to invest in a new soft-lock P/P and disc, your flywheel is fine with a new heat-shield. I'm sure you will be better off with some counter-weight, it will allow you to back off the base farther without having it slip on the 3-4 gear change (where you will notice it the most). You do need to "seat" in a new disc a few passes and then back off until it slips in 4rth, then add counter-weight and start backing off again. The base adjustment controls the starting line launch and the counter-weight controls the slip on the gear change (in simple terms) of course they act together somewhat also....

Don't believe what some say about "only clutchless trannies need counter-weight", it is NOT true and most use it with combos like yours and mine, clutch asisted trans using the clutch to shift. I know a lot of guys don't use the clutch on gear changes at all with clutch asisted Jericos, but that is another story....

68 Cougar XR7 street and strip car, 428 4-speed, 3560# of fun, new best 10.43@131.2 1.47 60 ft

Base pressure?..........what clutch?.......ye haaaaaa....everyone has thier own way of figuring base......some start with zero...others say 3, 4, 5 hunnert pounds......whatever.....with our Jerico's and a 3350 pound Galaxie, 5.00 gears and a clutch assisted Jerico with a 3.08 first gear...and our Texas Thunder/Boninfante single disc clutch.....with a 480 pound base pressure from Boninfante ..we generaly run em at around 625/650 pounds.......base...that's about 1 1/2 turns off base...but we set up a NEW disc with 700 first, then back it down...and this is with a 6 finger clutch with a TOTAL OF around 38 grams of counterweight.....Dave Schultz went the entire season with this setup in his 65 Dodge/582/Jerico NSS car and was running on 10.5x33s and was going 9.30s with some 1.32/34 60 foot times.........our ole red Ford ran all season on a left over disc and our in house freshing up on the plate and hat...average 60 ft is around 1.36/37.

Mark



....home of the TexasOutsiders
www.texasthunderperformance.com

what is around about price for the boninfante clutch and will it fit in a lakewood bellhousing. thanks

The complete setup is around $2500 and yes it fits inside a Lakewood.

....home of the TexasOutsiders
www.texasthunderperformance.com

38grams of CW? Hmmmm....

I wonder what that equates out to at 6000rpm? Moves that 600# up quite a bit I would guess.

I run 3.5T in my 600#base, with 8g of CW. So says my clutch guy it is 300# at 6000rpm.

I'm really wanting to do some work on my set up since I fudged my way thru my first year on a fancy-smancy clutch.

LarryK

1964 Galaxie 2dr 390/6-71/4spd
1964 Country Sedan Wagon 428/5spd
1969 F100 428/4spd
1967 F100 352/now a 4 spd!
1959 B Model Mack

I know the car of Wescott Sr, has been some 8.40s witha jerico, and my friend from TN has been 8.70s with his Jerico, so I do know 900HP can be easily handled by the JERICO. Alot has to do with the clutch, slip,slip, slip, but not to much where it drives through the clutch. We have found alot of ET over the years from slipping the clutch more, and more.



Stephen Johnson #2162
Horace Johnson #2167
SS/D 427 Ford Fairlane NHRA-IHRA

I burnt my SoftLok clutch out when it was almost new by not having enough base it and finding that out in eliminations.
Since then i've erred on the side of too much base and i've got no idea how much is in it now but it works fine. No counterweight at all.

The thing with 9" tires on a front-heavy car is needing to be able to launch as the track allows. If the cars ahead of me spin bad i'm not tied down to a 6000rpm leave to make the clutch work. It's going to work at 4000 if I need.
How quickly you jump off the pedal and what throttle position you launch at matters too.

For what you are doing the Jerico will be fine as long as do a couple things. You need to make sure that you get your bell housing parallel ground to ensure the trans is square to the rear of the engine. Also and most important, the clutch has to be correct. Setup will vary from car to car and from track to track. Things that effect clutch setup are - vehicle weight, gear ratios, engine power/torque, type of tires, and track. I would try using less base than you have and put some counterweight on it. It would also help to get the engine dynoed to know where the torque and hp peak. To be able to see what everything is doing you need to use a data logger. If you don't have one a good playback tach will get you close. When you launch you want the clutch to slip so the tires don't spin. When the engine reaches peak torque is when you want the clutch to lock up. On every gear change you want the clutch to slip again - how much depends on your gear ratios, hp, and track. In the Wagon I make peak torque around 6400ish and launch at 6200rpm. As soon as I let the clutch out the rpm jumps up to around 6400 and stays there until the wheel speed catches up. Once this happens the clutch then locks up. By holding the rpms at peak torque you maximize your power to get yourself moving. Also during the time the clutch slips the gear ratio is a variable. So if you have a 3.08 low gear it actually isn't until the clutch is locked up. This is where you have an advantage over an automatic trans. What determines the length of the slippage is the amount of traction you have or don't have. The clutch in the Wagon usually slips for about 30 to 40ft. This usually puts me around 1.21 to 1.22 for the 60ft. I wish I had a data logger because the car would go a little faster, but so far I have been setting the clutch up by using a playback tach. On the Jerico trans we have gone as fast as an 8.40@160 with no power adders. We are now using a G-Force 5 speed(same as pro stock) in Frank's Falcon and there will possibly be one in the Wagon for next season. As for the longevity of the box I would pull the top cover off halfway threw the season just to make sure all the dogs and sliders are ok. I usually replace the 4th gear dog and the 3/4 slider at the end of each season. This wear will also vary with the gear ratios you use.



Jay

422motorsports.com

and a large price difference to match. The most common (like mine) is a DR4 and it's shown as $2750. If that's what you have, you'll likely be bustin' stuff. The Super Duty DR4-4 is $4195 and would hold up well, I'd think.

A semi local SS/A Hemi car used to get 4 runs out of his DR4. He switched to a DR4-4 and as far as I know, it was never a problem. Most guys go to a G-Force when they get tired of breaking Jerico's.

I run the Mcleod Soft lock and agree with XR7 that it's money well spent as an upgrade over the Ram. Just has more and easier adjustability. There seems to be no consensus on what base or C/W to run though. I'm still searching for my sweet spot.

What problems if any have you had with yours? Good feedback from all, Jay Z, it almost seems that your knowledge far exceeds your age, go to the BMS christmas party so we can talk FE.

can't directly fault the trans. After pulling the car out of 1st, one time, it occured to me that I was pulling on the shifter, anticipating the gear change, and likely didn't pull it cleanly into 2nd. That takes the teeth off almost instantly. I do use the clutch for gear changes, but it's just a stab at the pedal.

My car is usually spinning fairly hard on the launch, so I'm just pulling the gear when I feel like it. Pretty much a case of drver stupidity, I'd think! Cost me 3rd gear as well the second time I did it.

I also run a McLeod "Soft Lok" with the aluminum flywheel and pressure ring in my 428 Fairmont, along with an older Jerico DR4, and in about 10 years, I still haven`t hurt the Jerico. Granted, I`m way below 675HP, let alone 850, also my car is fairly light, 3100 lbs with my fat ass behind the wheel. My pressure plate has a base pressure of 280 lbs, & I normally run about 3 turns of static on top of the base pressure. Since I can`t remove my Lakewood scattershield in the car, I haven`t really played with counterweight at all, as I`m paranoid about dropping the nuts and spacers inside the can, going thru the fork hole. Maybe some of you faster guys can correct me, but since I usually shift at 6200 rpm, and launch fairly close to that, I didn`t think that the differance between static and centrifugal would be very much. Am I wrong? I normally run the clutch in the Fairmont a little stiffer than maybe I should, but the car normally hooks pretty good, and doesn`t slip in high gear. Plus by running it a bit stiffer, I can go a few races without adjusting the pressure. Since my car is basically a bracket car, it`s not unusual to have to make 3 runs in 15-20 minutes if I make it to the later rounds. The semi finals are a bad time to find that you need to add 1/4 -1/2 turn of clutch when they want all finalists back to the staging lanes right away! Jeff Colvert, have you ever tried Rob Youngbloods "Advanced Clutches"? My buddy tried some of his ideas in his old SS/F Chevelle, which was a very low pressure, thicker heat shield affair. I worked fine, but required much more maintenace the the Mcleod stuff.
Dale, as per Peters SS/A Cuda, are you sure that he has the heavy duty Jerico in there? I know that he was running a G Force not too long ago in it, after busting hid Jerico`s pretty regularily.
In my M/S 302 85 Mustang, I normally would run a Soft Lok as well, but I found that in that low power situation, a heavier steel flywheel works better. With the Mustangs Soft Lok needing a freshen up, last year I installed a sprung hub sintered iron McLeod disc, along with a non adjustablre McLeod diaphram pressure plate. It` s pretty agressive, but with such low power, it hasn`t hurt anything yet.

428 powered Fairmont drag car, Best ET:10.03@132.11MPH, best 60 ft: 1.29
59 Meteor 2 dr. sedan 332, Ford O Matic
74 F350 ramp truck 390 4speed

I run a clutch from Tim Hyatt. Typical solid hub, 600#base with 3.5 turns and 8g of CW. I too leave about 5000 rpm, shift 6000rpm, go thru about 6000rpm. I've gone to absolute base w/CW and it still doesn't drive thru in high gear. My 60' times have not changed. I've found that I need to turn it up about 12-15 passes as my reaction time goes to crap as it starts to slip too much. 1/2 turn gets me back into my A game.

I'm working on getting my base down to next level(like 260#), as I have 13T of adjustment so I can always get it back up to where I'm at. I'm also thinking I might look into a data logger set up so I can monitor things better. Bit pricey at $600, but might help in the long run? It's just a bracket car, and it went all summer without much fuss, not bad for first year on this clutch. Just like to make it work better, get much better 60'. Only problem I think it will be a maintenance headache. Not interested in that!!

LarryK

1964 Galaxie 2dr 390/6-71/4spd
1964 Country Sedan Wagon 428/5spd
1969 F100 428/4spd
1967 F100 352/now a 4 spd!
1959 B Model Mack

Hey Roy, I have looked at the Advanced set up and like what I see. Looks like the flyweels that I have been doing for myself for ten years. I still have a new soft loc set up that I will be using when I bring the ole horse out of the barn early this year. Will probably be talking to them after I see if my old set up handles the new power.

Thanks

Jeff Colvert
Jeff Colvert Racing CNC Cyl.Heads
69 Mustang SS/G first in the 9's
68 GT500KR 2330