You've heard the clutch, now hear the discs!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wb6kCvh8l8&feature=player_embedded

Here is the disc dyno video. 7,000 RPM on the inertia wheel, 7,000 lbs. of plate load for about 4 seconds on 2 - 10.5" discs standard Alcohol/Top Fuel compound. That wheel generates a crap ton of torque. Probably a pretty familiar sight to you funny car and screw blown pro mod drivers.

Fast forward to the last 30 seconds if you don't want to hear it ramp up!!

 

thanks for posting this as you said you would Justin. Would you be able to explain what you guys are doing. A TF clutch has 5 discs so are you curing them, checking the hardness or ????? What is happening in the two videos. Love to learn.
thanks
Dale

 

No problem, I think it's pretty cool so I thought others might too.

The clutch dyno (Caruthers), we spin the clutch up to 10K normally with different counterweight tune ups and record the plate loads. Then we can take the data and process it into a plug and chug calculator program, or just give a list of RPM vs. Plate Load.

The disc dyno is basically an engine inertia dyno, only instead of using the wheel as resistance, we use it as a power source to drive the clutch discs under a consistent, somewhat high plate load. We hit 2 at a time, and it somewhat simulates a top fuel run(since there really is no way to actually simulate). We measure torque capacity, temp, wear(and wear vs. time), coef. of friction and RPM. The problem is that you can sit and dyno discs all day and have somewhat of a good idea what should happen with a disc, but until you actually run a disc of a certain profile and make sure it's badass in the car, it doesn't do you much good other than to test for consistency.

 

The drive belt sure doesn't like the routine does it ?? LOL Thanks for sharing.

 

LOL. no, it sure doesn't. But, we make it that way on purpose so the belt fails before it kills the tranny or the wheel. It's actually more like a seatbelt with a grippy side. one little cut and the second the tranmission goes into gear, it will snap.