DD clutch's for daily use

cjohnson · 08-06-2003, 04:07 PM

I hope I can get some info from this without starting too much trouble.
Here is my situation. I'm due for a new clutch, I've managed to get 105,000 out of the stocker with some mild mods and some heavy towing, and a very little bit of sled pulling. I think I got a good one, it was one of the early 6 speed clutches on a non-HO truck.

The reality is that I won't be doing a lot of sled pulling, but I will do some, and when I do, I'd like to give it an honest effort and not have to worry about wasting a nice, new clutch. I know I could grab a low gear, ease in to it and wait until it hooks before giving it full pedal, but I'd like to give it a stronger go than that and I know the only way to do that is to run a DD clutch.

One problem here is that I also pull a 12,000 gooseneck horse trailer pretty often, so I need the clutch to be able to do that with decent manners. The problem with the full blown competion dual disc clutches is that they appear to be a bit cost prohibitive for me and possibly a bit harsh for my day to day use..

This brings me to the South Bend "street" dual disc clutch. While it is a dual disc, it uses oranic as opposed to ferramic material, so it should have reasonable street manners. I'm wondering if it would be able to handle a few hooks a year to the sled without burning up. Or am I just as well off using a ferramic single disc. Understandably, Southbend is a bit reluctant to recommend the street DD if I plan on pulling with it. So I'm looking to see if any of you have used this clutch to pull with and also used it for hauling, and if so, how is it holding up? Keep in mind. I'm not dealing with a 500 plus horse, twin charged puller here. I'm talking street truck, edge comp, some DDII's to replace my 275's soon, and maybe a PDR hx 35 in the near future instead of my stocker. Nothing too exciting. Problem is, I know a "good" single disc can be ruined in one hook if abused properly even with a "low" horsepower truck. So the question is, am I any better off with this street DD versus say a strong single? Maybe I'm asking too much here.

No wars please.

Thanks,

Craig