10-4 Magazine - For Today's Trucker

September 2007 - Performance Zone
STOP THE SLIPPING
By Performance Specialist Bruce C. Mallinson

In our world of high performance diesel engines there is still one weak link – the clutch. When building a powerful engine, we often produce enough power to slip the standard Eaton 2,050 foot-pound clutches, especially during truck pulls. Even bobtail drag racing can slip the clutch with the power we can produce from today’s engines. Many of our performance engines produce around 3,000 foot-pounds of torque. Whether it’s a 12.7 liter Detroit or a 15 liter Caterpillar, we can produce extreme torque and never have transmission, drive shaft or differential problems – but we can have a slipping clutch. Well, we finally found a solution to this “weak link” in the system.

Back in the 1970’s there was a clutch manufacturer called Lipe and they made a great clutch. Unfortunately, they were bought out by their competitor and then discontinued. We would search the salvage yards for old Lipe clutches, rebuild them, and then resell them to owner operators that used their trucks in competitive events or in heavy haul applications. They were expensive – by the time we purchased the clutch from a salvage yard, rebuilt it and paid the freight charges to ship it, we had $1,200 invested.

What made the Lipe clutch, or should I say pressure plate, so good was the manner in which the straight springs pushed against the outside edge of the pressure plate. The competitor’s clutch uses angled springs and they push against the inner edge of the pressure plate, which is fine for a stock engine, however it is not enough force for a high performance diesel engine. Here is something I want you to think about: how many times have you been driving along and thought, “It would be nice if they brought back (insert your favorite discontinued product here).” Well, guess what, the Lipe clutch is back, and what a great job they are doing in high performance diesel engines.

Lipe clutches are rated at 2,250 foot-pounds of torque but they are holding around 3,000 foot-pounds on the street and in the world of semi truck pulling. As far as the effort required to push in the pedal, it’s just slightly more than an easy pedal, however it has a smoother engagement and disengagement because three levers that pull on the plate have needle bearings at the pivot points. Furthermore, the Lipe disengages 25% further than the Eaton, which makes for much easier shifting. Another nice feature of the Lipe clutch assembly is that there are no adjustments to make – just adjust the throwout bearing one time during installation and that’s it. Another reason the Lipe clutch is so smooth is that all of the pieces are balanced independently, which means they don’t have to stay together as a set. Installation is much easier because you can install one piece at time, and the heaviest part is only about 70 pounds (as opposed to the Eaton, which weighs about 150 pounds). The Lipe clutch carries a two year warranty, which is twice as long as the other clutch manufacturer’s warranty.

If your engine is stock, we also have a Lipe 2,000 foot-pound clutch, which also has six ceramic pads, same as the 2,250 foot-pound model. Both clutches have an 8.25” center so the only difference is in the springs of the pressure plate. The amount of extra force it takes to push in the clutch pedal with the 2,250 foot-pound pressure plate is minimal and with the 2,000 foot-pound plate it is even less. We have sold ten of these Lipe clutches to date, and nobody has mentioned the increased pedal pressure (but they have mentioned how smooth the engagement is).

The 2,250 foot-pound clutch assembly is $800 and the 2,000 foot-pound clutch assembly is $725. If you are building a competition pulling semi and will be in excess of 1,000 horsepower, we can have a Lipe clutch custom built for you to your specifications. The price is about $1,200 for the super competition clutch. If your engine is less than 1,000 horsepower you do not need the super competition clutch. The 2,250 foot-pound clutch will supply enough clamping load to keep your clutch from slipping. If Toby Keith had a semi truck he would be singing, “I Love This Clutch,” instead of, “I Love This Bar.”

Andy Kushner of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania was never happy with the stock clutch on his C-16 Cat with 600 horsepower so he switched it out. He now runs a Lipe clutch in his Peterbilt and loves how smooth it engages and disengages. His cell phone number is (412) 480-1455. Call Andy and ask him what he thinks about his new Lipe clutch.

If you are a longtime reader of mine, you will notice that I often publish the phone numbers of owner operators in the articles I write. That is because these folks do not mind sharing their experiences with other owner operators who are considering purchasing our products. By the way, Andy’s son Brian was running a 475 Cat in a 379 Pete with dual stacks and stock mufflers and his fuel mileage, running local, was 4.9 mpg. He installed one of our performance mufflers under the cab and straight stacks and now his truck’s fuel mileage is 6.4 mpg around town and as high as 6.7 mpg out on the open road.

Stock parts return stock performance and poor fuel mileage. If you want better mileage and more performance, you must deviate from running “stock” parts. It’s just that simple. There is an old saying that goes, “There is never time to do it right the first time, but there is always time to do it over.” Bottom line: take the time and spend the money to do it right the first time.

Don’t forget, Pittsburgh Power will be moving at the beginning of September to our new location. We will now have plenty of parking and even a driver’s lounge with a television, reclining chairs, a desk and a bathroom with a shower for your comfort while you wait for your truck to be repaired. Our new address, which is located in the Victory Road Industrial Park, will be 3600 South Noah Drive, Saxonburg, PA 16056. Our new phone number will be (724) 360-4080. We are also going to have a lunchroom at our new facility, and you are invited to stop by and have lunch with us. In the meantime, if you have any comments or performance-related questions call me at (724) 274-4080 or send me an e-mail to bruce@pittsburghpower.com today.