Clutch & Tuning Seminar

By – Cale Aronson of Aronson Motorsports

I have been asked about putting on some Clutch & Tuning classes to help explain different aspects of tuning and maintaining a clutch/stick car. The first seminar will be offered in New Oxford, PA at JCS Racing on June 1-2. Below is a syllabus or outline of what topics will be covered. This will be a 2 day session, with the second day being optional, but with advanced tuning data acquisition information.

Basic Topics:  (Each topic will evolve in to much more….)

Clutch Types and Applications – We will look at the different types of clutch options currently on the market and how each will apply to different types of racing, or use in general. We will look at how each is designed and how it can be modified to accommodate different uses.  

            Race Type Assemblies – (Long Style / Billet Fully Adjustable) – We will spend a large amount of time looking at the Long Style and Billet clutches. The course will cover their disassembly, reassembly, maintenance steps and procedures, how they can be improved for certain applications, and the various options within them (disc compound, floater material, spring pressure, lever design). This will be a general how-to on the basics of using these types of clutches. You will learn the advantages of each and the draw backs of them as well.

            Between round/at home Maintenance – We will show how to cut/grind discs properly, what to watch for, how to make sure your clutch pack is true and flat, and how to maintain all parts of the clutch assembly.

How Setups Effect the Clutch Choice Tuning – This will be a fairly in depth portion of the class, in showing how different chassis, gearing options, weight and other factors can play a significant role in the amount of load your clutch has to take. We will inspect the effect of “gear splits”, chassis bite/aggressiveness, as well as how rpm in launch and shift points can effect how the clutch will lockup and be tuned. This will allow us to look at how one can choose the proper clutch assembly for their application.

Data Acquisition and Learning From the Data – This will be where we start to look at how data recorders tell us what we need to know in order to make educated decisions on what we need to change in terms of gearing, clutch and suspension. We will look at what we learn from data logging and how to take proper notes. What information is important to future needs, and how different conditions can effect our options.

            What to Look For – We will show exactly what you should look for in different circumstances to better your performance and provide consistency to your setups. This will cover how to generally take good notes, look at specific points of data, and how to record them as well as learn from what they tell you. The biggest advantage to data acquisition is being able to become more consistent!

DAY 2

Transmission options and Gearing Potential – Most don’t take time to understand the load that is applied to the clutch or removed when gearing and suspension changes have taken place. We will examine different ways to use gearing to our advantage and briefly look at how the suspension and weight distribution can help or hurt different setups.

            Liberty/G-Force/Lenco/ and other types of Pro-Type Transmissions – Here we will cover the basic pros and cons of each type of transmission and how they can be used to tune with. Each types gearing options and how they are put together. We will look at the gearing options of each and how you can best determine your ultimate gearing options.

How Weather and Track Conditions Effect Setup – This is a very important part of how to select race day setups. We will look at how correction factor can determine your clutch, gearing, launch, and timing tunes as well as several other factors.

            How and what you can learn from Correction Factor – We will look at what parts of the weather information are the most important to you and examine different applications such as Naturally Aspirated, Supercharge, Turbocharged, etc…

            What makes a track good, average, or poor and how to accommodate for it – We will discuss what to look for on track conditions themselves and how to tune around the issues that you might see. Often times a good track can be as hard on a tune as a poor one if the weather conditions are not in your favour.

Clutch Development to Specific Options and Setups – This will be where we determine how we determine what load pressures, surface areas, and application rates a clutch needs for a given application. This will show how two cars making the same horsepower but one at 10,500 rpm and the other at 9000 rpm will require considerably different setups and how we can develop custom options for each.

            Clutch Dyno – We will go over clutch dyno graphs and explain how we are able to change and determine ultimate options for given applications. This will cover finger/lever design, application rates, and other items that will help in making an ultimate setup.

            Spreadsheet design and application for counterweight force per gram/rpm. – I will demonstrate how we are able to map out specifically per gram of counter weight how many lbs of pressure will be applied at each 100 rpm. This will then show how we are able to control when the clutch locks up, then by using gear splits when or how much it will be able to slip. Controlling this is crucial in profession applications.

*** Each day will of course end with Questions and Answer and a general time to discuss different applications and inspect specific setups.

Costs:

The course will be charged as – Both Days $800.00

We are currently looking to date options… If you would be interested please email me at Cale@Gofastquick.com or call 660-646-4553.

Additionally if this is something you would like to organize in your area, please let me know and we can work on it. Classes will have to meet a minimum student number…