So I'm reading the November issue and I get to the article on doing the track Vette's clutch and I read $2750, wholly crap that's insane.....wait wait let me read that again. No it's not $275 it really is $2750, what universe are we living in?

Now I know this is what stuff costs and the part  looks the business but I'm still shocked. Clearly I need to get out more, either that or stop putting together cars for not much more than challenge money. I suspect it's the latter.

Of course the article did make me feel good because it's a reaffirmation of my innate cheapness. While I've read CM for years the GRM subscription is new and I am enjoying the juxtaposition of challenge cars versus ultimate track cars.

$2750.............I need to go get a brown paper bag to breath into.

The last clutch I bought cost $1,200.  Of course it came attached to an NA Miata with a hardtop....

From my Si forum:

https://www.8thcivic.com/threads/2008-si-sedan-needs-new-clutch-and-flywheel-dealership-quoted-2900.657216/#post-16225741

In reply to mr2s2000elise :

The $2750 was just the part itself.

Corvette stuff is $$$$. I know there is worse but I keep running back to Miatas/s2ks because they are so much cheaper to tinker on.

Tom1200 said:

In reply to mr2s2000elise :

The $2750 was just the part itself.

 

I put a clutch in my C5 Z two years ago. I used either a C6 or 7 for the higher power rating.

The kit included clutch, pressure plate, flywheel and throwout bearing. It was $500 Canadian, about $375 US, and I believe it was OEM

Race parts = $$$$$$$

When you have to pull out a torque tube and rear suspension plus an alignment after.... it adds up quick.

Edit: I can easily get a clutch that'll last years behind any power level for about $1500 from a small business then a conglomerate.

Tom1200 said:

In reply to mr2s2000elise :

The $2750 was just the part itself.

 

ah I misunderstood ! 

It's a multiplate clutch made fom aluminum and titanium capable of handling over 800hp and a similar amount of torque. If it's as good as they say it is, it's a buy once/cry once (for a very long time, sure, but still only once) situation. 

JG Pasterjak said:

It's a multiplate clutch made fom aluminum and titanium capable of handling over 800hp and a similar amount of torque. If it's as good as they say it is, it's a buy once/cry once (for a very long time, sure, but still only once) situation. 

After reading this description, it seems to me that the price is probably appropriate for what you're getting.

JAdams said:

Corvette stuff is $$$$. I know there is worse but I keep running back to Miatas/s2ks because they are so much cheaper to tinker on.

Cheaper sure, but still good stuff is spendy.  I just dropped $800 on an ACT clutch and flywheel for the turbo Miotter.

I spent almost that much on a clutch for my VW so considering what it's going in I think you are up on the deal.

also book time on a c5 clutch is like 8-12 hours iirc

JG Pasterjak said:

It's a multiplate clutch made fom aluminum and titanium capable of handling over 800hp and a similar amount of torque. If it's as good as they say it is, it's a buy once/cry once (for a very long time, sure, but still only once) situation. 

I had a customer throw away a $3500 clutch (forgot manufacturer) because it was a triple plate carbon/carbon clutch.  Carbon/carbon anything has very poor friction when cold, so the clutch slipped heavily until it slipped enough to get hot enough to grab.  

He replaced it with... a twin plate carbon/carbon clutch.  All the facepalm.  That one was not as bad, but it rattled a LOT.

Then he blew up the car, some other shop charged him $9000 to remove the engine (on a Subaru), and I have no idea what ever came of it.

Clutches (upgraded oem Porsche street ones, not crazy twin disc ones) for my 996 turbo are $2500+ just for the parts

The number shocked me at first, then I thought about how I just spent >$800 on the exhaust for a Kia minivan. That was no labor, just aftermarket walker parts for the front half.  The back half would be another $350 for a total of over $1150 in parts, for a 10 year old minivan. 
 

So $2750 for a clutch of that caliber doesn't seem as bad once the initial shock wore off. 
 

There are multi discs out there for a C5 that will hold way more power than that at almost half the price.

Im a big fan of converting to a C7 style multi disc clutch, at 600-700whp you can have stock drivability and if you need more than that you can upgrade just the friction discs and still have really good drivability. As far as Im concerned, the more readily available stock but capable parts you have on a race car, the less likely you are to miss an event because some weird one-off piece is broke and its two weeks out.

Mr_Asa said:

Race parts = $$$$$$$

$6,295.00

That was the bill of the parts on the tilton that is in my Viper. I did not pay it but yeah race parts get expensive that hold power and survive.  Only so many people making real race quality parts for each car and they get to charge what they want. 

Yikes. What clutch is that? I got a Mcloed twin disc in my c5 for $1,100. 

JG yes high end stuff costs high end money...........which is why I race a Datsun 1200 and an F500. 

I hear the tires are a bit pricey also... and you will go though those a lot quicker (unless you really suck at driving a manual).

Also, let's not forget that ours is like the second one in existence in this configuration. So there's a lot of unknowns being dealt with here. I'm imagining once they're up to full production and have a handle on sales, prices may start normalizing. And we don't always have the luxury to write about the thing that everyone known already works great. They already know. What more can we tell them? We need to venture into the areas where there's stuff to be learned. Like is this $2700 clutch twice as good as the $1500 one we pulled out?

JG Please don't think my comments are in anyway critical. The post is a commentary on my living in a different universe. My cousin preps SCCA P1 & P2 cars and the money they spend on Ohlins dampers is eye watering.......different universe.