Sorry for the newb question but I've searched I can't find it.

What are the mechanical advantages of a multi-plate clutch (i.e. Exedy, HKS, et al) over a standard single plate clutch?

They seem to cost significantly more money (easily 2x) and intuitively, it would seem like there would just be more slippage as now there are 2 or more discs to get up to flywheel speed when shifting/launching.

Someone please help me understand the advantage(s) of multi-plate clutches?

Thanks!

 

A mechanical advantage would be something like a longer bar making more torque on a bolt when you pull on it. In the case of these clutches its the surface area thats making up the difference here.

Take for example that this clutch brand X allows for 250ft/lbs of max torque with a plate pressure of say... 1000ft/lbs on the clutch. Now we could increase the pressure so the clutch grips better or we could add a second clutch plate and double the surface area that it slips against. This would also increase the torque it can withstand.

Hope that helps.

 

Ahh, that makes sense. At what point (torque-wise) does it seem that we need to have more than one plate?

 

I think the average is about the 500-550whp.

 

Its not really a matter of torque per say when a dual or triple disk is required with evo's its more about how you want to pedal to feel. Since we are keeping the pressure on the plates the same the pedal feel wont change. However when you increase the pressure with a any clutch the pedal will start to feel heavier and be much more difficult to modulate.

For this reason many people enjoy the feel of triple plate clutches.

Hope that makes sense

 

more surface area grabing