Lunchbox, it confuses me to see results like this for the Tilton carbon/carbon. I have one in my yellow beast and it has nothing but street miles of hard abuse. Maybe 5000 on it and it is still does not need a re-shim yet. It held 920ft/lbs cold when shipped, not broken in. It likely holds well above 1200 now. I know when I ordered the clutch they asked me if i wanted the long wearing street material or the faster wearing drag race carbon. I wanted a clutch that would last so I opted for street material. I heard 900hp hondas were getting 200 passes before needing a re-shim.

 

I've never heard of the long wearing material before? Is that with the carbon clutches?
My first Tilton lasted quite a while and put up with good abuse. It shifts great and I loved the feel. However, as much as I had into the clutch, in-and-out, rebuild X2, and re-shimmed, I just couldn't have that part on my car knowing I had over ~$10 into the part alone and no service from the manufacture. Granted it's a wearing part and I'm sure that is the soap box that they stand on all the time... but it doesn't excuse poor service. Just my $.02

 

Alot of people have great results with Tilton Carbon/Carbon the fact you didn't and you go off to make a thread bashing them doesn't seem right... I know quite a few people that ran this clutch and they had no problems. One burned up his similar to you with no mileage due to improver driving/shifting

 

Good point and noted. However, that doesn't excuse **** poor service... even IF I'm a bad driver and whatever you are suggesting.
I liked the clutch, don't get me wrong, it's been a great clutch minus the stated reasons. But seemingly has gone down hill with their service. My thread is 100% warranted in my book.

Ok, I'm done. Back to lurking and the drag racing section.

 

my experience with the tilton twin carbon. I bought this clutch out of frustration with exedy lock outs and pedal adjustments needed regularly as it wears down, when it was new it was great though. The entry price on the twin carbon is crazy but I was lured in after being told the rebuilds are cheap after that. Maybe what I consider cheap and someone else considers cheap isn't the same but I was quoted "maybe 300 bucks" anyway, I daily drive it and launch it all of the time, it lasted 8 months to a year I would guess before it started slipping at 609tq and powershifting. I wasn't disappointed by this at all given the amount of abuse I put it through. I sent it off and got a call right away citing I needed to send them some plates that should have came with the kit but I couldn't find them. So that was 300.00 of the bill :/ They asked me if I wanted a slight rebuild or full rebuild to get it back to how it came from them originally. The full rebuild was about 2200 with the 300.00 plates included and I got it back within a week or two at the most. Pretty expensive but a hell of a lot cheaper than the full price so I'm not sure what to think. I sure wasn't expecting it to be above 1k. I'll continue to rock the tilton I suppose, it's a badass clutch and lets me powershift when I need to. I've never experienced a lockout unless it was my fault by not fully disengaging the clutch. Their customer service was good.

 

I've preached this time and time again ...

Do NOT buy a clutch until you consider the rebuild cost, and that there is no guarantee on how long (or short) it will last. If you buy a megabuck clutch, save megabucks for the rebuild, as often as needed.

Caveat emptor.

 

Ok, so I lied about not coming back and posting here...LOL How are you Mellon!?

I agree with what you said above. I was also told that a rebuild wasn't going to be more than $300 and in the end I had the same experience as you did. However, once that clutch goes again and they send you a $3000 rebuild bill again, at that point your clutch will be worth ~$10.5, are you going to rebuild it?

Lets pretend that $$ isn't the issue and I have thought these things through. I've had this clutch for years! Where do you stop when you already have $10K into the clutch and your still not getting feebback/help?
Thanks for posting here Ted. You always have good input.

 

If the clutch is such a huge problem consider a diff clutch is your only option.... Exedy Triple, Quarter Master makes a really nice Carbon/Carbon and the standard ones are great aswell, I use it in my race car and have no issues EVER rebuild cheap 800$ is the max ive paid so far because i needed a new throw out bearing. Or you can continue to run the Tilton and have fun with the expensive rebuilds/short lasting in your case aswell

 

It is QUITE obvious that this gentlemans' biggest grievance is with customer service. I sincerely hope you have better luck with Exedy. It's been over a year and they have yet to return any of my calls and messages.

 

I went with the Exedy Triple, non carbon. We'll see how it works. Thanks for the feedback.

All in all, I just want to have fun with the car. It's been a great build, thanks to Buschur, and rarely is down. The car since early 07 hasn't seen under 600 WHP (Buschur Dyno) and is a blast to drive. Beating 1000cc bikes on pump gas and then going to the track and clicking off 140+ is what it's all about...to me. I NEVER go cheap on parts and it kills me to get rid of what I know to be the best clutch based purely on poor customer service. Anyway, I've almost ran out of quota at work for my time on the internet, which blows. Mods can close this thread is you feel the need. I've said my piece.

 

Sorry to hear and good luck.

 

Clutches go up when you have oodles of torque, but all these problems associated with multi-plate clutches are just ridiculous. If I ever need a high torque cap clutch for my Evo, I'm going ACT. Tried and true.

 

I try not to look at the total cost of ownership, that would be depressing lol. That's also why I don't total up what I've spend on the EVO either. I think I'm okay with spending 2k a year to have the best shifting, best launching clutch on earth. However, I'm going to limit my practice launches a bit to see if I can get a little more time with each rebuild. I'm surprised yours didn't last long at all, maybe you're doing quite a bit more racing than me. I launch at 7k and purposely slip the clutch to manage wheel spin due to shock and also keep my stock transfer case in one piece.

 

How many miles did you put on the Tilton before it started slipping.

 

Honestly it sounds like you guys are just plain being ripped off by Tilton. But it is kinds a buyer beware thing. They offered you a 300 rebuild or 2200 rebuild. Thats kinda says it all in my book. these clutches start slipping when .025 material has worn from the plates. This doesnt at all mean the clutch needs a rebuild. when .025 wears from plates the pressure plate looses mechanical advantage and cant apply the needed torque on the plates. At that point all you do is add the next thicker pressure plate spacer. Then the clutch will again hold massive torque. The clutch is good for another .025 of wear before it slips again. Then you add the third supplied thickest pressure plate spacer and you are good to go again. When it slips for the third time you have to send to tilton or you local clutch builder and they will shorten the pressure plate legs so you can use the original shim again and start all over with the reshim process.. according to tilton you can shave the legs twice for a total of 9 lives as I call it. at that point the plates will likely not be usable from being too thin. the shaving leg rebuild is the one that costs 300. or about 100 at local clutch re builder. As I stated my clutch is still on the first shimming. here is a picture of the two supplied thicker rings. and the tool to measure finger height which tells you when to install next thicker shim.