Quartermaster 8 Leg Review for DD
 

Hey everyone I decided to do a review of my QM 8leg Street version. I know when I was researching this clutch up I couldn't find a good answer on the Life length of this clutch for the DD guys. Im gonna keep updating the thread as I go.

Now for background on my car. Its an 05 VIII full bolt-ons, cams, supporting fuel mods, FP HTA Green, Stock bottom end, built tranny with 4.11fd, built TC, and rearanged Rear diff, 2 piece DS.
Power: 468whp/428wtq @30psi, E-85 very low reading Mustang Dyno

Again this is my DD and yes some might say its too much clutch for my power level, but I was tried of constantly trying to adjust my clutch pedal and slave cylinder to keep from getting High RPM lockout, Previous clutches (Act HDSS & Comp Stage 2 unsprung). Now with the 8-leg I can once again shift fast without worrying about getting a lock out and possibly messing up the transmission again. I'm no longer afraid of actually using my NLTS.

Yes the clutch is loud but its a trade off I was willing to make, I could care less what other people think that my car sounds like. It does squeak/squeal like a dying whale on slow take-off (no noise during launching). Yes when you downshift you have to rev-match to keep it from squealing also. Gear changes will be rough until you get use to the feel of the clutch pedal due to the HTOB. At first I was always getting nervous driving in traffic thinking I was gonna Stall it, but after a couple weeks I was golden.

If you have the stock DS, I would suggest getting a 2 piece asap. The clutch engages pretty hard and will make the stock Drive shaft Clunk like crazy, especially on launches. The 2 piece eliminated the clunking for me 100%.

During the break in period it was really hard to get a feel on when the clutch was gonna start grabbing for take offs, I waited till I hit 1500mi before launching it. After I launched the car a few times the clutch then got a lot more DD friendly and easily slippable for easy take offs.

So far I'm almost at 9k with the clutch No issues of slipping at WOT or anything. Also since I just got back from afghanistan I took my 30 day vacation back home to Cali from Texas and decided to drive the Evo both ways a little over 3k miles. The clutch had no issues whatsoever when I got back to both destinations.

I also do a WOT pull a day so it gets put to work a little. I always say "A WOT pull a day keeps the Mechanic Away" lol

Along with the 9k miles of driving on this clutch it also has seen 20 launches so far without a single issue. A couple of them were hot lapped where I launch did a pull and turned right around and launched again the clutch took it like a champ.

So minus the noise this clutch is pretty DD friendly, you can also just turn up the stereo and you wont hear any of the noise lol. Well like I said I will keep updating the thread as I keep racking up the miles and if you have any questions feel free to ask or PM me.

How is the pedal feel? I just did mine and the feel is crazy light, like way lighter than my ACT Stage 4. But I second all of the above, I have only drove it about 10 miles but so far so good.

My pedal is extremely light and possibly is the reason why it took a little while to get fully used to it for a smooth take off. Also after I launched the first couple times the pedal did feel even lighter but hasn't changed since then.

Just an update I got this clutch still going strong with 18k of DD duties and plenty 30+ launches and plenty of mexico runs as well.

Bumping this one, how many miles are you currently at?

I just hit 20.5k and everything is still solid.

very nice. i was worried about the clutch life expectancy but hearing this confirms i will be getting this now. thank you for the review!

no problem man and its the same reason why i was hesitant on getting the clutch myself, could never really find any info on how long the clutch lasted for people running it. Also every morning this thing gets slipped a lot with the line to get on through the Fort Hood gate. Normal time in that stop and go line is usually 30 minutes.

I really appreciate you making this thread. Been searching a lot on clutch info and haven't really liked what I've been reading. I was hoping it wouldn't be too overkill until my next round of mods.. Sounds like the noise is the only downside, but that's something I'm expecting. Thanks man!

update?

25k still going strong, car is now making 560/460 as of early October. Took the car to IFO in Dallas on the 9th of November and did 3 passes 10.7@134, 10.8@129, and 11.0@134
plan on driving it from Texas to Cali again on the 26th.

could of swore i replied to your comment, but yes the only downside is the Noise lol. uphill take offs are a little tricky but you can get used to it.

Lol HAHA :lol: I am running the same clutch and you pretty much said how it sound on slow take offs lol

But Else the noise, the clutch is badass. {thumbup}

Nice new power you got there! Still stock block?! Can't wait for my clutch to be installed.. This thread makes me happy

Thanks man, and yes still stock block 147k.

Im happy with my 8 leg as well. Plenty of abuse and still going strong. I'm getting my tranny rebuilt soon which will give me the opportunity to inspect the clutch since i'm curious to see how it looks.

awesome dude, how many miles have you put on yours? if you wouldn't mind posting some pics to show some of the wear.

2 seasons on the clutch so far. Around 6-8k miles of hard driving and several trips to the track. Will post pics when its out.

IMA bump this I'm in ft hood also have an EBP evo 9 pushing shy of 700whp just installed my qm 8 leg today see what's up!

8 leg
 

I also have the quarter master 8 leg. Idk if this happens to you guys but it is the loudest most obnoxious clutch I have ever had. It rattles and squeaks when I shift. I sent quarter master an email and they said it was perfectly normal. Anyone else have this issue?

Nice I just left hood last month since I ETS. How long have you been there?

Really? Did you not read my original post?

I like how this clutch shifts.... Honda style :)

I did... I edited my post. I just cant believe this clutch is like this. The noise drives me insane. It sounds even worse outside the car. When people are standing next to my car they get upset. The look on their face says it all "wtf is that noise"...
Idk, never really had a car that had such a horrible sounding clutch. Im sure it handles the power but damn...

Oh man ive been here since 2013 bro and oh lucky! Lol got outta here, hope that clutch is keeping up strong !!

Mmm it sounds like a dying whale trying to take off in first gear but after that its really not all that bad man

You wouldn't happen to be on west fort hood would you? I was on duty one day and heard the famous dying whale noise and thought someone was stealing my car then out the corner of my eye I saw a blue Evo roll by.

Well like others said its perfectly normal. One does not simply drive a high horsepower Evo with a quiet clutch. Who cares what others think as long as that ****er can throw gears without issues

I wanna bump this and ask how the clutch has been treating you guys? Already went through the break in period on mine and I loved it! Used to the mating call in first gear already :o Now just waiting for my next visit to stm for my cams, turbo kit and tune..

well i ended up getting 33k out of the first one. drove the car from texas to cali and took a little trip up to lake tahoe. Got caught in dead stop traffic going up a steep hill and the constant slipping of the clutch overheated and just killed it. It would still drive and get going just as soon as 1psi hit on the boost gauge it would start slipping.

I rebuilt it all and resurfaced the flywheel, 800miles in to it the clutch would slip. After talking to QM they told me it was probably the Cover that needed a rebuild too. So before sending it out to them for another $250 my good Ol Buddy Pirana let me use his cover and that did fix the issue. I believe if it wasnt for the way i killed my clutch with that amount of slipping i had to do I would of probably got another 10k out of it and probably would have gotten away without having to send the cover in for a rebuild as well.

That's Excellant. Great to see u got a lot of miles out of this thing. Did you take pics of the wear on the disc and flywheel after removing it? It's well worth the $$.

no I didnt get any pics after i removed it. for the beating i gave it and the amazing smooth shifts i could do with it, this clutch is definitely worth the money. Hell my driver mod is so good with this clutch I got a PB of 10.8@129 on my stock block FP Green set up.

From what I have been reading from the forums and QM. These 7.25" clutches work great for fast shifting and high rpm, however they do not like being slipped a lot due to the decrease in surface area and ability to dissipate heat if not being driven to increase air circulation.

So constant slipping up a hill and some mileage on the clutch would seem like it would warp the pressure plate / diaphragm more so than just the flywheel since that is steel vs aluminum.

I think the easiest way is to just send the entire clutch to QM for overhaul and call it a day.

That is what I should have done. Just this being my first twin disk I figured just replace the guys and good to go. That wasn't the case but one way to learn.

might have to save up and get one of these... I need something that will last but can take a 550WTQ launch and be able to serve as a daily driver. Seems like this is it!

I just got my 8-Leg installed and have about 200 miles on it, half city and half highway. I can also confirm of the dying whale noise and chirping that makes others look at me like I drive a POS :lol: I am having a hard time deciding if I should rev above 2k to get it moving or feather the gas, I've had success both ways. I am pretty paranoid about my car and sometimes the clutch makes noise at idle which I thought was knock (late night noob mistake) and I almost had a heart attack. I was surprised to actually stall this clutch since I had never really stalled on the stock clutch. Peddle pressure is good and the engagement is nice but extremely grabby. Hoping that I can get better at taking off consistently smooth but the shifts are butter when done right {pcfreak}

It took me about 2 weeks to finally get it to take off smoothly. After that you'll love it when you start banging gears. Any car you get in now with a aftermarket clutch will feel like stock to you lol

I currently have a Comp stage 3 in my 8 and as soon as that thing decides to let go, I plan on picking up an 8 leg, have heard nothing but good things about it, but never could find a decent review on it. Thanks for the review man!

Shift speed
 

Hey bro. I am thinking of buying this clutch and wanted your opinion.

I have done so many things trying to have my evo x shift smooth. The car is practically brand new. I have installed the TWM shifter with bushings, I have a weighted shift knob, I even have considered sending the transmission to Jack's Transmissions for a rebuilt, because I simply can't shift fast, even normal speed, at high rpms going from 1st to 2nd and 2nd to 3rd. Downshifts are never a problem, but upshift at high rpm are horrible and grind. I know at my power lever this clutch could be an overkill, but for the smooth shifts I am willing to pay to play. How smooth are we talking about.

1st gear, revving up to 7.5k and shifting like a bat out of hell to 2nd smooth?

Also, is the noise very loud, like brake squealing annoying as heck loud?

Thanks.

Its loud, and its difficult to engage from a stop, but it does shift well.