- Home »
- Catalog »
- Transmission & Drivetrain »
- Clutches
Clutches
Pontiac V8 Clutches
Hold What the Engine Makes — Clutches for Pontiac V8s
A clutch on a Pontiac has to survive the torque the engine actually makes, not the horsepower on the dyno sheet. Torque is what slips a disc, and a 455 or a stroker makes a great deal of it down low. The other half of the decision is the input shaft spline count, which your transmission dictates.
Butler stocks Centerforce Dual Friction clutch and pressure plate kits in 10.4" and 11", RAM Powergrip sets, and American Powertrain Mean Street and Track Slayer kits, plus pilot bearings, throwout bearings and Butler's clutch install kit.
Browse Clutches Products
Popular Brands:
More About Clutches
1. Spline count and diameter come first
These two numbers are decided by the transmission, not by you. Order the wrong one and nothing else about the clutch matters.
| 10 spline | the older 1 1/8" by 10 spline input, used by the factory four speeds many Pontiacs still run. |
| 26 spline | the modern input count, and what every Tremec TKX and T56 Magnum behind a Pontiac needs. American Powertrain TKX kits specifically call for a 26 spline clutch disc that is not included with the transmission kit. |
| 10.4" or 11" disc | Centerforce offers Dual Friction in both, in 10 and 26 spline. The bigger disc holds more but takes a matching flywheel pattern, and Butler's flywheels carry both the 10.5" and 11" patterns. |
2. Rate the clutch in torque, not horsepower
| Centerforce Dual Friction | full facing on the pressure plate side for drivability and a carbon composite segmented facing on the flywheel side for holding capacity. The 11" by 26 spline kit is rated up to 620 ft/lbs and the 10.4" by 10 spline kit up to 525 ft/lbs. |
| American Powertrain Mean Street Duo | rated from 450 to 580 ft-lbs, with a Super Street Kevlar blend on the flywheel side and a ventilated Feramix pressure plate side. Described for mixed street and strip or pure street, and rated to last two to three times longer than stock. |
| American Powertrain Track Slayer Duo | rated for 645 to 800 ft-lbs with high grade ceramic pads, a solid steel carrier and a captive spring rebound hub. American Powertrain describes it as being for the drag strip and getting her home only. It is not a street clutch. |
| RAM Powergrip | complete clutch sets in 10.5" and 11", in both 1 1/8"-10 and 1 1/8"-26 spline. |
3. The small parts that ruin a clutch job
| Pilot bearing | Butler stocks the standard Pontiac pilot bearing, measuring 1.3780" OD by 0.5906" ID, open on both sides. There is also a mid-plate pilot bearing that installs in the torque converter hub hole for engines set up that way. |
| Throwout bearing | Centerforce recommends changing the pilot bearing or bushing and the release bearing at every clutch install. Butler's Pontiac clutch install kit bundles the pilot bearing, thrust bearing and pressure plate bolt kit for exactly that reason. |
| Hydraulic throwout compatibility | Centerforce states its Dual Friction kits will not work with a McLeod hydraulic throwout bearing. If you are going hydraulic, check the clutch against the actuator before you order either. |
| Recommended pairings | American Powertrain recommends the Mean Street and Track Slayer kits for use with its GM HYDRAMAX hydraulic clutch actuator system. |
4. Do not reuse a stock disc on a new flywheel
Performance and SFI approved flywheels must be matched with performance clutch discs only. A stock-style disc on a performance flywheel often leaves insufficient clearance between the disc hub and the flywheel bolts, and low head flywheel cap screws are required for high performance use. If the flywheel is new, the disc should be too.
Not sure what your Pontiac needs?
Call our tech team at 866-762-7527. Tell us your engine, heads, car, and power goal, and we will put the parts together as one combination that works.