Masonpauls1

If doing the whole 9 yards (heads, cam, intake, headers, etc.) on an ‘07 Z06 that has 13k miles that is a weekend driver, is it worth doing a clutch? Say a Monster lst-1…

I’ve read explanations/suggestions from this forum good and bad on the Monster clutch or aftermarket. The cam isn’t “staged”, it’s going to be a light cam manufactured in-house - essentially a light cam.

If the forecast is, “the clutch might require replacement after 5k miles” with the mods, to me it’s worth replacing while it’s on a lift and broken down.

I don’t plan on tracking the car (yet). Just driving it on the weekend ripping up the roads and smokin Mustangs.

Any advice is appreciated 👍

Scotthmt

Rabbit hole is deep. If doing a clutch, might as well rebuild the TT, might as well heat shield the tunnel, tmod linkage comes to mind, maybe some 3.90’s as well? If drivetrain is down might be a good time for a fuel pump and may as well go e85. So on and so on.

SloC6Z06

I've got a 07z with h/c/i making 550whp and 507tq on the stock clutch and the 2nd time I took it out on a 1/4 mile strip, the clutch pedal went to the floor going into 2nd gear. I literally had to pry the clutch pedal using the tip of my shoes going down the track and it was probably my 3rd run of the day. Although that was the last time I ran it on the drag strip, I did replace it a month later with a monster LT1-s and it's been flawless. Since then I've done a full track day and a few 1/3 mile roll race events without any issues.

Im by all means not a full blown track junkie but 98% of the time it's a weekend crusier but in the end, it was definitely worth the upgrade. I know monster have renamed their parts but if it helps , my LT1s is rated for 700whp/700tq. More than plenty to handle the power that I have. Be sure to get an updated GM slave cylinder since the stocker is a POS and add a billet throw out bearing in there while you're at it as well. Hope that helps.

Blizzard1975

I`d say so. My stock clutch went bad at 30k miles with mild cam and occasional limited track use. Now I have Monster LT1-S and 3.9 diff, works great.

furious427

As long as you don't go to the drag track and just drive it on the street, you'll be fine. It's a wear item so it's going to wear out eventually, but no rush in doing so unless you are having issues with it. Your car has 13k on it, that clutch should be fine, unless you or another owner beat the crap out of it.

Diavolo_Z

My train of thought is if a bunch of stuff is coming off, get it done while in there. I went with the LT1-S twin during the heads/cam install.

double06

Make sure you do the "Black Reservoir" recall/upgrade to your clutch fluid master cylinder/hydraulics. GM came out with a better one and it was a recall in like 2015 or so. It has a black master cylinder (instead of cream white) so you know if it has been done or not.

tommyc6z06

actually, you know if the master cylinder has been done from the cap (new one says DOT4)...not the reservoir.
While the new MC does indeed come with a black reservoir, many (moi!) choose to reuse the old translucent one so we can actually see the color of the fluid inside.

92rsz

It is absolutely worth it to upgrade the clutch. The factory clutch is ok for factory power and slow shifts. My biggest complaint with it is high rpm lockout. When my car was stock it would lock me out of a high rpm fast shift constantly because the clutch disc flexes and wouldn't achieve full release unless I shifted slower. Switched to the lt1-s and haven't missed a single shift.

Josh M

My car made 574rwhp with a mild cam installed almost 3 years ago now. I'm still on the stock clutch, granted I'm only at 17k miles and only about 3k with the cam package. I'd say if you are planning on doing a decent amount of tracking or driving it hard its definitely a worthy upgrade and like others have said and typical car guy logic "while we're in there" then go all out. But if you're like me that track it maybe 1-2x/year and just enjoy some spirited driving now and again you should be fine with the stock clutch for a bit. I also don't really launch the car ever on the street, well ever in general haha. Most of my fun is just like on ramps or the 60-150 jaunt which isn't very hard on the clutch.

niphilli2

For the use you describe its not needed. These clutches are surprisingly durable and maintenance of the fluid (search for the "ranger" method) will bring them back to life more times than you think. The master cylinder is a different story/ they are terrible.

Id say drive it as is and maintain the clutch fluid / it will last longer than you think. If you decide for a stickier tire these recommendations are out the window

Masonpauls1

Great info and thank you all for the input.

Really sounds like the most logical thing to do is to just go ahead and install a clutch while it’s torn down. But if not, I’ll likely have a project to do within the next couple of years.

How difficult is it to replace the clutch?

Masonpauls1

Based on some of the previous comments, I most likely have the newer master cylinder. It’s black and has DOT 4 on the cap.

I’ve ranger method the fluid twice already. Is it normal for the fluid to get dark after a couple of drives?

Burntoutaccountant

I say yes. As others mentioned it’s a rabbit whole. The factory clutch is barely designed to handle factory power. You get on it a few times and I feel like it would start to go.

Im doing a fully built engine. While the engine was out I did the same monster clutch you mentioned. Then might as well do the rear main seal. Might as well do the pilot bearing. Might as well rebuild the torque tube. I’d stop there. That’s all I did.

Burntoutaccountant

no. The fluid would only get dark from it being very dirty in the first place and contaminants being in there or something else. I’d say that’s abnormal.

Z.06

How can I be more gentle? As one who chased down every rabbit hole trying to make my OEM clutch work, to no avail...I can only say replace your OEM clutch with aftermarket at the first opportunity. You will hate yourself for being completely stupid if you do not do this. Monster Twin is OK but Monster triple is best for street driving.

Masonpauls1

I’m sold on replacing the clutch and other components mentioned. Why would the triple be better for street driving? I don’t understand the differences in single, double and triple plate clutches like I should. I suspect it all has something to do with shifting and longevity, but if someone could explain it to me layman’s terms that would help. Thanks!!

92rsz

The easiest way I can explain it having driven both is this: The disc hub is solid on both monster clutches. The oem is sprung, so the engagement is different. The triple offers a bit smoother engagement on take off from a stop and doesn't stall as easy as the twin. Once moving I didn't notice a difference shifting.

Masonpauls1

I reached out to Monster for some info. They mentioned that one of the biggest differences between the twin and triple is lifespan. A triple typically has 2 to 3x the life span over the twin. Kevlar make usually takes 2,000 miles or so to break in and organic usually takes 250-500 for break in.

A lighter flywheel is not necessary for my application.

Thanks guys!

Z.06

My Monster twin is apart for the install of my new built short block. It has 10k miles on it. I measured the lining thickness remaining and sent that in with pictures to ask whether I should consider putting in a new friction disk while I was there. They said that my measurements indicate that about 30% of the disk life was gone and that normal life for the friction materials on the disk is 30k miles. I found this shockingly low. BTW, I do no drag racing, standing starts or other hard clutch activity. I am normally a 100k+ mile clutch guy. My BMW 335i has 97k miles on its OEM clutch now and still going strong.

Like 92rsz, I have driven a Monster Triple Disk clutch as well as putting 10k miles on my Twin. Rsz's remarks are spot on.