Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Transaxle Spec Factory default ????

....'The Aftermarket Myth'...So many owners think that aftermarket parts must be better than OEM,this is not always the case.Take the clutches.Only OEM's have sight of the genuine Ford drawings and blueprints for the parts,an aftermarket supplier has to guess or copy from physical parts.The OEM supplier still,even on service parts to Ford,meet specific QC inspections...OK,they are not as high for sevice parts as parts that go to an assembly plant but never the less they do have 'QC'...most aftermarket have none...No suprise in that, how can you inspect if you don't have the original specs and blueprints from Ford! On clutches the OEM genuine replacement is a LuK...an OEM supplier and even on an aftermarket, say the Sachs clutch. They too are an OEM supplier to Ford. Not so with Spec. I have yet to find an aftermarket clutch that outlasts the OEM units. There is also little point in a stage 1 or 2. If you make real power and torque go to a 3. The first two are no better than a LuK or Sachs unit. THINK before you rush off and buy a clutch that may only last you 30,000. On all non OEM parts it should be 'buyer beware'...Not a plug for Ford or the OEM's but at least they have the specs, data & blueprints to work from, the rest use 'guesswork'...as we can see in the clutch pics, which also shows that 'batch testing', inspection & QC can be a bit 'flakey' to say the least...it's your dosh, be wise when you spend it! TH

but were not talking about 30 000miles here... the clutch was only 6000 KM

so thats why spec clutches always chatter!

they will ship me a new unit as soon as they will received the old one im quite happy the custmer service was really fast
i sent them a email with the picture last night and everything was settled this morning

Terry sent me some pics of a Luk with 100k on it. I have a Spec 1 w/o issue and an UR full face kevlar so don't argue with me. LOL! I don't doubt the quality of OEM. I went Spec 1 for a 3L with NOS. Thought it would hold up to more power. This is just to inform ppl.

who's arguing with you ? anyway i will get a brand new one soon, hope this one will be ok... oh no.. i forgot i will have to break in again

My oem SVT clutch is still in the parts box downstairs in my garage, 2 years of 3L naturally aspirated and a couple of months with the turbo on it. The linings and the hub held up well but one of the springs had a small piece broke out of it.
For the most part I like the stock SVT clutch.

However, with all that said I had a stock OEM SVT clutch in my 98 SVT that I owned that popped at 25K miles. Same EXACT thing as the picture there, the hub rivets stripped out and the dealer put in a new clutch for me. The linings were perfectly good on that disk too. It happened on a fast shifting 1-2 upshift where I popped the clutch pretty quick. Nothing that should have killed that disk either.

So I still have faith in the Spec line of clutches.

its happen to me when i was shifting 1 to 2... but not a so fast shifthing

but the week before i hear 2 time some metal shreading on high rpm (maybe those two ringhole who broke)

my OEM clutch was change at 122 000KM