LT Jeff need some design help. This is his email to me. I know someone in the CC family can help redesign or find a new system that will work. LT lost a leg in Iran but build his FFR Cobra with a clutch set up for his wife. He installed a electric servo so he could activate the clutch by hand switch on the shifter. The company that made the system is out of business and he has talked to people in Italy and California about the system. This is where he is today.
Help?? Anyone?
Dwight
Dwight,
Last weekend Erik helped me install the duck clutch shifter system into my roadster. Since the duck system servo ONLY has 44mm ('bout 1 3/4") we had to attach it farther up the clutch pedal than we had previously. Erik welded in some bracing for the duck system and got it all looking nice. We turned on the system and it only pulled the clutch in half way!!....at best!! I have been told by a disability company in Arkansas that they have installed this system on a 2010 GT500. The servo which I was told is rated for 160 lbs is not strong enough to pull my clutch pedal. Basically as it stands now, I'm screwed.
I'm going to Home Depot tomorrow and picking up an outdoor hanging scale so that I can start doing some math. I need to figure out the work necessary to push the clutch by getting lbs needed to push the pedal and the travel. If I have some figures it will give me some stats to help me while looking at my options.
My current setup:
Ford Crate 392 (dyno w/ 438 engine hp, 374 rw hp, 391 rw tq)
Tremec TKO 600 w/ King Cobra pressure plate
Wilwood pedal assembly that came with the FFR complete kit
Current options:
1) Mount servo on 4" tube frame and attach it's cable directly to trans clutch fork to help eliminate frictional losses
- If it can't pull a clutch pedal with a mech advantage, being able to move the tab at the trans is very doubtful
- I don't see the frictional losses occurring from pedal setup and clutch cable/sleeve to be significant enough to matter (hence the calculations I'll be doing)
2) Look at hydraulic systems and see if I can gain anything from them
- Get as close to the GT500 setup as I can with the reservoirs since I know it works....... (but it has a 4.6 w/ a T56 trans and I do not)
- Adjust master and slave sizes to decrease effort needed (but increase throw = bad)
3) See if there is a 'easier' pressure plate than the King Cobra I have
- I've been told the King Cobra is on the easy end of the spectrum
- potentially move to a dual plate setup
4) After exhausting options 1, 2 and 3, look at replacing the TKO 600 with an automatic/paddle shifter setup
- take away the manual shift Katie and I were really hoping on
- option is either a paddle shift set up or a 'bump-shift' lever located on trans tunnel in place of manual shifter (
http://mastershift.com/new-street-auto.html)
--
Jeffrey S. Adams
1LT (ret), ENGR, US ARMY
Cell 225-803-1145
smada001@gmail.com
