In April I got word that RPS has been producing private label clutch designed by ERP. Instnatly got my attention because few ex-vette owners sware by RPS triple and twin carbon clutches. Driveablity and power handling was suppsoed to be amazing.

Not sure if many of you are aware of the high end clutch situation for us at the moment but it was looking gloomy. Tilton was on a loong back order and was super super expensive. ATS/Carbonetics which was popular at one point has been discontinued in US sale due to low demand and tsunami in Japan. It can still be made but special order from Japan etc... seemed like a better option then Titlon tho.

RPS will not sell the clutch direct, only through ERP. Cary was a bit tough to get a hold of but I kept trying until I got in touch with him. He was very knowledgeable on topic and I bought the clutch setup from him the same day. It is a triple carbon with 2 carbon floaters and steel flywheel. Entire assebly weighs in at 27lbs with flywheel, clutches and cover and 21lbs if you choose the billet aluminum flywheel. For my purposes 27lbs was a better choice.

Clutch got here, Tim and I installed the clutch at his place and it was everything the vette guys said it would be. smooth engagement, no chatter, can be dropped or slipped. pedal is stiffer then stock but not nearly as stiff as it was with my Clutchmasters Stage 3 FiberTough. So far I have put about 1500 miles on it with some launches and it has held up very well so far, held over 800ft-lbs of torque at the wheel on the EPL Mustang Dyno. I really wanted to put some miles on it and a few months of driving time before giving it a review rather then after my drive home, so here it is. My unit is power rated to 1250 ft-lbs to the wheel.

Price tag is a tad over 4,000$ for the triple which includes all the hardware and the throwout bearing. In my opnion it was definitely worth every penny.

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what it looks like all take apart ( this is a pic from their site of a vette clutch, looks similar)

 

Nice write up. The quality is there. Somethings I liked where the turbo T/O bearing and the over all quality. No noise like something is falling out of the car when you depress the pedal. Also Mark has the gt2 slave conversion.

 

Nice write up and pictures. What is the intended use for this? Street/Track? High HP only? Are there any advantages at close to stock power levels?

 

intended use is ALOT of power in a street car.

any modified car will benefit from a twin or triple because they take alot of shock off the trans when you launch and go through the gears quickly.

 

What is the drivability difference, if any, between this and Tim's ATS clutch? I'm curious because I have the ATS. It looks like a really nice product. Is this Cary the one and the same with Advanced Induction? I hear he's harder to reach than a scratch in a straight jacket.

 

Cary from ERP is how I was inroduced. He is tough to reach but I tried till I got him on the phone, from there it was smooth. I have never driven the ATS to be honest with you, Tim has. I was literally ready to order it from Japan, but here is what turned me away..

1) no longer readily available in the US (4-5 week) wait.
2) rebuild kit when needed, same story ^^ maybe worse at a later time. (actually my main concern) last thing i want is to pay 4k for a clutch TWICE
3) I prefer the Turbo parts to the 964 parts in the ATS/Carbonetic
4) It no longer costs 3,000$.... costs way moree and additional 300$ for oem parts needed from the older model
5) shipping was like 250$

 

Thank you for the review, this is good news as you said, there are very few choices in the high hp 996/997 clutch market... I have a RPS triple carbon in my TT vette as it replaced a McLeod RXT that couldn't handle the power level.

 

What clutch did you put in the GT2 that Todd just built you.

 

The most streetable clutch I've ever driven. Had a twin disc in my vette. Good choice mark!!

 

At stock power level you may never need to do a clutch ever again.

 

I have done so much to get the ats to work and now I am upping the motor again so lets see. As far as noise goes you real dont hear it at all. Mark has awd motorsports motor mounts and poly filled trans mount and the car sounds closer to stock then a lwfw. If that makes sense?

 

yeah good call on that, i've called RPS twice before and they said they still didnt have anything. otherwise I would have gotten their twin from the get go instead of the clutchmasters stg3..

you need a ERP tripple in your life Timmy

 

I know I do..

 

We've been selling and installing this clutch for just about a year now. It's gone into both our project GT2's, all of our 68mmm 997TT builds, and lots of other customer cars. In terms of drivability and being able to handle the power, it's top notch in my opinion. The aluminum flywheel can be a little trick, but with the steel you can't go wrong.

Feel free to contact me if you guys need any help getting one. I think our pricing is pretty fair too, compared to what some others have been selling it for.

 

Yup steel is the way to go, it is still way lighter then stock assembly.

I actually called Champion with intention of buying same day and was told to wait for a call back, no one from your shop bothered calling me back to take a $4000 clutch order.