I currently have a Tilton triple disk cerametallic clutch setup from Silly Rabbit Motorsports (SRM). This piece is a beast and it was affordable, I doubt I'll ever overpower it. However it has one or two little things about it that can be annoying. The first of those is that it makes a metallic sound on engagement and on slip, this is not a big deal to me because I know what's in there. The second issue though is a bigger one - the thing is heavy. It also has the engagement of a light switch. An RSS clutch stop was required to prevent overmotion from hurting the hydraulic TOB too. Now mind you I've daily driven tripe disk clutches before in my Supra and didn't mind the engagement but this was tough for anyone not used to it. Driving it this Summer and Fall in bumper to bumper traffic seriously strengthened my left leg!

Sean was aware of this and he was also painfully aware that nothing out there fits our cars. So, Sean decided to fix the issue by building his own billet clutch master cylinder. I raised my hand to be one of the first ones to get one however I'm pretty sure there's a few more out there already but no one has talked much about them until now. I think Sean has been waiting for feedback and he told me it was okay to finally say something so...







Side view, note it follows the form of the stock piece - it's nearly a direct bolt-on as a result!



Gotta have a logo somewhere on it!



This is the part that will stick through the firewall. I'll talk more about it when I discuss the install!


I'll make a post following this one to discuss install and to give some tips and tricks. I can say this though, my car now has a clutch that feels STOCK! It's light, the engagement is nice, and no one who knows how to drive a stick well at all will have issues driving this. This is literally a night and day difference in control - no more clutch stop! If you've ever driven one of the new GT500s and marvelled at how the clutch feels knowing it's multidisk then you know how this feels. I'm almost certainly going to be installing my hated clutch spring back in just to see how it feels, I'm betting I won't hate it any more.

Sean says this should also work on ERP clutches and I know of a shop installing one soon on a car that has one so hopefully more data to come on that. Bonus - Sean said he can make this with a different bore so they could probably work on other weird setups too although it might take some trial and error to get tha ratios right.

Lastly, cost. Sean is going to sell these for around $300. One big concern I had with this is that it's custom and I worried about replacement parts and cost. Sean says they can be rebuilt for $29! The parts inside are from a major manufacturer and can be bought as a rebuild kit - sweet! I won't spill the beans on who he used parts from but if you buy one and are worried he can help you out. Hell at that price I might buy a rebuild kit just to have laying around!

Okay, next post is install

 

Okay, take 2 dammit! I was pretty worried about doing this to start with. I could find almost no DIY posts on replacing the OEM master and I was warned that getting under there to remove bolts sucked. In the end it wasn't nearly as bad as I expected but I DID learn a few things and I'm going to share those for others

A few tips right up front for install:

1) When you have the clutch clevis pin out you will want to test fit it in the monoball of the new master. It will likely NOT fit as it's an odd size and must be turned down. Chuck it in a drill, wet some 200 wet\dry, and spin it up a bit. Test fit until it fits without being loose, no one wants it loose.

2) The clevis pin goes in fine one way but inserting it the wrong way doesn't expose the slot for the clip. Pay attention to how it was installed before removing it. Guess how I found this out?

3) The firewall grommet must be trimmed to fit the new larger master. When the pressure side is removed you can slide the grommet off and trim it. If you don't you will have to stretch it and push it, and struggle to get it in the hole in the firewall, guess how I know?

4) Use a pressure bleeder, not a ****ty suction bleeder. My Harbor Freight suction bleeder draws 10inches of vac and couldn't bleed this. I overnighted a and it was done in MINUTES! I bought the black label version with a metal cap, I've linked the cheaper version - difference is $20. As easy as this makes bleeding I'll probably do the brakes next! I did put fluid in the bottle and I used a bunch of it.

5) This is for Dot3/4 systems only. Pentosin will kill this system so GT2 setup or Tilton only guys. If you've got engagement issues or a heavy clutch you'll likely be running this anyway.

6) Tools needed: 10mm socket on a short handled ratchet, fine tooth if you have it, dental pick (seriously), the aforementioned pressure bleeder, jacks and stands to get it up safely or a lift - my Tilton bleeder was easy to get to, a pair of vice grips or hose clamp pliers to keep the reservoir from draining when disconnected, some long needle nose are also handy to have.

So onto the install:

First, pop the frunk and get the plastic off of the battery and the clutch master. Next crawl under the dash and take note of the position of the clutch clevis holding the OEM shaft to your clutch pedal and remove the clip to slide the clevis out. Chuck this in a drill and turn it! Put this someplace for safe keeping now.







Clutch clevis turned and polished. I didn't have to remove much but DO test this before installing the master!

Next, clamp the reservoir hose near the spring clamp holding it on. You likely have a zip tie holding the reservoir in it's mount, remove this and wiggle the reservoir off the hose. The hose sticking out of the firewall that's black is plastic and attached to the top of the master, it will be reused. Remove the 10mm bolt holding the bracket on for the clutch master reservoir as you will need room later.

From the inside of the car push the firewall grommet off of the body of the master and into outside of the car. This will expose the end of the master for you.






You want this gold bracket out, you can see the grommet on the green pressure hose and the black nipple for the reservoir feed.

If you look closely at the end of the master in the frunk you will see hints of the retaining clip holding the green pressure hose, mine were blue. These are metal clips covered in paint or plastic and pretty tough. A dental pick works great for removing them





Not the clip in question but the other is identical!



More in the next post!

 

CSOB! 4 posts lost trying to add pics?! F me sideways! Do I really need to do this in Notepad first?! I can't upload pics so I'll direct link them here and fix it later

Okay where was I?

Remove the retaining clip from the green hose using the dental pick. Pull the green hose and clean up the small resulting mess. Remove the firewall grommet from the end of the green hose and do something to keep the hose from peeing too much.

Remove the firewall grommet from the green pressure hose. Fit and trim the firewall grommet to fit the end of the billet master. Mine is a pre-production piece and may look slightly different from what you receive but the amount it sticks out should be the same. You will want to do this BEFORE putting the billet master in the car - ask me how I know! Place this back onto the green pressure hose so you won't forget to have it in place.

Time to crawl under the dashboard again. Reach up under the dash and you will find that the OEM master is being held in by 2x 10mm bolts. The short stubby ratchet with a 10mm socket will get this and a ratcheting box wrench will too. You will be doing this blind and the bolt closest to the firewall is most difficult. Once these are removed gently tug on the plastic body and draw the reservoir hose out of it's grommet.

Once out remove another plastic clip holding the reservoir hose onto the OEM master - you will be reusing this so be careful.




Stubby plastic hose removed from the OEM master

This plastic hose will be inserted into the top of the billet master after first removing the piano wire retaining clip it shipped with. Orient it pointing towards the firewall and gently insert it, lube it with brake fluid if needed but beware the O-ring. Don't tear the O-ring or it won't seal obviously. Be aware that you may not need to bottom the hose in the hole so slipping the piano wire into it's hole while inserting will allow you to find the right spot. Once the piano wire goes through easily bend it so it won't fall out and trim it.

Back under the dash we go, remove the other piano wire clip first from the front of the billet piece. Insert the nose of the reservoir tube through the tiny grommet, you will wish for hair around that sucker as it's hard as hell to see and tiny but keep trying, don't miss and hit the big hole Once the little hose is slipped in don't push it too far forward, you're going to need to line up the mounting holes. Slip a 10mm bolt into the one furthest from the firewall and jocky the billet piece up and down until you find the mounting hole. Don't tighten this down too much once you find it as you will want to be able to move things in order to align the hole closest to the firewall!

Once both bolts are lined up tighten them down but don't go crazy as they weren't very tight to begin with and they thread into fairly thin metal in shear so they don't need to be gorilla tight. Once this is mounted slip the rod with the monoball on it into the pocket of the clutch pedal. Note it will drop in and seat against the back of the pedal but the clevis won't insert. You will have to compress the rod slightly to align the hole, be sure you insert the clevis the way it came out. I swear this thing was a USB port in a prior life as I had to try 3x to get it right and get the clip on it!

Get out from under the dash again. You will now be inserting the green hose into the snout of the billet master. Just like before it likes a little lube and you don't want to hit bottom. Slide the piano wire clip through BOTH holes - this hose carries a great deal of pressure. Once the hose is seated and clipped bend the piano wire and trim it to a reasonable length. Slide the firewall grommet over the end of the billet snout and lip it into the firewall - I promise you it looks way better than mine! Aren't you glad you removed that gold bracket earlier?

(I Have one more picture to insert here but Photobucket took a dump...)

Reattach the reservoir hose to the short stubby plastic pipe, remove the clamp holding back the brake fluid, bolt the gold bracket back onto the firewall, and mount the reservoir in the bracket. Use the proper sized zip tie to secure the reservoir - the back of the bracket even had holes to pass it through.

You are now done mounting this beast! W00T!!

 

Looking forward to your review of the engagement feel.

 

Last but not least - it's time to bleed this sucker. Jack the *** in the air, support it with at LEAST two damn jackstands, and find your bleeder. Mine was on the driver's side and being Tilton it was a braided line zip tied out of the way. Figure out what flare wrench fits, if you're using a Tilton find one that fits the body it's screwed into as well.

Get ready to screw your pressure bleeder onto the cap in the frunk and have plenty of fluid on hand. Your system currently has a fat air bubble in the master if you didn't bench bleed it. I didn't because I didn't want crap all over the inside of the car as I wasn't sure how hard it would be to install. I probably could've bench bled it and capped it, I even had caps that fit, but chose not to in order to avoid mess.

Pressurize that bad boy slowly to get some of the fluid into the hose and before it gets too far screw it onto the reservoir cap snug. Now pump it up to about 20PSI and get under the car. You WILL want something clean to catch the fluid in and you WILL want a hose to slip over the nipple. Slip the hose on, crack the hose, and watch the fluid come out FAST. After a little bit you will get a BLAST of air and then more fluid. If the flow slows check the Motive bottle for pressure and make sure you don't run it out of fluid. Having a friend pump the pedal or doing it yourself with the bleed lightly cracked will help make sure both sides of the seal in the master are filled. Don't expect much clutch pressure while doing this and don't pump it really hard.

Once you're happy the fluid is clean, the air is out, and the bleed is closed crack the top on the Motive to drop pressure slowly and check level of the reservoir. When the Motive drop pressure some fluid is sucked out so hopefully it's filled about right. Slap the cap on and if all has gone well you'll be amazed at the transformation of your Tilton clutch feel! Hopefully ERP guys will be just as happy

 

So far I've driven it back and forth in the driveway only. I am AMAZED at how much better it feels! Night and day difference. No more RSS clutch stop needed, it just WORKS. It's light with no struggle and feels like a normal clutch now. Moving it around in the driveway engagement was easy and I didn't have to slip it very much to find the right spot. I am actually seriously considering putting my POS clutch spring thing back in to get my cruise control happy and I get to re-enable my neutral start clutch switch too!

I need gas in the car badly after sitting so long with just occasional starts and the inspection is out but I'll put some gas in and take it for a spin sometime this week. A friend locally (Irish100P) drove the car some previously and has an ERP clutch, he gets to be my guinea pig tester to see what he thinks. Right now I'm over the moon happy! I will check it for leaks blah blah this week too but I know it's got quality guts in it and as precision fit as the hose holes were I doubt there will be any leaks.

Well worth the money and the hours it took to install. Several of those hours BTW were me trying to use a crappy suction bleeder - I'm now a Motive convert! I could do it again fairly quickly especially with a helping hand. If Irish100P likes it I may be doing it again too

 

Nice piece. great write up.. thanks. What Logo is that ?

 

I was just thinking about our conversation a month or 2 back about you getting this piece, was wondering what came of it.

Glad that it made the difference you hoped for!

 

silly rabbit motorsport
hold on to that rss stop you may need it to keep from overpulsing the hyd t.o . bearing

 

Nope, the sizing on this is such that it cannot overtravel the Tilton slave! I asked this specifically and was told not to worry about it! I note that post number 3 STILL managed to get screwed up. I'll finish it properly tonight when I'm on a desktop. I had SO much trouble uploading pics and losing posts last night I was ready to throw things. (Sigh)

Another thing I failed to mention, the shaft is threaded. Want your clutch slip point moved? Can do! There's a flat on the shaft and you can turn it in or out within reason. If you make it too long it will overtravel the cup seal in the master and stop pushing fluid. I have about 5 rounds of adjustment on mine left, Sean says he prefers it all the way down. Getting a wrench on the pair of flats to get full turns might be a bear though - you've been warned lol

 

Lost another post - this time my firewall burped <sigh>

Drove the car some tonight to go get gas. It's transformed! It's going to take me awhile to get used to this - it feels better than my previous clutch even! A female friend of mine who daily drives a stick shift drove my car previously and loved it but has been terrified of the triple disk, she now wants a turn having heard me raving about it. Irish100P is going to take it for a spin this weekend as well - he's got an ERP clutch and may try this. If you've got the Tilton Triple with their hydraulic TOB you NEED this! I am not sure how it will work on an ERP car but I suspect it will work VERY well and hope to have info from someone putting one in a week or so from now. I suspect I'll be putting one in Irish's car here soon too - it'll go way faster the second time around I'm sure

Driving this puppy to work, inspection be damned, in bumper to bumper traffic tomorrow! This will be fun for sure!

 

This will be very helpful

 

Ping me if you've got any questions! It's mostly like swapping an OEM master on a GT2 car except for the clevis modification, the grommet trim, and the requirement to use a good bleeder.

 

I will.

 

Does anyone know if anybody is using this master cyl with success on an ERP triple carbon? I sent an email to SRM using their site but never got a reply. I'm doing GT2 conversion and clutch very soon and thinking may as well do this also if it works with the setup and makes it easier to drive.