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That's nasty!

I think there is perhaps an inherent problem is using elastomers in such environments. The whole thing can and will get quite hot, and elastomers are not famous for their temperature resistance. On top of that, if the components are cast rubber or urethane and so on, there might be QA/QC problems with bubbles or voids in the material that could critically change their performance. They might just tear apart after being squished (presuming that any elastomers are used in compression rather than tension, I'm thinking that you squeeze one with a void in it and it tears the wall of the void to the outer edge of block, then the next time it extends or otherwise twists, it just gives up).

This is all purely hypothetical, but it makes me wonder if the things that they have put into it to make it nice to use/live with are perhaps going to cause occasional failures like this.

I wouldn't be getting up in arms over it, unless there are many repeats. I have personally ruined an Xtreme clutch - just an HD thing. I can't remember if it was still behind the 20 or was after the 25 went in. But it inverted some of the retaining spring/clip things around the outside. No-one could explain it. It wasn't thrashed, there wasn't heaps of torque being put through it, and there were no obvious problems other than the above. They were quite concerned by the event so they replaced it even though it was a few years old, which was very nice of them.

As far as I am concerned, these things happen with clutches.

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On 27/08/2025 at 9:37 PM, MBS206 said:

Jim Berry

I'm getting PTSD flashbacks seeing that name again. 

With my turbo swift, I got 1,500km of street use on a Jim Berry clutch before it exploded and took out my input shaft with it. 

  • Sad 3
13 hours ago, niZmO_Man said:

That is horrid.

Reminds me of the time that R32 send the clutch through the bonnet, then the guy tried to sell his car using those pictures.

Are you thinking of Bens R32? I don't remember if his went through the bonnet itself, but it went through the chassis rail.

Brad (RISKIN) bought it, and turned it into a track car.

4 hours ago, Murray_Calavera said:

I'm getting PTSD flashbacks seeing that name again. 

With my turbo swift, I got 1,500km of street use on a Jim Berry clutch before it exploded and took out my input shaft with it. 

It's funny how anti people are of Jim Berry now. I remember when I pulled mine out (during an engine change) and inspected it and found it cracking badly. At that point in time so many people were even on SAU, were so pro Jim Berry, and that was after Bens GTR exploded his quite publically.

  • Like 1

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