Topic: clutch versus hp / torque

[flyingfish]

How much horsepower and torque can the stock clutch handle before an upgrade is needed?
And then how much horsepower and torque can the tranny and rear end handle?

[Arabas]

as far as the tranny is concerned, i don t know the actual numbers, but here is a link with info on the max torque that our tranny can hold according to the manufacturer. i am pretty sure it is a safe number and not the real one.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aisin_AR_transmission

[wspohn]

Given that GM warrants the upgrade to 340 ft-lbs. I'd agree that the 260 figure in the link was probably just taken from the stock engine spec.

These things have taken lots of SBC swaps withotu changing them.  If you want an LS7, better go looking for new trans and diff.

[lil goat]

 The stock tranny, it is a truck tranny it is pretty stout, well the manual is. The clutch is another issue all together, on the old S/C Cobalts that came before us, I believe they use the same clutch, they blow them all the time but they are getting some huge numbers on those cars. Lyndon Wester told me that he thinks the weakest link in out cars is the clutch, followed by the rear end. I just paid $1000 for and extended warranty for one reason only, the rear end! It sucks even if you don't mod the engine.

[Kelu]

lil goat:What do you mean by rear end?
Torque is the one which is killing the clutch.
There some guys with upgraded kits and they were holding pretty well even with huge numbers on tq, of course the clutch will not last forever, but holding 60k miles with upgrades on the engine that's pretty impressive from my point which I see clutch problems only after a tune on similar cars with ours.

[GXPinKC]

As you can see the Aisin AR-5 manual transmission was used by GM in the following:

2004 to 2008- Chevrolet Colorado
2004 to 2008- GMC Canyon
2006 to 2009- Pontiac Solstice
2007 to 2009- Saturn Sky
2007 to 2009- Hummer H3

The only gear ratio that was different in the Aisin AR transmission was third gear, in the Canyon, Colorado, and H3 Hummer, Aisin used 1.37.  In the Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky they used 1.51.  So this transmission was built to last!

In my years on two forums as Moderator I have seen very few problems with the tranny.  GM is to be congratulated for selecting this transmission for the Kappa's.  It has held up very well even with the addition of Tunes in recent years.  My hat is off!

[DeepBlueGXP]

I spoke with Tom on CED and he said the Cobalts use a different/weaker clutch and it can't handle more than 250hp, ours can handle much more.  Goat and I are pretty close to 300 RWHP and I have over 53000 miles on the stock clutch.  I believe it can handle alot more.  I remember reading somewhere that the stock motor can handle up to 500hp, clutch the same.

The rearend is shared with the Cadillac CTS so it should be able to handle about 500HP also.

[kennysabarese]

you can always slap a CTS-V rear in there, but it'll change the ratio. RMR has an STS rear in the Solstice drift car I believe

[lil goat]

you can always slap a CTS-V rear in there, but it'll change the ratio. RMR has an STS rear in the Solstice drift car I believe

RMR tried the CTS-V differential and they didn't hold, they run a Kaaz, same exact differential they ran in the GTO, they were swapping them back and forth between the two last year at Englishtown trying to find the right ratio for the track (they carry about 15 with them in the truck). My sons GTO he bought from RMR came with a Kaaz in it.

DAP6010 $1000 from Kaaz, but you can find it for about $900