I was not going to type all this because it is long but since the Duraclutch is coming out for the RZR and depending on when you read this it may already be out.
First off I can't say application enough, the application has to fit for this to even be worth talking about. Comparing a RZR and what it is intended to do with a Ranger and clutching is nothing alike except in very few cases.
Clutching application example:
A guy called and bought a Duraclutch for his ranger yesterday, his application was pulling trees around all the time, big heavy loads in slow speeds and he was burning belts up. His application is perfect for a Duraclutch. Why? Slow heavy loads and the belt will not slip with the duraclutch.
Now to why tuning is not that important with the Duraclutch and I want to say the tuning is not off by no means I am just explaining why it is not that important to a Duraclutch in a application specific use.
Now on that note, you can't just throw everyone in one group RZR and Ranger for any kind of riding and say this one set up fits, it does not. If that was the case then we would never sell a clutch kit.
Clutch tuning is extremely important to a RZR owner who is a higher speed trail rider, duner, or any activity where acceleration from say 30 mph to top speed is concerned because we need the engine to be running where it makes the most power during that section of the shift phase. Belt slippage is never a issue in these speeds and the belt will not slip in this area unless you have a physical issue with one or more components in the clutch.
This also applies to anyone with a Ranger who does the above but, that person is in the extreme minority, Ranger guys are not normally running around in the dunes or doing high speed trail riding and I said not normally does not mean someone somewhere is not doing exactly that in a ranger.
So clutch tuning to those guys is important for one purpose and that is simply performance.
Another application for clutch tuning that is important to both Ranger and RZR, if you have the big tires like say 30" tires, first off you are not racing. FYI, this does not apply so much to a XP 1000 that comes with that size tire. Anyway I mean the mud guys and slow riders anyway for this application. So this group needs some clutch tuning to give the belt more grip more than anything. If you are moving slow say under 30 mph then the belt is still at the bottom of the primary clutch in low gear if you will or midway up it and you have gearing to aid in giving you the power you need. So these guys need belt grip more than anything with their clutch kits, hence stiffer secondary springs, lighter primary springs and the appropriate flyweight to overcome those and get it in the right RPM range. But more than anything to help stop belt slippage because the way the clutch works coming in and grabbing the belt, you need to make it do it better and grab better.
Once again application application application!!!
So enter in the Duraclutch. People who in my opinion have no use for it is someone who stays above 40 to 50 mph, drives fast and jumps. Jumping with any clutch system with any kind of engine braking gets hairy when you land it will throw you through the windshield hence the reason we made a less ebs helix and a non ebs helix for the XP 900 RZR.
So who does need it? Ranger guys with any size tire that is a heavy load, ranger crew guy with all those seats and bed filled, people using it for work pulling logs as mentioned, a mud guy plowing through the mud, a rock crawler easing through rocks, a snow plower pushing snow. Everyone of those applications more than anything need belt grip and these are the guys burning belts in Rangers not trail guys with stock or near stock sized tires. So to this group of people tuning of the clutch is just not that important and once again I want to make it clear, no one is saying the tune is bad or off I am just saying to the group of Ranger owners the clutch is intended for the tuning side is not that important because we have taken belt slip out of the equation period. So the Ranger guy with stock tires or near stock tires who ride trails fast etc, you will not benefit that much from having one of these Duraclutches, it is not really intended for you, you may or may not be better off with a clutch kit for what you are doing.
RZR owners: Who needs it, more or less the same group of people in the Ranger group. Yes your vehicle is capable of going 75 to 80 and yes it will still do that after a Duraclutch but for the exact same reasons as the Ranger guys, if you spend all your time 40 mph and above, trail riding, duning racing etc, this has no application, no more than a guy cross country racing needs a winch, he is not going to get stuck and if he does he is out of the race anyway, no application for the winch there and that group of people does not need this Duraclutch.
So what group of RZR owners need it? The same large tire, heavy load mud guys and rock crawlers or someone who trail rides at slower speeds and wants the engine braking. RZR owners do NOT make long jumps with this system, you will hate it and may tear something up.
There is no clutch or clutch kit that can compete with the Duraclutch in the belt grip area, none. Come close!? Yes but not compete and the reason is simple. Any time you have a clutch system that comes in and grabs the belt to get going the belt is always slipping to get going, you put heavy loads on it, it slips more, with the right set up and foot control you can lessen it but you can't stop it and you WILL get a belt more often than not.
The Duraclutch does not physically work like that, the belt is already in contact with the clutch and tight, so no slippage occurs, the slippage to get going is done in the two centrifugal clutches built into this clutch which are designed to slip. This clutch engages at a lower RPM than stock and locks up quickly and doing it with no belt slippage. I was testing this system on a RZR 900 XP, in low range going up a steep pond dam at 2400 to 3000 rpm, tires barely turning, speedo was not moving and no belt burn no slipping etc, it simply crawled right up the hill, NO other system regardless of how it is set up can do that. I was almost to stop climbing up and barely touching the gas on purpose to make it work and try to make it slip, none occurred.
Then the engine braking, turned around and went back down, same thing barely crept down on the engine braking which with this system you have until you stop.
While on engine braking, this has the most and best engine braking there is, you can even pull start your vehicle with this clutch in it. But you have to have a need for it and if you are once again a fast guy or a jumper you probably will not need this system and it is NOT available without it.
This was inspired from different people who do not have one, not driven a vehicle with one in it and then generalizing the use of it when a general purpose for every one mentality does not fit this, it is not for everyone but the ones who it is for, it works better than anything available today.
Also to further the argument about tuning, not one and I mean not one person who has one has said, "boy I wish it worked better for me when I drive fast" nor has anyone had anything negative to say about it at all that has one. The only people who say anything negative are the people who have not driven one, don't own one or who simply don't understand any of what I mentioned above.
I love to use this analogy, you never see any Monster Trucks racing in NASCAR races and you never see NASCAR cars in monster truck races, why not? Application just cause both are races does not mean the same set up works in both places same as this. There is NO does everything great clutch set up period.
So if you don't have a application for this then don't look down on it, just accept you don't need it and it does not work for you.
If you have any questions feel free to call me
Todd
