Why springs in clutch

As the springs work as dampers the power delivery is smoother and more linear than if there were no springs. The splines at the centre of the clutch plate mate with the splines on the end of the input shaft. The input shaft not pictured then transfers the rotational motion of the clutch to the gearbox. With the clutch pedal depressed the clutch plate is disengaged and the input shaft does not spin. But with the clutch engaged the input shaft will spin at the same rpm as the flywheel.

The pressure plate is bolted to the flywheel — and so spins when the flywheel spin. The clutch plate is sandwiched between it and the flywheel, but is not physically connected to pressure plate. In effect the pressure plate is a spring loaded clamp — designed to clamp down on the clutch plate when the clutch is engaged.

The diaphragm spring is made up of the 'fingers' at the centre of the pressure plate. You must be logged in to post a comment. Trackbacks […] Clutch Springs — Short coil springs that continuously hold the friction and driven plates together through spring tension, preventing slippage except when the clutch lever is engaged.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply You must be logged in to post a comment. About Us About Cyclepedia F. The clutch is the connection point for the engine and the transmission; the torque converter of manual cars.

Clutch Disc The clutch disc is splined to the input shaft of the transmission. The disc itself rests between the flywheel and the pressure plate, both of which rotate with the engine. So the clutch disc is spinning with the transmission, and on either side of it is a metal surface which rotates with the engine. Flywheel For the purposes of a clutch, a flywheel is the mating surface through which torque is transferred.

The flywheel is connected to the engine crankshaft and always rotates with the engine. Pressure Plate The pressure plate is the other side of the sandwich around the clutch disc. It is bolted to the flywheel and rotates with the engine, and inside it houses the diaphragm spring.

Diaphragm Spring When you depress the clutch pedal, this is the spring which is removing pressure from the clutch disc. A throwout bearing is used to press against it, and it creates a gap between the pressure plate and the flywheel, allowing the clutch disc and thus the transmission to rotate freely. These serve to dampen and smoothen out the engagement of the clutch disc, and they help absorb any fluctuations in engine RPM.

The compression springs are compressed by the radial vibrations of a drifting engine. They will be compressed to solid height when the main damper springs take over. Coil clutch springs are also used for vehicular clutches. They are installed in between the diaphragm springs and make the clutch engage and release in the course of changing gears. To adjust the force of a coil clutch spring spring there are several options. For more force, you may increase the wire diameter, decrease the outer diameter, take some coils out, or add more free length to generate more force through more travel.

On the other hand, for less force, you may decrease the wire diameter, increase the outer diameter, add coils , or shorten the free length although shortening the free length is not recommended in these cases since stock coil clutch springs should already be at a length where it is pre-loaded at a minimal distance traveled.

The clutch has legs which are held inwards by these tension clutch springs until the centrifugal force exceeds that of the tension springs thus making the legs reach into contact with the bell and driving the output.