My experience with Textralia Z-grip...

[TR33VV]

As some may know I had an LS3 + single turbo put in my VY in Sept 09. At the same time I also had a Z-grip installed amongst other things. After taking the car on its maiden voyage I noticed when rolling on the power it would seem to axle tramp very severely and violently.

http://www.ls1.com.au/forum/showpost.php?p=1575944&postcount=137

Whenever I short shift and get on the go pedal it has tramped/shuddered. Being the knob I am I just thought it was the 425rwkw causing it to try and spin the tyres but now I fear it has been the clutch all along. If I didn't short shift (change gear around 5000rpm) it seemed to engage very well with zero shudder/tramp. I have had the car @ WSID twice only with a total of 7-8 runs, the skidpan once and other than that it is my daily driver. It really isn't driven very hard as my health issues keep me pretty sedate. The clutch has about 6000kms on it to date. A few days ago I short shifted from 2nd-3rd at about 3200rpm accelerating hard and it slipped severely, I got of the power after about 2-4 seconds or so when I realized it was slipping. The car is now barely drivable. The clutch doesn't engage until the pedal is completely out and it has the above mentioned shudder/tramp with any sort of throttle/acceleration. It really has to be babied now to prevent slip and violent shuddering in any gear.

I am pretty certain the clutch is shagged, what do you guys think ?? :bawl:

Is it able to be re-adjusted or does something not sound right from install (not blaming anyone or pointing fingers, I couldn't give a sh!t really but just curious as its done it to a point since day one) ?? I just need to get it fixed ASAP as rego is due.

When weighing up clutch options it was said the Z-grip can be a bit of a pain for daily duties. To be honest I don't mind it at all bar the above shuddering and also frequent squealing (like 5am every friggen morning lol). The squealing is because I drive like a girl apparently and the Z-grips need a flogging every so often. :confused: After the WSID meets it drove awesome for a few days to a week or so then returned to its usual shuddery, squealy self. JFTR I never rest my foot or ride the clutch so don't think that has contributed to excessive wear, it doesn't get hammered very often and even then the clutch isn't really abused.

Sorry to ramble on a bit but I have tried to include all the info about it in the hope there someone who may know the cause.

I will leave it at that for now and appreciate any input or help that could be offered.

Thanks,
Trev...

[255-LS1]

Um silly question but have you called textralia yet? Im sure Peter will be able to provide more input than here as he builds the things.

Who installed it?

[TR33VV]

I haven't spoken to the builder (Girch) or Pete as of yet. I planned to get advise from these guys if I get time on Monday but thought I'd just see if anyone here had any info to help me understand the cause and maybe prevent further issues before then.

Cheers... ;)

[bush_basha]

i had a similar prob, obvisiouly ALOT less power than you, but i used to down a gear and i always thought the wheels were spinning slighly, but after a night at the drags, hammering the crap out of it (it held up the whole night btw) i was on my way home and i could take off and drive like a granny but as soon as after approx 3k it would just slip, took it to the shop and what had happened was the welsh plug in the back had ruptured and oil was leaking onto it, that could be what has happened to yours (just a guess obvisiouly) or you just have to much power for it, tho people are still running z grips with more power,

[TR33VV]

Thanks for your input mate, I appreciate it...

[CHEECH86]

i had one installed into the old car i had. still not as much power as your putting out. and i started to have problems cause i drive in peak hour everyday. turns out i was all the granny driving. ended up having to do the run in procedure every 3 days or so. after that it was fine. but if it was being abused the whole time i had no dramas

[TR33VV]

Just wanted to say a HUGE Thank you to Peter from Textralia for your fantastic service mate. It is very rare these days to find a company who would stand by their products and customers as well as you have. I can not recommend your service and clutch highly enough. Kudos to you mate and thanks once again for everything you have done to get my car sorted and back on the road with very minimal down time. Have a great weekend...


BTW to all those people who slip the clutch to get them to behave a little nicer, it is NOT recommended as it will possibly kill your clutch or almost certainly lessen its lifespan....

[vy2ttr]

Glad to see its sorted trev, I agree that peters customer service is second to none. Z in mine is still going really well, gave it a big flogging today and it didnt miss a beat. Even to the point that on a newly surfaced track it chirped tyres smashing from 3rd to 4th at 170 kph !!! - josh

[Bless_you]

How was the problem solved?

[RUN41T]

Z grips are not for girly men, drive them hard thats what they are for :D

Good to see textralia standing behind their product!!!

[DAV133]

I had that problem once but had new motor put in an clutch refitted it was fine, i have been running the text for about 18months now, 12months with 300rwkw and 6 months with now 460rwkw it gets a good flogin an is only just starting to slip after 35,000k's and about 50 runs down the strip.

Great Clutch

[LS1-5.7]

I'm not sure if I'd put too much faith in a clutch you have to abuse for it to behave ..... A clutch that shudders, regardless of it's power handling capabilities is not a good thing. Shuddering causes uneven shock loads and heat spots on the flywheel & pressure plate running surfaces. It also prematurely wears engine mounts and universal joints and most of the driveline. There are plenty of heavy duty clutches out there that don't shudder and can still handle 500KW. Any brand of clutch that admits it may shudder "at times" will not be getting my hard earned $$$

[HYMEY]

button clutches will always shutter more then a organic plate, no two ways about it, for the beating the tex takes at the strip with drag radials on etc and constant punishment I can say it is pretty good what it does and also serves well in street duties for a street/strip orientated clutch.