New clutch plates for the 545RFE in your CRD won't help that much.
Clutch torque capacity is a function of the average diameter of the clutch contact area (radius of the disk).
Clutch energy capacity is a function of the total surface area of the clutch contact area (number of plates)
and the clutch material.
400+ horse Hemi® engines are spinning at much higher rpms than our tractors, hence some durability benefits could be found from higher energy capacity clutches.
We need torque capacity, not high rpm energy capacity. Unless you plan on changing the diameter of the transmission (not an easy thing to do) 'high performance' clutch plates won't help a CRD.
The W5A580 used in the SRT vehicles isn't a cure-all either. Diesel Jeep #2 at home is a 3.0L Grand Cherokee with one (actually it's called a W5J400 for diesel use). It only has a 0.86 overdrive, which coupled with 3.73 axles yields almost 3000 rpm at 75 mph. Unfortunately the cost of re-gearing the front and rear of a brand new vehicle probably won't ever pay for itself in fuel. (still cranked out 22 mpg last week though
)
Login
Register
FAQ
Search
