In autocross, there are a couple of main components on a car that can wear out a little quicker than during regular street use: the tires and the clutch are two of those components. Both of these components take a lot of beating when you’re throwing a car around the cones shooting for the best lap time at the Hotchkis Autocross Series. When the tires get warm – they get sticky and provide more grip; but the opposite can happen if the clutch gets too hot. An overheated clutch can begin to slip, and when there’s less clutch engagement lap times suffer the consequences.
Fortunately, you can upgrade your clutch for better grip just like you can upgrade your tires for better grip, and one way to do that is to install a performance clutch specifically designed for automotive competition. Centerforce introduced their DYAD DS (Drive System) dual-disc series for high performance driving and superior grip when it comes to pushing vehicles to their limits.
DYAD is not an acronym; in simple terms it means “two parts treated as one” or “combining the power of two”. The Dyad DS is a multi-disc clutch designed for the performance enthusiast. The demands of a clutch in autocross are far greater than the demands on the street: temperatures are higher, revs are higher when speeds are lower, and clutch engagement is cruicial. The DYAD DS performs at these extremes while providing near-stock, light pedal effort.
The 2015 Hotchkis Autocross Series is the prime venue for showing how well a clutch can perform, and Centerforce has been named the official clutch for this series. We covered the Hotchkis Autocross at Fontana during the NMCA West event last year, and some of the biggest names in Pro-Touring showed up to tear through the course in record time.
The event is growing in popularity, and stretches far and wide – grappling with cones on the West Coast in Pomona, California, to the East Coast in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
To see where there will be an event near you, check out the Hotchkis Autocross page for more information, and to find out more about the DYAD DS and all applications, check out the Centerforce website. Hotchkis will provide the cones if you’re interested in participating, and Centerforce will provide the performance.