Quick question about metals used in clutch plates.....

[SorryOciffer]

I have recently found a company that makes high performance clutch plates for my motorcycle that are made out of Ti instead of the traditional steel. I asked a respected engine builder and tuner if he had ever used or seen them before and he had not.

When asked his opinion/thoughts on them he said that AFAHK, if the friction coefficient between Ti and steel were similar he would think they would work ok. He specifically said to avoid aluminum clutch plates as all of them he has seen wore quickly and were not practical for street use.

So, my question is what is the friction coefficient of the 3 metals, Aluminum, Ti, and Steel assuming that the friction material on the other plates remains constant?

Thanks

 

[redpicker]

Not enough information.

You have to define the other material; you are looking at comparing the friction coefficeints between:

steel and ?
titanium and ?
aluminum and ?

Also, are you talking about a wet clutch (common in motorcycles)? If so, you have to take a look at the friction modifiers in the oil and how they would affect the result.

Offhand, I don't think it's a good idea. I wonder what you are trying to accomplish. In my experience, titanium has poor wear resistance, so they may not last very long. I also don't see what advantage going to a much more costly material is going to get you; what maybe a few ounces in weight?

rp

 

[SorryOciffer]

The other material is Kevlar. Yes, it is a wet clutch in a race bike. Weight reduction in a bike is often the best bang for the buck in gaining performance vs increasing engine output. Durability of the plates is why I was warned away from the Aluminum plates all together, they were supposedly utter garbage.

Anything that reduces weight in the engine is going to obviously reduce parasitic drag allowing the engine to free up lost doing nothing but spinning a heavier part it also improves the overall power/weight ratio.

Yes it is but a few ounces but they add up. Going to a $4k set of carbon fiber wheels alone shaved over 12lbs of un-sprung, rotational weight off the bike and Ti hardware in critical areas and Ergal in non-critical spots took another 2.5lbs and are but 2 ways I have shaved a ton of weight off the bike.

 

[EdStainless]

These are probably a ti alloy and are nearly as hard as steel.
Making drive parts lighter is more about acceleration than just weight. Not only are you accelerating this mass forward but rotationally also.

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