Clutch Masters FX100 – FX500 & Twin Disk Explained

As an automotive enthusiast once you start modifying your manual transmission car and adding more horsepower than stock the first thing to fail is usually the clutch. This is where our friends over at Clutch Masters steps in.
Choosing a clutch can be quite the daunting task with many stipulations that determine which clutch is best for you, the driver. Clutch Masters has done a fantastic job in creating products that will cover your power goals from OEM, to mild, to wild!

Everyone’s first question, why Clutch Masters?

When it comes to professional racing, Clutch Masters has become the standard. Whether you fancy drag racing, drifting, or road racing, they have created the consistent and precise products to help you succeed. Whether it’s a single disk, twin disk, or even a triple disk, Clutch Masters has you covered!

Understanding all the offerings from Clutch Masters
How do I decipher all their alphanumeric names for their clutch kits and know it’s the right clutch for my driving style? That’s where the team at Brewed Motorsports steps in to share a product knowledge and make it easier for you, the consumer.

Single Disk Kits:
Clutch Masters offers 8 single disk clutch kits using the OEM flywheel, while they do offer OEM style lightweight flywheels as well. CM has the FX100, FX200, FX250, FX300, FX350, FX400, and FX500.

• FX100 is targeted for your near stock or minor bolt-on cars while holding up to 70% extra power over stock. Perfect for your daily driver while still having the additional torque holding capacity.

• FX200 is very similar to the FX100 as to holding capacity, the main difference is the Kevlar friction material which means 2 – 3 times longer life span.

• FX250 has a higher torque rating than the previously mentioned clutch kits at 110% increase in holding capacity over factory, in this segmented disk option. This disk also shows off Clutch Masters Fiber Tough friction material on the pressure plate side and steel backed organic friction material on the pressure plate side. This makes for more torque holding capacity, without losing the street-ability like you would see in the FX100 and FX200.

• FX300 is similar to the FX250 as to torque holding capacity. The most notable difference is the increased pedal pressure and the friction material being Kevlar, instead of the hybrid disk of the FX250. This makes for slightly more aggressive pedal feel over factory and provides a more precise engagement when it matters to you, the driver.

• FX350 is a hybrid in our eyes between the FX250 and FX300 and is our first look into what is classified as racing clutches. It has slightly increased holding capacity compared to the FX300 and will produce slight chatter due to the extra holding capacity, which is very common for clutches designed for racing applications.

• FX400 is our first look into ceramic puck style clutches which come in a sprung 4 puck, 6 puck, and an 8 puck full face design. These clutches offer a 170% increase in holding capacity over stock. These clutch kits are not ideal for street driving but more for road race and drag racing due to the aggressive engagement. It is very common to experience chatter in first and reverse with the FX400 clutch kit.

• FX500 is the pinnacle of the OEM style clutch kits, for your race car, that Clutch Masters offers while still being compatible with the OEM flywheel as well. This clutch kit is only recommended for race cars and not for street driven vehicles due to being an un-sprung clutch disk. The estimated increase of holding capacity ranges from 200% – 400% depending on the application with very aggressive engagement due to being a non sprung hub. Another feature you may not know about is that this clutch is also designed for rapid heat dissipation to ensure consistent pedal feel in all racing conditions.

725 Series Clutch Kits:
This product line of clutches is called the 725 series due to the measurement of their custom CNC machine clutch covers which measure 7.25”, makes perfect sense! They really wanted to show off their CNC and engineering skills with their 725 series clutch kits. The 725 series clutch kits have proprietary flywheels custom made for each specific car, make, and model out of Each cover plate for every year make and model of car is fully designed inhouse and machined from a billet aluminum block, afterwards is type 3 hard anodized. Using billet aluminum keeps the cover plate strong, while also being lightweight. When stress testing these covers only see .003”, the average thickness of a piece of hair is .004”, which makes a more consistent engagement for the driver. OEM generally has around ten time as much flex. While having this amazing feat of strength, the features of the 725 series clutch kits don’t stop there. One thing they pride themselves on is their custom quick release pressure plate which incorporates three spring-loaded bolts allowing the pressure plate to engage and disengage evenly and smoothly while reducing internal clutch noise/chatter by up to 50%. The QR System was developed to provide quiet and smooth operation for the user while delivering the performance a race clutch needs. The 725 series clutch kits come in 5 different setups. Single disk, twin disk (race), twin disk (street), triple disk (race), and triple disk (street). The race and street twin/triple disk kits are the same general construct, the difference is the street version has 1 organic disk and the rest are ceramic disks while the race version has all ceramic disks.

850 Series Kits:
Same as the 725 series you can probably guess what they are called 850 series clutch kits, if you guessed due to being 8.5” in diameter you’re already starting to understand how Clutch Masters thinks. While the 850 series clutch kits have all the same bells and whistles as the 725 series clutch kits, they are larger in diameter to have a larger friction surface therefor have hold more power for the very serious racing setups!

850 Strapped:
With the 850 strapped clutch kits the community asked and Clutch Masters provided. While still having an amazing torque holding capacity over factory and still being able to street drive your car, we have the strapped series. They did this by adding drive straps to isolate the pressure plate and the mid-plate between the two discs. Doing this Clutch Masters was able to virtually eliminate all chatter and allow for a much smoother engagement.

We at Brewed Motorsports hope this helps you, the consumer, feel more confident when deciding which Clutch Masters clutch kit is appropriate for your build!