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- Nov 9, 2015
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- Location
- Indianapolis, IN
- Vehicle(s)
- 2011 Mustang GT Turbo
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- #1
We recently installed the new McLeod RXT for the GT350 in Tony's twin turbo car and we wanted to share some data, pics and a warning about the flywheel bolts that you use.
This will be pic heavy and I'm going to attempt to do some math here so forgive me if its hard to follow along! I'll be happy to answer any questions.
Here is the RXT next to the Stock clutch and the 3 flywheel bolts we are going to talk about.
McLeod RXT clutch assembly on the scales as well as the flywheel by itself.
Stock clutch on the scales as well as the flywheel assembly by itself.
Here are the three flywheel bolts from Left to Right is the stock OEM Ford bolt, longest ARP bolt we could find and the bolt we ended up using.
The issue we ran into is that the stock bolt does not provide what we consider adequate thread engagement. The crankshaft has a 0.13" chamfer before threads begin as seen here.
The crank trigger wheel is 0.12" thick as seen here.
If I did my math right that means you have 1/4" or .25" of space before the threads begin to engage into the crank.
Here is how much the stock bolt (what McLeod told us to use) sticks through the flywheel.
So doing math here again we take 0.425" minus 0.25" and we get 0.175" of thread engagement! Thats roughly 3-4 threads, not nearly enough in our opinion. The ARP bolt was slightly worse at 0.410" without the washer.
This is how much engagement Ford has with the stock bolt and stock flywheel. So thats 0.70" of thread engagement from the factory compared to the 0.175" we got with the McLeod flywheel!
With the amount of vibration with the flat plane crank and problems experienced with clutches in these cars we believe this needs addressed. Our bolt solution gives you almost as much engagement as stock at 0.65" and we include it with every GT350 McLeod clutch we sell free of charge!
With the amount of vibration with the flat plane crank and problems experienced with clutches in these cars we believe this needs addressed.
Please let me know if you have any questions. Enjoy your weekend guys!
-Ben
This will be pic heavy and I'm going to attempt to do some math here so forgive me if its hard to follow along! I'll be happy to answer any questions.
Here is the RXT next to the Stock clutch and the 3 flywheel bolts we are going to talk about.
McLeod RXT clutch assembly on the scales as well as the flywheel by itself.
Stock clutch on the scales as well as the flywheel assembly by itself.
Here are the three flywheel bolts from Left to Right is the stock OEM Ford bolt, longest ARP bolt we could find and the bolt we ended up using.
The issue we ran into is that the stock bolt does not provide what we consider adequate thread engagement. The crankshaft has a 0.13" chamfer before threads begin as seen here.
The crank trigger wheel is 0.12" thick as seen here.
If I did my math right that means you have 1/4" or .25" of space before the threads begin to engage into the crank.
Here is how much the stock bolt (what McLeod told us to use) sticks through the flywheel.

So doing math here again we take 0.425" minus 0.25" and we get 0.175" of thread engagement! Thats roughly 3-4 threads, not nearly enough in our opinion. The ARP bolt was slightly worse at 0.410" without the washer.
This is how much engagement Ford has with the stock bolt and stock flywheel. So thats 0.70" of thread engagement from the factory compared to the 0.175" we got with the McLeod flywheel!
With the amount of vibration with the flat plane crank and problems experienced with clutches in these cars we believe this needs addressed. Our bolt solution gives you almost as much engagement as stock at 0.65" and we include it with every GT350 McLeod clutch we sell free of charge!
With the amount of vibration with the flat plane crank and problems experienced with clutches in these cars we believe this needs addressed.
Please let me know if you have any questions. Enjoy your weekend guys!
-Ben
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