When the blueprints for the LS small block engine were first drawn up, do you think the GM engineers had any idea that they were laying the foundations for street cars pushing four-digit horsepower numbers? Probably not, yet the “thousand horsepower daily driver” exists, despite being something of a contradiction in terms.
[1]With the LS platform capable of such lofty numbers, builders have had to find drivetrains stout enough to match that kind of horsepower. At first, the go-to plan was to drop a bomb-proof Powerglide behind a monster LS and call it a day. But there are plenty of car guys who want that third pedal, and that’s where Quarter Master [2] and their new Optimum-SR two disc clutch [2] come in.
Building on the winning technology developed for Continental Tire Grand Am racing, Quarter Master developed this clutch to be able to handle stop-and-go traffic as well as stratospheric horsepower and torque. With the capacity to handle 1,400 horsepower and 1,000 pound-feet of torque, thanks to the doubling of contact area between friction and steel, the Optimum-SR maintains stock-like pedal effort and engagement feel.
The Optimum-SR is available for a range of different LS applications, including Corvette, Camaro, and Pontiac G8/GTO. The billet construction makes it lighter than stock despite its monster grip, with the accompanying lower moment of inertia that lets your engine build revs faster. That billet construction also means that it’s completely rebuildable, making this clutch from Quarter Master potentially the last one you’ll ever need to back up your LS.
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Keep an eye out here on our Power Automedia channels for an upcoming installation and test of the Optimum-SR, but in the meantime for more information you can visit www.QuarterMasterUSA.com [2]