Droops83

Just thinking ahead here, I have 130K miles on the original clutch on my '86 (!), and lots of track time in the last few years. While my disc still appears to have plenty of meat according to the bellhousing inspection hole check, I am probably on borrowed time, and I can tell the needle bearings are digging into the shaft (I alternately get heavy and light pedal effort in traffic). I plan on upgrading the clutch (possibly KEP) to support future power increases and either putting on a lightweight flywheel or lightening the stock one.

Anyway, given the well-documented problem of forks breaking (and even at my cost, they get more expensive daily), anyone ever tried mounting up a hydraulic release bearing on a 944? I have no experience with them, but I know that they require some setup and custom work. I am wondering if the benefits of vastly simplifying the clutch release mechanism would outweigh the drawbacks (replacing a leaking slave cylinder would take WAY more time, could it be bled w/ the bellhousing in place, etc).

I know that the factory 997 GT3 Cup cars use them (I saw one never make it on track at Willow Springs once because the release bearing was leaking and they didn't have a spare!). Lots of hot rods/custom cars use them as well.

Any input would be appreciated!

alex_cristocea

Hydraulic release bearing are more difficult to change in case the hydraulic part fails than the hydraulic slave cylinder. IMO the classic combination off release bearing and slave cylinder are a more reliable combination.