Thoughts on the Tekno RC Elektri-Clutch system

[Mentat]

Anyone have good/bad experiences with the Tekno RC Elektri-Clutch system? Wondering if i should use it or not.

[Ryu James]

the one you have pictured is their version1 2 shoe clutch and was ok but i didnt like it as much as using a pinion.

their new 3 shoe electri clutch is pretty awesome though. i run it in all my buggies and truggies now. i just switched over from direct drive like a month ago and i definitely prefer the clutch now.

i run the softest springs (.7mm) for quick engagement and i run both soft and hard shoes depending on need.

the clutch is awesome for better control. i do much better on the track when accelerating and in the corners. also you have much more turn in when free rolling. less abuse on the motor since its not connected to drive line. and also you get the benefit of using mech. brakes. i love mech brakes. have to have 'em imo.

temps on your motor will be slightly higher due to the motor spinning a bit more before engaging so you might want to go up 1 tooth in your clutchbell over what you ran on your pinion.

these clutches are very low maintenence too. i have been running mine for a month now in extreme race condition and neither my soft or hard shoes are even close to worn out, my bearings are fine too. the temps dont get near as high as a nitro clutch so there is not as much abuse to the clutch setup.

anyway, making the switch is an adjustment at first but you will notice for racing that you will have much more control. even if you are good already and use exponential setting on your transmitter etc. its not the same as a clutch.

anyway, thats my opinion on the matter. you will definitely get other opinions though and i know many out there dont like the clutch. but i would recommend trying it and find out for yourself if it works for you. just be sure to get the new 3 shoe clutch and i would try the .7mm springs.

good luck.

[Mentat]

I just bought the tekno kit for my 8ight-t not shown up yet, i got it off amain, will it have the 2 shoe or 3 shoe clutch?

[Ryu James]

if you bought the kit for the 8t 2.0 it will have the 3 shoe setup and come with .8mm springs.

if you bought the kit for the 8t 1.0 that is on sale for $69 it will have the 2 shoe i am pretty sure.

call tekno and ask them to be sure.

877-857-2872

[Matthew_Armeni]

The kits from A-Main all have the the first version of the elektri-clutch. To upgrade to the 1 piece 2 shoe, it's $2.00 for shipping and handling sent to Tekno RC. To upgrade to the 3 shoe, it's $10.00. You'll also need a clutch bell, shoes, and springs if you go to the 3 shoe.
The 3 shoe is really the way to go in the 8th scale cars as Ryu said.

[Ryu James]

pay the few bucks for the upgrade to the 3 shoe. definitely worth it.

[jhautz]

I tried the clutch and did not like it at all. Then I tried it again later with the 3 shoe version just to make sure and still didn’t like it. My basic problem with it is in the tighter technical sections of the track it feels very sloppy and imprecise to me. With the direct drive it makes the small throttle movements react like I expect them to. Even with the 3 shoe .7 springs the clutch still made the slow sections have what felt like a lag when I gave it gas. And then when it did go it went to much. I did like the way it smoothed out the bottom end hit coming out of corners and such, but for me the silpperential did just as good of a job once I got it tuned the way I liked it and in the slow sections still was very reactive and direct.

That’s my experience with it anyway. There are some that swear by it and some that totally hate it. I fall in the hate it category. But that’s just me.
If you have it, try it. It can’t hurt. If you don’t like it you can always go direct drive.

[Mentat]

honestly even running nitro i never got 1 hour of drive time in on my 8ight-t, nitro problems, waiting for parts to build my race roller up, hop ups, etc... only truggy i have had any time on is my raze st and that was just bashing up and down the street. Ill give it a shot, btw how does the exchange thing work at TEKNO? i want to exchange my 44mm mount for the 42mm. Also didnt you guys say i could exchange the 2shoe clutch for a 3shoe as well? whats the deal on that?

[Matthew_Armeni]

Originally Posted by Mentat

honestly even running nitro i never got 1 hour of drive time in on my 8ight-t, nitro problems, waiting for parts to build my race roller up, hop ups, etc... only truggy i have had any time on is my raze st and that was just bashing up and down the street. Ill give it a shot, btw how does the exchange thing work at TEKNO? i want to exchange my 44mm mount for the 42mm. Also didn't you guys say i could exchange the 2shoe clutch for a 3shoe as well? whats the deal on that?

Yes, you can exchange the old style for the new 3 shoe, but it costs $10.00 ($2.00 of that is for S&H). If you were to just buy the 3 shoe it would cost $20.00, so there is a discount for those who upgrade. The exchange for the 44mm mount to the new 42mm is $4.00 for S&H. If you send us both at the same time, include a check/money order (or cash at your own risk) for $12.00 (no reason to double charge on shipping) and we'll send you out the new mount and clutch.

About running the clutch vs. direct drive back to back- radio and ESC settings are usually different. On the direct drive most tend to run higher punch control and also some throttle curve or expo. On the my ESC, I run 20-30% punch and have a linear throttle curve on the ESC and no expo on my radios throttle channel while running the clutch. When I ran direct drive I had between 50-70% punch and around 10-25% expo, depending on the track. If you run the direct drive settings with a clutch it will feel overly mushy at low speeds kind of what like jhautz described. (I'm not implying that this is how jhautz had his setup, I just want people to be aware that the same ESC/radio settings will not yield the best results with either setup.)

[Ryu James]

i can relate to jhautz experience. i think it is all a matter of what you are used to and some adjustment. with direct drive in your mind you expect instantaneous punch when you pull the trigger cuz that's what it has always done. so when i switched to the clutch i felt that same lag when i was off the throttle and then when i pulled the trigger. btw, i run 0 punch and dont mess with my expo either. anyway, after about 20 minutes of driving and just kind of figuring out how to drive it that doesnt happen anymore. i dont what i am doing different but all i know is that it used to seem that there would be a delay for the motor to start to spin and then i would overcorrect and pull the trigger harder only to have it engage and launch off too hard. now, that never happens. i am running everything the same and it is sooo smooth all around the track now. i think my hand/eye/brain coordination just figured what worked.

now, if went back to direct drive, which i always loved, i would probably be all over the place and have to relearn it.

both systems work but i would say where you havent spent too much time behhind the wheel of any one vehicle and arent used to one way of running things then you have nothing to lose and would probably do well to start off right now with what you think will give you better results and then learn that and get really good at it.

for me i had to commit to learning it before trying it cuz i knew from previous experiences that if i was just going to "check it out" i wouldnt gain anything. i had to learn how to make it work to see the benefit.

[himalaya]

Some body loves the clutch, most of whom are converted nitro guys, they feel more familiar with the soft throttle response just like with nitro engines.

I personally prefer pinions for their high efficiency, awesome acceleration off the start line, and most of all, the direct and instant throttle response with zero delay.