[Shotimes] hmm... clutch idea...

[Zach Leahy]

Well, we know the SHO suffers from a clutch that seems to wear out in
a manner differnet than most other cars.  Of the 4 clutches in my car
2 were worn out at the fingers, and only 1 got replace cause it
slipped.  Numerous others have been worn out at the fingers.

The solution thus far has been to modify the t/o bearing in order to
ease the friction between the two surfaces.  I agree this is a great
way to do it and save a lot of wear on the fingers.  However, what
about treating the contact area of the diaphram fingers?  What if we
ceramic coated those or even better yet, industrial hard chrome plated
them.  I think that would provide a much harder surface that would be
much less subject to the tearing away of metal vs the plain steel
fingers there normally.

It sounds plausible with the only problem being that there are a few
limitations.  You would have to find a shop that could plate or coat
just the fingertips where there is contact vs. the whole assy.  Also
there may be issues with a surface treatment coming off as the fingers
bend.  I would say while these are a possibility, they are probably
not too likely a problem.  hmmm.... i wonder.  I'll have to make a
note to talk to the chrome shop next time I am there about this.

Industrial hard chrome would be my pick, it is an incredibly hard
surface that would resist wear significantly better than plain heat
treated steel.  combine the two, and I would think it is possible that
the problem would then be friction discs wearing out.

What dy'all think?

Z