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eec911c8-a388-4eca-8369-dbc93ce3bd25.MP4 Hi all, I’ve been having more fun with race clutches, specifically finding a way to get an acceptable pedal feel and travel. I have a single plate AP Racing 7.25 lug clutch with cerametallic clutch plate on the race car, and it has a strong diaphragm spring with a max release bearing throw of 5.5mm. This translates to a very heavy clutch pedal with low travel when using a standard clutch cable and pedal. And even after modifying the cable pull point on the pedal to increase leverage (giving longer pedal travel and an acceptable clutch pedal pressure) there is still far more tension in the clutch cable than it’s been designed for. I have found that the rubber bushes in the cable compress, and the clutch pedal travel is very inconsistent -> as the clutch / engine gets hot the pedal drops slightly and then the cable requires more adjustment to fully disengage the clutch. Basically I’ve never been 100% happy with it, often coming in off a track day or race and struggling to select 1st gear due to it needing adjustment. So I started looking at ways to change to a hydraulic clutch system - as hydraulic clutches with a reservoir automatically adjust to account for wear or any minor change to the clutch setup height as things get hot. You can also change the master cylinder size to alter the overall ratio of pedal movement / effort to release bearing movement. I have figured out a way to use a wilwood pull type slave cylinder directly mounted on the standard clutch arm, and a master cylinder connected to the standard clutch pedal with no major modifications required - in fact you could unbolt the hydraulic setup and change back to a cable setup without changing anything else. It uses one of these slave cylinders: https://www.rallydesign.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=4080 The slave cylinder mounts as so using standard clutch plastic bushes: For some reason Wilwood recommend you mount the slave cylinder so that the body moves and the piston stays still, but it has to be mounted the other way round on the BE box, I can’t see a good reason why this would be a problem though. Clutch arm needs bending up slightly to accommodate the cylinder, and the gearbox housing needs a little material removing to make room for the slave cylinder body (nothing significant, just a tickle with the power file!). The master cylinder is an AP racing CP6465 https://apracing.com/race-car/master-cylinders/pull-type-trunnion-mounted/cp6465 bloody expensive new (£400 ish), but available from the US 2nd hand for £60 posted (loads of ex nascar ones available) Master cylinder is mounted directly below the pedal box on a simple bracket made up from some 25mm box section, combined with a 20mm alloy stand-off (cut at the correct angle for where it meets the bulk head), and a long m8 12.9 cap head to anchor the master cylinder, plus a cheap ebay rubber boot which goes over the master cylinder and creates a decent seal to the pedal box. Where it bolts through: Master cylinder bolted on: It connects to the standard pedal clutch cable point via an M8 Clevis fork (readily available on eBay for not much money). Note early non-hook type clutch pedal required. A custom Hel Performance hose runs where the standard clutch cable does (£35), and it works a treat: WhatsApp Video 2024-09-24 at 23.10.11_b89bbd5b.mp4 Video above shows slave cylinder movement with a 21.2mm diameter master cylinder - this would be about right for a standard clutch, but too much travel for the AP racing clutch. I ran it on a track day last week with an 18.8mm master cylinder, and it was really good. Far nicer pedal feel, and most importantly consistent over the whole day. I’m moving to a 17.3mm master cylinder next (another one just arrived from the US!) as clutch pedal travel was still slightly too short for my liking. This should give a 10% lighter pedal with slightly increased travel over the 18.8mm one. The external slave cylinder has the advantage of being easily serviceable if something does go wrong with it, and it can simply be replaced with a clutch cable for a quick fix on the side of a race track should the worse happen! Video at the top of the post (sorry can't move the damn thing) shows it working with the 18.8mm master cylinder (clicking noise is just the rubber boot - sorted with some grease on the piston) Hope this is of some use - I’d recommend this for anyone considering fitting a clutch with a strong spring which would otherwise put the cable under much more tension.

I discovered this thread in the archive: Which has been very useful to me. We have suffered a CRB failure on our BE3 box, and I now think it could be because the lower bush is yellow and the top bush white. We have the 79mm arms, so I think they should both be yellow. I believe the part I am looking for is 2175 14. I am struggling to find it for sale, any suggestions? Also, what are the 'protectors' (item 4 in the diagram)? TiA

I've decided to reproduce three most desired gear knob tops for Ph 2 GTI and Griffe. First samples have arrived and though very faithful to the original (except it is not hard plastic but more rubbery) they are not perfect yet. I have adjusted few things and hopefully next samples will be as perfect as possible. As it looks now due to small quantity (2 figures) I can afford the price at £10 posted (regular mail, payment as a gift). If anybody is interested please make a queue following my example: 1. Rjuhar, 1x BE1, 1x BE3, 1x GRIFFE

I currently have a BE3 gearbox running in my 1600 8v GTi Rally car, Standard box with a 4:5 CWP and a Quaife ATB LSD. But the gearbox is Knackered and I need the car out again quick for the next round of the chamionship, Is there any other box that would fit directly on to my 1600 8v GTI engine with out haveing to modify Bellhousings or linkages ect ect. If so what are the codes and what cars did they come in, I have another BE3 box but it's getting refurbished

Alreet, My gearbox has made driving my 1.9 gti miserable. Crunch in second, can't enage first 80% of the time, same for 3rd and now can't get it into reverse at all. (Even when I put it in second then reverse, that's long been my technique) so i'm going to get the gearbox rebuilt. I wanted it doing anyway so might as well do it now considering I no longer have reverse. Any reccomendations to who would do it? pref in lancashire. Also how much to pay? I'm geusssing at £500-800? I've found this place here: http://www.geartorque.co.uk/ So unless anyone has any decent ideas i'll probably take it there,i've asked for a quote. Thanks for reading.

Afternoon all, This is a quick and simple question for those in the know; Does the BE3 box in the 1.6 CTI use the same ratios/final drive as the 1.6 GTI box? Basically, are they the same box? I have been searching the forum, the ratios spreadsheet and various other places for a day or two and I can't seem to find a definitive answer on the subject, or any kind of answer. I've found nothing to confirm they are the same but equally nothing they confirms they are different. I've found much about the differences between the 1.9 CTI and GTI boxes but nothing regarding the 1.6. Does anyone know? Thanks guys.

Hi, i am looking to put a 1600 16v into my 205 gti rally car due to class reasons, this has probably been mentioned before but i couldn't see anything, as the topic says, is it possible to use my be3 gearbox on a 1600 16v out of the Peugeot 106 gti ?

Hi There, I'm in the process of acquiring a replacement gearbox for my 1.6 GTi Rally Car. After doing some research I have concluded that the ratios in a 1.9 GTi box should work pretty well, considering that I have a 4.9 CWP setup to put into the new box. The problem is I am struggling to source a decent donor 1.9 BE3 box, they seem to be rarer that rocking horse poop these days, so I have been doing quite a bit of research into suitable alternatives. I have found that the ratios in a 206 GTi 180 box are almost identical to those in a 1.9 GTi box, therefore I am wondering if this is a suitable alternative bearing in mind that, if my research is correct, the GTi 180 uses a BE4 box. I have a KAAZ diff, and the aforementioned 4.9 CWP, to go into my new box, however I am unsure of the compatibility of a BE4 box with my engine. Various threads on here talk about the differences between BE3 & BE4 boxes, however I've not found anyone using a BE4 box with the 1.6 GTi engine - is this because it can't be done? If anyone can give me some information as to whether this could be done I would greatly appreciate it. Many Thanks. Dave.