trailing or leading clutch shoe position?

[brmax]

Is there a difference between the leading and trailing installation of the clutch shoes? Does it affect the acceleration or anything??

 

[olds97_lss]

Leading is supposed to make it engage harder, but all it did for me was deform the shoes. I didn't notice much more "punch" off the line with it that way.

 

[HILLFINGER]

This is from the Traxxas Pit Pass an Steve Slayden article by not me.

I install my clutch shoes in the trailing edge (stock) configuration. However, the clutch shoes can be installed in reverse for a snappier bite and/or modified for a different engagement feel. The clutch shoes can be shaved for a later engagement. This can be useful for getting more punch out of your engine. Make sure that you take the same amount of material off of both shoes, and be careful not to take off too much material as this will soften the engagement too much and accelerate shoe wear.

Use a hobby knife to shave the material off of the clutch shoe. Only shave a small amount at a time and make sure that each shoe is cut identical to each other. This will level out the wear and provide better clutch performance.​

Traxxas clutch shoes (#4146X) are already cut from the factory, but you can experiment by shaving off a little more material for later engagements. The stock shoes (#4146) are uncut and will engage a little sooner than the cut ones. These can be helpful on a slick track with a lot of loose dirt on top of the surface. Be careful not to remove too much material from the shoes, as this will leave the shoes too “light”. They will not engage the clutch bell firmly, defeating your purpose of getting more punch out of the truck. Trim a little, and then try them out in the truck to see what works better.

Here’s a tip: Trim off the corner of the inside diameter of the
assembled shoes. This will allow better clearance around the clutch
nut and will allow your clutch shoes to operate more freely.​