Difference between bellhousing and scattershield

[ChallengerHK]

I've always used these terms pretty much interchangeably. I was recently reading something from a road racer to the extent that he had had a problem with his bellhousing and had decided to go to a scattershield. What's the diff?

[brads70]

I think scattershield refers to a bellhousing that has been certified to contain a clutch explosion/failure
(SFI etc...) In circle track racing we do not allow stock aluminum bellhousings for just that reason.

[HP_Cuda]

Brad is right, scattershield will allow you to keep your legs and other parts of your anatomy when a clutch/PP explosion happens.

A bellhousing is just a run of the mill case for your everyday tranny.

[72cudamaan]

And often a scattershield can be a "trans blanket" made of kevlar and wraps around the bellhousing.

[ChallengerHK]

Good to know. Is there a torque level at which a scattershield becomes recommended?

[bigblue73]

Hear has been my thought on a stock bell housing versus a scatter shield.  Drag racing, heavy car, high horsepower, high RPM are all reasons for a scatter shield.  Stock drive train, mild street action, some autocross, etc.  you can can by with the stock bell housing.  It's a safety device, it is has a chance to fly apart where will it go......it's my feet so chose to protect them.  The scatter shield market has become the place to go for transmission swaps like TKO's, muncies, top loaders and T56's to the mopars.

The best out there is the Quick Time, which sold a few years back to Lakewood.  The run-out in the Quick Time scatter shield is very minimal with excellent quality and fitment.  The cost can be the big deciding factor as a scatter shield can cost as much as $550.00.  If you have the stock bell, it's a choice.  Build accordingly.