Average Clutch Life?
 

I did a search and couldn't find the answer to this. Anyone know the average clutch life for normal driving. I know its all about how you drive but what would you say the normal life would be under normal conditions?

ive got a friend with over 200k miles on his mt truck and never replaced the clutch as far as were aware - his other cars (2) all have stock clutchs still

unfortunately i had to change my clutch out at ~16k miles - reasons .. who knows ~
avg i'd guess at least 80k

Depends on how you drive. How long do you ride the clutch? Do you ride it at 3k? How often do you launch it? Are you granny shifting?

If you aren't too bad on it it should last 70k+. Probably closer to a 100 thousand miles though.

It can either last the life of the car... or 5 minutes. The choice is yours.

Piece of string.

I know people with well over 250k km's on original clutches, but I also know people that burn them up in under 50k km's.

If you drive standard well, you should have no issues with the clutch lasting 200k km's unless the majority of the km's are at a drag strip or spent launching on the street. The odd hard launch isn't going to drastically shorten the life, but slipping excessively on every start from a stop and every shift will definitely shorten the life in a hurry.

I dont ride the clutch often and I double de-clutch and blip when I can. I drive it semi hard I was just seeing as to when I should start preparing to change the clutch out. Thanks everyone!

100% driver dependent.

My s2000's clutch went at 116k miles, and the clutch material itself was fine. It was the splines on the disk center that sheared, so the clutch couldn't engage. Also, the throwout bearing was dead.

Not bad for nearly pure stop-and-go traffic DD'ing and track use for 5.5 years eh?

I would expect the FRS/BRZ's clutch to be similarly durable.

Waiting for my clutch to assplode ~20-30K miles.

Keeping the clutch pedal down while at stop lights will also shorten the lifespan. Shift into neutral and release the clutch at stop lights.

Um....

Or maybe it's one of those old sayings :iono:

Regardless, I'm too lazy to keep my left foot down, lol.

Neutral clutch out at a light is bad form. If you need to get moving in an emergency...

Keeping the pedal down at a stoplight will prematurely wear the throwout bearing. That's not the clutch, but it's still wear that will happen.

premature you say ? :laughabove:

This is a terrible idea. If you need to suddenly move/get out of the way of something you will be much slower to react if you first have to put it into gear. In emergency maneuvers fractions of a second count.
I'd rather be ready to move then save what will probably be only a couple thousand miles of it's life.

What would you do then? Shift into 1st gear and keep both clutch and brake down? If real emergency happens, you might release clutch before step on gas.

Yes, you're correct. It's all risk/reward. There are a lot of things people should be doing (or not doing) while driving. I obviously value not having to keep my left foot down at stop lights and saving my throw out bearing over gaining an extra second during an emergency maneuver (if you can really even think and react that fast).

Yes and if I leave it in neutral I might forget to put it in gear and just rev it. Or I put it in gear and I move too fast the clutch might be released too quick anyway.

I'll take less steps and less risks any day.

Typically when I am stopped on level ground I am not holding the brake anyway, the car will stay right where it is because the clutch is in. In which case my foot is already covering the gas, again risk reduced. I am not sure if this is the preferred practice (it may be horribly bad), it is just a habit I picked up.


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Isn't the general consensus to keep your foot on the brakes in case someone from behind rear ends you? That way your car won't be pushed forward as much, reducing damage to the person in front of you. I'm guessing your response would be: Keep an eye on your rear view mirror and drive away if you think the person behind isn't stopping.

I did not claim it to be the best way, you may be completely right in that matter and I will not argue on that. And yes I do watch my mirror when someone is coming up behind me while I am stopped, and it has saved me a couple times from minor fender benders.
Optimally yes you can try to get out of the way if possible, but obviously often times it is not possible, and just standing on the brake is your only option. Either way I would rather have the extra control/less steps to get moving again. I feel it is generally a good idea to have the car in the right gear for the situation, including when stopped.

When driving in Boston you gotta keep your eyes wide and your foot on the gas, people drive like complete assholes so you really have to watch yourself.

As far as premature wear I'm not sure What kind of impact it has, it, as long as the clutch is all the way in I am not worried. I have yet to wear out a clutch before 70-80k, and my father (who taught me this way) is currently still on the original clutch after 145k miles in his Corolla.


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I think the throwout bearing will need to be replaced before the clutch.

I plan on installing a new clutch around 60k, regardless of if it's still in working condition, I'd like a fresh clutch. I'll probably get it done in the same 60k service when I get my spark plugs replaced.

I just hit 32k kms on my 86 about an hour ago and I drive it everyday for work in bumper to bumper traffic 8 hours a day and when there's a gap, in the mind numbing traffic or a dead quiet road I'll drive it hard, to enjoy going above 40km/h !!
Long story short, I have had no issues with the clutch engaging, disengaging or no noises (as of yet) keep your car up to its service and hopefully scion, or Subaru or Toyota will truthfully fill you in on when your clutch is dyeing.

To add to that, if you have a dyno graph or you know what power your car has (with your mods, if any) and the power is less than the OEM clutch power rating;
You can replace clutch parts through the warranty for free


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I've had clutches last anywhere from 160000km to 225000km+ on vehicles I have owned.

On the other hand, if you are hit or your foot slips you cause way more damage. Most people would disagree with your assertion and in the UK or Germany this would lead to a fail on your driving test.

There should be no emergency while stopped at a light. Obviously, your technique only makes any sense if you are first in line, otherwise it makes no sense.

I recommend you rethink this one.

Your other foot is on the brake, whether you hold your clutch in or not. Distance traveled if hit from behind makes no difference.

All depends on your driving style. Lots of aggressive launches and riding your clutch will wear it quick. Rev-match your downshifts and keep slippage to a minimum. I got over 100k on a stock VW TDI clutch pushing 330tq, 80k on a 400whp LS2 GTO clutch. I expect 125k out of this clutch. I'm at 188whp and don't plan any more power adders.

with me clutch kicking, and launching everyday, who knows. It's lasted 20k miles so far heh

I wonder what would happen to your trans if you got hit head-on at a stop with the car in 1st. The vast majority of accidents at a stop are from behind and I doubt even half of the victims saw it coming. The other half probably saw it coming when it was too late to react. Maybe a tiny fraction gas it and reduce damage or avoid it completely.

I was sitting at a light when someone got slammed from behind by a pickup truck right next to me. Old guy wasn't paying attention and just rolled into them at 35mph. IMO, this rule of thumb applies better to motorcyclists because we're constantly looking everywhere when stopped at intersections (and I've got a bike that'll do 0-60mph in ~2.7s. When I was living in SoCal I just lane split to the front for added safety. In a cage you're a bit SOL unless at every light you're constantly going between scanning ahead and staring at the rear view.

Still looks brand new :) it has 11000 miles on it


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How long did it take you to take the clutch out, or is there a quick/easy way to check clutch wear, same way as brakes?

Did you install an aftermarket one and leave the OEM in your car?

Yep, ....... set the emergency brake, fire up the engine, put it in 2nd gear, rev to about 2,500 rpms, slowly let the clutch out. If the engine dies, the clutch still has life.


humfrz

Toyota 1990 Pickup 22re engine 5 spd

Clutch life: 315,000 miles.

I only killed it when I started riding it down mountains...I was dumb.

Oldies Celica:

218k approx

Killed it when I let friend borrow it

FRS I say 100k.... since I replaced TOB. I fear the way it was engaging may have forced clutch to engage crookedly.

The reverse gear ratio is too tall and i have to compensate by riding the clutch during reverse parking on steep hills around sydney.
So people in hilly areas will probably wear out clutches more often.

Our xb went 188k. Daily driver in traffic. No reason your clutch won't last forever under normal conditions.

might be a dumb question, but wouldn't the engine stall regardless of what gear youre in when you let the clutch out while in gear?

Reverse on an incline sucks. Both my cars were hard to engage on an incline. Yesterday in the FRS i had to keep shifting in and out and pulling up a bit without bumping the curb then finally the reverse engaged. The scion XB was worse. Some days I wasn't sure I was gona get it in reverse.

I could just park in front on the level lot but the rear is closer to my office. Today I just backed the FRS into it. They are pretty steep inclines at the bottom

I have just under 50k on my clutch with autocross days, track days, drag strip launches, drift events, and well as several hard runs down back roads and mine still looks like the day I got it from the dealership with 1 mile on it.

Whats is granny shifting?

That's true.

However, if the clutch was really bad, and you were in 1st gear, the engine may think it has a chance at moving the car ..... and keeps trying ..... thus wearing the clutch excessively.

If it were in 6th gear, the engine would give up right away and the clutch still may be bad.

Hell, I really don't know why 2nd gear ...... that's just what my grandfather taught me ...... ;)


humfrz