hmm maybe its because i used a ACT XTSS (SS lines) clutch on my evo 8 before i owned this car. Also i let my friend drive the car and he DD's a stock civic si (09 i think) and says the clutch is super soft. I guess im not use to stock clutch feel since the 2 cars i owned before this one had stiff aftermarket clutches on them.

Holy chromoly! :confused0068:

I've always managed to be pretty easy on my stuff whilst still being fast. But I know a lot of guys just totally abuse the tranny and clutch. I cringe when I ride with them...

I'd agree, clutch on my Xterra is still good and its getting near 200,000 miles.

Well for you MT Pro out there, any advice to a future noob so I don't blow the clutch at 700 miles ..

I intend to STEP on Break and Let go of clutch till car shakes then let it engage
naturally without gas first, Next Step I will watch for RPM DIP, as I give it a bit of
gas n let go of more clutch RPM drops and I've been told thats when I let go of the
clutch totally n give even more gas... right ? wrong ?

My 1990 Integra had its factory clutch after 240,000 miles and I was the third owner. You could tell the clutch was worn but I still ran it hard when I wanted to with no issues. I think certain people are hard on cars. However, in this case I think the driver's license should be revoked. Think if people had to work on their own cars; driving in general would improve tenfold.

What about creeping up a hill? I have a stop sign at an incline. There's a line of cars in front of me stopping at the sign and taking off one by one. What do I do?

:thumbdown::bonk:I blew my Clutch at 1200 on my 335i. it was my first manual transmission and i had like a week practice on a mini cooper. Stalling out in traffic, causing traffic jams on highway, starting the car in gear forcing it in to the sidewalks and curbs (fucking up the bumpers) i use to be in the body shop almost every week. yeah i learnt the hard way and its very possible to burn your clutch @ 700 miles.

when i was still learning, i waved LOTS of people past me, so i would have space to roll backwards while engaging 1st gear (if i needed. better to have and not need, then need and not have)


also: see if you can find a rental that's manual. best way to practice

Yeah thats good theory; no need to wait for a rpm drop though, all of those 'steps' are completed in less than a second.


This fact that its a scion makes this story much less surprising.

I'd gotten into the habit of, while on a hill, watching if a car was approaching from the rear and letting off on the brakes a little. Some people really like to creep up, so I did just enough to let them know that I'm going to roll back a bit when I get going. Sure enough, a lot of people gave me extra room. I've been on some brutal hills at stop signs and even after driving stick for 15 years, I don't look forward to them.

Just checked the logs for my '92 Celica. I was second owner, and it was on the original clutch until September, 2010 @ 166,361mi. Nothing blew, it was just slipping and I didn't want to deal with it. Could have babied it along for quite awhile longer, I expect. I've had friends end clutches in <50k, both those that drive the car like they stole it, and those that just had terrible technique. I had never driven a manual transmission vehicle before I bought the Celica and I drove it home, learned on it, and still have it to this day. Hell, I just taught one of my friends how to drive an MT in it two weekends ago!

Not gonna lie, if I had taken people's advice and gotten the manual instead of the automatic this would probably be me. I can't drive manual at all so I'd probably tear the poor car up right away.

If you're keeping the RPMs below 2k when engaging then you're fine. People have different techniques for starting from first. In my CRX I used to modulate the throttle while engaging the clutch since it was so touchy. In the FR-S I bump and hold the RPMs to around 1-1.5k, engage clutch right to the point of engagement, hold until wheel speed matches engine speed, then fully engage clutch. This car is really hard to stall. You can get away with very little throttle when starting off from first.

I just replaced the clutch on my WRX at 50k miles. I was not happy about it. Cost me $1800 at a dealer. Never tracked the car, I have experience driving stick (second manual car I've owned but have driven many others), and I don't "burn out" in it. There's been a few times I've been overly aggressive with it while trying to pull out onto a busy road (anyone who lives near Boston knows what pulling out onto Rt 1 north of the city can be like), but I really didn't think I beat on it that badly.

I assume it was a combination of factors but I'm going to be even more careful with it because it shouldn't go through clutches that quick.