700 Miles Blown Clutch
 

So I dropped by my happy dealership - power cerritos - and I had a quick chat with my salesman, apparently some guy with a white FR-S blew out his clutch in 700.
I asked him how and he said he wasn't sure, wondering if anybody around here got any news on this ~

$10 says it was his first manual.

Maybe that guy was dropping the clutch at 4-5k where ever he went,
Personally I don't think I'll do that well on the clutch either since the BRZ will be
my first MT, but typically the first clutch should last at least 20-30K before replacement right ? ? ?

I've remember it took my 1 hour or so to get use to the clutch point of my cousins old MR2,
but I figure ridding a clutch a bit for an hour or two can't wear down the clutch that much.... can it ?

He was probably a hooligan.

Typically clutches last 100k +, on stock power levels. They can be forgiving to new drivers as long as you don't do anything really bone headed.

The original clutch in my CL had plenty of meat left after 103k miles, but I swapped it out for a different setup. My brothers Accord V6 has 120k+ miles, stock clutch and still holding strong. I know another person that had their clutch finally let go around 230k miles.

Obviously if youre making more power and constantly slipping/dumping/otherwise beating the hell out of the clutch, it won't last long.

Could be a bad clutch

Could be many things. Can't really point fingers without more details.

Clutches need 500-1K miles to break in properly.

What this tells me is he didn't break his clutch in, and went right to hard launching.

Best way to break a clutch in...spend a few hundred miles in city traffic driving it from light to light and treating it like an econobox.

After the car has been launched a few hundred times at low RPMs....the clutch is probably seated well....

Well I think they said that it was his first manual .. but still 700 way too soon.
It wasn't covered under warrnty so he had to pay it off - so it wasn't a bad clutch or the dealership is screwin the guy over haha

Agree. He probably "peeled out" from the school parking lot after his bro-friends made fun of his Scion...

I really want to agree with this, but we should never underestimate the power of stoopid...

Hahaha, thanks for the good chuckle .. but it's true, never know the stupidity of people heh

:word:

When I broke in my new clutch in my other car, I drove like a granny for nearly 4k miles just to ensure that it had enough low rpm, low load take-offs. It was painful. But in that specific platform, people that run that clutch burn it out after 20k miles or so. It got so bad that the manufacturer (Clutchmasters) had to change the disc material for that application. Im still running the old material and Im at 57k miles and counting. When I replaced the tranny around 40k miles (damn diff bearings gave out), it didn't look glazed and still had plenty of meat on it.

Many people don't realize that even resting your foot on the clutch pedal will slightly engage it and cause wear. Could be he just left his foot on it. Or maybe just really bad launch techniques.

Its especially easy on such a light clutch.

WIll a dealership EVER say it was a bad clutch and not the driver's fault?

Thats crazy...I was talking to the drivers ed teacher at my school and he just did the clutch on the drivers ed manual escape at 90k and it still had material left. This is a car that only gets new drivers; who stop driving it as soon as they are competent!

If driven properly(not on a track), a clutch should last well past 100k, even 200k.

If you or anyone you know is replacing clutches at anything even close to 80-100k, that person either didn't know how to drive, or the clutch was a turd from day one.

http://i.ebayimg.com/t/HOONING-NOT-C...TU3nw~~_35.JPG

I hear what you guys are saying but... 700 miles? He must have been unbelievably hard on it. That's like drag car clutch mileage.

when i had my WRX (first owned/driven manual) i went through my first clutch in 1300 miles

700 miles makes me think he slipped it way too much several times. Ah, the good ol smell of burned clutch. I mean, it sucks, yeah, but I wore a clutch out prematurely on the first manual-equipped vehicle I had. It happens. Great reason to upgrade. :D

Yes they will. I have done many warranty clutches even some that shouldn't have been. So all of you know your clutch is a wear part meaning they will only warranty the clutch if a spring breaks or bearing makes noise. If a dealership takes the trans out and sees the clutch is worn and the flywheel has hot spots then it won't be covered.

:laughabove::bellyroll: :word:


:happy0180:

I doubt my clutch will make it to 20k miles, but it's not because of my driving habits, but I plan on running boost by 15k miles haha

hell of away to learn!

no,it should last much longer,and yes! ''riding" the clutch can,and will cause pre-mature wear!

very true! shift and get your foot off it! put it on the "dead pedal"

this is true! it is possible to get a bad clutch,however usually what "wears" out is the 'throw-out" bearing,but this generally happens over a very long period of time!

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFHwzmzt8GE[/ame]
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acauKyXYyy4"]SRT4 burnout fail: burns clutch not tires - YouTube[/ame]
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxivYugKi24"]Dodge Neon SRT-4 SRT 4 Burnout gone wrong with Clutch Blowing Up - YouTube[/ame]

Im guessing he did not know how to drive stick. Which is sad because it is so easy learning to drive stick in this car, it has the softest clutch ever! I broke my leg learning on my 1995 eclipse GSX with a ACT 2600.

This only happens to fake pre-med students with a tenuous grasp of grammar and spelling.

I can kind of understand with all wheel drive. But I would think with a car like this with not so much rear grip that the tires would usually slip/wear first.

if you glaze the clutch over before 200 miles, its only a matter of time before the clutch goes, it could have been damage at port if someone hooned in it

i also blew up the transmission. literally. it exploded. there were only little metal chunks left of 2nd gear. damn i was stupid

first manuel and up to 3k. mayb just luck

Ok, this thread scares me a bit.
The FR-S is my first manual car although I've been riding motorycles for a good few years now.

When I'm sitting at a stop light on a incline, I keep the clutch partially engaged to prevent me from rolling backwards. This has always worked for me on a bike and I never use brakes on a hill. Is this bad for clutch break in?

yesss! absolutely! clutch will heat up,and wear prematurely!
always ''engage" your emergency brake,while shifting to neutral to hold the car still on the grade,then when the light turns green,release the emergency brake,while "at the same time" shift into first,while letting up on the clutch pedal to go forward,WITHOUT rolling back.this is NOT difficult,just requires practice until you get it right the objective is to NOT roll back...just sayin'

All I know from what I've learned that it's considered riding the clutch on a car. But on a bikes it's ok because our clutch is always in oil being lubricated.

Someone else chime in if wrong.

yes you are correct.

What a bafoon! He hasn't even replaced the window, now he's got much bigger problems. HA-ha!


People keep saying this, but when I sat in one(finally a manual) at the dealership, it didn't feel "too" soft at all. Softer than my 4th, 5th, 6th gen Civics and current RSX yes, but not soft when compared to the Scion tC or 2012 Civic Si. Both of which have the most pathetically uninspiring and "in the middle of having a stroke" grandma-soft clutches I have ever had the displeasure of using.

IMO, if a clutch is too soft it's harder to shift smoothly because there is no feedback. It's like a surgeon performing delicate surgery with his arm hovering in the air versus resting on a table for balance. The balanced hand will be infinitely more careful and easy to be precise with the movements.

This is the equivalent of driving down the highway at 80mph while simultaneously dragging the brakes for miles on end.

Stop that. Stop that right now.

Sent via telepathy

^ Ok, thanks for the replies guys. Good thing I've been avoiding hills in my first 250 miles so far.