700 Miles Blown Clutch

[michaelahess]

So backing out of my garage, I don't even touch the gas, I just let off the clutch about 1/4 and roll right out. Once I start rolling, I push the clutch all the way in, wait till I've gotten down the driveway then half engage and pull out onto the road.

Also, when starting off I only go to 1 to 1.5k and slowly release the clutch around maybe 10mph. It feels like I ride it a bit more than I should just compared to other manuals I've drive, but I have issue keeping the shifts smooth if I don't.

My wife's new Mustang has a very heavy clutch and I actually can't start it rolling without gas, kill it every time (except once when I went back in the house and celebrated with a beer), but the car shifts smoother to me. I can shift quicker with less time on the clutch.

Is this "normal" or am I doing something wrong? I never smell burn either, but my old Celi was more like the stang than the BRZ. It's like it's just more direct.

[rice_classic]

When driven properly a clutch can/should typically out last the the transmission and the throw-out bearing.

A family friend has a CRX with over 400k on it... Original clutch.

Sold my 96' prelude with 192K on it. Original Clutch.

Sure, not all cars are created equal nor driving conditions. Example: The Mini has a terrible clutch (very weak) and if the owner say, lives in San Fransisco, the it is very common for these clutches to fail quickly (under 50k). However, this is atypical and the majority of cars have adequate clutches that should last as long as the vehicle if driven properly.

[rice_classic]

Also, you'd be surprised how little wear a racetrack puts on the clutch... when driven properly and when the engine hasn't been modified to over power it.

I use an OEM disc in the race car and it wears so little I just keep using over and over and over. What's wearing out is the teeth/fingers on the pressure plate where the throw-out bearing smacks during hard shifting. The only times I've replaced my clutch is when I blew my tranny seal and my rear main seal which both covered the damn thing in oil. Ugh.

[RossGA]

Originally Posted by whtchocla7e

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?

Simple. You come up to the car in front of you and stop. When it has moved up the hill 20-30 feet, give it a bit of gas, let the clutch out completely, and creep up behind it. Stop again if nec.

Stop, go, repeat.

Never use the clutch to hold you from rolling back on a hill, and don't ride the clutch to creep up a hill when traffic is going too slow for first. Granted, the 86 is light enough that it probably isn't too big of a deal, but it is never a good idea with a sporty/grabby clutch. Admittedly, I have used the clutch on my Xterra to creep up a hill, but it is a much heavier SUV/truck clutch; and it also has over 150K on it and I am starting to feel like I have got my money's worth. I can't do it in my Audi though; the S4 clutch is way to grabby. Trying to ride it up a hill would just ruin it. Quickly.

[jesperswe]

A couple of kamikaze starts and that clutch goes bye bye after a couple of miles

[Junior_Mint]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUNywnlZ5d0"]DTA SCION FR-S DOING HER FIRST BURNOUT - YouTube[/ame]

prolly this dude

[DOC Race]

probably a mad dorifto!!! but without looking at it, it COULD have been anything. When mass producing things there is always a defective rate...

[FT86R]

he did this

[@Art_Mighty]

Originally Posted by FT86R

he did this

that never gets old...

[coyote]

The obvious solution is that all automatics built at Gumna should be sent straight to the USA and the rest of the world should get the manuals.

That would solve supply problems here (where you can walk up and buy an auto, but have to wait over a year for a manual) and well ... I don't think it's responsible to sell a product into a market that can't use it.

[governor]

Originally Posted by coyote

The obvious solution is that all automatics built at Gumna should be sent straight to the USA and the rest of the world should get the manuals.

That would solve supply problems here (where you can walk up and buy an auto, but have to wait over a year for a manual) and well ... I don't think it's responsible to sell a product into a market that can't use it.

I like the sarcasm. But we want rough users to identify warranty issues faster. Mote MTs to the USA!

(This post was not an assertion that the clutch was a warranty issue.)

[alyon]

Originally Posted by eclipsed

I've had the complete opposite experience so far with this car. I have to give it a ton of throttle when starting (around 1.5-2k rpm). So far mine is extremely stall happy and if I don't get the rpm's up before engaging it accelerates worse than a Yaris. I have been driving stick for almost 20 years now so this is hardly my first manual.

I just can't imagine what this guy was doing to blow his at 700... I drive my cars hard and have never had to replace a clutch for any reason other than to hold upgraded horsepower. Not even on cars I've had for 10 years+. Really hoping this isn't some cheap clutch on these cars.

Mine also feels like this.

I have driven a manual for around 4 years before owning this and never had any issues. Unless I am going downhill I have to give it a blip to around 1.3k-1.5k. Backing up on a hill is the worst though. There is no fucking good way to not ride the clutch.

This clutch also seems very light. Even a little bit of riding or a crappy start and you will smell it.

Am I doing something stupid? or does the Boxer just idle very low? I also found the throttle is not very sensitive for the first .5" or so of travel making it easy to over rev.

[neutral]

Originally Posted by alyon

Mine also feels like this.

I have driven a manual for around 4 years before owning this and never had any issues. Unless I am going downhill I have to give it a blip to around 1.3k-1.5k. Backing up on a hill is the worst though. There is no fucking good way to not ride the clutch.

This clutch also seems very light. Even a little bit of riding or a crappy start and you will smell it.

Am I doing something stupid? or does the Boxer just idle very low? I also found the throttle is not very sensitive for the first .5" or so of travel making it easy to over rev.

Weird. I'll try to post a video tomorrow of me starting off in 800rpm-1000rpm without issue. I wonder if there could be something different between our cars.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

[civicdrivr]

Originally Posted by alyon

Mine also feels like this.

I have driven a manual for around 4 years before owning this and never had any issues. Unless I am going downhill I have to give it a blip to around 1.3k-1.5k. Backing up on a hill is the worst though. There is no fucking good way to not ride the clutch.

This clutch also seems very light. Even a little bit of riding or a crappy start and you will smell it.

Am I doing something stupid? or does the Boxer just idle very low? I also found the throttle is not very sensitive for the first .5" or so of travel making it easy to over rev.

Theres not a whole lot of torque, so you have to give it more gas to get going. In my CL I practically let the clutch out half way before giving it gas and the car likes it. In the FR-S I need to rev up to ~1-1.2k rpms for a smooth engagement. My CL makes more then twice the torque of this car though.