Did I smell my clutch burning...?

[Ultra marine]

My 86 only has 1,000 miles. Of course I've been driving it hard to get to know her better. Didn't bring it over 5300 rpm yet though. I'm fairly good manual transmission driver, I know riding the clutch is bad and down shifting without rev matching are all bad. But the other night I was working on rev matching mostly at 40mph down to 2nd or 3rd. In to 3rd gear I needed to match around 4,000 rpm 2nd gear I was 5,000-5,3000 rpm. I would say I was 90% accurate. The ones that I was not accurate I usually overshot it. After 10 min worth I started to smell what I thought was my clutch. Only knew that smell because I used to off road my jeep and sometimes had to push the clutch too far. Anyways, anyone else have this issue?? Could it be the friction of the clutch and end up being not that bad? I wonder how I could do if I brought it back. Thanks

[humfrz]

Well, I have a very steep driveway with a peak at the top, where it meets the sidewalk. So, I carefully and slowly, back my FR-S up and out, at a 45 degree angle so it doesn't scrape. To do this I have to slip the clutch a bit or the engine will stall.

Sometimes I get a slight whiff of burning clutch material, it doesn't seem to take much for the clutch to "whiff" a bit ...... so, I wouldn't worry about it ....

humfrz

[bkblitzed]

You should be fine. When im driving seriously, i would rev match/heel and toe to 5-6k but i never smelled clutch.

[charged86]

Probably just got the disc really hot. Try not to do so much racecar shifting at one time

[DarkSunrise]

I sometimes smell what I think is clutch in routine driving (e.g., giving it 75% throttle in 4th on the highway).

Oddly, when I'm at the track going flat out (repeated heel-toe downshifting, full throttle upshifts, etc.) there's no smell at all, even after 20-30 min. sessions.

It makes me wonder whether it's not clutch, but moisture/residue burning in the exhaust as it heats up. When I do get it, it's usually in the first 10 min. of driving.

[Migero86]

I drive pretty spirited once the engine is warmed up and have never smelt clutch.... I did however smell the rubber from my tires when I stopped for fuel on my recent cross country sprint... shrug.

[chulooz]

Yes it was the clutch, your shifts probably arent as good as you think they are. There should pretty much never be a scent.

[FRSFirestorm]

I noticed clutch smell occasionally in mine early on, mileage wise. Not so much now.

[topazsparrow]

Originally Posted by Ultra marine

My 86 only has 1,000 miles. Of course I've been driving it hard to get to know her better. Didn't bring it over 5300 rpm yet though. I'm fairly good manual transmission driver, I know riding the clutch is bad and down shifting without rev matching are all bad. But the other night I was working on rev matching mostly at 40mph down to 2nd or 3rd. In to 3rd gear I needed to match around 4,000 rpm 2nd gear I was 5,000-5,3000 rpm. I would say I was 90% accurate. The ones that I was not accurate I usually overshot it. After 10 min worth I started to smell what I thought was my clutch. Only knew that smell because I used to off road my jeep and sometimes had to push the clutch too far. Anyways, anyone else have this issue?? Could it be the friction of the clutch and end up being not that bad? I wonder how I could do if I brought it back. Thanks

The clutch is still breaking in. My car also smelled funny when I revved it up for a while so you could be getting whiffs of that smell as well.

I wouldn't be too concerned, the clutches in these cars appear to hold up to abuse quite well.

[Mad1723]

Make sure it's not the oil leak that some reported coming from under the car. There's an oil leak coming from where the AT would be if you had one and the plate Subaru uses sometimes leak and gives a foul smell. The oil falls directly on the exhaust and smells badly.

Might be worth having a look under to see if you spot some oil, it shouldn't be much, just slightly moist with transmission oil, enough that it drips on the hot exhaust.

[kodyo]

This is a well documented occurrence. I don't think it's the clutch, but rather an adhesive they use in the car. It's pretty common for first 5k or so miles.
Search and you'll find more topics on this.

[root]

Your brake pads will stink also during breakin if you get them hot enough, which you should if done properly.

[Nik33615]

Originally Posted by kodyo

This is a well documented occurrence. I don't think it's the clutch, but rather an adhesive they use in the car. It's pretty common for first 5k or so miles.
Search and you'll find more topics on this.

Yea the dealer tried to tell me the oil I smelled burning was "a protective coating burning off" even though I had had the car for like 6 months and had well over 5k miles on it. It was leaking oil from the block off plate on the back of the right cylinder head like mentioned earlier in the thread. I have been driving manual trans. Cars for 20 years I know the difference between burning oil smell and clutch smell.
Back on topic if the op had been driving his car hard overheated brakes smell exactly the same as a slipping clutch. Either way once twice a few times smelling that is nothing to get too excited about. Drive the car normally till you have more miles and it is better broken in before playing with the clutch again and everything should be fine...

[Ultra marine]

wow great replies. Thanks people. I will check for the oil leak just to be safe. I am thinking it's because of low mileage or this adhesive burning off you mentioned. I truely don't think it's my way of shifting. I know when i'm doing it right, and it would sometimes happen without having any mistakes riding the clutch. Either way- ill keep my nose on it!