Threxx

I've got 98,000 miles on my factory clutch and going strong... just wondering if I'm doing good, or if this is the norm.

Although, I did have to just recently replace the clutch-cylinder though. When it went bad I had to drive the damn thing home by shutting the car car off, forcing the shifter into first gear, starting it, and driving 20 miles in 1st gear only. People give you weird looks when you are doing 25 in a 65 with the engine screaming near redline.

Then you cant stop without the motor dying either, but luckily I managed to avoid having to make a complete stop until I got home.

So anyway, back to the subject at hand, how much milage is normal to get out of the stock clutch?

iwannabmw

iTrader: (3)

Don't know, I only have 59K on mine, but I sure like hearing yours lasted to 98K so far

ericdwong

I got 63,000 miles outta my OE clutch. I blew it up by drag racing it at the local drag strip. I ran a 14.6 but because I slipped the F outta the clutch, it heated up too much and glazed the clutch. So I put in an ACT clutch and I wont be doing those kindsa launches again.

maxedout95

iTrader: (1)

So far on my I got 156,000 but I do hear some noise when I release it slowly

Scruit

You can change gears w/out clutch you know... (once you get moving...)

Mishmosh

iTrader: (3)

156k miles? Wow! Do you do a lot of highway driving to achieve that feat?

Got 72k and going strong. No racing but just spirited driving. If mine ever gives up anytime soon, I may just get another OEM if it costs $180 like some have said...

mzmtg

iTrader: (11)

My fiance has 138000 miles on the stock clutch in her 1995 Nissan pickup.

zboy

iTrader: (2)

Someone was just telling me about that today...do you just have to shift really fast or something?

JUDE

iTrader: (7)

I've only got 46k on mine and its still running strong. If it goes before 100k miles, I'll go stock because I have an extended warranty. Anytime after that and I'm ugrading to an ACT clutch.

AgtXmas

I'm just over 108,000 miles now, and haven't had any problems with it.

Scruit

The trick is to remember that the clutch is only used to smooth out the difference between the engine speed and the transmission speed (determined by the speed of the wheels and the gear the tranny is in. If the engine is at the correct speed before you put the stick into the new gear, then the clutch is not required.

The way it works in practice is that you use the clutch to set off from a standstill, then when it's time to switch to second gear count to four pull stick out of 1st - count to two - pull stick lightly into second. When the engine speed falls to the correct revs the stick will go into second. Don't force it if it doesn't want to go - it'll just grind. If it won't go in at all then you counted too slowly. If it didn't go in at first but then went in then you counted a little too quickly, but that's not a problem.

You can change 2-3, 3-4 and 4-5 this way, but those gears get closer together the higher you go, so the delay between out-pause-in is less.

You can change down this way too - but you need to blip the throttle to bring the revs up to match the tranny (remember lower gear = higher engine speed)

Something else to think about is you can also blip the throttle as you downshift to make the shift more smooth - especially if you're leaning on it a bit, if you know what I mean... Sometimes called Heel & Toe, where racers will push the brake with the ball of their foot and blip the gas with thier heel - the engine revs match the tranny and the downshift is much more smooth.

I drive without the clutch about 75% of the time. Rest of the time I'm lazy. Been doing it for a couple of years now, and people riding with me typically can't tell I'm not using the clutch. I love confusing people who have Sticks themselves by telling them I converted the tranny to semi-automatic...

Wizeguy

101,000 works fine. Was it Motortrends(?) that only got 30,000 miles out of theirs? Sounds like they where really having fun.

iwannabmw

iTrader: (3)

I think the guys at Car and Driver toasted their's on the long term test when the 4th gens first came out. They must beat the **** out o those cars!

Vinipux

yeah, you can shift w/out using the clutch and it's usually a pain in the but to time it or get it right, but don't do it, you WILL GRIND GEARS, i've done it on my previous car and by far it is not faster then using the clutch, don't even waste your time on this

Konstantin

Scruit

I agree that if you are racing it is much quicker to shift with the clutch. Clutchless shifting is just a way of prolonging the life of your clutch & related components. If you still grind gears evenafter you tried this more than 20 times then maybe you're not cut out for it.

I still recommend blipping the gas as you downshift with clutch in order to smooth the shift out. Especially if you ARE racing and slowing into a corner at high speed - last thing you want to do is overload the front tyres by making such a sudden rotational speed reduction by dropping two gears and dumping the clutch. This is how a ton of rear-drive accidents happen when the driver downshifts to quick into a corner. Not quite as disasterous on a front-drive, but the theory still applies.

Vinipux

hehe, well, no, I know how to do it, and I can do it well, on the other car, but I don't agree w/ you on the usage part, the clutch was DESIGNED to be used for shifting, and if you're gonna do that all day, then just remove your clutch, you obviously don't need it, give it to those who do j/k but either way it's not worth shifting w/out clutch, whether you're racing or not

damers7

I have about 120,000 on mine , but let me tell you that these are hard miles .i redline the car almost all the time and the clutch is as far as i know still good .however i do have a slave cylinder leak .
as far as blipping the gas for downshifts i believe this has prolonged the life of my clutch and is a sign of a excellent driver (if done smoothly).
damers

party_boy

have a new one ready. Might just swap it out now so that I wont get stranded later.

iwannabmw

iTrader: (3)

I had a Honda that was much easier to shift w/o the clutch than my Max is. I wouldn't ever shift the MAx w/o the clutch until the tranny is warm, and I also think you need synthetics. The Max 5pd just isn't a great design. When I'm on the track, I still use the clutch, though I'm also getting better at heal and toe to help minimize the forces that can lead to loss of traction/control that someone else mentioned above. I still use brakes to slow the car, not the tranny, but I'm getting smoother downshifts matching revs before I release the clutch. Really driving a stick well really is an art form in itself. Not easy.

Scruit

The typical failure pattern of a clutch is slippage (for 1 to 2 secs) after a hard gear change, followed by slippage when you change gears going uphill, followed by slippage after almost all gear changes. This can take weeks to get bad enough this bad.

Unless you do something spectacular and totally overheat & frag the clutch, you won't be stranded without warning...