Clutch life...

[krazzyk01]

I know there are threads around on the subject of clutch life. What I'm asking is how long we 1LE guys get out of a stock clutch?

I've done two track events and just hit 39,600 miles yesterday. I enjoy running through the gears and I down shift/heal-toe as best I can. I am what you would call an enthusiastic driver. I'm not too concerned about mine going out just yet but I'm trying to plan ahead. There are hints, to me, that make me think about this type of thing every time I drive it. Things like, unsmooth gear changes where you can feel/hear the gears go together. I've had the dealer look at it and to be honest, I'd be better off having my 18 year old daughter look at it.

[cornerspeed92]

I had quite an extensive thread on this awhile back. I got 5 or 6 track days on mine.

[ilir14]

It just depends on how you drive, i did Lsa conversion and i have 20k on the conversion alone, 40k on the car and the clutch feels great no slipping yet pushing close to 700rwhp

[CamaroDreams76]

Looks like I have more time on my clutch then. Almost 32k

[Billy10mm]

The question is stacked. The stock clutch can more than handle the amount of torque given to it by the LS3 ... so the life of the clutch will 100% be dependent on the operator of the clutch. You should easily get 250K miles out of the clutch in regular and spirited use (which should be no different than regular use). I have kept all of my vehicles to a minimum of 200K miles, and even put 105K miles on a 2001 Honda CBR 929. I track all of my vehicles (though not as much anymore, did it a ton when I was single without kids). I have never replaced a clutch. Buddy of mine has a 1986 BMW 325e that's pushing 300K miles. It easily has 20K miles at the track and it too is still on the original clutch.

As long as you properly upshift and downshift every single gear change, and learn to leave from a stop with torque, not with revs, then your clutch should last the life of the car.

[Billy10mm]

Originally Posted by CamaroDreams76

Looks like I have more time on my clutch then. Almost 32k

It's absurd to look at someone else's clutch life and think that your car will do the same. The life of a clutch is based on how often and how intensely the clutch is slipped. It is dependent on the operator, not the car.

As long as you are properly matching engine speed to road speed on every upshift and every downshift; as long as you are leaving the line at 1K RPM or less and for very brief periods of time; then your clutch will last a very very long time. If you are like most clutch operators out there and wearing the clutch significantly every time you drive, you will get very little life out of the clutch.

[CamaroDreams76]

Originally Posted by Billy10mm

It's absurd to look at someone else's clutch life and think that your car will do the same. The life of a clutch is based on how often and how intensely the clutch is slipped. It is dependent on the operator, not the car.

As long as you are properly matching engine speed to road speed on every upshift and every downshift; as long as you are leaving the line at 1K RPM or less and for very brief periods of time; then your clutch will last a very very long time. If you are like most clutch operators out there and wearing the clutch significantly every time you drive, you will get very little life out of the clutch.

I assumed we drive basically the same. I have a few track events on my clutch and have basically the same mileage. But your right. I cant compare.

[h018871]

Krazzy
Run it until it chatters real bad or slips. Truth is above, clutch is highly dependent on how you drive.
You should be fine, HOWEVER it is always a great idea to have an emergency fund building up. Even if you don't break, then it is mod $

[krazzyk01]

Guys,

Thanks for the input. Very sorry I've not responded before now. For some reason I'm not getting my email notifications like normal. Checked my settings and they should be getting to me.

Anyway, 1k revs on every take-off from lights? I'm not a nun. LOL No, I would put myself at an aggressive driver given those specs. I like getting off the light and rowing through the gears. I don't "slip" the clutch to get off the line. I've always been told by the transmission guys I've worked with that quick firm shifts are better for the clutch than slipping it. I try to take the middle'ish point of that. I downshift and do my best to match the RPMs correctly. Doesn't always happen to be honest. Thinking about it, I would say I'm at least 1.5 times harder on my car than the average Camaro driver.

That said, I should probably get that Emergency Clutch Fund started. LOL

[Billy10mm]

Originally Posted by krazzyk01

Anyway, 1k revs on every take-off from lights? I'm not a nun. LOL No, I would put myself at an aggressive driver given those specs

Thing is, you can leave the line very hard (wheel spin on a 70-degree day running G2s) at 1K RPM. The key is in the pairing of clutch actuation and throttle input.

Most of the stick-drivers I know use revs to leave the line. They "bounce" the tach by dipping their foot into the throttle multiple times to keep the revs up so they don't stall. This method relies on the mass of the rotating assembly to start moving the car. You're not using torque here at all, just mass, since you're off the throttle for the majority of the time.

The other way to do it is to feed the throttle in as the clutch reaches the engagement point and match the throttle feeding with how quickly you are letting off the left pedal. Do it right, and your tach will never go beyond 1K rpm until the clutch is out and locked, but you can leave the line with plenty of push thanks to the LS3s prodigious torque (which you aren't tapping into if you're just "bouncing" the tach around with throttle blips, you actually need to be deep into the throttle to access the torque).

To be honest, it takes a lot of time behind the wheel to get used to the second method; weekend-only folks will find it tough to get used to, especially if they drive an automatic during the week. But daily-users will get it down in a few weeks and enjoy much greater clutch life ... quarter-million-mile clutch life.

[krazzyk01]

Okay I get what you're saying. Been driving manuals on and off for over 30 years and now I Drive one for a daily driver for the past 3 years. I get what you're saying.

[krazzyk01]

I guess maybe I just worry too much. I've never had to put clutch in a car I've owned in the past but I've also never owned one for more than a couple years. This is my first car with a manual that I've owned from new and have had it for over 3 years now.

[BMR Sales]

Originally Posted by Billy10mm

The question is stacked. The stock clutch can more than handle the amount of torque given to it by the LS3 ... so the life of the clutch will 100% be dependent on the operator of the clutch. You should easily get 250K miles out of the clutch in regular and spirited use (which should be no different than regular use). I have kept all of my vehicles to a minimum of 200K miles, and even put 105K miles on a 2001 Honda CBR 929. I track all of my vehicles (though not as much anymore, did it a ton when I was single without kids). I have never replaced a clutch. Buddy of mine has a 1986 BMW 325e that's pushing 300K miles. It easily has 20K miles at the track and it too is still on the original clutch.

As long as you properly upshift and downshift every single gear change, and learn to leave from a stop with torque, not with revs, then your clutch should last the life of the car.

Billy, I agree with you on 99% of what you said. In fact I just got off the phone with a customer talking about this.

I can't remember the last time I changed a Clutch and I drive Hard!

Life of the car, maybe, but I've seen bad clutch's

[Camaro Dude]

I think the life of the "clutch system," and the life of the "clutch" disk itself, are two entirely different things to worry about, on a regularly driven road course track car like Cornerspeed92's let's say.