Clutch slipping on the dyno?
 

I had a few questions. First off, my car has what I believe is its stock clutch. I know it needs replacing soon since I just did a bunch of upgrades to the car and for it to be that old its most likely going to slip. Now from what I thought before, I assumed that clutch slipping could only happen during an attempt to engage, like starting in first gear or something. However I think i've felt slipping in the car while in gear now. I don't really want to go to WOT while its untuned to find out. I'm going for a dyno tune tomorrow and i'm basically wondering two things, one, if a clutch can slip while fully engaged, and two, if my car is on a dyno getting tuned, since the clutch is basically getting the engines power to the wheels, will it not slip since the wheels will have less resistance on the dyno? I'm not even sure how the dyno works and if it has any resistance, but basically I dont want to waste my money to get it tuned when it might not be able to be tuned.

Thanks.

- Brian

Yes, a clutch can, and will slip under any load , if it is worn out/just doesnt have the torque holding capacity that your engine requires. It is not just during engagement. And yes, dynos do have resistance, which is how they calculate the power output. Wait until you have a good clutch to get it tuned.

A dyno works just the same if the car is on pavement. There is resistance and a slipping clutch will not give you an accurate reading. Before I would spend the money to dyno my car I would make sure every thing is in proper working order, especially the clutch.

If the clutch slips on the dyno, you'll see wildly fluctuating graphs.
It's almost like an earthquake plot. :)


-Ted

Sigh, 4 months of waiting only to have another part to buy out of my pocket. My luck is the worst.

Also, is there any way to be sure its the clutch slipping? I've never felt a slipping clutch before but from what i've heard its pretty much the same feeling everyone else has described.

Your rpms will climb, but car will not be accelerating at the same speed.

It'll basically seem like someone hit the clutch pedal, your RPMS will just climb and you'll just be sitting there, not to mention if you do it a long time it stinks to all hell.

Can I drive it for a while if I don't make it slip at all? Will the clutch just break down eventually?

Depending on how badly it is , you should be able to drive it for a while. Just be careful, and easy on it. No WOT runs, try not to boost alot, and be gentle on takeoffs. Get it replaced as soon as you can though, dont want it to leave you stranded. Is it slipping when just driving normal, or only under heavy acceleration?

Only under heavy acceleration which I haven't done much of.

You should be fine then to drive for a while, just keep your foot out of it ;)

It's not too expensive... I got a reman clutch and pressureplate for $90.... the install took like 2 actual evenings.... (it really took like a week, but I painted my exhaust system and had some days of rest between benching the tranny.

You will be fine for a few weeks on a slipping clutch.... but as your clutch burns it is likely to screw up your flywheel more and more.

A good test is taking it up a hill from normal speed and/or shifting up and adding gas..... up the hill your rpms will shoot up and go back down as the clutch grips...

You may want to check any hydraulics if it sounds unreasonable for your clutch to be out.... just fill it and bleed it. But in your case with the stock clutch you def need a new one so don't bother.

I need a performance clutch though with the new power i'm making, thats when it gets expensive. Especially when i'm already poor as hell.

Pick up a clutchnet, they're good and cheap. :)