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How many miles did your factory clutch last?

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Old 06-10-13, 05:39 PM
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How many miles did your factory clutch last?

Curious how many miles has everyone gotten out of the factory clutch both N/A & TII?

Daily driver or race car, not modified extensively.

Ive had 2 fc's with 90-100k stock clutch and it feels like poop to me. My other one has a newer centerforce stage 1 that feels amazing. (all cars nearly stock n.a's) Im thinking its time to do a clutch on the 97k vert. All the cars had fairly recent tune ups as well. Thoughts?
Old 06-10-13, 05:59 PM
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The previous owner of my car replaced it at 145k just before I bought the car, and basically parked it for 2 years at 154k.

Rebuilt engine at 160k and it looked brand new.
Old 06-10-13, 07:48 PM
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136k and still going strong with no slip
Old 06-10-13, 11:58 PM
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136000. -ish
Old 06-11-13, 01:41 AM
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I'm not the original owner but I went from 108k to 131k before swapping engine's along with the clutch. Worked and grabbed good until I replaced it at 131k.
Old 06-11-13, 06:00 AM
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Original owner S5 TII 152,000-Disc still had some life remaining, but the PP lost tension and under high RPM shifting the clutch would slip slightly, but fine with normal driving. Replaced when engine done.
Old 06-12-13, 06:00 AM
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S4 N/A I'm the second owner and it was almost down to nothing at 90-100k. The PO was a Cheap Douche that didn't care about Maintenance or quality work, and judging by the tires and clutch he liked to do "burnouts"
Old 06-12-13, 10:54 AM
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S4 NA been in the family since new. Stock clutch was fine when we changed the trans at 130k. I even learned to drive on it, but we weren't particularly hard on the clutch.

The difference in feel between a stock pressure plate and an upgraded one is huge! Stock feels like a children's toy compared to the aftermarket one that came off. I can modulate the aftermarket clutch while the stock ones offer very little feedback. That may be what you are referring to as 'feeling like poop'.
Old 06-12-13, 12:12 PM
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the records for a stock clutch are:

1985 GSL-SE, 230K, the car actually died in an accident, clutch, engine, trans, etc was original. it was TIRED though.

2005 Mazda 3, 65 miles. yes 65 miles. on Saturday they sold the car to a guy who gave it to his 16 year old daughter, and on monday it wouldn't move at all. car was ruined, after sitting in the shop all week with the windows down it STILL smelled of burning clutch
Old 06-12-13, 12:38 PM
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I wonder who caught the crap for that debacle.
I'd bet on the daughter but suspect it should've been the father.
Old 06-12-13, 02:10 PM
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Originally Posted by clokker
I wonder who caught the crap for that debacle.
I'd bet on the daughter but suspect it should've been the father.
i don't know, since the thing only had 65 miles, we were able to warranty it, even though it was the driver...
Old 06-12-13, 02:13 PM
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It's very tough to know for sure, because most FC's have been through multiple owners and rebuilds by now. My x-girlfriends t2 had 255,000 miles on a stock clutch. Was it the unit that came in the car to begin with? Who knows. Probably not.

Basically, it doesn't really matter because stock clutches in most cars generally are poop. I owned a tiburon and hyundai decided to put a cap with a pinhole loaded by a spring in the clutch slave cylinder. What it does is delay the engaging action of the clutch. This makes it super easy for people to operate, targeting wimpy girls. The delay of engaging is actually prematurely wearing out your clutch. Some people have had them fail under 30,000 miles. OEM manufacturers seem to only care about making it easy to operate, and ignore spirited driving, feel, and how long it will last... regardless if it is a sport car or not.

Last edited by tuscanidream; 06-12-13 at 02:16 PM.
Old 06-12-13, 03:31 PM
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Originally Posted by tuscanidream
Basically, it doesn't really matter because stock clutches in most cars generally are poop. I owned a tiburon and hyundai decided to put a cap with a pinhole loaded by a spring in the clutch slave cylinder. What it does is delay the engaging action of the clutch. This makes it super easy for people to operate, targeting wimpy girls. The delay of engaging is actually prematurely wearing out your clutch. Some people have had them fail under 30,000 miles. OEM manufacturers seem to only care about making it easy to operate, and ignore spirited driving, feel, and how long it will last... regardless if it is a sport car or not.
Conversely, they could have been trying to make their sporty car accessible to a wider market. If you're trying to make a real performance car out of a Tiburon, you have bigger things to worry about than the clutch engagement.

I'm curious what you consider 'poop' about OEM clutches. I find them adequate for the general population and use in the car as intended by the design engineers. As enthusiasts, we are definitely in the minority in terms of what we expect from a new vehicle. I could go on, but I'll limit myself to discussion of clutch systems.

I remember when the Mazdaspeed6 came out, every review was saying how terrible the clutch was. Pretty much tainted every article. Better to err on the side of caution and go too soft.
Old 06-12-13, 05:42 PM
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Some pretty interesting results and a big LOL about the 16yr old frying a clutch in 65 miles!

Well what i mean about the clutch feeling like poop is that as im taking off the bite of the clutch is faint. It never really feels like its grabbing to its full potential. But i cant say for sure since ive never driven a new or near new stock clutch rx7. Say if i dont give it enough gas and let off the clutch a little quick, more than likely its gonna slip and not stall. Chances are my other car would stall.

My centerforce bites strong. Pedal feel is a lot stiffer (of course) And generally feels how a good clutch should feel IMHO.

Also this car has no low end power. I understand these engines typically dont make torque in low rpms but if im at 2k and give it gas it takes forever to accelerate. My other 7 has much better low end response. It actually can accelerate if im at 2k and give it gas, even on some hills. (lets just use 3rd gear as a example)
Old 06-13-13, 06:39 PM
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Originally Posted by FelixIsGod29X
Well what i mean about the clutch feeling like poop is that as im taking off the bite of the clutch is faint. It never really feels like its grabbing to its full potential. But i cant say for sure since ive never driven a new or near new stock clutch rx7. Say if i dont give it enough gas and let off the clutch a little quick, more than likely its gonna slip and not stall. Chances are my other car would stall.

My centerforce bites strong. Pedal feel is a lot stiffer (of course) And generally feels how a good clutch should feel IMHO.
I recently replaced an unknown aftermarket setup with a stock clutch in the FD. The brand new oem clutch feels exactly the way you described. So the change in behavior is likely more by design than wear.

I don't feel like it's not fully engaging. But the 'end' of the clutch release travel is not well defined like the aftermarket unit. I go back and forth between an ACT street/strip on the FC and the difference is very apparent.

Originally Posted by FelixIsGod29X
Also this car has no low end power. I understand these engines typically dont make torque in low rpms but if im at 2k and give it gas it takes forever to accelerate. My other 7 has much better low end response. It actually can accelerate if im at 2k and give it gas, even on some hills. (lets just use 3rd gear as a example)
What series are the engines? I swapped an S5 intake on an S4 engine and the s4 intake definitely had more low/low-mid range torque. S5 is a little softer mid-range, but doesn't hit a wall at 5k. Verified with myself and my roomate that DD'd it. He is unfamiliar with the details of the modification making him a great test subject. I actually prefer the S4 for DD, but it's main purpose was fun track day car.

Also, are the tire sizes the same diameter?
Old 06-13-13, 06:55 PM
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His car is an s5 vert. It has larger diameter tires than stock.
Old 06-13-13, 09:15 PM
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Yep its an S5 vert which i understand is the heaviest.

It has a entire tune up in the past 1000ish miles. Set TPS (may have never been touched, even had the plastic cap on the tps adjustment screw) Didnt check timing though. Gets estimated 220 miles per tank. Car runs very good. Thanks john
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