Did you notice that this thread has been inactive since 2004?
LOL, nobody can tell you that you need to use Search.

What the guys are talking about here is reving the engine up (while stopped), and then letting the clutch out very quickly, and spinning the back tires. XViper (who posted earlier in this thread, but is no longer a member) and others (myself included) have done thousands of "clutch drops" without damaging our clutches or differentials (and XViper and I are both supercharged), but there have also been a lot of people who have burned up their clutch or busted their differential by doing hard launches in ways or under conditions that WILL damage the car. The bottom line is that if you don't know what you're doing, trying to smoke the S2000 back tires is a very bad idea. If you don't rev the engine high enough for the traction surface, you run a high risk of doing the car some serious damage.

OTOH, as long as you know what you're doing, the only thing you'll damage is the back tires. I go through a set of rear S02's in between 3000 and 5000 miles.

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

A Chicago Region S2000 driver broke his differential at Nationals this year.

I've broken two (sheared teeth off pinion gears).

Third clutch at 50k miles.

If I wanted things to last, I'd drive more conservatively.

If I wanted to drive more conservatively, I'd have bought a Camry.

 

my clutch lasted for about 100k. my rear diff just went out at 120K. and both went out during daily driving/moment of fun....so you never know when they will go out....

 

I've autocrossed mine for 5 seasons now. 6k rpm clutch dumps 4 or 5 times per event, 15-20 events per year. That's like 400-500 launches on r-compound tires with out a problem so far. That said, the car only has 30k miles on it and I have a spare diff and axles in my garage, because I know I'll need 'em eventually.

 

Chuck! I haven't seen ur post for a long time!

 

Why are people clutch dropping? Why not just slip the clutch? That's what its there for...

 

 

I haven't been posting regularly for several months now. I guess I finally took that vacation that I kept saying that I needed.

 

People are trying to launch the car hard, either to get a quick start, spin the tires, or for some other reason. You can also launch quickly by slipping the clutch, but experience has shown that this will quickly distroy the S2000 clutch, so it should be avoided. Better to let the tires spin than the clutch, 'cause the tires are easier to replace.

 

I have 99k and stock clutch that grabs at 9k top of 2nd

I never launch the car hard, i find whipping around some turns is more fun than launching from a stop light.