Before anyone jumps on me about the S not being a drag race car I want to say that I went to the drag strip for a one time deal only just to see what she could do. My Civic is currently my drag race project. Anyways on the very first run I did a small burnout and pulled up to stage. Everything was cool up to here. I decided to try launching at just under 5k, dropped the clutch and right away I noticed my revs shooting up way fast and I wasn't going anywhere. My first instinct was that I was spinning the tires so I shift to second notice that the revs just keep climbing and then I smell the burning clutch. I let off immediately and just cruise down to the end of the track.

On the way home the clutch felt fine. I couldn't tell if there was any smell anymore because my clothes reeked of burnt up tire from being at the drag strip. I tried doing a little test by running the car in 6th gear at low rpm and giving it full throttle. The clutch held it fine and it didn't seem like it was slipping at all. The last two clutches I burned like this in the past failed this test (neither of which were S2000s). So I decided to give it a good hard 2nd-3rd pull all the way to redline. It felt like it may have been a little slow, but I think it was just in my head. This car only has 7100 miles on it and had one previous owner who seemed to have taken very very good care of the car. I have never launched the car hard before and find it hard to believe the clutch is really this weak to be slipping after one hard launch.

Could the clutch have been permanently damaged? Anyone have any other ideas or tests I could do to check if it's damaged at all?

 

I think your first mistake was doing the burnout. You heated up the clutch by doing this and then you immediately ran the track and launched at too low an rpm. You then most likely compounded this by not timing your throttle application well. You heated up the clutch some more and most likely temporarily glaced it. If you drive it normally for a few days, it should be fine.
Launching this car with sticky tires requires a well choreographed operation of clutch and throttle in conjunction with selecting just the right rpm and tire pressures based upon the ambient temps, track conditions, etc. It's a bit of guesswork and the "window" of opportunity is narrow for this car.

 

i did the same thing, i didnt do a burnout before though, the first run was fine, didnt feel any slipping, but then the second run was horrible, just as u described happened to u.

just drive it for a few days, it should go away, mine smelled for a day or 2....but evenually wore away, and not seems like it used to....
im still replacing it eventually though..prob pretty soon!

 

[QUOTE=xviper,May 26 2005, 11:32 PM] I think your first mistake was doing the burnout.

 

Are you going with something aftermarket or just going with another OEM? Is there something wrong with your clutch now?

 

For a NA car, you should be aiming for between 6000 and 7000 rpm. At these rpms, your clutch release must be quick and decided. This is not like a FWD at the drags. With your Civic, when you launch, you get weight transfer to the rear of the car, thus making for less stress on the powertrain. You get the same weight transfer on the S but this is much more amplified. Along with the relatively sticky street tires, the small clutch diameter for the type of powerband, RWD, smallish rear diff, a different philosophy needs to be incorporated when drag racing. Your "vast" Civic experience may be of much less use here.

 

I understand the differences between FF and FR platforms, I'm just amazed the clutch couldn't hold on for one test run. My comparison to the Civic is that I have launched it in many ways it shouldn't have been to experiment and the clutch held on fine, even when it actually had the stock clutch (has an ACT stage II rated for 230 ft lbs now).

 

There are many S2000 owners who have testified to hundreds of clutch drops without any ill effects. I believe yours was due to very specific parameters by which you performed it. This clutch will hold repeatedly so long as the driver does it just right, but like I said, doing it "just right" on this car requires operation within a tight window.

 

If I take her to the drag strip I will try your suggestion of launching between 6000-7000rpm. Also, how do you suggest I time my throttle application with this vehicle?

BTW, the clutch burning smell seems to be gradually going away. The smell is still there just now when I was driving, but it is very faint. I would imagine this is a good thing.

 

Floor the gas at the moment that the clutch grabs at the friction point. Otherwise the revs will just drop like a stone.