I've had my car since April, and I now have about 1,900 miles on it (2002 Berlina S2000). SO I was driving home on Saturday with about 100 lbs worth of tools in the trunk, I'm at a stop light, and I decide it is time to see if I can improve my 0-40 time. I have been driving like a totally granny since day one and 0-40 is kind of slow if you are trying to preserve the clutch.

Anyway, I rev to about 6,000 RPM's, light turns green, I push the gas as I'm releasing the clutch ( I did not POP is, I just sort of let it out as I thought it would be a little easier on the rear end and a little harder on the clutch). I get a little chirp, and then NOTHING. The clutch pedal was all the way out, the engine was at about 8000 RPM and the clutch was slipping like it had 200,000 miles on it. Initially I thought maybe the tires were spinning, so I let off the gas a little while I pushed in the clutch a little but NO, it wasn't the tires, it was the clutch, so I just shifted into second and went on my way, all the while smelling clutch and being really mad at myself for hurting my car like that.

Question. What gives? I know the difference between static friction and moving friction, but I really thought the engine would BOG long before a 2000 mile clutch would give way. And not that I want to try this excercise again ( I'd be willing to bet my clutch lost about 10,000 miles of life in those 3 seconds, if not more), but what would I have had to do differently to get it to all hook up? Did I have too much traction? Do I have a defective clutch? In any case, I guess it doesn't really matter, not like I do this crap every day, but if I REALLY wanted to, I'd like to know I can launch my car properly without totally smoking my clutch.

Thanks.

prwhite

 

Myself and a lot of others have had this same sort of thing happen. If you don't really pop the clutch, it seems to heat up and slip really bad, just as you've described. If you rev to 6 or 7K and really sidestep the clutch, it seems to grab just fine and you'll probably get wheelspin and little or no clutch slip.

I think that the friction material used on the stock disc just really has a poor coefficient of friction when very hot, so it slips when you feather it but it hooks up fine when you pop it .

That being said, the S2000 is no drag machine, so if you pop the clutch a lot you WILL break something in the driveline.

 

even in a FWD, i dont see why you would rev to 6k then feather the clutch?! all you'd be doing is heating the surface of the clutch and reducing any chance of grip. at 6k the engine won't want to bog. if you want to launch, you'll have to drop the clutch.

 

The biggest issue is really the size of the clutch. it's only 8 inches across, and there's not enough leverage there to provide enough force. it's why the clamping pressure is on the order of 2800lbs., and whyhigh-RPM dumps fry clutches about as much as they destroy rear ends...

 

Thanks for the replies. I imagine my clutch was VERY HOT. Thanks, and it looks like there won't be any clutch DROPPING in my future so I'll just have to stick with normal acceleration.

P

 

As a point of reference, I did the same thing with my car the first time I wanted to see if I could feed it enough power to spin the tires. I'm thinking "This doesn't feel like spinning tires". The lingering smell was the worst part of it.

When my clutch finally dies, I would like to find a better replacement. That will then be the second modification to my car (the first being a Mingster Aeroscreen).

 

Just as a point of reference for my feathering the clutch. When I had an e36 M3 before and I launched at about 3,500-4,000 I'd get tire hop if I popped it, so instead I'd feather it a little and NEVER had the clutch give up before the tires. Anyway, different car, different set of rules.

 

I had this exact same experience when I tried launching my '02. I didn't try feathering it, but I didn't side step it either. I believe that the '02 clutch is not as strong as the earlier models, since I have seen earlier models get great launches at autocrosses, and I really doubt they were side stepping the clutch pedal for an autocross run.

Were you on asphalt, or concrete?

 

Face it, your clutch is toast. I did the axact same thing and when I tore down the clutch , it looked like a blowtorch had been in there, the smell? That was the remainder of your hydraulic fluid boiling away,if you haven't replaced your clutch under the tsb then now is the time. They sell these cars under the guise of being a sports car, but when you really put it to them, it fails. I love my car , but I know i can't do a 6000rpm launch! Blair

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Blair Morrow
[B]Face it, your clutch is toast. I did the axact same thing and when I tore down the clutch , it looked like a blowtorch had been in there, the smell?