Vishnu stage 1 sig. since 7,xxx miles and still strong. Stock clutch. about 27,xxx miles now. I don't take it easy either. Many, Many, Many 5500 drops .

As far as the tester...don't slip the clutch. That is why you smelled the clutch. If you are rolling already....then get off the clutch!!! That's why some people are killing their clutch in 7000 miles. STOP slipping the clutch.

 

That's right!
Also, don't slip between shift. If you remember these 2 things, your clutch will last forever.

 

the weakest part of the car is the brake pads. the stopping power does not match the big hp.

 

Nah, my foot wasn't near the clutch. Rolling at 2,000rpm, already in gear, left foot NOT near clutch... just squeezed it to WOT and... burning clutch smell. Did it a couple times.

To be honest, I don't remember feeling it SLIP at all, so maybe it WAS New Car Smell, as the dealer suggested, lol.

But again, I suspect there simply wasn't much clutch left in the tester. You KNOW what all the joy-riding kids do when they "test drive" it

My second test drive (different car) convinced me the stock clutch CAN withstand rolling, WOT runs without slipping.

And you all have convinced me that Good Driving = Good Clutch

 

Technically you are supposed to take it easy on the clutch, brakes, drivetrain, engine, etc. for around 1500 miles. Although I can't quite remember exactly. You need to break it in like a Harley. The owner's manual says a little less than that though. All the parts need a little different break in period and there are different ways to break in different parts. 1500 is just a safe number for all parts included.

Maybe you were smelling new clutch because the stupid dealer doesn't care about the life of the clutch and told you to "get on it". Not bright on their part. Sucks for the person who is going to purchase the demo car with everyone driving it like that. I bought my car with 7 miles on it. And I put 5 on myself. Break in done properly.

Oh yeah....I got on my car one time during the break in period and it smelled like that too. Last time I did that until broken completely in!

 

17k miles, stock clutch with Buschurs Stage 4 and 272's at 24psi. I just cant explain it other than stating that you can drive this car hard and it will love you for it, but you can also drive it hard and wrong and it will sh$t on you.

 

I think that most people find it easier to blame the car than take it like a man (or woman). I used to think that it was an age thing at first....but I've come to realize on this forum that it's just lack of ability to drive. I have met a few kids with EVOs that have no problem with the clutch and yet a few older drivers that burnt the $hit out of their clutch. Go figure.

Hey...just but the car you won't regret it. Like stvbreal said it, "you can drive this car hard and it will love you for it, but you can also drive it hard and wrong and it will $hit on you".

 

The other thing to remember is there are about 5,000 Evo's on the road and only a few on here complaining about the clutch. As has been stated before it's all in the driving style, launch the car wrong just once and a burnt clutch can mean the end of the road for it. Prior to the Evo there was no car available with the same hp and awd for the price. I even here some STI's are having some clutch problems as well, go figure.

19,200 miles, no problems.

 

One guy here installed a brand new Helix single plate and killed it in only one track day. That clutch is 30% grabbier than the stock one and it doesn't like to be slipped. Apparently he forced it to slip too much... That doesn't mean the Helix is not good, I know I can kill any clutch in a day if I want to.

 

ONE GUY< the point of this thread. A group of green drivers burn their clutches up because of their lack of driving expirience, and the evo gets a bad clutch rap. LEARN before you BURN kiddies.

 

siberian

I bet someone that test drove the car before you burned the clutch a little. When I first got the EVO I drove it like my RWD 240. The AWD has a LOT more grip and you can't get the rear to break loose quite so easily.(haven't tried to drift the EVO since, except in the snow and wet.) The clutch smelled for about two days after, I adjusted my driving style and haven't smelled anything since.

 

For all you guys saying, take it like a man, it your fault not the clutches, stop whining, ect.

Let me ask you this. If the stock clutch is sooo great, then why are all these aftermarket entry level single disc organic clutches doing so much better. The act or works entry level clutches handle the evo's personality much better than stock. Yeah, if you baby the stock clutch, it will last a while longer. I'm fairly easy on mine and I'm at 16,000+ miles right now with it. But I'm not stupid, the stock clutch is crap. It was designed that way to cut down on warranty claims and to give mitsubishi an out when warrantying the drivetrain as anything but the stock clutch will void it. To believe anything else is naive and short sighted.

 

So that's your opinion that the stock clutch is crap. I think it works just fine and I should be worrying about it with my current setup which I am not. It's like saying upgrading the I/C piping will improve over stock. Of course it will, just like upgrading to a newer clutch. Yeah it will work better but define better. Better to someone who does 6k clutch drops or slips on a daily basis, sure. But there's the problem.

Oh and I don't baby my clutch, I drive it hard but I drive it correclty.

 

But... you say it's crap, but also say yours is fine at 16,000+ miles?

I realize it's probably weak when used for drag/street racing, or when the engine is modded for more power.

What I'm trying to figure out is if it's gonna live a normal lifespan if I DON'T drag race or mod the engine.

I burned out the first clutch in my old CRXsi in 30,000 miles. Then I learned how to actually drive, lol, and the second clutch lasted 170,000 miles. My GS-T only has 72,000 miles on it, and the clutch is strong. So I understand lifespans vary greatly.

But I'd hope an intelligent driver, who doesn't drag race, and who doesn't mod the engine, would get... I dunno... 50,000+ miles on it?

 

To me upgrading would be to a twin disc clutch or a single with much better friction material. The current entry level single disc clutches aren't so much upgrades as they are alternatives. They keep nearly the same pedal pressure and will last much longer and take launches much better. They make much better daily drivers b/c they let you slip the clutch a bit to overcome our cars lack of low end power.
Thats the attitude that make me laugh.