I disagree. I couldn't wear the clutch out before 20K miles on a 02 WRX if i wanted too. It seems that put a restrictor on the clutch slowing and delaying the enguagement. If you release the clutch like any other normal cars driving 8K miles in the big city will wear out. Fighting thru traffic and reving towards the no lag zone is the trick. I dont' hear STi having the same problem and they have more power so i beileve it's a design flaw.

 

I've got to agree with ZooRacer. The stock clutch is not that bad. Mitsubishi designed the clutch with the restrictor to reduce drivetrain shock. High horsepower and AWD puts a tremendous amount of stress on the drivetrain. On the WRX, you may not have been able to wear the clutch out but how about braking a transmission? I've got a friend that's been through two transmissions. Which would you rather pay for, a new clutch or a new tranny/diff/..etc?

There are four reasons why we aren't hearing about the STi's clutch or tranny:
1.) They don't have the restrictor
2.) They have shorter gearing
3.) Smaller tires
4.) Much more power lower in the rpms

The real question is how will their tranny/drivetrain hold up over time. So far it's been really good.

I've got 15k on my EVO with no problems and about 90% of my driving is city. But, I'm also not at the drag strip every weekend.

Could you explain this a bit more clearly? Are you saying that most cars will wear the clutch out in 8k miles of city driving?

 

Sorry if i wasn't clear. I mean driving a WRX, STi, or Eclipse GSX the same way it will outlast the Evo's clutch life. This is my whole point. IF driven the same way, other clutches will last longer than evos. Doesn't that mean the evo's clutch was not designed as well?

The strange thing is that the a lot of first batch people including myself that has experenced premature clutch wear. The stock car tends to lag so i do rev it higher than normal to accel when going onto traffic which might be the problem. But my arguement is that I have not had any clutch issues with the WRX and i'm sure It was driven much harder due to the huge turbo lag.

 

from my point of view, my clutch is still fine at 15k. I've done a few hard launches but the number of clutch wear problems reported here have kept me from doing any lately. My other cars have all had clutches lasted well over 40k miles so until mine starts to go out, I have nothing to compare it to. It's definitely a concern of mine.

But on the same note, when I hear about all these guys droppin' the clutch at 6k rpms repeatedly, I can't help but think that a lot of the clutch issues are driver related. You can't expect a car to be completely bullet proof. I don't think any car's clutch can hold up very long to 6k rpm drops. That's why I'm a little surprized that the STi's are holding up. I would imagine that some sort of drivetrain weakness would pop up. But the STi's are still fairly new, so I guess we'll have to see how they age and how they hold up when they get a better after market.

Why would turbo lag have anything to do with clutch wear? I understand that when starting on a hill you need to feather the clutch more but how does clutch engagement and turbo lag relate to eachother?

 

Turbo lag makes me wanna rev it higher and ride the clutch to get the car moving. The riding of the clutch causes the faster wear. My friend's STi had dumped the clucth numberous times and reaching 20K miles with no problems. So far it just seems that the STI drive train is superior in strength in clutch and tranny.

I can't be bothered to think my cluch will wear fast. I just wanna go out and drive without worrying about clutch, trans, and etc. Perhaps i need something like a GT3 and not have to worry about clutch, trans and so forth.

 

I thought the same thing, however after a skimming over their forums a few times I've seen a few complaints about snapping axles at the track. On top of that, the finnicky engine that seems very resistant to even moderate tuning.

 

No, not an optional 6-disc. The 6-dics is a Mitsubishi accessory available from the dealer. The stereo option for 2004 is an Infinity 315-watt stereo 7-speaker with trunk-mounted subwoofer.

 

That sounds great. I wonder what the new stereo looks like and if the 04's will have double dins or not?

 

My take is any car that is drag raced with high horsepower and AWD will, not if, WILL have drivetrain worries. It's just too stressful on the components. Like GPTourer pointed out, some STi's are breaking axles.

One thing to keep in mind is with all the modified EVO's around here with 300+ whp and the tuners with 400+ whp, I have not heard of any transmission, diff, or axle problems. That to me is stellar.

 

if it wasn't for the 2,000 non-refundable deposit i would

 

They do for 2004, it's called the Urban Jungle package for the Evo RS.

 

I didn't know you had to be X number of years old to not burn clutch

(back on topic)
So will people have to wait until the 04's hit dealers in order to see the leather option? It seems like no one can get any pics.

 

Doesn't matter how you drive a stock car. A completely bone stock car should not have a clutch failure in less than 36000 miles, PERIOD. No matter how you drive it. I am sure some people are harder on clutches than other, those are the people that should be replacing clutches at 36000 miles, NOT 3600 miles!! PERIOD, end of story!!! The old man in the yellow evo should be replacing his clutch at 60000 to 100000 miles.

In Engineering and design, there is what is none as a safety factor (over building for the use). This is where the Evo's OEM clutch lacks. With proper safety factor built in, the hard driver gets 36000 miles and the normal driver gets near 100,000 miles. Dont blame it ALL on the DRIVER!! Put some blame where the fault is. You didn't see these problems on the DSM's. The were designed with the proper safety factor for the HP that the cars where making.

-B

 

Albeit somewhat off topic but I'm 18, the EVO is my first manual transmission car and my stock clutch is fine at over 13k miles. The clutch issue to me is partly a product of abuse and may be influenced by a manufacturing defect in some cars. My cars a June build date and I've had 0 problems that a full break in hasn't taken care of.

 

Just go down to your local dealer and look at a Lancer Ralliart, it's the same stereo that's part of the Sun and Fun package, just look in the trunk for the subwoofer.