So, you have hills every day, which are always harder on a clutch than a typical stop sign. And you weren't rev-matching with downshifts.

It's not that the evo's clutch is weak, it's that the car has alot of power and torque and can burn up a clutch a whole lot quicker than your average honda. So messing up a few times will do alot more damage than messing up a few times in other cars. Your clutch is going to go bad, that's just part of owning a manual car. Just take it as an opportunity to upgrade to a stronger one like Exedy.

 

Yep. Been using the handbrake so I don't slide back and ride the clutch. Also, I just started daily driving it, so I haven't been downshifting without rev matching for a month. I've driven the car maybe 6 times since I got it. I had a couple clean Rev match downshifts on the way to work today.

And yes, I'm listening lol. So far that seems to be the consensus to use it as an upgrade opportunity. I'm just remaining optimistic in my capacity to learn, and hoping I get a couple years out of it.

 

I would like to know how to do this! I despise hills because of fear of hitting the car behind me or grinding the shiiiiiiiiit out of my clutch or revving too high.

 

Hey Evo stan, I'm no professional by any means but I figured I'd try it out while stopped on flat ground first, to get an idea of things. I tried it when I stopped to get gas last night. Tutorials I watched had people learning/teaching on hills, but I didn't want to try in traffic, so I opted for the gas station to get an idea of when to let the handbrake go.

 

Tbh, the hand brake method is great for avoiding an accident by rolling backwards into the car behind you. But it's just as hard on the clutch as not using the hand brake, either way the clutch will be slipping while you're trying to get up the hill.

 

Damn, so basically I should just gun it up hill and blow every light. Lol

 

Depends on if you want to get hit by another car lol.

I've been driving manual transmissions for like 8 years now, and even I have bad hill launches sometimes. It's just going to take practice on your footwork and getting very very familiar with your clutch engagement point and throttle response.

If your really worried, I know you can find stickers on amazon/ebay that tell people to stay back on a hill because you drive a manual.

 

Its all about driving style and your ability to rev match and not ride the clutch. I have a 2013 EVO X GSR and I've been above 500 WHP for two years. I don't launch it and rev match all the time and I'm still on the stock clutch at 45k miles. I do track the car (road course only) but never launch it. I think that is the biggest issue that kills these clutches.

It just takes time and practice to get used to the car and manuals in general if you aren't used to it. I've never had an automatic, so manual is second nature to me.

 

Fair enough presti. There's hope yet, lol

 

downshifting without rev matching isn't a big deal. as long as your rpm and speed are low before going into the next gear you will be fine.

 

there isn't a modern car that requires you to rev match in order for the clutch to last. The Evo is no unicorn in that regard. This is my 4th Evo, and have never had an issue at various power levels. It sounds like the previous owner beat the crap out of it AND didn't know how to drive, so you get to buy a clutch. Also, for the guy suggesting an upgraded clutch from Exedy, sorry to burst your bubble, cause I know its cool to tell people the stock clutch sucks, but it is made by Exedy

 

Interesting. Any source for that or is that from your/people you know experience? So really, as long as your not coming off the clutch super hard, downshifting without Rev matching is fine?

 

I specifically said the evo's clutch wasn't weak, but that it was an opportunity to updgrage to a stronger one, such as one's made by exedy. Just because exedy makes the stock clutch doesn't mean that the other ones they produce no better than out stock clutch.

 

What he said isn't true though, downshifting without rev-matching makes the clutch do a whole lot of work bringing the engine up to speed. True if you're only like 1k rpms difference from the target speed then it's not that bad. But if you're downshifting and jumping like 3-4k rpms you really really need to rev-match first.

No matter the situation whether it's shifting up or down or sideways, if there is a difference in speed between your transmission and the engine, the clutch has to do work and will get worn. So reducing the work your clutch has to do will prolong it's life, it's up to you how often you want to change your clutch.

 

rev matching is not for a clutch , its for the transmission gearing, helping for the syncros to work easier. But really not nessecery on street.
In racing environment its really for, to not upsetting the car attitude during braking or in turn.

Clutch life has basically little to nothing to do with that.

ps ; you should always shifting back each gear during racing, never skip a gear. Just a suggestion.
On street basically a same but you can skip gears if you going into a stop. You should never see a 4K rpm difference between two gears, regardless.