from my understanding, aything with enough heat and pressure will fold after a while....ive had my car for bout 3 months....i admit it is my 1st stick and i have not been the most perfect driver for the 1st 300 miles. i was dropping to fast, holding on too long while revving and on several occasions smelled the sweet stench of cooked clutch...no my friend said be careful and make sure the flywheel isnt warped and the clutch isnt burned... like i said this is my 1st stick, i have driving the car now almost done to an exact science...i kno how to down shift, up shift, match the revs for a nice smooth engagement..... i only need help with launching harder....

my q is, how to tell if clutch is bad/going bad....how do i know if the lfywheel is done. from wat i hear, if u dont change the flywheel it would eventually need to be resurfaced. my goal is to ride out a little longer and once im 100% sure im good with a stock setup and i wont mess up my new setup, maybe go lightweight and performance clutch setup.

lately i see that if im driving a little more aggressively past 7k rpms my 1-2 and 2-3 shifts are a little harder to shift...the shifter needs to be pushed a little harder....sometimes i may not push it hard enough and i will groan my 2-3 shift....kinda scary....before the shifter would practically slide into next gear...now its a little rougher.

at idle if i let my foot off the pedal i hear a slight groaning noise, similar to a brake pad contacting a rotor...if i push the pedal in the noise goes away till i let off the pedal. i never noticed this before.... any insight/advice on what i need to do with the manual tranny....maintainance? mods? tips/tricks?

TIA guys i appreciate this alot.

 

The search button is *up there* for a reason.

how can u tell if clutch is bad/going bad ? how can u tell if you're dying/going to die?

You can feel it. Trust me.

and I think u need to drive at least a year or so before u touch anything else.

 

you can tell the clutch is bad when it starts slipping. As in you mash the throttle and the engine spins a little before "catching" the drivetrain.

Flywheels need to be changed periodically, or resurfaced, but not that frequently.

 

You can tell if the flywheel needs resurfacing (or replacement) by how smoothly the clutch engages. If it chatters all over the place when engaging, it has developed spots that are no longer smooth. (Or else there is oil on the disc or the pilot bearing is fried). If the clutch slips, then the friction disc is worn too thin. If the clutch won't release, either the friction disc has lost some chunks and is jamming, or the friction disc is too thin and the slave cylinder can't develop enough travel to disengage it.

I'll have to post pictures of the flywheel I have in my garage. It came from a 1955 GMC dump truck that I scavenged the engine out if. It had a 13" clutch disc and the surface of it is full of cracks, rough spots, and grunge in little domains. It was obviously abused by county road crews who didn't know how to drive a clutch very well. I have to replace it before I drop the engine in my pickup (I'm doing a Blastolene-style hotrodding of a 1950 Chevy pickup)

 

The slight rattle noise is common when the clutch is released. If you push it in and it goes away in neutral and then it comes back when you let it out. That's normal. The tranny is just loud. It's normal.

When you swap your clutch you can swap the flywheel for a lightweight one. I have the Racing Beat aluminum flywheel and it's perfect. It has a special steel friction surface so when I have to finally replace my clutch I can replace the friction surface as well.

 

The groan is fine. The clutch can take a person learning to drive stick.

 

how many miles do you have on your car so far?

 

funny thing is after shuting off the car it was at 66636....when it hits all 6's i will take a pic jus for ***** and giggles.


not to knock this site cause it trully is te best rx8 forum ive come accross, but using search on here sucks....mainly because of the way titles are made and some of the users who just post random BS in the threads....ive searched through 5+ threads and in each one there is someone saying use the search function lol...

im not going to lie or try to brag on my skills but i think im doin pretty damn well on stick...i was rough at 1st ( as any body first starting out will be) but ive improved quite fast, esp since it is my daily transportation and my only choices are learn to drive or take the bus.

im glad to hear the "groaning noise is normal, after searching on here, i have learned that we sit alot closer to the tranny than in most cars so it is common to hear a few noises the tranny makes. after more searches ive learned that i am right around the mileage that alot of others have swapped clutches, (50k-70k) but the previous owner did mostly hwy driving between orlando and miami....which im sure reduces alot of wear on the tranny since its in 6th gear most of the time with no shifting.

can anyone explain why te 2-3 shift sometimes isnt so smooth and needs to be forced. it used to be butter now its just parkay....

only thing im trying to practice with is downshifting on engine braking (which i am just trying to learn for emergency situations) and for just in case situations. might as well learn now before swappig out parts. i know its not good to do but im told it comes in handy for wet weather situations instead of mashing the brakes and risking skidding. is this true btw or a waste of time.

new clutch and flywheel wont be till nov or dec when i make 3rd quarter bonus at work, so ill have plenty of time to practice till then.

 

waste of time. You gotta rev match or kiss your tranny goodbye.

 

DSC, TSC, and ABS have got you covered in wet weather.

But you should always be careful when using max performance tires, not as much wet grip as all-seasons, god forbid a rain tire.

 

I posted something about my tranny/clutch on Tech Garage earlier this week also. I'm in somewhat in the same situation, i Have ~6700 miles, and this is my first manual, I actually learned on this car, not on a beater so I'm worried I might not have shifted properpy the first 3-4k miles.

Anyways, is it a bad sign that I have to rev higher now to catch the first gear? I feel like my revs are higher now in order to prevent the engine from bogging during reverse and 1st gear. BTW, I rev to 2k to have a smooth transition during 1st gear and reverse...please tell me it's normal...i'm probably going to have the dealer check it out just incase.

 

You may wanna change your tranny and dif fliud to make your shifting a little easier.... maybe you are letting the clutch out too soon when you are going from 2 to 3 due to "excitement" of the rx8

http://www.5cats.org/rx8/trans_diff_refill/index.html
that is the tranny and dif fluid change

are you planning on doing the clutch and flywheel swap on your own?

 

i am doing the fluid change soon, it seems simple enough as per the instructions, i just have a phobia of getting under the car, on my old ride i did alot of things myself and with friends but anything requiring getting under the car i would pass on.....i would prefer some ramps but doubt i will get the clearance i need to get under there. ill see how i feel at the time. or ill let my friend do it. im still reading as to what fluid everyone seems to agree on more.

as far as clutch and flywheel replacement goes i will more than likely have someone do it. petit racing isnt too far and ill gladly make the trip if i can get a good deal on a package including instal, im not looking for the most extreme setup cause i still want good daily drivability but i want the mod to be noticable. once im ready to swap ill look into best mods for what im looking to achieve.

thanx for all the advice and keep it coming guys, nice to be able to have discussions without being bashed on for being the new guy......now what can i do to get 600hp out the rx8....rb26 swap????? lol

 

I would go 20B before any piston engine

 

omg that looks good...im reading on the 20b swap and it does sound like somethin i would like to do but i doubt i can pull that much bread to put on my car...wat do setups like that go for.

btw i was jus kidding when i made that rb26 comment, on my old maxima forum that was always the question the newbs would always ask, "can we swap rb26tt's into the maxima" we would have a ball messin with them.