firestorm

has anyone here actually driven a car with a burnt clutch 100 miles to home?
the only way to get it to move is super high revving. low rpm forces a much higher engine loafd to make the car move. it is the TQ that slipps a clutch, not usually the HP.
a 300 hp rated clutch is nothing if it cant handle that TQ rating of the car after mods.
Personally, i feel the pressure plate is weak for the car, to help easy shifting; it is more than enough clutch for a stock car. (unless your A NOOB). after i teach my daughter to drive the 'Balt in april, i will have a new clutch waiting to go in.
All i hear is about how much hp a car has, and itll beat yours! its the tq that makes the car move, the hp makes the engine rev out faster with more hp. your rotating engine mass restricts the hp, the rotating wheel / tire/ alxe mass will restrict the tq.

distillion

agreed.
most clutch companies rate the stage of the clutch by how much tq it can handle if im not mistaken.

PolishPauL

Thats wat im gonna do but my friend might teach me? How many times did u guys stall it and was it hard to learn?

1gmfanatik

Distillion..I have the same problems..She grips hard most of the time, but when you either slip out of first to try an avoid that wheel hop and/or try and compencate because of having wheel hop, that's when she slips. That and heating her up driving in all kinds of stop and go traffic. Normally though, she grips nice

myronss

i always shift after 3k but how do i know if the clutch slips? first car btw but a car nut...

lsjwannabe

iTrader: (1)

rev's go up mph does not you go no where basically

PolishPauL

And what is power shifting? When you dont double clutch or granny shift (movie: The Fast and The Furious)? Nobody explained the heal toe double clutchin yet too...

lsjwannabe

iTrader: (1)

power shift is not letting off the gas. Heel and toe has to deal with driving with your heel on the brake and toe on gas i believe.

PolishPauL

So power shifting is really bad for your car right but it makes it a lot faster cuz you don have to take ur foot off the gas?

I don think your right bout the heel toe double clutchin cuz its bout the clutch, not the brakes.

lsjwannabe

iTrader: (1)

its clutch and brake im sorry im a lil drunk. but powershifting does not make the car that much faster it just usally results in massive wheelspin. although i have a pretty modded car so i can't speak for stockers.

PolishPauL

I don understand wat u need the brake for...

lsjwannabe

iTrader: (1)

its for like auto x so like when you go to downshift so you can slow down.

PolishPauL

But someone said that they always use it when they shift. Ionna im jus a confused polish kid

panblackrose

... powershifting is when you hold the gas when you shift. Everyone that does it says its called powershifting and I'd assume its horrible for the tranny. Heel and Toe has to do with brake and gas during autocross or just racing in general where extreme maneuvers are used. If its a manual, then the clutch is included with the braking half because of how it acts when you downshift.

As for downshifting, it can be used as breaking (engine breaking instead of using your brakes), which is how truckers and most manual drivers use the clutch.

firestorm

truckers dont use the clutch to brake, they use the engine brakes. (jakes).

Enuffboost

Here is what I've discovered...

First of all, badmunky is right when he says driving the SS manual tranny requires a certain amount of finesse.

I've been driving stick for quite some time and although I got right in and drove it no problem, it is temperamental!!!!! Funny.....a friend of mine who has a Porsche asked to take my SS for a spin - lets just say while on his first run through the gears, in 1st we jerking back and forth. Took him a few cycles to get it. And he is by no means a new shifter...

Okay so here's my 2 cents.

1. Unlike most cars, when shifting out of 1st, 2nd, 3rd etc you have to let out the gas EARLIER in this car then others. Why??? Watch the tach! Normally you'd let the gas out at the same time the clutch comes in on a shift out of a gear. Here if you do that you will see a MOMENTARY and ever so brief BLIP UP in RPM as you let out the gas and push in the clutch (it is more pronounced the higher up the RPMs you take it). Now I am no expert, but seems to me this would cause unnecessary wear even if only for a fraction of a second on each shift. SO....I let out the gas a split second earlier than I would otherwise before pushing the clutch in to minimize this friction.... Now this BLIP might be a result of a supercharged engine which "perhaps" is less responsive to throttle release. Not sure. Just a guess... Most cars I've never seen the BLIP in RPM and can let out the gas at the same time as the clutch. By the way, letting off the gas to early will result in a jerk forward. When I do it shifts are smooth and occupants don't bounce around.

2. E.G. - WOT in 1st and then a shift to 2nd. You have to PAUSE in between 1st and 2nd or 2nd and 3rd etc. PAUSE you ask??? Yes, pause.... If you don't, watch what happens to the RPMs on the tach.... You will come out of 1st say at 4K. If you shift quickly, then by the time you are in 2nd the RPMs haven't come down enough to allow for a smooth shift. In other words the engine will be at a higher RPM then that which your wheels turn in in 2nd (hope that makes sense). Once again this would cause undue friction. So pause very briefly. Get to know the car well enough you'll know how long to pause and the shift will be super smooth. Again, I am guessing this has to do with the gear ratios....

So that's what I have figured out about this tranny.... It's an annoyance. I have driven 3 other stick cars a total of about 350K and have never faced such a temperamental tranny.

So far 40K and not one slip and no other clutch related problem (knock on wood)...

distillion

i posted a few times sayin my clutch slips from time to time, well my clutch is perfect, it was my garbage tune....
went to TAG they fixed me up nice and now no issues at all, clutch is holding 260 hp and 240 tq not bad for a clutch that is "apparently" maxed in stock form.
and its gonna get more thrown at it in the summer;P
ive been shifting at 3 grand or higher from day 1.

Stilgar

We need a jake break haha, on a serious not this method works. I have done it for the last 3 months and I pounded the **** outta my clutch. Second gear dumps, and it holds like day one.

Enuffboost

One more thing...
DON'T down shift unless you know how to match rpms when letting out the clutch. If you don't, remember, a brake job is a lot cheaper cost to bear than a clutch job!!!

yellowshowbalt

so this clutch slipage thing is only for the SS right ?? my 2.2 i shift it at right before redline every gear when doging the car. but when its easy i shift 1st and 2nd at 4500-5000 and 3rd 4th some where after 4500. i have never had the clutch slip at all its all ways the tires that loose grip.

PolishPauL

So the car comes wit a weird transmission and clutch. Is the gearing pretty bad in this car?
And can anyone explain how to rpm match. I still have never drove stick

1gmfanatik

The Jake brake is used for keeping the trailer from jack-knifing during hard last minute stops, no relation to engine brakes. I drove big rigs in the military, and the way that they used the engine brake is by revving the motor up real high and downshifting without the clutch. DO NOT DO THIS WITH YOUR CAR!!!

As far as powershifting goes..Shifting hard and at a fast pace such as powershifting is good for keeping the time between gears to a minimum so you are constantly increasing speed as opposed to having a dead spot, if you will. No one said that you had to powershift to save our clutch, you just need to shift at a slightly higher RPM to keep from glazing the clutch. She just doesn't like to be babied.

firestorm

you have it wrong, what your referring to is the spike, or trailer brake. its the lever opposing the turn signal lever. the engine brakes dumps cylinder compression into the exhaust bypass. it is intended to keep a heavy truck under control, braking uses a large amount of air, and if you run outta air and dymanite the brakes, your fucked.
i have a class 1 professionals licence. i know.

Maxim_X

Enuffboost, I like your desciption!!

There is nothing wrong with the car, just you have to drive it like your driving a race car pretty much. Don't take that the wrong way, what I mean is that you need to match revs to the gear change.

If you understand the concept it is easy to train youself to do.

Enuffboost

Thanks Maxim X.

Something else about matching RPMs. I had a REALLY old Toyota SR5 ('81) which had about 300K on it. I decided to scrap the car because the floor had rotted etc etc and the car just became unsafe to drive. So in the last month or so I decided to shift without using the clutch...just to challenge myself.

Lets just say if you know a car well enough you can shift without the clutch. It requires some throttle work but when I did it the shifts were really as effortless as would be using a clutch and shifts into and out of gears were smooth as could be. In order to do this you have to know the car really REALLY well. In fact I got so good at it I could even downshift all the way to 1st!

Again, for those of you who are reading this preparing to flame, let me say this. I have NEVER done this in my Cobalt nor would I do it in any other car unless I was driving it to the wreck yard to be scrapped. Even though it might not kill your tranny if you do it right (plus it could save you clutch as it's never disengaged!), it would put undue stress on the engine as you match RPMs and probably the gears to some degree. Also, if you do it wrong and mess up badly once, it will cost you dearly! So, seriously, DON'T even try it. As tempting as it may be to see if you can - don't.