Re: alfa-digest V8 #448

[Will Owen <nashwill@domain.elided>]

Ethan Schartman sez:

> so clearly this is the end of drag racing for me:)
> but
> am i headed for imminent clutch failure even under
> clutch friendly driving?
> 
Not imminent, as long as you don't slip it.
Theoretically, a clutch could last indefinitely if it
was never allowed to slip, since there's no real wear
on the friction surfaces when it's either totally
engaged or totally disengaged. I had a young fellow in
our club in Nashville lecture me sternly about my
habit of taking off in second as long as I had some
forward momentum, but the fact is I never slip the
clutch under those circumstances. The 2.5 V6 has a
nice fat wad of torque just off idle (and my 2.0
Berlina ain't bad, either), so no slippage is
necessary. I HAVE slipped it badly enough in the past
to get some nasty smells, but I figure the current one
has about 20K on it, and it's still holding up nicely.

Anyway, you aren't supposed to slip the clutch when
you're drag-racing. The idea is to let tire slippage
do the trick...you also get to find out how solid your
Giubos are. AMHIK ;-)

Will Owen
Pasadena, CA
Damn, I'm glad my wife doesn't read these...
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