How Long Will A Comptech Stage II Clutch Last?

[hdsr5]

I was just wondering how long a Comptech Stage II Clutch & Flywheel Combo should last...I installed the new clutch with a 2001 6-Spd trans, new clutch master cylinder, new clutch slave cylinder, and new throwout bearing a little over 1,000 miles ago and just wanted to get a ballpark estimate of how long I should expect the clutch to last. I am not going to track the car, race the 1/4 mile, nor "dump" the clutch, or abusively drive my car in such a way to put abnormal wear on the clutch. Any idea guys?

 

[NSX-Racer]

sorry - I can only tell for racing (not dragster) use: I had two CT clutches and they lasted one season each (about 8-10 track days with about 200 miles each) - i. e. about 2000 miles. (maybe you can do some math to calculate it for normal use: Usualy the experts say 1 mile on the track is 10 miles on the road).

 

[nsxtasy]

In case you need a basis for comparison, when I replaced my stock clutch, it had 38K total miles including over 6K actual track miles.

 

[Lud]

Clutch life depends on how it is used. If, as you said, you are not going to be hard on it, it should last a long time. But people's driving styles and uses for the car are so varied it's really hard to say how many miles it will last... Even with the stock clutch, some people get 10k and some get over 100k, but most fall in the middle somewhere.

 

[nsx4fun]

Actually, some people think they are soft on their clutch and wear them out fast.

Slipping a clutch causes wear. Ever see the idiots sitting on a slope at a stop light with no brake lights on. They are slipping their clutch to hold themselves still. Major wear is taking place, and they ain't going anywhere.

Do you rev your engine RPM's up and real slowly gradually release the clutch until you are moving quite well before taking pressure all the way off, you may be causing excessive wear as well.

If you keep your rpm's low (like just barely above idle) as you start from a dead stop and can completely release the clutch without a jerking motion almost right away, you have slipped the clutch the least amount possible from a dead stop. If you can do this smoothly, then you can extend the life of the clutch.

Also, down shifting to decelerate, if your engine RPM drops a lot while you are down shifting and then as you release the clutch the rpm's go way up, this is also causing lots of wear. You can either use your brakes more and down shift less at high RPM's, or while down shifting use a little gas to get the engine RPM up to match the downshift RPM's (a very tricky thing to do well).

Track time (depending on how aggressive your shifting is) may not be hard on the clutch at all. e.g. I'm still a beginner on the track, so at Thunderhill, I spend the whole time (except at the very start) in third gear. No shifting, no clutch wear. On Autocross, samething, I get into 2nd before the first turn, and spend the rest of the time in 2nd only. This technique may not get me the fastest times, but I'm not racing, I'm having fun. As I get better, I may do more shifting, and depending on how well I shift will determine how much wear I cause.

So clutch life is purely a product of how much you let it slip.

 

[hdsr5]

I am one of those people who know HOW to drive, so I don't slip/ride/burn the clutch. I handle the clutch engagement on my car like a surgeon...With precision.

 

[hyuan]

lightweight flywheel

The lightweight flywheel may force you to slip the clutch a bit more on launches. I have a comptech powergrip 1, and I do slip the clutch a bit more than I would prefer. Having said that, my clutch still grips like the day I bought the car after more than 30K miles.

 

[nsx4fun]

hdsr5,
I hope you didn't take my post as an implication that you weren't good with a clutch. I was trying to layout the causes of clutch wear. But another thing that will greatly affect the mileage, no matter how good or bad you work your clutch, and that is how much action does your clutch see per mile driven. Stop & go traffic due to heavy traffic, stop lights, & stop signs or lots of windy roads where you are shifting a lot all increase wear per mile, whereas the person that gets on the freeway within a short distance from home and puts major miles on with rarely a shift, will get mega miles out of a clutch. So with all of these variables, it is really hard to say how many miles any particular person will get between clutch changes.

Sorry I can't give you an answer like, 50K miles, it just really depends on too many factors.

 

[BB]

It seems like a better question to ask is how long does the CT II clutch last relative to stock? I've heard statements to the effect of "twice as long", "about the same", and "much shorter".

Has anyone here worn out both type of clutches after drving with both in a similar manner?

I feel I'm pretty easy on a clutch. My CRX Si has almost 170,000 on the orignal clutch and still no noticable slippage.

When I bought my '91 it had around 55,000 on the orginal cutch and was slipping slightly. The slipping didn't become overly noticable until about 65,000 at which point I installed the CT II clutch. Now I'm at 75,000 and the CT still feels as good as new. How long should I expect it to last? Based on my consumption of other clutches, I would expect the CT II to last 100,000 or more. Is that a reasonable assumption?