New Prospective Owner and Question

[DaBee]

I've been on the prowl for an NSX for about 6 months (came close a couple of times), and during that time have thoroughly enjoyed reading the posts on Prime, so I thought it was high time that I registered and introduced myself. This seems like a really great community.


I have a question about NSX clutches... I've put 243,800 miles so far on my 1995 Lexus SC300, all on the original clutch and engine (no lie!), and it's still running as strong as it did on day one. I've also owned a Honda Accord as a commuter, that I sold at 214,000 miles, also on the original clutch and engine, and it was running great. I didn't baby either car, and in fact, I like to take the SC out on local mountain and coastal roads and drive it pretty hard.


From my readings, it seems NSX clutches need to be replaced relatively frequently. I'm not very knowledgeable about car mechanics, so please forgive me if this is a dumb question, but is there something about the NSX that causes clutches to wear out so quickly? Thanks in advance for your insights.


I look forward to the time when I can post here as a new NSX owner. In the meantime, I'll continue following all the great NSX chatter here on Prime.

 

[sca037]

I would not consider the NSX to be any more prone to premature friction disc wear than any other car, it's all about how you drive it.

You clearly have the ability to extract long wear out of yours, but of course not everyone has that talent ;^D

Brian

 

[DaBee]

Thanks for the reply, Brian.

In re-reading my original post, I realize it might have come across like I was touting my clutch-handling capabilities or somehow disparaging the NSX. But that definitely wasn't the case. Whatever the reason, I've been lucky to have long-lasting clutches, and was just wondering if there was something inherent in the NSX that might affect that.

Regardless, I can't wait to get behind the wheel of one that I can call my own!! :smile:

 

[nsxtasy]

It is true that the NSX wears out clutches more frequently than most other cars. It's common for even street-only-driven clutches to need replacement after 35-60K miles, which is less than most other cars. Some owners get 80-100K miles from an NSX clutch, but they are a minority. It's absolutely NOT just about how you drive it; you simply won't get anywhere near as many miles from an NSX clutch as you will with most other cars, assuming the same usage and driver skill. If you got 200K+ miles on the clutch with another car, you may get a longer clutch life on the NSX than average, but don't expect to get much more than 100K miles on one; that seems to be the upper limit, as more than that is exceedingly rare.

I can tell you from my own experience that each clutch on my heavily-tracked NSX lasted around 40K total miles including 6500 track miles. A spring broke in each case, but there wasn't all that much friction material left; it was smooth with no signs of scorching that sometimes appear when someone is not good at shifting, e.g. matching revs. I've been told that the track use is more likely to wear on those springs because of the more sudden high-rev applications of the clutch, compared with street use.

By way of comparison, I recently replaced the original clutch on my heavily-tracked Integra Type R after 73K total miles including over 10K track miles.

 

[91 X]

I recently bought an NSX (feb) from an original owner who said the clutch was the original clutch and it had 120,000 miles....needless to say it was on its way out and I recently replaced it at 123,000 miles....The guy babied it obviously(thank you) and most of the mileage was commuting on the freeway. Luckily Im pretty good friends with one the premier NSX techs in So Cal and had it done for almost half of what the dealership quoted me.

 

[NSX2398]

but don't expect to get much more than 100K miles on one; that seems to be the upper limit, as more than that is exceedingly rare.

Eeek!! I'm at about 98k! Still feels solid .. wasn't anticipating budgeting for a new clutch. I don't baby it at all .. but no street racing either. But most of my miles are highway.

 

[4cruizn]

Currently at 98,000 on an original clutch on a 1992 NSX and I'm determined to squeeze life out of it well into the 100's. My 1994 Legend LS coupe has 530,100 on the original clutch. It gives my left leg a workout but still grabs solidly without slipping, so I'll drive it into the ground. My friend with a 1993 Legend LS coupe (mechanically identical car) had to replace his clutch at 25,000 miles because his wife burned it up. Longevity depends in large part on driver skill.

 

[golfnutintib]

My SC'ed 98 has 64K clutch still fine.

If you are in the SF Bay Area and are shopping for NSX's be sure to go to Don Lam at Hilltop Auto in Daly City for a PPI on any car you are considering. He is the NSX man in SF for NSX repairs and upgrades. Extremely experienced, honest, no nonsense.

Good luck.

 

[nsxtasy]

Hey, if you're at 100K miles on your clutch, I'm NOT telling you to replace it! There's no need to replace a clutch until it starts to slip (that's the normal symptom for wearing out the friction material) or until a spring breaks (if this happens, you'll know it, because the clutch instantly becomes inoperable). Maybe you'll get another 10K or 20K or more miles on it. So keep driving on it!

 

[Mr. Fuji]

A local here in Calgary claims that his early model NSX has 250K km (~155K miles) on the original clutch, and I believe him.

 

[davidf]

Is this a typo? 530,000 miles? Damn!

Currently at 98,000 on an original clutch on a 1992 NSX and I'm determined to squeeze life out of it well into the 100's. My 1994 Legend LS coupe has 530,100 on the original clutch. It gives my left leg a workout but still grabs solidly without slipping, so I'll drive it into the ground. My friend with a 1993 Legend LS coupe (mechanically identical car) had to replace his clutch at 25,000 miles because his wife burned it up. Longevity depends in large part on driver skill.