Dear All, My 2004 360 manual has 15,000 miles. No clutch symptoms to speak of. When do you replace the clutch? Is it a time issue, mileage issue or when it stops working?? (not fun...happened in my 308) Do you get symptoms? If so...what should I look out for??? I realize that if I have the dealer open it up and look at it the labor involved would preclude having something done. Thanking you all for your expert help. Yours, Tom
Tom, At 15k you should still be okay on a 6 speed. (it's life varies based on use/abuse) When the clutch starts slipping or acting up upon engagement, then have it into the shop. In the meantime, enjoy it!
i have a sixer and heard basically the same symptons as any other auto. while we are on the subject, wouldn't a clutch replacement be less on a manual than on the F1 since less parts/electronics????????? Don't kick me if that was a ignorant question. my son went mike tyson on my head today
One thing I have always wondered is why the clutch in a manual Ferrari (or Maseratis of the last decade, or current Lambos) have such a short lifespan compared to "normal" cars with similar horsepower numbers. Is it that the cars are just driven differently? Are the exotics used for more city stop-and-go driving, or do they typically see more time on the track? I always wonder when people say they only get 10-20,000 miles out of a clutch how they used the car, or whether that sort of rapid wear is designed into the product in the first place. If you were to take say a manual C6 Corvette and just drive it like a normal car without abuse the clutch would last many tens of thousands of miles, how long would a clutch in say a 360 be expected to last with the same driving?
My manual 360 had it's first clutch at 26,000 miles. It was just before I bought it so I don't know what it drove like beforehand.
A lot of why you hear of Ferrari and Lambo clutches going early (15-30k) is that they are physically smaller than lets say a Corvette. The smaller diameters have less rotational mass and therefore less parasitic drag creating higher horsepower (generally measured at the flywheel or rear wheels, sometimes at the crank but not as common)The smaller clutch still has to do the same duty as a bigger clutch with high horsepower, therefore resulting in more wear on the smaller surface. Hence the shorter life. You can get kevlar clutches for more $$ but they will last you a lot longer. All this being said, driving style has A LOT to do with how long your clutch lasts as well. F-1 and E-gear trannys tend to "ride the clutch" a lot more than someone who is proficeint at driving a manual transmission. There are certain ways to drive those automated manuals and if you do them, they will last a lot longer than 15k. Just my two cents, hopefully it helps some.
I am still new to this, but my F430 has almost 9K on it with 25% F1 clutch wear. So I am hoping for 30K, maybe 40K if lucky, so I will be happy with that.......Steve
