I just bought a totally gorgeous 2003 F1 spyder (my life's dream!) I live down a long narrow driveway and have no choice but to back up all the way out. I am worried that I will soon burn out the clutch as it seems to not really grab in reverse. It just feels like it is always slipping as opposed to when I am in forward gears and really feel it "grab". Do you folks have advice on how to best drive this car so as to prevent clutch burn out? and if I am burning it would I smell it? and what does it smell like other than burning $100 dollar bills?
I would back it down your driveway in reverse, if possible. Then when you are leaving your home each time you will be going up the hill in 1st gear. No harm done. CP
You're right, the clutch does continually slip in reverse. If there's anyway to turn the car around I would try that. Can you put a little extra pavement in somewhere to help get the car turned around?
Yeah reverse slips continuously and your clutch will be gone quickly. When reversing try and do so down a hill so u can go down in neutral.
The clutch smell is very distinct, just like with any other clutch for that matter. Yes, you will smell it. I am with the others, try and find a way to increase the size of the driveway, the clutch ain't cheap! Robert
you can hose the clutch without smelling it. You really have to mess up to smell the clutch burnnig (the face has to get very hot in order for it to smoke/smell). But slipping the clutch (such as what can happen with the F1 when doing in reverse up a hill) can still do damage without producing any smell. When the clutch on a car slips, it in effect polishes the surface of the clutch disc against the metal of the flywheel and/or pressure plate. After an extended amount of this, it will act to polish the face of the disc and make it slippery. Once that happens, things start to go down hill. At some point, the clutch face will end up so slick that it will slip on you all the time. I'd avoid backing up a hill in an F1 if at all possible. Ray
Thank you all for your advice. In fact I do not go uphill to back out but I do back up about three hundred feet to get to the street. It sounds like I should be trying to figure out a way to back out of my garage and turn around. I have got pretty good at backing up by somewhat gunning the gass and then coasting for as long as possible. I assume from the advice that I do risk polishing the face of the pressure plate. I remember that when I was a Kid I stayed at my rich cousin's place in Cape Cod. It had a huge garage that actually had a turntable in the middle so that the huge cars of the thirty's could be turned around! Does not sound so rediculous any more!
