Sunny_M3

Hey there fellow members, I have a dumb question. I was stuck in very very heavy traffic and was forced to stop and go multiple times causing me to depress my clutch multiple times. After a while, I smelt very very heavy burnt clutch and saw some smoke. I pulled up on the side of the freeway to let it cool, but what I am worried about is 3 things:

1. Did a cause any permanent damage?
2. What can I do to avoid this next time?
3. How long should I wait to let it cool?

Any and all help would be great because this is a brand new car.

Thanks everyone

Poor-sha

With both my C7s and my wife's Camaro they seemed to do this when new. I think it's just the clutch bedding in. After a bit it stops. As long as its not slipping and doesn't keep doing it past the first 1000 miles or so I wouldn't sweat it.

bob guzzy

If you were riding the clutch it would burn, because you were slipping it.

You should never slip the clutch like that it will shorten the clutch life, but as long as it is grabbing you should be OK

Sunny_M3

Yeah, after letting it cool; it now feels much better. I feel kind of like an idiot

Could you give me any tips on how to deal with traffic going forward?

*C7*

Sunny, something does not sound right here. How long were you stuck in traffic????

Did you inch ahead like a 100 times or so???

Let the car ahead of you move several car lengths before you move.

Have you driven a manual in the past??

Keep the RPMs just above idle and don't slip the clutch anymore than necessary.

Sunny_M3

I inched forward a lot and I was stuck in traffic for about 1 hour and 15-30 minutes; a portion of it was uphill. I've driven manual for many years, but it has been a long time since I was stuck in traffic with a manual for that long. Next time I'll be more careful, but I just feel depressed because I feel like I did something stupid with a brand new car

Bill Dearborn

It happens. I have been stuck like that with my C6Z and other cars. My C6Z gets the clutch burning smell quite often when I am driving up on my trailer. There is only a half inch on either side of the rear tires to the trailer edge so I have to get the car on the trailer fairly straight. It has also been used to teach my two Grandsons how to drive a manual transmission so we could do some autocrossing together. One of them smoked it pretty good trying to start on a steep hill. So far the clutch has taken this kind of abuse for 6 years.

Bill

schaibaa

Good to hear Bill. I smelled some clutch the last time I loaded it on a trailer. I had to ask my wife to direct me (less than 1/2" on either side) and that was kind of iffy, it was a lot of "STOP", "GO", "LEFT", "RIGHT" if you know what I mean. I was concerned about it but I'm glad it shouldn't be an issue.

Thanks!

Sunny_M3

Thanks Bill; definitely makes me feel better. Just have to get better with driving in those intense gridlock situations. If you have any other tips for driving in general (track, street, etc), send them my way. Although I have been driving manuals for sometime, it is clear that I still have some learning to do.

mdiiulio

You should find a flat place where you can practice starts without giving it any gas. Just slowly let the clutch out until it starts to catch and soon you'll be one your way without even touching the accelerator (at about 5-7mph). If you practice that you'll get a good feel for this specific clutch and you'll be way less likely to ride it in traffic. I'm in bumper to bumper traffic every day, you'll get used to it.

Sunny_M3

This is an awesome suggestion; thank you so much! I'll start practicing right away. I want my clutch to have a long and healthy life

C7_Z06

In fact even the instructors at Ron Fellows C7 school in Spring Mtn teach this technique... your clutch will last longer.

*C7*

Sunny, this does not apply to your situation but when I sold my '06 Z06 it had 110,000 miles and over 100 track days and it was still sporting it's ORIGINAL clutch.

And it was still flawless.

2014C7

This is the way they teach you at spring mountain as well.

bob guzzy

Coasting when you can with your foot off the clutch will help tremendously

The main thing is not to keep any pressure on the clutch pedal, let it all the way out don't ride the clutch pedal.

You need to learn to use the clutch like an on and off switch try to have no in between that slipping is what causes the clutch to wear.

Sunny_M3

Ahhh yes, that sounds like the key; using the clutch like an on and off switch is a great analogy.

firstgear

When you can let the clutch out without giving it gas and not stall the car, you are ready for manual transmission class 2. Get good at this first and everything will be easier in the future!

Mstillabower

I have always given my car a little gas (just above idle) when letting the clutch out. Is this bad?

JonMN

OP, your story reminds me of one of my first sports cars about 10 years ago. Just brought it home, and wanted to practice a little, so I headed downtown in our small town where there were some serious hills with stop signs on the uphill direction. Of course there is only one other car on the road, but they just have to get right on my bumper at the stop sign. Still remember the smell of the clutch as I was trying to hard not to go backwards. But it was a one-time event, and seemed to do no damage. Sold the car at about 60K miles.

Regarding the Spring Mountain approach. I can release like this (no throttle) but it seems pretty slow in real-world driving. So I do end up giving it a little gas as I take off.

B747VET

I find it is easier to find the friction point when the exhaust is in Sport or Track. The Z06 clutch is so light and engages so high up that it is less intuitive than any other clutch or performance clutch I’ve driven. A little practice is a very good idea. The only real difficulty I had was when I was in a very protracted stop & creep construction related situation on a steep and very long uphill grade. The low RPM stuttering tendency of this engine only exacerbated the problem. Once I put in an Attack Blue dry Nano filter the stuttering went away and made all clutch work much less problematic.