i have never broken in a clutch and dont know what to do. i know no driving hard etc. any info would be great. also my clutch chatters on take off and downshifting at stop light and stop signs. is this normal anddoes it go away after it is broken in?

 

Don't drive teh car hard. Get plentey of heat up/cool down cycles in for everthing to set right. Typical break in is 500 miles. Downshift on the highway once in a while.

Edit: Yes, clutch chatter is normal with a new clutch. I wondered the same thing when I did mine. It does away once the clutch is broken in.

 

so is it fine to drive it on the highway and interstate, i have to drive to school on the highway. so is that fine too

 

A few more questions i thought of. should i downshift at stop lights to slow down or will that hinder the break in, also should i let the clutch out slow or fast. i dont smell the clutch burning so i assume i am doing things right but when downshifting it chatters very bad and the low trac light comes on.

 

Whenever I break things in I just take it easy. For example on the clutch. Don't accelerate hard, upshift or downshift hard, and make sure to actually use it. Driving on the highway is fine but I wouldn't count those miles for the break in. I would go 500 miles of consistant clutch use. Drive how you normally drive. If you normally downshift at stoplights then I would do just that. I don't see where that would hurt anything.

Which clutch did you get?

 

new clutches tend to chatter, sometimes though due to the aggressive nature of some clutches...it doesn't go away...just decreases a bit. i know my Spec 4 chatters to this day...about 2000miles on it.

Spec says 500miles of city driving. so highway wouldn't count towards break in. but it is ok.

the more gentle shifting you can do the better. so downshifting is fine, just don't do any crazy 5th to 2nd downshifts

 

alright thanks guys. i downshift at lights and to slow down so i dont do anything major.

 

i was talking to a kid, that rode in the car with me and thinks my flywheel wasnt turned. but as you you guys said before it is normal if it chatters. it chatters real bad in reverse and a little in first. do you think the chattering could be caused by not having the flywheel turned. . i also called the shop that did it for me and the said that the flywheel was turned. so i bieleve it was. What do you guys think. oh and i have a spec 3

 

What about gas milage? Does that go down a lot during the break-in period? Mine seems to be getting really horrible gas milage. I think I used like an 1/8th tank in about 20 miles today.

 

All right, here's what I think. Heat is what's going to prematurely kill a clutch. Slipping causes heat. However, some slipping is needed to bed in the clutch, just as you would bed in a set of brake pads. Bedding in the clutch will ONLY happen when the clutch is slipping, sooooooooo, you need to slip the clutch to break it in. However, you don't want to get it too hot. Any type of "normal" or "lightly spirited" driving in a stop-and-go situation(highway is fine, but will do NOTHING to break in a clutch) is optimal for break-in. Just drive the car, and stay away from any "harsh" or dragstrip launches and excessive slipping and you'll be fine. However, I see nothing wrong with WOT blasts as long as the clutch is engaged and not being excessively slipped. BTW, if your gas mileage goes down then something else is wrong. JMHO. Take it for what it's worth.