Burnt Clutch Smell
 

Does it EVER go away? I am at 1000km now and every time I slip the clutch at ~1800rpm it SMELLS. 1200-1300rpm is fine, which is what I try to do, but it is not always possible (hills) and I sometimes rev it up a little more by accident as it is my first manual car. As far as I understand, a single 1800rpm launch should not be burning my clutch. The smell is definitely related to slipping to clutch.

why are you shifting at such low rpm?

I am strictly talking about launching the car in the OP. I shift at 3k and I am pretty sure my shifts are good.

OK I'm probably dense here but when you say launching, are you just talking about 1st to 2nd shift? Yeah, I like to shift it around 3k, that seems like the sweet spot to me as well.

In 1st gear from stop just to get the car moving.

RPM to X and clutch to friction point.

Hmmm, I still bring it to around 3k from 1st gear. Seems to work, no clutch smell since new. I currently have about 2600 miles on her.

What RPM do you bring the car up to before starting to release the clutch when the car is stopped? This is what I mean.

Ah, now I getcha. I honestly have no idea, lol. I'd be willing to bet you are babying it too much and the clutch is slipping a bit. I say give it more!

If your clutch was previously damaged, i.e. from a very high RPM launch, then it will continue to burn a little and smell even at fairly casual RPM for some time afterward. If you've been getting this since new then the dealer damaged it (or a test driver) before you got the car and the clutch should be replaced.

If you did something yourself then just try to take it easy on the clutch for a while, your car only has 600 miles on the clock.

Thanks. Yeah the dealer possibly burned up the clutch and I was aware of this possibility when I got the car. Quite frankly I kind of wanted an aftermarket clutch/light flywheel from the start anyway, which is why I didn't care too much. I can hardly stand how horribly slow the RPMs drop and how slowly I have to shift from 1st to 2nd to make it smooth.

Mine was the same and it's definately got a lot better. (got car at 300 miles now have 3500) I sometimes burn the clutch creeping into my driveway! (stupid hill and curb)

Why is this dealer issue only coming up now? That was not mentioned in the OP. And you say this is your first manual, but now say you "want an aftermarket clutch/light flywheel from the start". How did you become aware of the possibility that the dealer had damaged the clutch? I'm not trying to beat on you man, just trying to get the whole story.

How many miles/km were on the car when you bought it?

Had only 18 miles on it when I got it, but it was in a minor accident. Could have been an honest accident (hellish December in Canada + summer tires + 330hp + rwd) but more realistically I am guessing one of the dealership's employees did a burnout on the slightly icy roads and crashed it right as it came off the truck. I got it at about 3k less than the next best available price and had it fully inspected at a third party shop.

I set aside $1500 for a new clutch/flywheel right as I bought the car.

It honestly sounds like you are tearing yer clutch up, and that the 370 is not a good 1st manual car for you. It should only smell when it is burnt, then is will normally dissipate in minutes (my personal experience). If you are constantly smelling it, its because you are constantly burning it. Poor Z.

werd. i havent smelled the clutch on my z. actually you gotta really suck to get it to smell because ive slipped it quite a bit to get the car going from a steep ramp and no smell.

concentrate on your right foot input cause the clutch input is pretty linear.

Only time I smelt burnt clutch was when I missed 3rd and shifted into 5th at WOT. DOH!:shakes head:

Tearing my clutch up doing what exactly? I took 5 hours of classes on manual driving prior to the Z and I never burned the instructor's car once...

was your instructor's car a z? cars are all different, if you change shoes that's a variable, if you change seating position that's a variable... these all throw you off while you are a newb to MT.

Sorry man, I didn't mean to insult you. But it's not easy to burn the clutch...and you did say it was your first manual car, so I put those 2 together:tup:

and 5hrs is nothing... so the point is, dont feel bad.

I do not feel bad if I made a mistake... I do feel bad when I make a mistake and I don't know what I am doing wrong so I continue doing it. Like I said, I want to upgrade the clutch/flywheel soon but I definitely want to finish my learning on this clutch.

I'll get some in car lessons and have the instructor look over everything I am doing.

you're riding the clutch is what you're probably doing...

That's what I was thinking. Try letting the clutch out quicker.

I've never had any issues with my clutch, sounds like you have a clutch issue.

ZOLFIX:
its not ur clutch, its u my friend.
a little tip, wen practicing, fix ur seat at a position u feel is best inorder 2 engage the clutch with ur rev. secondly, wearing boots 4 example is not going 2 tell u exactly where ur point of engagement is. pumas r good shoes 2 wear wen driving a manuel car.
if i were u, i would test the clutch at which level it makes the car 2 start moving.
no1 in the world can teach u, u have 2 figure it out on ur own wen driving the car, but i guess my fellow mates over here, were giving u the initial steps and u then its all about u.
good luck
Ps. i dont think an aftermarket clutch is going 2 help, its only going 2 give it more time 2 last.

It is you.

I have droven plenty of MT cars, the only time I burned the clutch was the day before I sold my megane to the dealership.

trying to start in 6th is baaaaad.

What, thats the gear for best mileage - I dont understand how it could be bad....skip over all those other worthless gears...

In reality...you bought the car and immediately set aside 1500 for a new clutch? Is that because you figured you'd burn it out, or because you knew something was wrong?

Either way, +1 for another who thinks its probably you causing...

Something my father always told me. Some times its the Indian and not the arrow. Its no big deal you're learning

The op said it's his first manual car. I would expect him to smell the clutch. Just keep practicing or get someone to show you how to properly drive a clutch, hill starts, all those little tricks

Yea I get the same thing backing into my Driveway, but that is about the only time -- I'm about to hit 1K so hopefully it will go away OR I'll be forced to get a new "performance" clutch.......:driving:

Well I used to hold the hand brake up and let the clutch go till I feel it pulling, slowly give it power and let go off the handbrake.

no rolling back, no burned clutch and no stalling

when I first got my Z it was like this almost everytime I could smell it, now that it is somewhat broken in, around 3k miles...it doesn't do it daily anymore, not really sure why it does it, never did it on any of my other cars but not something I'm real worried about.

Both... I tend to prepare for the worst.

I've read a lot of threads on smells and it seems like a lot of people smell something burning for a while after getting the car. Anyhow, going to get a pro look over my driving to see if I am doing it or not. Thanks for the comments.

it IS you. the clutch wont start burning out on its own

Relax lol...the odds that it is him are good, but I wouldn't COMPLETELY discount the possibility that it is the car...

I experienced burnt clutch smell for the first couple hundred miles. Once I learned how to shift it better the smell went away. Some burnt clutch smell is normal the first week (according to the dealer) but after that it might be your technique. Might be good to have a more experienced driver drive it and see if they get the same smell at this point. If they do, then its time to talk to the dealer.

Burnt clutch in the Z smells like stale farts. Make sure your not eating Taco Bell before you drive, as the two are easily confused.

ok I'm resurrecting this here thread

I finished break in a while back and started doing some acceleration to about 5000 rpm in 1st,2nd,3rd. I am getting quite a bit of clutch smell.

I know what you're thinking and there truly is no way I'm slipping the clutch. The clutch pedal is barely in for any time at all and I don't give it gas again until my foot is completely off the clutch pedal (to test this out). I've driven manual for 9 years and never had this smelly problem.

Heres the scariest part for me. I smell burning when I accelerate hard in 2nd gear and then let off the gas and engine brake back down to a coast (no clutch pedal involved). Taking the car to dealership next week.:driving:

Just past break-in? I'd say it's probably the internals just getting their first workout. The car stinks for a while when you first get it. LITERALLY! You have your exhaust, and various engine and tranny parts getting up to hi temps and since your car is just a baby it's just part of your car becoming a beast :) I'd wait it out a bit if I were you. Unless you FEEL something slipping in the clutch.

Makes me feel better to hear that! Yea it has about 1,500 miles.

I Haven't tried the 5th gear slippage test or anything so I'm not sure its slipping. I'm going to keep my eye on it because it still doesn't seem right.

mine kinda stinks too. i got about 1500. i can smell it it almost smells like rubber or something burning. i dont ride the clutch either lol this isnt my first rodeo