....if it's time for a new clutch?

 

High engine RPMs, no speed and the smell of burning hair.

Seriuosly, you will smell a foul odor, you will feel it slip and there will be a chattering sound and excessive vibration. Those were my experiences in another make.

 

it's usually pretty obvious.

why do you think you need a new clutch?

 

The most obvious way to tell is if you floor it and there is a point where RPMs keep rising but the car is not accelerating. You should smell it too.

Meet me for lunch and I can tell you if you have a bad clutch!

 

When the old one doesn't work anymore!

 

I'm actually in Dallas for the next week or so....you name it

 

hmmm...don't have these symptoms so clutch is probably OK. The first couple inches of travel just started to feel strange but it might just be in my head

 

When you stop picking up women because they say your car smells too bad

 

"The first couple inches of travel just started to feel strange"

That's a common problem with 996's. The first time it happened to me, the dealer lubricated the pedal assembly and it seemed to fix the problem. Then it came back again and they replaced the boost spring (must be a design flaw because that shouldn't need replacing after only 30k miles). They told me they had to do the same thing on some other cars that had been "tracked". (What a stupid thing to say...I asked how the clutch is used differently on the track vs the street. They didn't know, only that it seemed to be the common denominator in cars with the problem.) At any rate, the clutch now works more smoothly than ever and hopefully it's something I won't have to deal with again.