B4 the flames start, yes I did a search, and no I'm not some racer X looking to run every ricer in town. That said...

The history: I finally got mt dream car, settled on a 01 996 w/60k miles on it. No service records but carfax showed consistant records of care and the PPI came back thumbs up. The car was a leased twice b4 I bought it.

The fun: Ran my buddy's modded NSX a few times today. I was curious to see what the p-car would do as I had nothing to compare it to. We did rolling take off's from 2nd, then one from first. Same result, almost dead even through the gears. I was pleased as I know he beats vets on a regular basis so figured this 996 is decently strong.

The problem: We did one lauch from a dead stop. I dropped the clutch at about 3k. The car might have gotten up to 15mph, but tached up to 6k b4 I let off. I let off and pulled over praying no serious harm was done. Smelled badly of burnt clutch. We sat there for a while then left with no further problems. No slipping under hard acceration at all.

Do I have a clutch that is nearing the end of it's usefull life? Or was my technique just flawed (no aims to be a drag racer)? Or is this common under the circumstances?

Thanks for any feedback.

 

The way you described the clutch letting loose, I would guess your clutch is wearing thin or ...maybe you just slipped your clutch hard. No real way to tell except if the clutch continues to let loose under pressure. After 60k, it's probably due for a replacement.

 

i have a 997s, the same thing happened to me with 2000 miles on it, but i did it through 1st, 2nd, and 3rd and left a cloud of smoke (not coming from the tires.. all clutch). If your car has that PSM button thing, or any other traction control, turn it off if you plan on launching a 1/4 mile race hard. If your clutch is not slipping any more, it is fine! Do not be afraid to launch the car hard, let it spin/hop a little to 6800rpm and bang into the next gear, and run each gear out near 7000 and shift... your buddy will definitely be in your mirror. The best weapon the Porsche has is it's launch, when driven hard it will amaze you. I don't think the Porsche has an amazing pull factor when moving side by side (nice, but not WOW). The Race is won at the start with this car.

 

Same thing happened to me and another member on this board (Whose name will be held unless he wants to chime in) It happened to both of our cars as we were doing a dead stop "practice run".

 

Hmmm... I wonder who that was??

 

I dont know, but I sure have not seen him around here for a while.

 

I have been leaving him messages to... No response???

 

No PSM. The clutch is not slipping now, but really I have no plans to test it's launch again. I just don't want to be left on the side of the road after the car gave me a warning I should have listened to.

Thanks for the replies. I've been doing searches on the forum for aftermarket high performance clutches and light weight flywheels. Are the city manners of the car serverly hosed or just takes some getting used to? This is not my daily driver, but I do use it for dates. Stalling at a light might just keep the panties up. That would be no good! LOL

Thanks for all the replies. i feel

 

very good idea. 996 clutches are very weak - especially when drag racing with them. you will eat it up like that for sure.

 

agree thw regular 996 clutch doesnt grab worth crap if u drag race it, trust me i know, i used to do it to my old 996... u gotta granny shift it at first then after that you can power shifft it if u wantm but u have to play with the revs at 1st gear... dont go to high or the clutch will definitely slip...

 

i had the evo performance clutch and lightweight flywheel in mine and i would bet 90% of the 996 drivers out there, they couldn't tell the difference from a feel basis. the only difference (beside MUCH quicker reving) is that you will get some (minor IMO) gear noise at idle when the clutch is not depressed (like you do on the CGT all the way up to 2100 ish).

 

The quicker revving would be well worth the gear noise. Noise (normal noise that is) equals feed back in my book. The more you can hear, the sooner you can detect if something doesn't sound right.

 

that's exactly how i feel too (both before and after having it). it's not bad at all IMO and you get used to it fairly quickly. a few CGT owners have complained about it in the CGT, but getting used to it in my 996 made the transition to the CGT noise a non-event. you either get a slow reving quiet car or a fast reving one with slight gear noise only at idle and only with the clutch out. but, you can't have a fast reving one that is quiet. the heavy dual mass flywheel is used precisely for muting the gear noise.

 

ahh but you can hear added gear noise not only at idle but also when the clutch is in when running. my tranny is fine.

the gears used to be quite noticeable when engine braking hard and when lugging the engine in a high gear but actually the noise has gotten mellower. at fwy speed you cannot hear it at all. too much noise from the road, chassis and wind to compete with the gear noise.

i do notice that exterior noises coming into the cabin when the windows are down will drown out the gear noise but when the windows are up in a coupe, it is more noticeable. coming from a cabriolet you get so much more exterior noise where i can see why you won't hear it at all.