Hi Folks,

Im new to the board, but wanted to give first impressions of the clutch. after 500 miles, it seems the clutch is a little grabby. very racy feeling of a clutch, with a lot of pedal pressure needed to engage, but the release is odd to me. it starts out smooth and then all of the sudden grabs. usually worse when cold, and a little better with a skilled foot when hot. The grab usually happens near the end of the pedal release.

Is this normal? If it was other cars, race cars ive driven, it feels like the clutch discs are either glazed, or coming apart (shredding) there are no odd noises and the car only has 21k miles on it.

what is the mode of failure for the clutch, and what does it look like when apart? usually, its very tought for a clutch to fail , unless its burned out, or worn out and that takes a LOT of driving to do. Or, if raced, and you have a lot of HP, you can shred the discs but that's more like a catastrophic failure.

interested to hear of others feedback on the AM vantage V8 clutch '06

Thanks

 

I'm interested in what experienced AM drivers have to say about this. After about 3 weeks with my manual V8V I find that I am also having some occasional problems with executing a smooth clutch release, especially in 1st. I just chalked it up to my general newbie-ness...

 

no issues executing a smooth clutch release on my 06 with 34k miles on the origional clutch. There is (always has) been significant travel in the pedal though

 

Have a read of this

http://www.pistonheads.com/xforums/t...ntage+clutches!

 

A friend has 82K miles on his OE 2007 clutch. He is contemplating a clutch replacement, although it has not failed. Most of his miles have been on the Interstate, nationwide.

My clutch at 18K on my 2007 seems the weak link in the drivetrain. So I baby it, granny shift, etc. It does not have a strong, robust engagement I think a sporty car should have. It has not failed, but I would like to replace it with an upgrade. Most of my miles have been in suburbia, only a few trips of substance.

 

My 07 with 17k miles grabs strongly with slight release. I usually shift 1st to 3rd to 5th in normal driving to save wear (and my knees

 

This had never occurred to me, but it does make a certain sense. Any downside to using this progression? Is it harder to match revs or make smooth transitions?

 

One question I had after viewing the PH thread: there was a comment that when the clutch was releasing high they thought it was just about dead. I thought it was the other way -- when it engaged/disengaged all the way at the floorboard it was almost gone?

 

They are right

 

I guess it is experience, but you can sort of tell by the way a car feels, how robust it's drive line is. I had an Alfa with the clutch in the rear and that car could eat a clutch quickly, the Aston does not feel that way. It does not, however, feel built for abuse, like some other front engine rear drive sports cars.

 

had the local dealer do some maintenance on my car 24000Km, I am amused how the mechanic can judge a clutch life by the feel and release distance of the pedal! claiming it feels like a midlife clutch!! wot a load of boloks ..many things effect the clutch pedal feel, like possible air in the system (needs bleeding) or fluid may need replacing and so on, just my comments, but look fwd to the comments from the guys like irish

 

I just tracked my 06 and it was as expected. BUT, I was coaching a student with his DBS V12. IM sure the clutches are differnet, but it released in 1st , just as it should. very smooth.
mine is very grabby after a month and 1500 miles, its starting to bug me. funny thing is, I test drove a 11k mile '07 a while ago and noticed the same thing. is this normal? almost impossible to do a slow smooth start in 1st. clutch dump works.... better with traction control off, and a very slow start works too, with a skilled foot. But a normal release doesn't seem to be possible. anyone also have this issue??

 

Sounds normal to me. Very tricky to get them rolling in 1st. Clutch engagement is not smooth like most cars, resulting in a stall or clutch squeal or bucking. A redesigned clutch pedal helps enormously.

 

Nothing wrong with doing this technique. I do it all the time to minimize shifting. It's usually best to avoid 2nd. If you go high enough in 1st you can skip straight to 4th gear and just cruise to speed limit. There should be no difficulty in the Aston. Some exotic transmissions don't like this technique bc the syncros work best at certain matched Rpm/speeds, but aston is not one of them.

Hope that helps

 

XW: After about 1700 miles I have finally figured out how to do a relatively smooth start in 1st if I am on level ground or going downhill; I am probably on the clutch no longer than 1 second during these starts, so I don't find it necessary to really feather/ride the clutch for multiple seconds. However, I am still struggling if I am stopped on even a modest incline -- I either stall or over-rev the engine.

007: thanks for your suggestion -- I will have to try this. Could you elaborate on the comment that "it's best to avoid 2nd"? The reason I ask is that I find myself looking for opportunities to start in 2nd. For example, if I either start on a downslope (and can release the brake and coast the car for a few feet in neutral) or if I "roll" through a stop sign in neutral I find it easier to shift immediately into second and engage the throttle from there.