When my clutch goes I will definitely get an after market replacement. Those of you who have done that did you also get a lighter weight fly wheel?

 

I replaced my worn-out stock clutch and flywheel with the VelocityAP lightweight flywheel and dual-disc clutch kit and it is absolutely fantastic. This is how the car should have been made.

 

Thanks - pity you can't downshift - it's been a part of my driving method for decades. I learned years ago to put a car in neutral at lights to take some pressure off the throw-out bearing. Also keeping your hand off the shifter as much as possible to preserve the gear-shift bushings but I'll be dammed if I'm gonna drive this thing like it's some kind of fragile china doll. I don't coast very well.

I'm not an aggressive driver and my BMW is on original brake pads and clutch at 252K so I know how to brake and shift.

Well, I might just say "been there done that - never again" Probably putting it up for sale today - I need a "true drivers car" that can actually be driven like it looks. I'll likely lose $25K-$35K or more but so far the only thing about this car that I find irresistible is the sound of the exhaust, and frankly I can emulate that sound in a modified M4 with 6 cylinders and better hp.

Gotta laugh though, as the car took first runner up last month in an all British car show here in Canada cause it was so well preserved for it's age - original owner just kept it in a glass case as part of his stable of luxury cars - does look good but I like to drive.

Thanks everyone here for your help and advice.

 

Just a thought. If you love the car but hate the clutch, before selling it at a loss, put some of that money into the modified v12 dual disc clutch. From what I have read this solves the clutch problem.

 

I drive mine like a sports car is meant to be driven and have never smelled any clutch. If you're properly rev matching downshifts you won't hurt the clutch at all.

 

For the manual transmission:

In my experience, both letting other people drive my car and as a passenger in other people's Astons, most people tend to ride the clutch - they give it gas too early. The release point is pretty high, which is great for sporty driving because you can just blip the clutch pedal to shift. But that leads to people giving it gas way too early and that ends up prematurely wearing out the clutch.

A good exercise that I tell people to do is to find an open, flat road or parking lot. From a dead stop, don't touch the gas pedal, just use the clutch. Release the clutch very slowly so you can feel it engaging. If you do it slow enough, you'll actually feel it grab and the car will start rolling. You never have to touch the gas pedal. Do that a few times and you'll get the hang of that engagement point. With some practice, it'll become second nature. You'll relearn when to give the car gas and your clutch will last a lot longer.

I personally think it's a matter of retraining your muscle memory so that you give it gas later compared to other manual cars.

 

Thanks - Worth considering but other than the body line (particularly the wide hips) and the exhaust sound I haven't found the car to be exhilarating at all. Certainly not my first pick when I head out in the morning.

Spent an hour or two reading various sources opinions on this issue and how it's been noted as a particular weak point and customer issue. I would've still bought this car however even knowing this, as I wanted to complete a bucket list item for my dad. That's done so I no longer need to keep it. It's funny reading on here how folk say that it's the driving habit that is the clutch issue - this is a bad part/design from the factory - no amount of RPM matching or using the dead pedal to avoid wear was going to avoid the issue - it's just an Aston Martin defect - period.

Can't say I'm impressed by how the company dealt with it at the time though - deny deny deny - that's something I would expect from VAG not Aston Martin.

 

Any interest in selling the clear tails before selling the car?

 

What is so frustrating is that this problem varies in severity from car to car. I know when the clutch grabs the flywheel. I have driven manual gearbox cars all my life. (I am 71). It's insulting to me when its suggested that my driving habits is a contributing factor. I once drove the car they way I would like to, downshifting before corners and somewhat spirited on the gas. When I pulled into the garage the clutch smell was overwhelming. This after a 20 minute drive on a car with less that 5k on the odometer . I am sure others have driven much more aggressively without my symptoms. That's what's so frustrating about this issue, it seems no two cars are exactly alike. I am resigned to replacing the clutch with a dual disc unit . In the interim I will baby this as long as I can.

 

I think most cars have their weak spot and once you fix them they are solid.

• e46 rear subframe
• early 964 bad dualmass flywheel
• 993 and 964 soft valve guides

My advice is drive it and fix what is needed when it comes up.

Cheers
Daryl

 

Thanks Daryl - Good point. I'm all too familiar with the e46 - I've owned 5 - still have 3, although never had the sub-frame issue which was just on the early models. I'll look into the feasibility for me to do the v12 clutch/flywheel swap as a possibility then decide.