I was reversing into a parking spot just now on a slight hill and the hill assist kicked in.. but as soon as I let the clutch go the car actually went forward down the hill instead of going reverse like how it was supposed to. giving it more gas and finally parking, the car had a burning smell like I was riding the brakes really hard.. is this normal?

 

Riding the clutch. It happens. Try to minimize it.

 

Welcome to manual Vantage V8 life. Rule of thumb is to never reverse up a slope in these cars. You will smell your clutch more often than not.

 

Quick Reverse Summary----

1. When you reverse, it is typical for you to come on and off the gas pedal. What the automated clutch is doing is barely kissing the clutch plate, moving the car a tad, then releasing. Then doing that over and over barely touching depending on how you modulate the gas pedal. The more severe incline in reverse the worse that is.

What you smelled was clutch burning and wearing.

Minimizing clutch wear-----I had the F1 system on a Maserati QP and learned really quick to:

1. NOT back up hills unless absolutely necessary
2. Backed quickly into parking spots
3. Tried my best to not modulate the gas pedal. Got it engaged and kept the car moving as much as possible.

The above will minimize the wear you will have. Obviously the more you wear it the less it will last. There is a video on you tube that shows a Gallardo clutch being toasted by a Valet at a hotel or club due to the reversing of the car. Smoke was rolling out. I believer the Lambo was yellow. Look it up.


Once you learn the do's and don'ts then you should be fine.

AM HILL Crawl has been discussed several times on how it actually works. Search the threads. I believe the car automatically will engage the clutch, but wearing is occurring during that time, in order to keep the car in place or barely move. I also think it was suggested to NEVER use it, due to the possibly wearing of the clutch. Manual cars don't have this issue typically. Its similar to riding the clutch on a manual. Most people even reduce the amount of throttle when starting off or reversing when using the manual. I end up using some throttle depending on the situation, but most the time just let my clutch out until it engages, then add throttle. That way the wear is minimized as much as possible.


We will all spend 5-7k on a new clutch if the car is not sold sooner. I would just rather spend that amount at 50k rather than 25k.


Hope this helps.

 

AM manual clutch is not the easiest to modulate. But once you mastered it, smooth shifting is very much so satisfying.


The hill assist is pretty grabby even going forward. So reversing with that hill assist kicked in can be tricky at times. I usually avoid reversing up an incline if I can.

 

I have been contemplating an upgraded clutch and flywheelfor a while since I have noticed some signs of slippage mostly on firstmovement of the day. Last weekend I was driving in Mission Hills, San Diego. Ifyou know this area you can imagine the stress it puts on a clutch. I have theASM and got caught on a steep hill in second when I had to immediately shiftinto first. Lots of slipping, burning smell, and clutch overheat warning. Sincethen the clutch seems much better, no slipping, and gears engage better in paddleand D mode. Could a burn off of material on the flywheel and clutch actuallyimprove driving dynamics (temporarily)?

 

I have heard of that happening, but I'm kind of skeptical of it. If it's better, though, that's all that matters... enjoy it while it lasts, and start putting money aside so that when the clutch does go, it's no big deal.

 

With the special NBAM has on clutches it's not like you have to save much. Though I suspect the price just includes a disc swap and they hit you extra for slave, plate, etc. But the only essential is the new disc.


From the day this VAP/DAE clutch was installed I've always felt it was slipping a little when I jump all the way in it around 2500-3000. I hear it spooling up but the seat of my pants isn't feeling it fully transferred into forward motion. I never get the smell though.

 

Check the road for tires marks!

 

I believe I'd feel at least some lateral movement, even an inch, but I don't. It could possibly be because something is slipping somewhere, but when it's tires I'm used to that feel and this just doesn't feel like tires.

 

Is there a way to turn off hill assist?