Eating clutches for breakfast, lunch and dinner?

[Dan B]

So as a complete newbie to all of these, I am currently unsure as to the reason for the eager consumption of clutches these cars have.

I can see no pattern between flappy paddle or manual, and it's not uncommon to see a car having had it's clutch replaced at 25,000 miles.

It would appear, famous last words, that I am light on a clutch as a driver, as I have never had to have one changed one in a few hundred thousand miles, in a variety of cars - I could just be lucky I accept, but two of those cars saw 60,000 miles in each, though admittedly neither of them are what you would generally term an out and out performance car, though my Citroen BX16V is pretty spritely for a 4 door hatchback

So is there any reason why they seem to eat through clutches, is it a bad design, is it just down to the sheer amount of power, or the way they are driven?

Genuinely interested, and also of course feel I need to factor in the 2/3K cost if I am to buy one of these beauties - unless it has just had one done of course,

I have seen some garages offer an after market warranty, but am unsure as to whether a clutch would be on the exclusions list....and perhaps they are not worth the paper they are written on.

Cheers

Dan

 

[CatmanV2]

400 ish hp through what I am given to understand is quite a small clutch. The CC software is also not designed with longevity in mind....
C

 

[Contigo]

So as a complete newbie to all of these, I am currently unsure as to the reason for the eager consumption of clutches these cars have.

I can see no pattern between flappy paddle or manual, and it's not uncommon to see a car having had it's clutch replaced at 25,000 miles.

It would appear, famous last words, that I am light on a clutch as a driver, as I have never had to have one changed one in a few hundred thousand miles, in a variety of cars - I could just be lucky I accept, but two of those cars saw 60,000 miles in each, though admittedly neither of them are what you would generally term an out and out performance car, though my Citroen BX16V is pretty spritely for a 4 door hatchback

So is there any reason why they seem to eat through clutches, is it a bad design, is it just down to the sheer amount of power, or the way they are driven?

Genuinely interested, and also of course feel I need to factor in the 2/3K cost if I am to buy one of these beauties - unless it has just had one done of course,

I have seen some garages offer an after market warranty, but am unsure as to whether a clutch would be on the exclusions list....and perhaps they are not worth the paper they are written on.

Cheers

Dan

That's about average for a performance car. M5 I had could eat clutches every 20k miles if driven in town/stop:start. As C says with 400hp + it's not surprising.

 

[Zep]

The CC gearbox software is good for general driving but can slip the clutch too much in stop start driving and the dreaded reversing up hill. There have also been cases of clutch pressure plate failure which can end the life of a clutch despite wear not being too great.

When I bought mine I had the clutch set up checked and the wear reading taken, this would be part of any good inspection. I also drive in sport all of the time which makes clutch engagement more positive with less slip. The only thing you can do is keep something in reserve for if the worst happens. If a clutch lasts 40k miles and you do 5k a year then you will have a lot of smiles before the inevitable bill. Warranties will generally exclude wear and tear but might cover premature failure, check the small print.

In the end there are lots of possible big bills so if that's a worry it might not be for you, but if you are positive and choose well the experience is more than worth it believe me!




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[BennyD]

If you leave the CC in sport, NEVER use Auto, don't 'creep' in traffic and don't reverse uphill, clutches can last longer than you might expect. 30k plus is perfectly achievable. According to the paperwork that came with mine there was no record of it having been changed before I got it and I changed it as a precaution at about 43k. The last 18k of those were very hard and it only slipped when hammering it off the line, in normal driving it was absolutely fine.

 

[Dan B]

Cheers chaps - wasn't aware that higher bhp cars ate clutches more than lower powered ones - always been aware than 4wd cars did, but mainly due to the fact that they have so much grip.

Does the 4200, where it comes with a CC option, also have the 'sport' mode, or does that only exist on the GS?

 

[Spartacus]

yes a 4200 comes with sports mode . it stiffens the suspension and speed s up the gear change a little

 

[CatmanV2]

4200 has sport in both manual and CC. In the manual it can't (obviously) improve the gearchange.

C

 

[Dan B]

Thanks guys, learning more each day

 

[Spartacus]

If your worried about clutch wear then just do what i do . Every night i get on my knee s and pray to the god of horse power that the fecker dont break! and if you have to reverse up a hill ..... borrow someone else s car and do it in that ;P

 

[zagatoes30]

The 4200 CC clutch seems to fail for two reasons:-

1. The pressure plate tangs break, this can happen at anytime and from what I have seen there seems very little logic behind why this is the case. Mileage does not seem to be the cause as some cars have had the problem at relatively low mileages (10-15k I believe) others have gone for ages without the problem
2. General wear in the plate, bearing etc. more related to mileage and use i.e. stop start traffic this can happen anywhere around 20k onwards. The clutch wear setting is a a clue but this is not always correct.

Mine currently has 53k on the clock and as far as we can tell there is no history of it having ever had a clutch replacement, although it is starting to make signs it is imminent. Clutch wear reading is at 88% and it occasionally misses gears and selects neutral, there is also more slip now when pulling off. On the plus side I always drive it in Sport so maybe it will continue to hang in there but I expect I will replace it this year.

 

[mjheathcote]

Just picking up on this, just posted a link to YouTube on the ins and outs of the Cambiocorsa gearbox on your other thread. Might aswell post it here too, always useful for newbies if they stumble here in the future!
[video=youtube_share;_gV-J1OF_t4]http://youtu.be/_gV-J1OF_t4[/video]

I look at it this way, you don't have to forkout for a cambelt change ever 3 or 4 years, and a clutch will most likely last longer!

 

[DPS20K]

It's a lottery as to when they go! I hunted out a good one that had a clutch only 10k miles ago, having done 44k miles on the original one. 5k miles later and the pressure plate failed with a clutch reading of only 23%.
I had a warranty but they only covered half the cost, firstly they removed 25% of the repair cost because of 'betterment' - my clutch was 25% worn. Then they only pay up to £45 an hour labour. Try finding somebody who can change a clutch in one of these and charges £45 per hour! If you are going for a warranty check the small print very carefully!
If you are going to get into Maserati ownership you need to be prepared for big bills, but they are offset by big thrills and nothing comes close in terms of fun per £!

 

[safrane]

I got 1% wear per 1000 miles on all my three Maserati with a CC Box. Many were changed by dealers trying to fix 'issues' which were spiggot bearings and collapsed plates...in fact Maserati would not sell a used one that was more than 50% worn.

I also believe the the CC box empowers you to change gear more frequently hence the wear levels.

 

[Fran]

My clutch lasted nearly 40.000 (carefully driven) miles and I only changed it because the spigot bearing was going. It still had 25% left and had been driven a lot around London.

The problem is not the wear but the cost to replace!!!

F

 

[Dan B]

Thanks a lot Mike,

I will watch that video (Although that woman imho is a terrible presenter - I remember her from early top gear) over lunch - interesting point re the lack of cambelt, that is a bonus, that pretty much cancels out the potential clutch issue Does anyone happen to know what maintenance if any is required with what I presume is a timing chain?
I used to have a commuter car which was a Nissan Primera estate, that that had a timing chain, and I gathered officially they needed re-tensioning at 100K, although I gave the car to my brother and it's currently on 120k with no issues.

Just picking up on this, just posted a link to YouTube on the ins and outs of the Cambiocorsa gearbox on your other thread. Might aswell post it here too, always useful for newbies if they stumble here in the future!
[video=youtube_share;_gV-J1OF_t4]http://youtu.be/_gV-J1OF_t4[/video]

I look at it this way, you don't have to forkout for a cambelt change ever 3 or 4 years, and a clutch will most likely last longer!

 

[dickygrace]

Timing chains on a 4200/Gransport aren't a service item. They officially are on a 3200 at 68000 miles, a 3200 also has a cambelt which should be changed every 3 years at a cost of about £500.

 

[Dan B]

Timing chains on a 4200/Gransport aren't a service item.

Sorry if I am being dim (again) but does that mean they should go on, go on, go on in a father ted stylie?

Has one ever broken to anyones knowledge?

 

[CatmanV2]

The should indeed go on....

C

 

[Mr.Cambio]

Replaced mine at 72000 kms, including some hard driving, and race tracks. It hadn't even begun to slip.
It's all about how to use it.
DBW helps a lot with clutch wear, but if you keep all those hints by Benny's post, you'll have a long life clutch and save your pocket.