Think it's time for a new clutch

mr_lance2015 · 02-02-2021, 09:19 AM

Hey everyone, so my 2017 SS Camaro might be time to get a new clutch. I'm at about 30,000 mi on it, it's been my daily / fun car no major big upgrades except for mishimoto intake and I just got me a set of borla attack carbon fiber dual mode axle-back mufflers I was hoping to put on first, but I might need to do a clutch job before that.
I think the last straw was when we were trying to go up to the mountains this last weekend and it was 2 hours of uphill stop and go traffic, I didn't think anything of it at first but an hour and a half later we started smelling some burning pulled off to the side of the road open the hood and there was smoke coming from the clutch area. Waiting for it to cool down and it was working okay. next day we tried another mountain ran into some stop and go, only spent 5 minutes before I decided to turn around this time but then I started to smell a faint burning smell again not as bad as before , went away shortly but has me wondering if the clutch is probably on its last leg. I figure it's going to be a 2k+ job, but I don't know if I want to go stock OEM again for the clutch, was wondering if there's any better options out there for the SS Camaro. I looked and saw phastek has a nice twin disc kit for around 1300 or so but curious if it's a good upgrade over stock

CamaroChriSS · 02-02-2021, 09:38 AM

Interesting... 30k miles for a new clutch is concerning. Mine is a daily driver in DC traffic and the clutch is still perfect. My old Camaro had 95k miles on the clutch before I traded it in and it was still great at that point. If it's wearing that quickly I'd have to imagine there's an underlying issue causing premature failure that needs to be looked into, otherwise you'll be right back in this same situation in another 2-3 years.

ctrlz · 02-02-2021, 09:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CamaroChriSS

Interesting... 30k miles for a new clutch is concerning.

Agree.
Is it slipping, or just the smell/smoke that concerns you?
I would expect 100k miles on a modern clutch without abuse.

Stock clutch is dual disc, btw:
https://www.camaro6.com/forums/showthread.php?t=452045

mr_lance2015 · 02-02-2021, 10:28 AM

No slipping luckily or anything like that luckily , that uphill stop and go stress the other day made it overheat and I actually saw a smoke coming from the clutch so I let it cool down before going back down the mountain. I talked to my service manager at my Chevy dealer they said it can be typical for these to go around 30,000 mi surprisingly, one of my customers had to replace his at 35k on his Camaro they said his was practically black and blue though so he must have really hot rodded it. I know these are considered wear and tear items and I have a feeling once they open it up it'll be treated as such. Yeah but no slipping I just noticed that when it heats up more it starts to smell now which definitely has me a little worried

SSDan · 02-02-2021, 12:27 PM

I'd drive it until I found it slipping. These are pretty tough clutches. Many forum members have a lot of drag strip passes on the stock clutch including some high HP cars and the word is that the clutch holds up much better than predicted.

Alpha1BC · 02-02-2021, 01:12 PM

As previously stated, these clutches are pretty durable and already are a twin disk clutch. There's not much room to upgrade. I'd also call BS on the 30k mile range unless people are slipping the crap out of them. Should be able to reach 80-100k miles easy if it's treated right.

To help with the issue in the meantime, I would recommend to avoid slipping the clutch as much as possible with the pedal. If it's lots of stop/go traffic on an uphill grade, I'd at least make sure you're doing the following if you haven't already:

When stopped, put trans in neutral and leave clutch pedal released.
When starting, press clutch in, put car in gear, then release brake pedal WITHOUT releasing the clutch yet. Doing this engages hill start and will hold the brake pressure to keep the car from rolling for ~4 seconds to let the driver have an easier time starting on a hill. Hill start assist will also release brake pressure once the clutch is released far enough and throttle is far enough applied to make the transition smoother.
Don't creep. Most drivers in automatic cars have a tendency to creep forward every couple of inches whenever a little space opens in front of them. In a manual, it's better to wait until you have at the very least a car length but preferably more before moving since that reduces the number time you have to disengage/re-engage the clutch.
Be more "digital" with the clutch. If you do creep forward with traffic, try to always fully release the clutch pedal any time you move and not half-depressed to let it creep slower. Especially on a grade, driving with a partially pressed clutch pedal will fry any clutch with ease in stop/go traffic since that's when the clutch is actually slipping and generating the most heat.

kropscamaro16 · 02-02-2021, 01:15 PM

is this your first manual car? i used to daily it now weekend fun car only about 30k also and i race it and no problems

nancygrl · 02-02-2021, 02:11 PM

Pretty sure the clutch is pretty robust in our 6th gens, and I thought 6th gens already had twin disc clutch.

Jsreo · 02-02-2021, 02:17 PM

30k is way too low miles to need a clutch replacement if driven properly.

Now if you try to tow something heavy or just abuse it you could ruin a clutch in one day

supercab78 · 02-02-2021, 02:48 PM

The smell of clutch could be expected under such conditions. If it isn't slipping I wouldn't worry about it. If it can do a long burn out you should be fine. 30k in nothing.

mr_lance2015 · 02-02-2021, 03:39 PM

Thanks for tips on it, I've had a manual before, but I don't think I've had a stick for as long as I've had this one for close to 4 years now. Hopefully I just overheated it and there's still life left on it, everything still grabbing okay I just don't think I'm going to do any uphill stop and go again because that was bad, go figure though southern California finally gets snow everybody and their aunt tries to go up the mountain at the same time lol

LT4Greg · 02-02-2021, 04:56 PM

Well you will know if it has to be replaced because it will start slipping or will be hard to get in gear. Check your brake booster fluid to see if it’s low because sometimes will cause clutch problems.

Vega$69 · 02-03-2021, 07:57 AM

30k miles and bad clutch = errors in driver technique

Petrol Head · 02-03-2021, 08:44 AM

The clutch on our SS is stout. If it's burning up before anything near 100k miles (it should really last 200k if you know how to drive it even if you drive hard a lot) there's either something out of alignment causing it to drag on the flywheel all the time, or you're riding it too much, or you're doing way too many 5000 RPM drops without letting off clean.

If your Chevy dealer service advisor told you it's typical for these clutches to go at 30k, he should be fired and working at McDonalds. He should be nowhere near a wrench or under the hood of a car.

02-02-2021, 09:19 AM	#1
mr_lance2015 Drives: 2015 Camaro 1SS L99 Rs Package Join Date: Sep 2015 Location: Temecula, CA Posts: 17	Think it's time for a new clutch Hey everyone, so my 2017 SS Camaro might be time to get a new clutch. I'm at about 30,000 mi on it, it's been my daily / fun car no major big upgrades except for mishimoto intake and I just got me a set of borla attack carbon fiber dual mode axle-back mufflers I was hoping to put on first, but I might need to do a clutch job before that. I think the last straw was when we were trying to go up to the mountains this last weekend and it was 2 hours of uphill stop and go traffic, I didn't think anything of it at first but an hour and a half later we started smelling some burning pulled off to the side of the road open the hood and there was smoke coming from the clutch area. Waiting for it to cool down and it was working okay. next day we tried another mountain ran into some stop and go, only spent 5 minutes before I decided to turn around this time but then I started to smell a faint burning smell again not as bad as before , went away shortly but has me wondering if the clutch is probably on its last leg. I figure it's going to be a 2k+ job, but I don't know if I want to go stock OEM again for the clutch, was wondering if there's any better options out there for the SS Camaro. I looked and saw phastek has a nice twin disc kit for around 1300 or so but curious if it's a good upgrade over stock

02-02-2021, 12:27 PM	#5
SSDan Drives: 2016 1SS 6MT NPP Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Lake Murray, SC Posts: 2,245 View My Garage	I'd drive it until I found it slipping. These are pretty tough clutches. Many forum members have a lot of drag strip passes on the stock clutch including some high HP cars and the word is that the clutch holds up much better than predicted. __________________ 2016 Camaro 1SS Hyper Blue 6MT NPP 2010 Camaro 2SS Cam/Headers/CAI/3.91 gears 476 rwhp/440 rwtq (sold)

02-02-2021, 01:12 PM	#6
Alpha1BC Drives: 2017 1SS 1LE Join Date: Jun 2016 Location: Detroit, MI Posts: 1,001	As previously stated, these clutches are pretty durable and already are a twin disk clutch. There's not much room to upgrade. I'd also call BS on the 30k mile range unless people are slipping the crap out of them. Should be able to reach 80-100k miles easy if it's treated right. To help with the issue in the meantime, I would recommend to avoid slipping the clutch as much as possible with the pedal. If it's lots of stop/go traffic on an uphill grade, I'd at least make sure you're doing the following if you haven't already: When stopped, put trans in neutral and leave clutch pedal released. When starting, press clutch in, put car in gear, then release brake pedal WITHOUT releasing the clutch yet. Doing this engages hill start and will hold the brake pressure to keep the car from rolling for ~4 seconds to let the driver have an easier time starting on a hill. Hill start assist will also release brake pressure once the clutch is released far enough and throttle is far enough applied to make the transition smoother. Don't creep. Most drivers in automatic cars have a tendency to creep forward every couple of inches whenever a little space opens in front of them. In a manual, it's better to wait until you have at the very least a car length but preferably more before moving since that reduces the number time you have to disengage/re-engage the clutch. Be more "digital" with the clutch. If you do creep forward with traffic, try to always fully release the clutch pedal any time you move and not half-depressed to let it creep slower. Especially on a grade, driving with a partially pressed clutch pedal will fry any clutch with ease in stop/go traffic since that's when the clutch is actually slipping and generating the most heat. __________________ 2017 SS 1LE.

02-02-2021, 01:15 PM	#7
kropscamaro16 Drives: 2016 1ss camaro Join Date: Feb 2016 Location: 909 Posts: 9,816	is this your first manual car? i used to daily it now weekend fun car only about 30k also and i race it and no problems __________________ 16 1SS NIGHTFALL GRAY METALLIC WITH NPP #BECAUSERACECAR #SAVETHEMANUALS

02-02-2021, 04:56 PM	#12
LT4Greg Drives: 2017 Camaro ZL1 Coupe Join Date: May 2016 Location: Georgia Posts: 5,813	Well you will know if it has to be replaced because it will start slipping or will be hard to get in gear. Check your brake booster fluid to see if it’s low because sometimes will cause clutch problems. __________________ ZL1 Coupe, PDR, Exposed carbon fiber hood insert, My Link with Nav, M6 6 speed and Silver Ice Metallic. Mods done: ceramic window tint, GM Accessories Camaro floor mats and Roto-Fab CAI.

02-02-2021, 09:38 AM	#2
CamaroChriSS Drives: 16 1SS M6 Black -previous 00 Z28 M6 Join Date: Oct 2018 Location: DC Posts: 255	Interesting... 30k miles for a new clutch is concerning. Mine is a daily driver in DC traffic and the clutch is still perfect. My old Camaro had 95k miles on the clutch before I traded it in and it was still great at that point. If it's wearing that quickly I'd have to imagine there's an underlying issue causing premature failure that needs to be looked into, otherwise you'll be right back in this same situation in another 2-3 years.

02-02-2021, 10:28 AM	#4
mr_lance2015 Drives: 2015 Camaro 1SS L99 Rs Package Join Date: Sep 2015 Location: Temecula, CA Posts: 17	No slipping luckily or anything like that luckily , that uphill stop and go stress the other day made it overheat and I actually saw a smoke coming from the clutch so I let it cool down before going back down the mountain. I talked to my service manager at my Chevy dealer they said it can be typical for these to go around 30,000 mi surprisingly, one of my customers had to replace his at 35k on his Camaro they said his was practically black and blue though so he must have really hot rodded it. I know these are considered wear and tear items and I have a feeling once they open it up it'll be treated as such. Yeah but no slipping I just noticed that when it heats up more it starts to smell now which definitely has me a little worried

02-02-2021, 02:11 PM	#8
nancygrl 雪の玉 Drives: '22 Z71 RST Silverado Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: South Posts: 3,415	Pretty sure the clutch is pretty robust in our 6th gens, and I thought 6th gens already had twin disc clutch.

02-02-2021, 02:17 PM	#9
Jsreo Drives: 2017 2SS Manual Join Date: Apr 2017 Location: Atlanta GA Posts: 373	30k is way too low miles to need a clutch replacement if driven properly. Now if you try to tow something heavy or just abuse it you could ruin a clutch in one day

02-02-2021, 02:48 PM	#10
supercab78 Drives: 1931 Ford 1941&1963 Chevy. 2020 LT1 Join Date: Aug 2020 Location: Cincinnati Posts: 59	The smell of clutch could be expected under such conditions. If it isn't slipping I wouldn't worry about it. If it can do a long burn out you should be fine. 30k in nothing.

02-02-2021, 03:39 PM	#11
mr_lance2015 Drives: 2015 Camaro 1SS L99 Rs Package Join Date: Sep 2015 Location: Temecula, CA Posts: 17	Thanks for tips on it, I've had a manual before, but I don't think I've had a stick for as long as I've had this one for close to 4 years now. Hopefully I just overheated it and there's still life left on it, everything still grabbing okay I just don't think I'm going to do any uphill stop and go again because that was bad, go figure though southern California finally gets snow everybody and their aunt tries to go up the mountain at the same time lol

02-03-2021, 07:57 AM	#13
Vega$69 Drives: 2017 Corvette ZO6 & 2021 Camaro LT1 Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: Las Vegas/Wesley Chapel Posts: 109	30k miles and bad clutch = errors in driver technique

02-03-2021, 08:44 AM	#14
Petrol Head Account Suspended Drives: Fast if no one's looking Join Date: Aug 2019 Location: Cleveland, Ohio Posts: 1,794	The clutch on our SS is stout. If it's burning up before anything near 100k miles (it should really last 200k if you know how to drive it even if you drive hard a lot) there's either something out of alignment causing it to drag on the flywheel all the time, or you're riding it too much, or you're doing way too many 5000 RPM drops without letting off clean. If your Chevy dealer service advisor told you it's typical for these clutches to go at 30k, he should be fired and working at McDonalds. He should be nowhere near a wrench or under the hood of a car.

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