Clutch Break-In

[mikedahammer]

Can someone point me in the right direction of breaking in a new clutch?

How do track cars that are not street legal break in their clutch's or do race specific clutch not need a break in or the break in is done by the manufacturer?

I am dreading having to 500+ miles as I am on -3.4 camber up front and only have the options of running supercar3rs or cup2s which both sets are mounted and basically brand new. I am combing through the forums to see if I can find some really cheap take off tires to beat up if I need 500 miles for a break in.

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[IndyRN]

I break in my clutches for 25 miles. You want lots of engagement/disengagements for the initial break in so the surface area is making good contact. The 500 mile theory is a bit ridiculous, IMO. Once that surface is shaped and making proper contact, it's good to go just like brake pads. Just make sure the first miles you put on it with a new clutch aren't hiway miles and you'll be fine.

 

[LethalPerformance]

If you're hoping for any other warranty on said clutch (in case anything happens), you'll need to break it in to the specifications the manufacturer sets. Most will go by engagements vs mileage.

 

[mikedahammer]

Thanks for the replies. Does anyone have any sources for the stock recommendations?

 

[IndyRN]

The owners manual says “avoid heavy use of the brakes and clutch if possible” for 100 miles in the city and 1,000 miles for hiway driving.

 

[5doorsoffury]

First this is my opinion/experience. There are smarter people then me that will chime in but here's my 2¢ ..

Since it's a race car have you thought about getting into some beginner sessions to break the clutch in easy? There's not much you can do short of driving it. If i couldn't drive the car on public roads i would,

1) go forward and backwards down your block for a while...( at very slow speeds that excessive camber hopefully won't damage the tires just watch your scrub angle...) You will do a lot of feathering it into forward/reverse and try to throw in some 2nd gear shifts depending on how much room u have. Hopefully that should let you break it in up to a point where minimal driving may be needed. Feathering the clutch does a lot of the breaking in i believe. It allows the wear surfaces to hone themselves to each other for a longer period of time compared to a brief shift. Be careful of glazing the clutch with extended feathering and the HEAT.

2) Hub dyno, there needs to be load on it so you cant get away with jack stands. but it lets you bang gears all day long with no plates or wheels needed.

3) mall parking lot + crap tires= win! nice car with crap tires at the mall now that sounds like a recipe for someone about to do a smoke show.

I have ONLY broken in single disk clutches ( organic, kevlar, CF) so i cannot comment on a dual disk setup specifically but i would imagine they are similar just with more surface area for engagement thanks to the extra disks in parallel as well as being a smaller diameter.

So IMHO engagements are very important so is not overheating the clutch/hot spots. I do quick firm engagements not long feathering. There similar to brakes where you want the wear surfaces to mate properly to each other you give firm pressure and avoid heat like its herpes.

As to how many miles well that's up to you... 500mi yea sure not for me i think i went about 50-75 miles of city style driving and a cruise on the parkway directly afterwards to let it cool a bit but it held 500 ft-lbs for 5 years and not a single whiff of that evil evil evil clutch slippy slip smell.

 

[sublime1996525]

I just had the clutch replaced in my 2017, under warranty thankfully. I just followed what the owner's manual said.

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