Clutch replacement options

[Martin Perry]

The garage which has so far maintained my car has said that the clutch is 'on the way'. They look after some track prepared cars for other customers. Although I'm not going down this route myself, they have started talking about the various possibilities including fast-road and full-race clutches.

Has anyone been through this, and if so what are the pros & cons? My instinct is to stick with standard.

Many thanks

 

[daro911]

ORIGINAL: Martin Perry

The garage which has so far maintained my car has said that the clutch is 'on the way'. They look after some track prepared cars for other customers. Although I'm not going down this route myself, they have started talking about the various possibilities including fast-road and full-race clutches.

Has anyone been through this, and if so what are the pros & cons? My instinct is to stick with standard.

Many thanks

In view of your comments about usage etc I would definitely stick with what you already know and presumably like []

 

[sib8292]

I'd stick with standard; race clutch is likely to be less comfortable in road use. Depends of course how you want to use the car, if lots of track days etc then may be a different decision.

Since the engine will be out of the car get them to look at any ancillaries that could be attacked at the same time. You may find that things like heat exchangers won't stand being disturbed of course...

 

[bones]

Unless you have loads more horsepower than stock, stick with the standard clutch anything else on a road car is a waste of money.

 

[Martin Perry]

Thanks all. The car is standard so I'll stick with a standard clutch.

Is there anything in particular which should be looked at while everything is in bits - this will be the first bit of more major wortk on the car since I've had it. At present the car won't engage first cleanly unless stood still, and changing up into third has to be done slowly and deliberately to avoid a crunch! The garage say the new clutch may sort this, but I suspect the gearbox as well...

 

[bones]

Sounds like a 915 in less than perfect shape . Make sure the coupler bushings in the tunnel 'inspection hole' behind the front seats are in good shape and also the bushing at the base of the gear shift lever. After that it's down to clutch adjustment and trying different gear oils such as Swepco and Castrol ' Maganatec' gear box oil.
If all that fails maybe it's time for a rebuild as the engine is out you might consider biting the bullet and geting the suspected needed work done anyway, it depends whether or not you can live with it.

 

[Martin Perry]

Hmmm...depends whether the wallet can live with it I think! But thanks for the tips - I'll certainly look at those bits first.

Have looked at your gallery pics and your car looks in A1 nic. Good colour too! Have you done much of the work yourself - you certainly seem to know your way around these cars.

Thanks for the help.

Martin

 

[bones]

Yeh can't fault the clour of your SC either Martin....lol...as far as knowing my way around goes like most cars they are relatively simple but 911s have some brilliant design features and then some things seem to be put there as an after thought and don't seem to have had the same amount of attention payed to them as others. The electrical system for example is below par generally. Apart from reading and paying attention to people who know better one of the most important things I've learned about my car is to remember that despite it's youthful looks it is an 'old' car and things are going to start wearing out more frequently the older it gets so I work on the basis of 'preventative modification', it never will be an original concours car (and never was) so I do what the hell I like to it within the spirit of what I think Porsche should be and was until recently about.
The body mods were a nightmare to get done which involved the firm I employed to do the work going t*t* up and leaving me to pick up th pieces, luckily for me I had some people around to help out and ended up becoming heavily involved in a major body repair. There is nothing like hands on experience to learn quickly. I just try and do as much as I can myself now which is for some jobs difficult (others impossible), things I can't do myself I call on people for help or use independents like Chris Turner, Autostrasse and Autofarm. I get pleasure from helping other people out too and that's really the whole point of car clubs to me.

 

[Martin Perry]

Well, my experience of fellow Porsche owners so far has been really positive, largely but not completely via the Forum. I hope to be able to pass on help in future, once I've accumulated some knowledge!

As to doing work on the car, I'm keen but green I suppose, and always fearful that an apparently simple job will quickly exceed my competance/tools/(patience?) and leave me with a mess on the garage floor which someone else has to sort out.

I agree with you about the 'old'-ness of these cars and for me this really contributes to the pleasure of driving it because it's so un-sanitised. Locking up the front wheels under brakeing, for example, is an experience I'd pretty much forgotten about because of ABS etc. but it suddenly makes you think hard again about exactly what's going on with a car's dynamics as a result of your inputs., all of which is bloody good fun.

Incidentally, have you any tips on eliminating wind noise? I get a lot from about 60 mph up, all of which seems to come from around the quarterlight/A-pillar seal. Is this just how it is with 911s, or is it worth replacing rubbers etc.?

Cheers again