Hey all, This is going to be kinda of long winded and is likely to have several spelling mistakes in it.

So at 20.5k miles my clutch is starting to slip a little. This seems like a pretty low mileage for this to be happening (although I have read of it happening to others). I like to think that I am pretty gentle with my clutch, but I would like to here what others think. I am really hoping this just a fluke and not a problem with how I drive.

Before I go any farther I would like to say the the MINI was bought with 13k on it and then was driven by my dad as a commuter car (70%highway). The way my dad would to tend to start from a dead stop would be by revving the engine a bunch and then feather the clutch in kinda slowly, this was probably done so he didnt have to worry about lugging the engine ever (I probably do that a bit more then I should, but that is for another thread). I drive a bit differently however:


At a stoplight: I sit in neutral, waiting for the light change. The light changes and I give it enough gas that if I were to leave it in neutral the RPMS would go to maybe 2500-2800 and stay there. I then engage the clutch fairly quickly in a way that minimizes the time that the clutch and flywheel spend not fully clamped on each other. Doing this usually brings the revs down to 800-1100 (usually the upper end) just as the clutch is about to fully hook up. At that point I usually add a bit more throttle to the equation and let the clutch out the rest of the way. Naturally this all happens over maybe the course of half a second.

On a hill: Starting and stopping works basically the same way as on flat ground except I give it enough gas to maybe get the tach up to 3500 (thats on the high side), otherwise it is basically the same as when I am at stoplight.

Inching my way up a hill is a different matter. Obviously the best part of driving a manual occurs not when you have to stop and start on a hill but when you have to inch your way up it at about 5mph because some numb nuts in front of you doesnt know how to drive. The only ways I have been able to come with for doing this without stalling are as follows:
-Wait for the person in front of to get maybe 40ft in front of me and start like I normally would on a hill.
-(I know I am going to be told this is the problem). Stick kinda close to the person in front of me (maybe 20ft) and let the clutch in kinda slowly without giving it to much gas. This keeps me from accelerating to quickly like the other method does but requires me to feather the clucth a little to keep from stalling. Again though it isnt like like I am leaving the clutch half in at WOT while the engine is spinning away at 4500rpm. But honestly, this the only way to do it in my town without being called a **** by some impatient person driving a lexus RX430 or something. Nor am I using the clutch like a brake, I will on occasionally put the clutch in partially for an instant or so to keep myself from rolling backwards as I am about to take off, but I try to do that only when there really isnt any better way to keep myself from rolling back.

I suppose there is the occasional abusive start or shift in there, but after reading about how many people have abused there clutches like that I dont see how the occasional accidental over revved, slow engagement is going to kill it that quickly.

 

Clutch use and driving in general is kind of a subjective thing but I ease out on my clutch at probably 1200rpm from idle in neutral at a stop light/sign.

 

I usually rev the engine up to about 1600-1800 RPM's and hold it there as I slip the clutch. I've never felt the need to rev the car up to 3000+ RPM's to take off, hill or no hill.

As a general rule you want to use the lowest RPM's that can get the car off the line without lugging the engine, and slip the clutch as little as possible.

One issue i've seen when teaching people how to drive stick is that they have a tendency to try to blip the throttle to an RPM and drop the clutch, or slip the clutch, and take off that way. It's a lot easier on your clutch if you modulate the throttle to HOLD an RPM than if you try to pick an RPM to rev the car to, then just let the clutch out and hope it's enough to keep the car going.

It takes practice, driving a stick isn't rocket science but driving it well can take a while.

You said your clutch is slipping, how do you figure that? Going 60-70 in 6th gear if you floor the throttle is there some hesitation or slight rise in RPM's? The clutch should grab immediately, without allowing RPM's to rise at all.

 

I always thought that babying clutches and letting them out slowly wore them out faster than if you shifted quickly. I know that when starting, you can wreck things in a hurry if you rev and dump.

Maybe your clutch got too hot one day and the flywheel started to get a bit glazed.

One reason I want to get a near race clutch is to avoid all this hassle. Something that goes from off to on almost instantly and can take abuse all day long and still work.

 

Good advice rusty, that is generally what I try to do (the way I stated it makes it sound different) but throttle response is a pain in the butt (coupled with how the engine swings back and forth). Thats said I try my best to follow the "As a general rule you want to use the lowest RPM's that can get the car off the line without lugging the engine, and slip the clutch as little as possible" idea.

I need to take it out on the highway to test in a high gear, but in lower gears (2 or 3) I get some hesitation and it feels like the way the RPMs are climbing isnt matched that well with the way my speed is increasing.