Break in motor AND clutch?

Ok well... i know how i like to break in motors, and i know how i'm supposed to break in my clutch.

But i'm not entirely sure that the two ideas play nicely together.

I like to break in my motors somewhat hard. That seems to not really be what the clutch needs.

Thoughts? Help? Ideas?

Drive it how you want to break in the engine. Clutches are cheap.

Clutches aren't cheap when they're rated to handle around 550ftlbs. Replacing the clutch with a new unit retail would be more expensive than rebuilding the motor again.

...or is that the answer? Just follow whichever instructions go with the more expensive part?

How about break in on a dyno. Easy on the clutch and you can flog the engine as hard as you want for as long as you can afford it. 3 hard pulls is supposed to set the rings pretty good.

For me it would be which part I'm most worried about. I tend to abuse clutches. Usually easy to set up, easy to change.

Dyno is a possibility. I'd have to find a local one to do that, though. The one i usually use is 2 hours south and by the time i tow the car down there, use the dyno for an hour or two, and get it back, i'm looking at some pretty serious money.

Whats.... ooops...

Interstate, exit to exit. We have a couple of cloverleaf exits here in town that are a mile or so apart. Hard acceleration down ramp to the speed limit. Exit, rinse and repeat. With the cloverleaf you shouldn't need to repeatedly start from a stop so, easy on the clutch. Say twice at half throttle/RPM, then a half a dozen at WOT/red line. Then cool down cruise for a couple of exits.

Do it early on a Sunday morning. Few people, few cops.

hmmm, even a "hard break-in" on an engine doesn't require a hard break in on the clutch....

Typically you aren't slipping the clutch during the times you are pushing the engine, typically the clutch is fully engaged.

And no offense... but if you have a crap clutch, no matter the cost, if it can't hold once the plate is full engaged. If it does slip, you purchased the wrong clutch.....

you might also turn down the boost a bit (just during break in) if you are really worried

The accepted method for clutch break in my world is try to make it slip. Might as well find out rather quickly if it is going to hold up or not.

Just don't get too enthusiastic with the shifts. You know , drive it like a car with a bad clutch, don't put power on it till you're more or less back on the dead pedal.

Ok so what i'm hearing is focus more on the motor. Long single gear pulls.

Then go back and run the clutch in city traffic for awhile.

Cloverleafs at night are an idea... little worrisome from a legality standpoint, but them's the risks I suppose. Do the easier pulls in 2nd or 3rd, then quick do one or two hard wot 4th gear pulls, then vacate the premises?

oldeskewltoy wrote: hmmm, even a "hard break-in" on an engine doesn't require a hard break in on the clutch.... Typically you aren't slipping the clutch during the times you are pushing the engine, typically the clutch is fully engaged.

+1 That's what I was thinking. Move off gently, shift gently, run the engine hard.

Miataturbo is freaking out over the idea that i'd break in the motor running 14 pounds of boost.

Thoughts?

()s. A drive to mid Kentucky will break it in just fine

Break in? what break in ? cars don't need no freakin break in.

Most clutches don't need breakin. Unless they're Kevlar. In which case, they do. You have to be nice to them for at least 500 miles. If you don't, they'll slip, forever, and you get to replace it. I wish I'd known that little detail BEFORE driving my first (and last, and prolly only) Kevlar clutch...

It's some 4 puck monstrosity. Dude at South Bend gave me a good 5 minute lecture on how i shouldn't berkeley this up.

In reply to Swank Force One:

They just don't want you bitching about it.

Clutch break in is MOSTLY a made up thing clutch sellers use to get out of warranties. 99% bullE36 M3. Assuming your 4 puck is a regular old ceramic puck thing, you want to avoid slipping it more than you have to to get moving. When the pucks get hot they can glaze over and then it will slip until you take it back out and resurface the pads. It doesn't require any break-in, though. If it doesnt hold on the first pull it will never hold so take it back out.

He said it was more for a driveability thing going forward. Treating it correctly now should prevent a hateful chattery clutch in my year round daily driver in the future.

I'm not concerned at all with it holding. It'll be a few months before I attempt to put much more than 400ftlbs through it.