Gallardo Clutches again!

[charlie360]

Sorry all I know this subject has been done to death and I have already searched some of the most recent threads on it. I am looking at a couple of Gallardos, both e-gear, at the moment and fairly keen to make the move, however have spoken to the Ferrari dealer with one particular car - he was keen to point out that the car had a new clutch last month (I therefore assuming that it's the latest revision - which is what these days?!) But he said he was fairly sure (having apparently spoken at length with Lambo UK) that it was only likely to last for 4-5K miles of "normal driving" (ie mixture of town and motorway and not ragging it too much).

Now having checked some of the threads, I notice that V-Neo, for example, seems to have done significantly more than this on one clutch - so is this unusual and if so what can one reasonably expect to get out of a clutch? Are there any techniques with the e-gear to extend it's life? (I've had a 355 and 360 both manual because I couldn't get on with those F1 systems) so don't really have any experience of these kind of boxes - any advice greatfully received!

[Timmmmmmo]

i have just bought a 04 04 gallardo but a manual

its clutch history is as follows

car delivered in aug 04 and a new updated clutch was fitted at 1500 miles by lambo manchester ( the clutch wasnt worn just lambo updated all the Gallardos )

new clutch fitted at 21500 ( not actually needed ) but was fitted at my insistance as a condition of sale.

hope this helps

Edited by Timmmmmmo on Friday 4th May 10:12

[squirejo]

there appears to be great variance in clutch life - and so I am reporting only on the condition of mine - which on an 06 e-gear is 40 -> 50% worn at 5k miles.
Lambo High Wycome - who serviced the car last week - told me that 10k miles is average.

[traxx]

mine is an 06 e-gear spyder

I was told 12% gone at 6,000miles

However another expensive item to remember is that I did manage to go through a set of tyres in 6,000 miles

[beaver]

Hi Charlie,

I picked up my manual 04 54 Gallardo today, it had a new clutch in 05 and is reportedly fine. Car has 5800 miles on it.

Have just driven from Kensington to Highgate in traffic, and it wasn't that easy I have to say. I can see why the clutches don't last if you are not very careful with them, I was advised to watch my feet as it's really easy to rest your foot on the clutch rather than the clutch rest.

Anyway, it's sat on my drive now looking very yellow - I love it!

Martin

[miyagi]

If your car has had the clutch replaced then that would seem like a good buy.

It's a bit of unknown of how long they will last.....everyone will tell you different stories.

If you just accept that it may only last for 5k miles then anything more is a bonus. I know it's abit harsh but probably a reality, plus the car is great you will have so much fun in it!

[lamboandy]

I think there's still alot of negativity about with regard to the Gallardo Clutch. If I was only getting 5 or 10K out of a clutch I would be severly upset. Mine now has got a Rev E in it and based on past experience should last me at least 30K miles. The old rev C clutch which was changed as the engine was out in Jan had covered 12K miles and was less than 50% worn. That is with Jow public driving it on our experience days! Basically If your'e driving it correctly, i.e not trying to do launch starts and pressing the pedal flat to the floor on every change you will not have an issue. The new Rev E is doing fine after 6K miles with the car having done 20K miles in total. Incidently the gearbox now is only starting to loosen up, 2nd gear is still pig though when cold.

Hope this helps.

Andy.

[charlie360]

Thanks all for the advice - I'm quite a lot happier to hear what real owners feel rather than what a Ferrari dealer salesman says, so I'm almost there on making the plunge, my only other thought is that the two cars I'm looking at, one's a 53 reg with 18K miles on it the other is going to be about £10K more but is a 54 reg with 4K miles on it - I tend to er toward the newer more expensive car (from a future resale perspective), but have always got on well with the dealer on the older car and would prefer to deal with him!

Glad to hear you're enjoying the car Martin!!

[crikeymikey]

12500 miles on the original clutch (C), and still only 40% worn.

This on an E-gear car. I don't nanny the throttle either. I just know how to drive a 4WD supercar propery and have a grasp of physics.

My advice is that if you're buying an early car (pre-'05) that still has it's original clutch, get it changed as part of the deal. No iffs or buts. Whether that means you negotiate on price or pay for it yourself, is up to you.

The exception to that is E-gear as it can be interogated and asked for it's clutch wear. Despite the notion that any information will only be a guide, in my humble experience, it's reasonably accurate.

Take NEO's car (E-gear) as an example. He's done around 26000 miles on his current (2nd) clutch. The OBD says it's still got 1.6mm left. Even if that's optimistic, and the rivets are about to start machining themselves flat, it's still been a good clutch.

The Gallardo really is a very strong little fella but it isn't idiot proof when it comes to tolerating poor driving technique, and the clutch will suffer in the hands of an idiot. Same goes for any performance car for that matter.

There are a couple of moaning minnies out there who will cite diabolical clutch wear from early cars as a reason to keep your wallet firmly shut. These cars will be running on a later clutch by now, and will hopefully be in the hands of people who aren't fashion victims.