S2 Clutch (''yota engine)

[theturbs]

Quick question - should the biting point be near to the top of the pedal travel? Recently bought this car and am not sure if TADTS or I will have to buy a new clutch soon?

There is no discernible clutch slip.

Thanks

[Boggy]

theturbs said:

Quick question - should the biting point be near to the top of the pedal travel? Recently bought this car and am not sure if TADTS or I will have to buy a new clutch soon?

There is no discernible clutch slip.

Thanks

Sound's fine to me theirs a fair amount of travel in the pedal before the clutch is disengaged

Boggy

[NathanE]

Mine is the same. The 111R seems to have quite a "racey" clutch. The bite is very close to the top of the pedal and there is very little bite to "play with" in traffic jams. Normally means giving the right pedal a tiny tiny squeeze to avoid the engine labouring.

[Paul RN]

The Toyotas do tend to have a clutch eating problem, some 111Rs have had clutches replaced with mileage as low as 15k.

[Boggy]

Paul RN said:

The Toyotas do tend to have a clutch eating problem, some 111Rs have had clutches replaced with mileage as low as 15k.

Never heard of it?

Boggy

[NathanE]

Mines done 22k miles and the clutch is still going strong.

I see no reason that the clutch should die after such a short time. If you look after it properly and don't ride it on slopes etc then the wear will be very low I think

Edited by NathanE on Wednesday 17th October 13:01

[Stu_00]

Clutch wear Surely how long is a piece of string question?

Still on the bright side I bet it is a lot cheaper than getting a clutch on a F430 or the alike.

[Paul RN]

Boggy said:

Paul RN said:

The Toyotas do tend to have a clutch eating problem, some 111Rs have had clutches replaced with mileage as low as 15k.

Never heard of it?

Boggy

Theres cases on PH with clutches having to be replaced at 9k & 15k for yota engined cars (I think one thread you've even posted on). I also seem to remember similar threads on SELOC with people experiencing short clutch life. Its no way near HGF proportion of failure of the K series, more the same level as yota oil starvation issues I suspect.

Perhaps I was a tad generalising, however most of those failed under 25k which is slightly odd for such a light weight car.

I know there were so many on SELOC that someone wrote to Neil Turner, Cutomer Services Manager to understand Lotus' view on clutch burning out so quick.

No idea what the response was though.

Edited by Paul RN on Wednesday 17th October 13:52

[Boggy]

Paul RN said:

Boggy said:

Paul RN said:

The Toyotas do tend to have a clutch eating problem, some 111Rs have had clutches replaced with mileage as low as 15k.

Never heard of it?

Boggy

Theres cases on PH with clutches having to be replaced at 9k & 15k for yota engined cars (I think one thread you've even posted on). I also seem to remember similar threads on SELOC with people experiencing short clutch life. Its no way near HGF proportion of failure of the K series, more the same level as yota oil starvation issues I suspect.

Perhaps I was a tad generalising, however most of those failed under 25k which is slightly odd for such a light weight car.

I know there were so many on SELOC that someone wrote to Neil Turner, Cutomer Services Manager to understand Lotus' view on clutch burning out so quick.

No idea what the response was though.

Edited by Paul RN on Wednesday 17th October 13:52

Ho Ho Ho!

My clutch on my first & 2nd R used to smell badly on fast start's, I did post on a thread but I haven't heard anything from the factory regarding failed clutches

Boggy

[Gooby]

DST's clutch went in 8k miles and mine failed at 55k due to a damper spring failure (warranty replacement with 240R clutch)

[cyberface]

Wossssallll that about then? It's not as if the Yota is a torque monster, and the Elise is a ing light car. I'd have thought that clutch failures would be the very last thing you'd expect on Lotuses?????

I presume it's the same box and clutch as used in Toyota's road cars with the same engine (Celica??) - it surely must be engineeered to deal with a 1400 kg car, shouldn't have any trouble with 800-900 kg of Elise, surely???

Really surprised by this. And it's not as if your average Lotus buyer can't drive and slips the clutch everywhere - people who choose these types of car tend to be at least reasonably skilled...

[aelord]

Boggy said:

Paul RN said:

The Toyotas do tend to have a clutch eating problem, some 111Rs have had clutches replaced with mileage as low as 15k.

Never heard of it?

Boggy

Mine (Exige S2) went at 12000 miles.

Now at 24000 miles: 2nd gear synchro gone, clutch on way out again.

Gears done under warranty, uprated clutch fitted, I pay £400 for that.

I do drive it hard and have (ab)used it very heavily on North Weald and a few tracks.

I am very soft on clutches on my "normal" cars - never ever had one go before, so it is not my general style of driving that wrecks them.

[Furyous]

Strangly, I think we must have done 3 in the last 3 weeks.

One was in a heavily tracked sport racer, and the actual cover had broken up.

So much so, we now keep a clutch kit in stock.

[Stu_00]

I better start saving - Another Thing to put on the Christmas List. Does anyone know if AP make one yet - can only see K Series ones?

[theturbs]

And is a "high" clutch pedal a telltale signal of impending clutch failure?

Edited by theturbs on Wednesday 17th October 17:35

[Gooby]

theturbs said:

And is a "high" clutch pedal a telltale signal of impending clutch failure?

Edited by theturbs on Wednesday 17th October 17:35

I wouldnt think so - if it was low then I would think about it.

[crackthatoff]

just got the aa parts and labour cover, the cultch is covered ! something to think about maybe for 60 squids !

[NathanE]

aelord said:

Boggy said:

Paul RN said:

The Toyotas do tend to have a clutch eating problem, some 111Rs have had clutches replaced with mileage as low as 15k.

Never heard of it?

Boggy

Mine (Exige S2) went at 12000 miles.

Now at 24000 miles: 2nd gear synchro gone, clutch on way out again.

Gears done under warranty, uprated clutch fitted, I pay £400 for that.

I do drive it hard and have (ab)used it very heavily on North Weald and a few tracks.

I am very soft on clutches on my "normal" cars - never ever had one go before, so it is not my general style of driving that wrecks them.

How did the synchro break? :S

[aelord]

NathanE said:

aelord said:

Boggy said:

Paul RN said:

The Toyotas do tend to have a clutch eating problem, some 111Rs have had clutches replaced with mileage as low as 15k.

Never heard of it?

Boggy

Mine (Exige S2) went at 12000 miles.

Now at 24000 miles: 2nd gear synchro gone, clutch on way out again.

Gears done under warranty, uprated clutch fitted, I pay £400 for that.

I do drive it hard and have (ab)used it very heavily on North Weald and a few tracks.

I am very soft on clutches on my "normal" cars - never ever had one go before, so it is not my general style of driving that wrecks them.

How did the synchro break? :S

Dunno - just noticed a worsening crunch when changing down from third to second over the Summer, especially when in the higher rev range. Could drive round it to an extent by careful H&T, but it was a pain, and needed fixing.

[jfrf]

yep my biting point is literally right at the top of the travel. im sure it never used to be be like this, but its been like this now for about 2k miles.
total mileage is only 15k.
anyhow I will seee what the dealer says at the service next week.

I have also read that this is a reasonably common problem.
as to whether this means impending clutch failure who knows