Im just about to order some parts for my 8 and am debating getting a lightweight flywheel + a new clutch . I figure I may to have to replace the clutch soon anyway so why not get the flywheel at the same time .
I have 46000 kms on the clock - how long does the clutch generally last ? If mine has heaps left I will delay ordering clutch & flywheel.

From reading the forum these are the parts I've chosen

ACT prolite flywheel + ACT Street clutch
REVI intake + CAI
Interceptor x

Other suggestions welcome.

i think the most obvious answer is: depends how you drive

it can last you 15,000 miles, or it can last you 10 years. Depends on how you use it. If you feather the clutch from high rpms at a stand still, you can wear it out really quickly.

My stock clutch lasted 9k miles.....

The folks are right...it depends a lot on how you drive. My DD (2.2l 4-cyl, not RX8) has 180k mi on original clutch, LA, DC & Boston traffic, w/ some spirited driving. I'm easy on it, though, and minimize slippage, heel/toe regularly.

I would guess with a lower torque engine, you'd see more slippage during standing starts and probably faster clutch wear...but that's just speculation.

If you do the change out, check your clutch specs to see how much its worn and share.

unless you have a faulty clutch disc/pressure plate from the factory. other than that, depends on how you drive.

hmmmm - maybe I should just buy the new flywheel + clutch & be done with it . I really am keen to give the car a birthday . If I leave it stock much longer I will tire of it & want something quicker.

unless you have a faulty clutch disc/pressure plate from the factory. ....

good caveat

average driver with 50/50 is about 90k, some better driver could do 120k, but some stupid kid could do it in 3k.

average driver with 50/50 is about 90k, some better driver could do 120k, but some stupid kid could do it in 3k.

Thanks for that

My beater 15-year-old Toyota Celica has 180k miles on it with the original clutch.

Dumb question but how will you know if your clutch is going. Will it be hard to shift gears.

Just curious. Never had a clutch go on me yet and was wondering so that I will know. I have a 96 Eclipse that has 150k miles and had it for 7 years with no clutch change yet.

Usually starts slipping and can't be fixed with an adjustment. You press on the gas, the engine speeds up but the car doesn't.

test if your clutch is going bad:

Put the car in the highest gear while cruising and stomp the accel. If the RPMS jump up, and fall back down when you release accel, you have slippage/failure.

And my clutch failed about 3 weeks ago, and i was unable to get into any gear.

32,500 miles.

test if your clutch is going bad:

Put the car in the highest gear while cruising and stomp the accel. If the RPMS jump up, and fall back down when you release accel, you have slippage/failure.

And my clutch failed about 3 weeks ago, and i was unable to get into any gear.

32,500 miles.


what happen???
the spring came lose or what :shocking:

Since we're on this subject, I am speculating that the transmission & clutch on the 8 is built, or adjusted for, the high revving capabilities of the Rotary engine. However, how much excessive clutch wear develops from regularly taking the engine to the red line, as recommended for the Renesis, especially when shifting at high RPMs??
Correlation with those who have experienced premature clutch or even transmission wear??

Since we're on this subject, I am speculating that the transmission & clutch on the 8 is built, or adjusted for, the high revving capabilities of the Rotary engine. However, how much excessive clutch wear develops from regularly taking the engine to the red line, as recommended for the Renesis, especially when shifting at high RPMs??
Correlation with those who have experienced premature clutch or even transmission wear??
unless you're riding the clutch, i really doubt there would be problem unless you're CONSTANTLY doing it. But by then you'll probably have other problems

Stock clutch should last the life of your car. It will probably last longer than your engine

with proper care of course.

This applies to everything I guess.

what happen???
the spring came lose or what :shocking:


The clutch had a nice crack in it. And ontop of that there was a bubble in the clutch line and it prevented me from depressing the clutch pedal. My mechanic told me the last person to work on the tranny, did a HORRIBLE job. Last person to touch it, was a mechanic for MNAO.

test if your clutch is going bad:

Put the car in the highest gear while cruising and stomp the accel. If the RPMS jump up, and fall back down when you release accel, you have slippage/failure.Another test recommended by the guys at Car Talk:

Gently nose the car up to some object like against a tree or pole and set the emergency brake.

Shift into the highest gear (wait, is that right? highest or lowest?) and gently release the clutch.

With a proper clutch in good health the vehicle will stall. However, testing too many times like this will wear out your clutch so it's not a good party trick - just a quick way to confirm or deny the health of the clutch if you suspect a problem.

Stock clutch should last the life of your car. It will probably last longer than your engine

with proper care of course.

This applies to everything I guess.

I disagree, unless "life of your car" is short also. The clutch is a friction surface and wear item, just like brake pads. I would consider 100,000 mile clutch to have lived a full life.

I suspect the average RX-8 clutch will be less, because it takes more finesse to get good driveability from this car -- meaning the clutch will get feathered more. That is simply the result of a low amount of rotating mass to store energy. A nice heavy iron flywheel would help in that department, but that's not what the car is about.

I disagree, unless "life of your car" is short also. The clutch is a friction surface and wear item, just like brake pads. I would consider 100,000 mile clutch to have lived a full life.

I suspect the average RX-8 clutch will be less, because it takes more finesse to get good driveability from this car -- meaning the clutch will get feathered more. That is simply the result of a low amount of rotating mass to store energy. A nice heavy iron flywheel would help in that department, but that's not what the car is about.

That might be true, since 8 is a sports car and its going to get more wear than other maunal-shifting car. but no one has a 8 with over 100K miles yet so we just gotta wait and see.

but what Im talking about is that, most other cars's stock clutch can last the life of the car. 200K+, lots of sports car too. So .... again, we just gotta wait and see.

I've had a problem with my clutch since I bought my car 2 years ago. When the car is at idle and I have my foot off the clutch it makes a small whining noise. I had this problem after only having the car for a few months. I brought it to Mazda and they ended up replacing it for me. However, 2 months later I had the same thing happen and when I brought it back they told me I'd have to live with it unless the problem came up in a lot of other 8's. I still have the same noise, but the clutch is fine. The car now has 32K miles.

Has anyone else ever had this problem or ever heard of it?

^^ thats not the clutch...its normal gear noise for this transmission. :)

I've had a problem with my clutch since I bought my car 2 years ago. When the car is at idle and I have my foot off the clutch it makes a small whining noise. I had this problem after only having the car for a few months. I brought it to Mazda and they ended up replacing it for me. However, 2 months later I had the same thing happen and when I brought it back they told me I'd have to live with it unless the problem came up in a lot of other 8's. I still have the same noise, but the clutch is fine. The car now has 32K miles.

Has anyone else ever had this problem or ever heard of it?Funny that you think the noise went away, because all RX-8's have it. Soon as you let off the clutch you'll near a whirrring noise.

Funny that you think the noise went away, because all RX-8's have it. Soon as you let off the clutch you'll near a whirrring noise.
i don't recall my sis' 8 having it when it was brand new.

Funny that you think the noise went away, because all RX-8's have it. Soon as you let off the clutch you'll near a whirrring noise.

I thought it was the clutch because when you let go of the clutch you hear the noise. The meachanic at the dealer thought the same thing and that's why they replaced it. The noise went away for a couple months after, but then returned. I also never heard it when I first bought the car.