phee

Okay, I know the "starting on a hill" was an earlier thread, but I just had to pass along my experience and ask a question. I was in LA yesterday, on a fairly steep hill. When going to start, it was like there was no reaction of my accelerator, and I started to roll back. I immediately put on my emergency brake, and had to accelerate while it was on (twice), burning something. Rubber on my tires? My brake? Anyway, this happened twice, much to my fright and that of the guy in the Passat behind me. My question: why does this happen in my 8? I never experience this with a manual tranmission before, and I've been driving them all my life.

StewC625

Nope, never had that one. The stink you smelled was your clutch - not unusual to smell after a hill start. Although, I seem to smell it more in my -8 than I remember in other cars, but most likely because the clutch/transmission are right next to you in the car.

I'm trying to understand the "no reaction of my accelerator" statement - when you pressed on the gas, the engine DID NOT rev up? Because the -8 is short on torque compared to its horsepower rating, it can take a bit more "revs" for an aggressive hill start than compared to like a V-8 powered Mustang, or a BMW 330is, but unless you've got a serious issue with your drive-by-wire throttle, the engine should spin up with an easy press of the accelerator.

phee

It rolled back way too much without acceleration. I guess I just need to get on a deserted incline and practice, practice, practice. I feel like I'm 16 again. My concern now is what I've done to my clutch.

Grabitquick

Only time will tell, I suppose, but it's not likely that you've done serious damage to the clutch with just one incident. I've had four previous manual transmission cars (the 8 is the fifth one) over nearly 30 years, and have never burned out a clutch yet. Most modern clutch systems last a long time thanks to technological improvements, and all of them get some inevitable abuse.

phee

Thanks! I don't ever want to smell that burn again.

StewC625

Actually, "that smell" is relatively normal - the friction/wear materials on your clutch are quite thick and made to last a long time. If you have to occasionally burn more than normal, that's really factored into the life of the car. I like the other poster have never had to replace a clutch, this despite VERY spirited driving (as in "drive it like you stole it") most of the time, and occasional autocrossing and road course driving. And yes, hill starts.

On a big hill like that, don't even try to "hold" the car with the clutch - apply the parking brake, then put it in gear and coordinate your release of the brake with your revving and clutching. Practice that techique and you'll never worry about the stink again.

Rob Tomlin

I agree, under those circumstances use the parking brake to help hold the car in place until you have the clutch engaged with the appropriate amount of revs in the motor.

phee

Thanks to Stew and Rob. I feel better now