Looking to buy a manual transmission under 50k miles. My first 2004 had 3 gears gone when I bought it around 4 years 58k miles. Replaced under warranty by dealer.
I know S2 transmission is upgraded. How long should I expect the clutch to last with all the high RPM shifts?
Thank you.

 

That's a very subjective question - I'm sure you can burn up a clutch in under 1 mile if you really try, buy you could also probably have one last 300,000 if you baby it.

As a 'general' expectation, ~100-150k ?

 

I think that in an RX-8, realistically you should get a clutch to last the life of an engine if you aren't being an idiot about it.

You just do the clutch when the engine is out. This way, you pay nothing for labour and just need to worry about parts cost.

 

Thanks. I got $1800 labor quote for refresh on running engine. I throw in clutch when I do it.
$12k for 48k 2009-10 sounds good? Top trim

 

Shifting at high or low RPMs is not the key factor of clutch life.
Don't slip it too much is the key for extended clutch life. Match the rev properly and it should last for a really long time.

 

it wouldn’t be a good choice for an MZR swap you asked about elsewhere.

 

Yes, I have abandoned MZR. Reason I'm selling my Super20 for RX-8 is not just because I need more seats, my E91 AWD manual wagon can do that, it's because Super20 will be on side line at this rate into a weekend garage queen.
And that's an insult to the car. So I'm selling it on cars and Bids for next person who will drive it like it should be.
I chose that NC3 Club over S2 for DD duty back in 2013. And cutting this and that is NOT how I see a DD should be.
If I swap it will be LFX at this rate. But the entry price of the kit is too high for just about any S2 car in good condition body.

 

ok, well I raced plenty on OE clutches including a ton of high rpm drag racing drop-clutch launching. It’s pretty rugged and there’s no need to buy a Stage Full-Retard version thinking it provides anything useful. The key is not to slip it excessively and the exception would be if you upgrade to a turbo etc. and then you have a lot of other things to worry about breaking or not holding up. I broke a lot of transmissions, but never the clutch. There was an issue with the original clutch disc sprung-hubs falling apart on some early 2004 models, but never saw it on any later ones.