WAMason

I ordered mine, from the factory, in early January and it arrived in late March (2003 of course). If memory serves....

350doc

I bought mine December 2003. First clutch failed completely at 23k; second clutch worn out 14k later (signs of wearing out 10k later). Have always driven manuals. I do not abuse the clutch. Have now installed Nismo clutch and cover.

mirage2130

My clutch was replaced at about 7000 miles. I wasn't riding it, I have been driving manual cars for years. The dealer said it was some sort of defect and they actually covered it under warranty. The symptoms were that while in first year, from a stop, the car would vibrate...almost like shudder. I have about 15000 miles now and everything seems to be still fine.

vivid

iTrader: (3)

I've got 93,000km and no problems , and I drive her hard.

mirage2130

Excuse my ignorance, but what does side stepping the clutch mean?

Lawn Dart

iTrader: (4)

I beat the #%!* out of my car and I completely blew the clutch at 27k miles. I do burnouts, drifts, and I slip the clutch a lot screwing around. I just assumed that's why mine died so early. I put a Nismo clutch & pressure plate in and I have a feeling that I'll be seeing this one even sooner. After one night of back-road driving, constantly dropping the car into second at 50mph to save my car's life from brake-fade, I already feel this Nismo clutch loosing a little grip. Is there a clutch out there that can take the abuse? I don't mind so much, but it is a long, drawn out, pain in the @$& to drop the transmission.

Does anyone have experience with these other Nismo clutches?
30100-RS252 Kappa Mix (I have this one installed right now)
30100-RS254 Non-ground
30100-RSR40 Ceramics meta B:

Ever other clutch out there I look at is like twin plate, made for 500hp, or not streetable at all. BTW, I have Jun flywheel coming in from Japan this month.

350doc

I didn't do any of the above, and my second clutch was replaced after it had done 14k; for Nismo; I shall report on how it gets on. It feels a lot LESS stiff than my previous clutch though.

seraphimshift

Is this problematic clutch just hit or miss? I must say as a prospective Z owner this issue bothers me, has anyone found an after market clutch that will last longer?

350doc

I think it is mostly hit and miss. Many people have had no problems with their clutch for reasonable lengths of time. Mine definitely felt abnormal prior to getting my Nismo installed.

westpak

iTrader: (19)

But why would it be hit or miss, they make different types of stock clutches?

I think it is the drivers, mine has gone for 30K miles with 10K after Greddy TT install, I drive it hard and have a few track events on it as well.

seraphimshift

I agree, or it could be there is a bad batch of parts out there or some common thread... do these parts have serial numbers or anything markings that might link them??

Alberto

iTrader: (14)

Im at 47,000 miles now, on the stock clutch, and I rag the $hit out of it. Ive powershifted it thousands of times, and it still chirps 3rd gear as strong as it did from day 1. Maybe you received a defective clutch, our clutches are beasts-its handled a dozen or so high rpm launches on slicks as well for me.

jacemace

Well my stock clutch went out at 29K miles and my aftermarket Greedy carbon clutch just went out tonight at a tad over 36K miles. My driving habits are exactly the same as they were when I owned my 91 TT 300Z and my clutches lasted 70-80K miles with the 300. This is utter bollucks and I refuse to dish out another $1500 for a flywheel and clutch kit. I have a feeling I'm going to have to fight tooth and nail for an ounce of consideration from Nissan--especially with the car just out of warranty. I would REALLY love some direction and insights from other Z owners that have been ignored or told that they just abuse their cars when that is just not the case. What are my options? Should I consider arbitration?

westpak

iTrader: (19)

Well the 300ZX TT is a little different as it has almost no power down low until the turbos kick in unless you brake boost every time so the the clutch doesn't see the same loads the 350Z clutch does at engagement wherte most of the wear will occur so I still say it is driver specially since your second one is an aftermarket one that cannot be blamed on Nissan parts.

timnjim

My 350Z is in the shop right now for a burnt up clutch right now. I bought my Z from Mossy Nissan in Houston Tx, and that is were it is being worked on right now.

I only have 22K on the thing and it is $2K for the clutch kit and flywheel. The worst of it is that it has taken over a week just for the Service Bozos to get the new flywheel in from Nissan.

They were [sarcasm] nice enough [/sarcasm] to drop $200 from the price of the flywheel.

Nissan would not do anything, and I got the you must be a bad driver speil as well. Hmmm I've only been driving standards since before I could legally drive. I've never had to replace the clutch on any of the other standard transmition cars/trucks I've owned.

I do know the crappy attitude of Mossy's service folks has probably cost Nissan any further car Purchases, although the better half really loves his FX35.

jacemace

I have an 03 Touring that was purchased around April 2003. The Z was shipped to a dealership in the Salt Lake City, UT area.

The original clutch was so far gone that the material was completely missing in areas and in other areas just paper thin. Needless to say that the rivets were munching on the flywheel.

Interestingly enough, the previous four standard transmission Nissan vehicles I owned were kind enough to slightly slip when the clutch was worn which allowed me to get the vehicle to the service department without causing additional problems and costing more dollars. Not so with the Z. One day I noticed a significant difference in the release point of the clutch pedal and no more than a day later extreme slipping to the point where the car was unable to move on it's own. That same day the car was in the shop to discover the expensive repair.

The symptoms I experienced make me feel as though I experienced a premature failure of the clutch material. Proving this is another story. I am simply told every time that it's the driver. To ensure that the new clutch would at least last as long if not longer than the original, I spent some time doing due diligence and ended up purchasing a lightweight flywheel and carbon clutch kit from Exedy (also noting that Exedy is the OEM for the stock 350z clutch). The dealership installed the clutch and my car was back on the road. Overall I was happy with this purchase. The new clutch caused the car to wheel hop occasionally from launch and the new setup chattered at idle speeds and low RPMs but I was willing to trade off some of the driveability for longevity and durability.

I retained the original clutch/pressure plate and flywheel that was replaced at 29K miles. The clutch and the pressure plate both sport the part number CD020. Can anyone speak to this part number? Has this clutch/pressure plate been revised?

oM

350doc

Doesn't installing a lightweight flywheel subject the clutch to extra load? I specifically did not get a lightweight flywheel when I installed my Nismo clutch because of this concern.

Zt350z

I just had my clutch shot out at 3k miles....for no reason one day i started it up and the clutch was slipping in 3rd gear....nissan also told me it was my driving style...i was pissed because i only have 3k miles and its already needing a new flywheel

elms350Z

Weeaaak...I was reading this thread feeling sorry for 03 owners but the problem still persists in the 05's?! I have 1,500 miles on mine and so far so good, no slippage or shuddering. But I do have that clanking sound when shifting from 1st to 2nd when its cold. I only hear it in the morning leaving for work, but it may be happening in every gear but I'd be going to fast to hear it. Just a thought but the 05's have a softer clutch compared to the 03's. So to the 03 owners who got their's replaced, they may be replacing it with the 05 clutch.

westpak

iTrader: (19)

Well here is proof of the quality of the clutch, I just got the ACT street clutch installed, mine was starting to feel mushy and release point was moving upwards and I figured that with the use I have put it through it might be ready, 30K miles and 10K being with Greddy TT including 5 track days at Sebring and 4-5 trips to the drag strip plus hard driving on the street, also the car is an 03 VIN 00573 made in July 02 and I ran it with the Nismo flywheel since 7k when I had the tranny changed but not the clutch.

After hearing all of the complaints from people and premature clutch failures I was very interested in seeing what mine looked like, I was surprised other than some wear and slight glazing it would have lasted a little longer and probably just could have adjusted the clutch pedal, so maybe people will stop blaming Nissan clutches and look at their driving.