SYMA

I am REALLY concerned with this. I would guess I have completely stalled my S at least 10+ times letting clutch out in first gear. The pedal seems to only grab from fully depressed maybe 1" + or - out, then the rest seems to be free play to me. Idle is about 650rpm's.

Quite the nasty sound when she does stall too!!

Hey I've owned 3 P-Cars and been driving sticks since 1974. What the hell??

Thanks everyone.

Wachuko

you need to disengage the emergency brake first...

Sorry... could not resist... long day at work...

SYMA

Hi Jaime,
I'm sure there is more to come....Hey I've been known for a wise *** comment too, all in good spirit!

But seriously, I think a trip to the dealer is in line, something can't be right.

kauai_diver

Just to make sure I understand, your clutch is engaging pretty much right as you lift the pedal off the floor? Sounds like you need to have that checked out.

OCBen

Kick your revs up there, syma, before disengaging the clutch and you shouldn't stall her.

You should be between 1000-1200 rpms at a minimum when releasing, but I'm assuming you know that already, and so maybe your clutch may need adjustment.

shlbrn

I too felt like a complete idiot. First take off from the dealer....stall. Slight hill....stall. Trying to do an impressive take off from the line...stall. Finally I got past babying the thing and brought the rev's up and problem solved. I have to keep remembering these cars are to be driven, not necessarily hard but definitely with purpose.

Before you go back to the dealer, find some hidden out of the way spot and practice/play with it. I went for a ride with my son-in-law in his new TT; you would think he only knew how to drive on a dragstrip the way he dumped the clutch and revved the heck out of the engine...but he never stalled.

Deacon

kauai_diver

Guys this guy started driving sticks while I was in diapers no need for a lecture, I think he's got a problem -- with his car that is.

Or then again I could be wrong

OCBen

Hey Kurt, there was no lecture implied.

I did the same thing with mine, stalling it from time to time just as he described, and I too have been driving stick since forever.

I think these cars might have a lighter flywheel compared to other cars, and if that's the case there wouldn't be as much rotational momentum in the flywheel to keep the engine from stalling under low rpms, as compared to other cars.

kauai_diver

hmmm well I'd still have it checked out just to be sure.

Coming from a 3-series BMW there was not much of a learning curve for me. I test drove two 996's back in 2003 and remember the clutch being heavier than both my 997 and 3-series.

4thporsche

Was the car new when your purchased/leased it? Did the problem just start or was it there from the begining? When you say this has happened (stalling) 10 times does that mean the problem is intermittent? Is the idle speed always 650 rpm?

Dr 997

I agree... I've also been driving different stick shifts for over 20 years and when I first test-drove the 997, the clutch felt pretty much normal to me... I haven't stalled it yet, and I've never had to rev up the engine. I'm sure he knows how to operate a clutch correctly, so I would agree with the trip to the dealer.

Edgy01

I've been driving sticks for decades,--and this is my 4th Porsche. I have stalled this car myself more than any other car. This is even after many miles with the car. I have heard that it may be related to the lower torque values of this engine around 1500-2000 rpm. They say the X51 doesn't do that.--like that's all I need to convince me to spend another $15000!

bdmason

Rule of thumb with commerical clutches (and I'm sure the same would apply to cars) is when the clutch disengages near the floor it's no problem It can be adjusted higher,When it engages near the top you more than likely will need a new one very soon especially if there is no play when you first engage it , There is usually free space before you feel the tension of the pedal. when that's gone so is your clutch.

Porsche_Smile

i agree.... i never had an automatic and this pcar is my 10th sports car that i ever owned...... this pcar i stalled more then any car i ever had......... high rev is the way out of it.... .but wouldn't that burn your clutch faster.....

jhbrennan

You description sounds like it needs to be adjusted...however, as others have mentioned too, I've been driving manual transmission cars for a long time and for the first 3,000 miles I stalled about 5 times. Embarassing and always a mad grab for the key on the right side where it isn't. After I had the Ruf conversion done, I've not experienced any stalls. I think it's primarily because at low rpm the compressor clutch puts a little more drag on the engine so I tend to keep the rpm's up when I start out. Let us know how this plays out. Good luck.