First drive in an NA, coming from a turbo. And a question about clutches.
11-30-2013, 12:33 PM
#1
Racer
Thread Starter
First drive in an NA, coming from a turbo. And a question about clutches.
Ok a couple quick observations and questions for those who have experience with NA's, or even better, both. I was driving an NA the other day and I was actually pleasantly surprised with the power. It was definitely enough power for daily driving.
Now, I think I have read that the clutches are different between NAs and Turbos. And I was curious if when you are driving an NA, is the clutch supposed to be very soft, or is that a sign of a clutch at the end of its life? It still drove fine and held the power fine.
What I am coming from:
On my 86 951 the clutch has no friction from fully depressed to half depressed and then has a strong bite from half depressed to not depressed. I would describe it as "sensitive and good friction." (I am unsure if the clutch was replaced). The car has around 70k miles.
With my dad's 86 951 the clutch has relatively light friction (lighter than mine) throughout the majority of the throw. He is the original owner and the clutch has not been replaced. 101k miles.
Now, I think I have read that the clutches are different between NAs and Turbos. And I was curious if when you are driving an NA, is the clutch supposed to be very soft, or is that a sign of a clutch at the end of its life? It still drove fine and held the power fine.
What I am coming from:
On my 86 951 the clutch has no friction from fully depressed to half depressed and then has a strong bite from half depressed to not depressed. I would describe it as "sensitive and good friction." (I am unsure if the clutch was replaced). The car has around 70k miles.
With my dad's 86 951 the clutch has relatively light friction (lighter than mine) throughout the majority of the throw. He is the original owner and the clutch has not been replaced. 101k miles.
Last edited by TurnerJ; 11-30-2013 at 01:38 PM.
11-30-2013, 12:58 PM
#3
Racer
Thread Starter
11-30-2013, 01:34 PM
#4
I think what you are seeing is the difference in a rubber centered clutch and a spring centered clutch on the turbo. The rubber centered clutch was designed to be more consumer friendly by flexing slightly on engagement.
11-30-2013, 04:42 PM
#7
Drifting
At 122k miles on my '87 NA, I decided to do a clutch job while the guts were pulled for a leaky rear main seal replacement. I found a great deal on ebay for a Sachs clutch package that had only 100 miles on it (unlucky PO). With the spring centered clutch I notice a more positive feel in when shifting and a small buzz in the shifter handle. It's minor and can see why Porsche chose to go to the rubber centered clutch. Overall, I'm still happy with the spring centered clutch. When the rubber one fails, it happens catastrophically and with little warning in many cases.
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11-30-2013, 08:48 PM
#9
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just to parrot everyone else, the spring centered clutch is definitely the reason the N/a clutch feels spongier than the turbo clutch. I've driven an N/A with a spring centered clutch and it felt just like a stock 951.
12-02-2013, 03:44 AM
#10
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there is also the "helper spring" that sits above the pedal - on your turbo it may be adjusted differently - on my new NA, when I got it, the clutch was soft and easy to push - because of the way the factory adjusts that spring. perhaps turbo is adjusted differently.