Caughtacab911

I'm at 88K miles and it still functions perfectly. Although the pedal is firm, there's been no slipping or other issues. My dealer suggested replacement at around 60K based on pedal firmness but I held off. Two years later it's still performing, over a 50/50 mix of highway and around town driving.

I saw an ad in Panorama this month for a 996 with 107K that had a replacement clutch put in a month ago. That's a high-water mark. How far have you driven/did you drive your 997 on the original clutch?

Gene

Lvt19672

Over 100K is not out of the question if you treat it right.

fskof

It all depends on how you treat the clutch. Sounds like your doing a good job so just keep up driving the car and have fun with it.

vrnkc

62K miles and no issues

Edgy01

It depends. I have seen idiots trash a clutch literally in about 500 yards (okay, that was a Carrera GT.). I have personally exceeded 100,000 routinely in my 911s. My current 997S is sitting at 81,750 miles and the clutch is working perfectly well. I anticipate no issues with it for another 40,000 miles or more. I sold one of my 911s many years ago to a shop that had to rebuild the engine at about 110,000 miles--the 1977 engines were the worst year for a 911. When they rebuilt that engine they remarked that they wouldn't have to replace the clutch, or pressure plate, etc., because they were in good shape--factory original for over 100,000 miles. That included autobahn miles, and stateside miles.

But, it all comes down to how you drive that car.

Bruce In Philly

Dude, that was an unethical thing for a dealer to say.... c'mon! You replace stuff when it needs to be replaced.

I got 197K miles on my original Boxster S clutch and it was still going when my engine blew.... who knows how long it would have lasted. Clutch longevity is all in your driving style, and that is all about rev matching. I heal-toe with every downshift.... it makes for more driving comfort without lurching and a long-lasting clutch. This is the same technique you use on the track to keep your back end from coming around under hard braking (added drag from clutch-engine mismatch with hard braking equals rear wheels losing grip equals 180 swap).

Peace
Bruce in Philly

wc11

72,700 miles.
No issues

jwins

128k miles on my 2007 clutch. It's fine. Similar mix of driving to OP.

stefang

Replaced it at 40k miles (bought at 33k). Very annoyed with first owner, but what can you do.

PhilD

Just changed it at 54k. Clutch was toast, as was the slave cylinder. Pedal is a little lighter now and changes are smoother. Didn't really show any signs it was going though.

scb997

105,000 miles and still on the original clutch. Everything about it seems "like new." I'm rather surprised. I do autocross and I've had quite a few courses that had quite a kink at the start and it always seems that I'm hard on the clutch at those starts...

Scott
2009 C4S -> 2014 GT3 in March

achildofthesky

Got to agree with Edgy01. It is mostly about how it has been treated. Since 1990 I have had 16 cars with manual transmissions and at least a dozen more when I was young and I NEVER had to do a replacement on any of them. One of which had 260K+ miles about 170k of extremely hard use with me.

Hard clutch dumps and going from extremes (very slippy to suddenly great traction) are hard on OEM clutches and will quickly expose weaknesses in the clutch as they are designed to be the weak link before big $ is spent on gearboxes.

Minimizing high power high rpm slippages (launches, burnouts, etc...) which obviously can torch a clutch disc or over heat a pressure plate and flywheel facing, will go a long way towards getting good milage out of a clutch set. A lot of people just don't properly use a manual transmission and ride a clutch at stand still or on a hill.

Rear engined Porsches have a very favorable amount of traction but horsing a driveline with that much grip can lead to expensive and premature equipment woes.

Coming out of a corner after a down shift and leaning on the gas and breaking traction is a relatively low stress issue on clutches as momentum has been established. The farther you have moved from the low speed high torque environment the easier it gets on clutches (unless you are talking gross overspeed's and the like, smoked disc if you are lucky, kaboom if not so much luck).

The luck part of the equation is keeping a dry clutch assembly free from oil (eg: leaking RMS) and ancilliary devices properly functioning (clutch master cylinders and slave cylinders, proper adjustments, etc...).

With what I just advised, I am the first to freely admit I have beat the crap out some of my cars (especially a few trucks) in rallying driving and off road antics, mismatched downshifts, burnouts, getting very stuck and just being stupid when I was very young, the whole catalogue of errors and horrors. Luck does play a part sometimes...

Be safe
Patty

rvp325carrera

Bought CPO at 44k. Replaced at 55k. Failed master cylinder.

60/40 city/highway, driven daily BEFORE failure under my ownership. ?? Previous owner 44k miles will remain a mystery....

Now that I've moved to the burbs, it's "easier" on the car. Timing was great. Clutch had failed 1 week before I moved. So new clutch has seen only good days so far.

Total price for Clutch kit, parts & labor: $2550 ( indie at least $1000+ less than local dealer)

Volnomad

I had to replace the clutch in my 997.1 Murano Green 991S at only 14,400 miles. Doh! The car had only 8500 miles on it when I bought it. No idea what happened to the clutch with previous owner, but I am certain I did not trash it. I've been driving manual transmission cars all my life, including 3 other Porsches prior to buying this car, and never had a problem.

Cost at dealer was $1950 after 10% PCA discount. Estimate at indie was similar. Flywheel kit was not required.

Caughtacab911

Thanks for all the responses, including prices paid for replacements. Back when I was told it needed replacing "soon" at 60,000 miles, I was quoted about $3,400 parts and labor, including flywheel. Dealer said they *always* replace the flywheel when they're in there, though others I've spoken to dispute that necessity. Another local dealer offers a 20% PCA member discount on parts, which in this case is a significant portion of the cost, so I will get a quote there before I do anything. Of course, that's if and when my clutch fails, which based on others' experiences could be years