Burning smell after driving for a little while

**dhillyard** · 02-22-2006, 07:07 PM

Hey guys, i have a 2002 trans am ws6 that i just turned 4000 miles in, yea its like brand new. Anyways, its a 6 speed manual and every time i get out of the car, there is a burning smell comming from somwhere in the middle of the car i believe, is this normal for f-bodys or is something wrong? Its not the rear end or the tires just to get that out of the way. Thanks!

**third_shift|studios** · 02-23-2006, 05:33 AM

middle of the car? was the previous owner a track-racer? If so, you could have a dead/dying clutch.

**dhillyard** · 02-23-2006, 09:37 AM

nope, the guy babied the thing, untill now i have been on it a few times now, maybe im having a little too much fun? The guy kept it in a garage and under a cover and never had it over 90 mph or over 4000 rpm. Untill now, the car had 1800 miles on it when i got it in december

**third_shift|studios** · 02-23-2006, 02:55 PM

no problem getting on it, it's the initial launch that destroys a cluch...and massive downshifting

**Capster78** · 02-23-2006, 03:32 PM

I would have to say its the clutch. Your probably not shifting it properly.

**dhillyard** · 02-23-2006, 04:06 PM

well, that probably is it, because i notice that the clutch is now not nearly as hard to push in, does dropping the clutch for burnouts/take offs destroy a clutch as well? Sorry for sounding like a complete moron, but its my first manual car and i know i must be doing something wrong then.

**ss~zoso~ss** · 02-23-2006, 04:14 PM

yes dumping the clutch does trash it because it often slips when dumped, and with older clutches 50k plus miles, it slips alot

what you want to do when driving a M6 from a stop, is give the car a little gas while easing out the clutch (not too slow though) and when you feel the cluctch start to grab( the car will begin to move) give it a little more gase untill you are able to release it. You will have to get used to the clutch and car to know when that release point is, because it is different on all cars.

It takes a good 2 weeks to get semi-good at driving a standard

also never ride the clutch at lights to prevent from rolling backwards, always use the brakes.

i never use the clutch for slowing down either, it puts more ware on the clutch, and uses more gas, just use the breaks, they are much much cheaper, and often when you buy pads they are guarenteed for life anyways, just remember to change them as to not trash your rotors,

**dhillyard** · 02-23-2006, 07:16 PM

well thanks a lot guys, i suppose no more burnouts hehe, my fun has come to an end with a mushy clutch pedal, so where do you guys say i go to get the burning smell checked out and if its the clutch, should i get another stock one or go with centerforce or spec stage 3? I am always looking to improve my cars performance, currently i just have basic bolt ons, including: Corsa Cat-back, SLP Lid w/ k&n filter, WS6 Store Short Stick, and just got the Power Programmer from hypertech.

**oneBADDz** · 02-23-2006, 08:22 PM

I prefer the SLP for great daily driving manners and long wear, any high performance clutch won't last quite as long, and to an experinced manual driver don't have as good of manners for daily driving usually. If you aren't going to mod it much more than you just said you don't need anything more than SLP anyways it has plenty of hold in it

oh yeah, let the anti-SLP flaming begin

**JattGunMan** · 02-23-2006, 09:21 PM

i thought u where supposed to downshift when slowin down?????not like downshiftin when ur try to floor it but just gently downshifting to slow the car down to a stop?sorry im still a beginner wit the whole manual thing.

**oneBADDz** · 02-23-2006, 09:22 PM

no no no, you don't drive a 50,000 pound 18 wheeler, never downshift to slow down

**JattGunMan** · 02-23-2006, 09:30 PM

got it...so when slowin down just hit the brakes ...and dont drop it into a lower gear to slow the car down...thanks

**third_shift|studios** · 02-24-2006, 05:06 AM

Originally Posted by z_driver1

no no no, you don't drive a 50,000 pound 18 wheeler, never downshift to slow down

here's a little hit for downshifting on the fly: REV MATCHING

it's a racing thing. when you wanna down shift @ like 75ish, say 6th to 4th, even 3rd....you gotta remember that your engine is spinning at 1500RPM, but your rear axle is going at like 4500rpms....so if you do jump from 6 to 3 you're going to feel some MASSIVE drag and potentially ruin the drivetrain over time.

the way to solve this is by matching the Engine RPM to the Rear axle RPMs [rev matching]

Following our example; @ 75mph, disengage the clutch, start shifting to 3rd [or 4th] and while you'r in midshift-tap the gas pedal really FAST and hard to raise the engine's RPM's up to 4-5krpm range, by the time your tack hit's that range, you'll allready have shifted to your gear, now engage the clutch and you'll feel a much smoother downshift. From that point you can let the car's engine brake you.
_diph

**oneBADDz** · 02-24-2006, 06:38 AM

Originally Posted by dipherentdesign

here's a little hit for downshifting on the fly: REV MATCHING

it's a racing thing. when you wanna down shift @ like 75ish, say 6th to 4th, even 3rd....you gotta remember that your engine is spinning at 1500RPM, but your rear axle is going at like 4500rpms....so if you do jump from 6 to 3 you're going to feel some MASSIVE drag and potentially ruin the drivetrain over time.

the way to solve this is by matching the Engine RPM to the Rear axle RPMs [rev matching]

Following our example; @ 75mph, disengage the clutch, start shifting to 3rd [or 4th] and while you'r in midshift-tap the gas pedal really FAST and hard to raise the engine's RPM's up to 4-5krpm range, by the time your tack hit's that range, you'll allready have shifted to your gear, now engage the clutch and you'll feel a much smoother downshift. From that point you can let the car's engine brake you.
_diph

So you support engine braking?

**third_shift|studios** · 02-24-2006, 07:52 AM

yes, only by rev matching. not just from shifting. The engine is gonna whine down anyway, you're just distributing it over the drivetrain.

**ss~zoso~ss** · 02-24-2006, 07:57 AM

i'm still against it, there is much more that can potentially go wrong, BRAKES ARE ALWAYS CHEAPER THAN A CLUTCH OR DRIVETRAIN PARTS pads are often guarenteed for life, and rotors arent that expensive, i never downshift to slowdown, only occasionaly when i'm pullin into a lot where there are ricers or my fellow muscle car drivers

**ss~zoso~ss** · 02-24-2006, 07:58 AM

but yes rev matching is the way to go when you want to downshift inorder to launch or pass people on the highway

**ss~zoso~ss** · 02-24-2006, 07:59 AM

too bad your clutch is half gone, i still got my stock one 70k miles and counting

**third_shift|studios** · 02-24-2006, 08:02 AM

Originally Posted by ss~zoso~ss

too bad your clutch is half gone, i still got my stock one 70k miles and counting

i think my stocker lasted until 83 ish. then i got the spec 3

not goin back to that again...i'll prolly just get a spec1 next time. Too much hype, not a real benefit.

**third_shift|studios** · 02-24-2006, 08:04 AM

Originally Posted by ss~zoso~ss

but yes rev matching is the way to go when you want to downshift inorder to launch or pass people on the highway

come to think of it, thats about the only time i really ever do it...when i'm gonna race from a roll....I dunno, i just don't see how it could possibly put any more strain slowing down than speeding up.