Hello and thank you for all the great information. I've found a ton of information regarding replacing clutch replacements, but I'm still contemplating on how I should go about this. Money is pretty tight, so my preference is to just replace the clutch and not the Clutch + Flywheel. I have a 2007 G35S with 45k miles, I dont race my car or drive it aggressively, and my commute does involve stop-go traffic. Is it really feasible to replace the clutch + flywheel?

Can you also confirm whether or not the flywheel can be re-surfaced? I've read that our flywheel is a dual, so shops cannot/will not resurface due to the complexity.
Thank you in advance for your input

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I can't believe you have to replace a clutch at 45K miles. Do you ride it? I have 80K on mine and the clutch works like it did the day I have bought it. I don't even plan to think about my clutch until I hit 150K.

I put an 180K miles on an Ford Escort without changing the clutch. I put a 150K on a 1985 Mustang GT without changing the clutch (and I drove it hard), I put 6 sets of tires on it though.

I have driven manual transmissions since I was a teenager and have only had to replace one clutch, that was becasue I was a teenager and did not know how to drive it. I used to rest my foot on the clutch pedal, an expensive lesson.

What makes you think you need to replace the clutch?

 

First gear slips at times, the car drives fine on higher gears, but my first gear tends to slips and stutters sometimes

 

I've been driving manual my whole life so Im confident its not my driving abilities

 

I am not questioning your driving ability.

At 45K it should still be under warranty, I suggest taking it to the dealer. No car, driven under normal conditions, should need to replace the clutch at 45K.

 

^ the clutch is not a warranty item, they will just tell you its wear and tear and ask over a grand to get you a new clutch, if your flywheel is in good condition then you should be ok with just replacing the clutch, as for resurfacing a dual mass FW, it is simply NOT recommended by the manufacturers or most mechanics and they want you to change it out, however it is possible and ppl do get it done(a friend of mine got his done on his bimmer and had no issues but was told not to do it by his mechanic to avoid any POSSIBLE vibrations), but the mechanic will not offer any warranty if in case you feel vibrations after the install.

Also as AZG suggested, the mileage is really low to get a clutch change, so if youre confident that its not your driving practices that caused the premature wear then it has to be something mechanical that u need to get fixed else the new clutch will also run out on you as quickly as this, could be a number of issues which are perhaps keeping your clutch from being fully disengaged, did u get the slave cylinder TSB done? bleed the system?

I recommend taking your car into the dealership as well and let them diagnose it under warranty and expect them to come out and tell you that you need a new clutch and its not under warranty at which point ask them to check all the other drive train components to see why the clutch is dieing so quickly.

hope this helps

 

You MIGHT be able to get a clutch replaced for clutch chatter, but they will inspect it for signs of abuse. Otherwise, slipping when shifting from 1-2 at high rpm seems like a common phenomenon for our clutches.

 

You should indeed replace the flywheel while the clutch is out. A new clutch mated to a worn flywheel will cause the new clutch to wear very quickly.

No most places will not resurface the flywheel.

My suggestion to you is to buy an oem exedy clutch kit with a spec steel flywheel. The flywheel is roughly 360$ish if you look around. It also weighs 28lbc IIRC, so it wont chatter as much and engagment will be close to oem feel.

The exedy oem clutch kit is 200$ and I believe its on amazon for that price.

 

you sure the slipping in first isnt your wheels spinning????? 45k is extremely low to be replacing it, and if you are then you were most definately riding the clutch, or the owner before you was if it is preowned.

 

Thank you all for the great advice. 45k is low i agree, but i bought this car used and I have a feeling the owner before might've done some damage to the clutch. I definitely will not re-surface the flywheel. I'll just save a bit more money and replace the clutch and flywheel. Happy Holidays!!

 

+1 for miles, very odd... I hadnt driven manual in years when I bought my G brand new (quarter life crisis), have tracked it, and drive it pretty hard. I have 82k+ miles and still is perfect!

 

^ well like the OP said he bought it used and says he's a good MT driver so the previous owner must have abused the clutch a lot causing the problems now.

 

The car had about 33k mikes when I bought so I'm assuming it was the previous owner probably had some fun with the car before selling it to the dealer

 

There is nothing wrong with resurfacing a flywheel. Just buy a exedy clutch and resurface the flywheel.