Clutch Engagement
I took delivery of a new 2014 Z51 M7 Vert in June of last year, and was ecstatic about everything in and about the car, with one exception. From the moment I drove it away from the dealership, I noticed a slight pulsation/chatter in the clutch when engaging first or reverse gear. The dealer said to put some miles on the car, and it would probably go away. I drove the car last summer, went on the Caravan to B/G and had a great time. It now has over 8,000 miles on it, and the pulsation/chatter is still there, sometimes barely noticeable, sometimes bad enough that my wife (to whom cars are a necessary transportation evil) says “Gee honey, there’s something wrong with this car?”
I have had it in to two different dealers, and both have told me that it is no different than any of the other manuals that they have driven. It currently resides at the second dealer’s lot, and, after much discussion, he is going to contact the local G/M engineering rep to look at my vehicle and pass judgment.
I have had many cars in my lifetime, an abundance of them with manual transmissions, and have never had anything but linear, smooth engagement of the clutch. The current dealer said that my vehicle has a dual mass clutch, and that probably is the difference. My prior Vette was a 1996 Grand Sport – also with a dual mass clutch, and it was nothing but butter-smooth.
The purpose of this epistle is to ask those of you with the M7 transmission in your cars what the clutch engagement is like when pulling away from a stop in first or reverse. Do you notice a pulsation/chatter upon engagement or is the engagement of the clutch smooth and linear?
