I tried my first autox with my 2004 S with 3K miles on it. Long story short, I did not fully let the clutch pedal out while driving in second at very high RPMs . I soon get that dreadful smell - burning clutch.
(1) Did I "glaze" the clutch?
(2) And if I did (even partially), did I do something to shorten the life of the clutch. Or does "glazing" just remelt and redistribute the clutch material without mostly destroying/wearing the material?
(3) Will the newly "glazed" surface eventually become a grippy surface again? I didn't note any noticeable decrease in friction or gripping power.
(4) BTW, what is the clutch friction material made of anyway that makes it susceptible to glazing?
EDIT - I think the answer to number 4 is an organic compound, one that seems to be able to melt and resolidify...However, the question I'm really worried about is #2

Thanks.

 

is glazing the clutch like "riding" the clutch?..ive never heard of this term...

 

"Glazing" the clutch is a term that describes what happens when the clutch plates are allowed to slip against the flywheel surface beyond the intended design. The end result is that the surfaces slide against each other and create a slippery smooth surface as a result of high-heat from the friction. Think about how the clutch works. There are clutch plates with springs that try to force them toward the flywheel surface and that are separated with your clutch pedal pressure. You release the pedal and the spring shove the plates toward the flywheel which uses friction to engage the the engine's crankshaft via the clutch to the transmission's input shaft through the gears to the driveshaft and then to the differential. If you understand that the clutch is simply a rotating disc that is forced against the planar face of another rotating disc(flywheel), you can easily understand that the high heat generated by the friction can cause "glazing". It simply means that the surfaces are smoothed by friction heat. Smooth surfaces don't grip very well. If you've noticed, other people here have described a foul odor when they've abused their clutch that takes some time for the smell to subside. That phenomena is due to the overheating of the clutch plates due to excessive friction. If you've ever smelled that aroma, your clutch is living on borrowed time.


Anthonys2k...Yes, "riding" the clutch is a term that applies to overslipping the clutch. It would be like trying to start off from a dead start on an uphill in 3rd gear. Can you imagine how much you would have to slip the clutch to get moving? Most likely, the clutch would be "glazed" from this action as well. Typically, "riding" the clutch describes a bad habit of resting one's foot on the clutch pedal all the time while driving. What makes this a bad habit is that by resting a foot on the pedal, this moves the pressure plate away from the clutch plates which in turn allows the plates to move slightly away from the flywheel which MAY allow the plates to slide against the flywheel surface causing excessive wear and heat. "Riding" is not new. Some people "ride" the brake pedal. They rest their foot on the brake pedal as they drive and as you get up behind them, their brake light is lit....and may blink sporadically as the driver hit bumps in the road.