I've spent a fair amount of time trying to narrow down precisely what I feel and here it is:

When the car is cold, if I roll up to a stop light and hold the clutch in, when I pull away everything feels perfectly normal - except about a "beat" after I've taken my foot off the clutch pedal I sense what feels like the clutch hooking up more solidly.

There's no clutch "slippage" per se, and there's no revving or drop in RPM, it just feels a little like I've been tapped in the rear bumper.

So this could be:

1) Clutch not hooking up properly when cold (cold clutch disc/pressure plate)
2) When cold clutch hydraulics not releasing pressure properly
3) Engine surging when cold giving a little "blip" in the engine map at that point.

I'm serious when I say if I took it in, they'd keep it overnight and get one, maybe two attempts to feel what I do and that would be it.

There'd be a 99% chance it would come back after a few days as "cannot reproduce."

The question is, does anyone else notice this with theirs in the morning, or is there something off about mine?

A whole 273 miles on the clock now and I'm worried about driving it.

At least I don't get pissed about all the rattles this way…

Does this happen when you engage at a very low rev?

When I engage at a very low rev, I feel the engine give a little surge as I get going that sounds similar to what you're saying.

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honestly, maybe it's me but I've never owned such a quirky car. Performance and handling are superb but I also enjoy driving a car that doesn't rattle, doesn't have a phantom noise that comes and goes and has a decent stereo system. Bill K -- I'm glad the rattles don't bother you anymore . Don't worry, when the clutch fails, your dealer should easily find the problem. Chasing squeeks and rattles is too much work.

I had a similar experience a couple times in my first week of driving, and attribute it my lack of familiarity with the car's clutch engagement point as well as amount of throttle needed to have a smooth launch in first.

Pushing just a bit harder on the throttle solved the issue. Also if you have the Sports Chrono package, turn sport mode on and try reproducing the same symptoms.

I'll do that.

What struck me is just the fact that once I feel it, I try to reproduce it and once I've been driving more than about three minutes I can't.

Since my previous car was a 2003 Boxster S, I thought I had grown used to Porsche clutch/engine quirkiness, but apparently not.

The rattles of course do drive me up a #$@! wall, but when you're worried about whether your clutch is doing something that will just cause premature wear Porsche won't pay for, more pressing matters come to mind.

Oh, and the "cannot reproduce" comments on this issue? Experience gained from taking the service manager himself out to hear rattles in my Boxster S, having him acknowledge hearing them, and still getting the car back at the end of the day with "cannot reproduce" written on the form.

Thus I've no reason to believe a "feel" in the clutch reproducible only a few times in the first few minutes of travel would be any different.

Perhaps the real way to find out is to ask to test drive a different CS on the lot that hasn't been started all day…

You should take it in, if for no other reason than to get on the record that you think there's a problem with your clutch... so, later on, if that eventuality comes to pass, your earlier concerns are noted and the clutch wear will be covered, if caused by the problem.

See if you can leave it there overnight, and then go down to the dealership the next morning and take a ride with the service people in the morning when it's cold. And, even though you feel the final result will be a "can't reproduce" you won't actually know that unless you bring it in - they might surprise you this time and see/feel what you're talking about, but if you don't give them the chance, then you will continue to have the problem and have doubts and worries about the condition of your clutch.

This is a good idea, too. I don't know where in Colorado you live, or what your availability to different dealerships is, but you can always take it to another dealer's service department if you don't feel you're getting the response you deserve from this one.

brad

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I have noticed the same as what you have, but I don't think it is the clutch. I think it is the engine management doing its thing. I know there are many things that the software adjusts when driving and it is more so when the car is warming up. I'm aware of the double butterfly within the intake manifold and every time I feel it...I can just imagine that or the throttle by wire contributing to it.

ps. It is almost like the A/C compressor kicking off after you let the clutch out and are applying throttle, but the A/C is off.

I think you're all right.

I tried a drive in today with my Sport Chrono set to Sport, and didn't feel it at all with the alternate throttle mapping.

(I also kept speeding as I've already grown used to the non-Sport throttle mapping. )