“I have a ‘91 Miata with 278K on the clock, and it’s only on its third clutch; the original lasted about 100K and the second lasted over 140K.”
You’ve got me beat in two categories.
First, my ‘02 Elantra only has 267k.
Second, I’m on clutch number 4.
Frankly, I’ve given up downshifting, to try and coax a little more life out of the clutch.
That's your problem. Starting off in high gear every time is murder on the clutch, you've got no torque multiplication from the trans.