Chatter/crackle noise when lifting off. Normal?
 

I picked up an '02 Boxster S about a year ago and have been driving it pretty frequently since then. I've noticed that when lifting off (while still in gear) at RPMs above ~2500 I will hear a crackling noise coming from behind me. It sounds like the crackle cats make when they're hot (and maybe it is). Sometimes if I lift off and brake while still in gear, I'll notice it even louder and it could almost be described as a scraping sound. Should I be concerned? For what it's worth, the clutch will sometimes chatter quite a bit after warming up when at a standstill (in neutral) and the clutch pedal is fairly heavy. I've also noticed that cruise control intermittently won't come on. I mention this because I read something where a heavy clutch pedal and non-working cruise control can be in indication of something that I can't quite remember (I want to say some spring in the clutch..?). I'm having trouble ruling out the clutch as the cause of the lifting off noise because I can't think of a way to have the engine decelerate with resistance without the clutch engaged (if that makes any senes). Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading!

[QUOTE=gsmiller;6805575]I picked up an '02 Boxster S about a year ago and have been driving it pretty frequently since then. I've noticed that when lifting off (while still in gear) at RPMs above ~2500 I will hear a crackling noise coming from behind me. It sounds like the crackle cats make when they're hot (and maybe it is). Sometimes if I lift off and brake while still in gear, I'll notice it even louder and it could almost be described as a scraping sound. Should I be concerned? For what it's worth, the clutch will sometimes chatter quite a bit after warming up when at a standstill (in neutral) and the clutch pedal is fairly heavy. QUOTE]

I know from experience whenever I came across a heavy clutch pedal, 9 times out of 10 it's a bad clutch.
The scraping noise could come from a variety of things, including the clutch. Worn CV joints, clutch, brakes etc. without hearing and locating the position of the noise it becomes very difficult to diagnose.