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Clutch pedal to hard?

freeon

freeon

Experienced Member
Joined
9 July 2006
Messages
612
I've always thought that my clutch pedal was to hard to push in but I had no other NSX to compare it to. After driving it like that for the past 3 years I decided to take a force gauge a measure it. It takes 36 to 38 Lbs to push it all the way in. This seems a lot to me. I have no idea if it's a stock clutch or not. The first year I had the car I decided to change both cylinders and bleed the system but it didn't change anything. Besides this I have no clutch issues. It doesn't seem to slip or anything. And the reason I'm convinced there is an issue is that on some rare occasions when I push it in it feels very light. Can someone comment on this. Is 38 Lbs to much? If so what could be the problem.
 
Some aftermarket clutches have a heavy pedal feel. For instance my fathers car has an RPS and I find it terrible to drive. It takes a while to get use to and launching the car can be difficult. If I had a choice between driving in traffic with that car, or stabbing my eyes out with a rusty spoon I would be blind. Well, maybe not that bad. But if it was my car I would happily switch out a perfectly good clutch for something more drivable. A lot of people make the mistake of buying a clutch that is to much for their application. A clutch that is designed to hold 700+hp/tq is not going to be good for your 300hp daily driver. If the pedal pressure feels that bad to you that it warrants a change look for something that fits you power output / driving style. Whatever you decide to do, do your research on both the product and the vender. Whatever you do stay away from anything SPEC.
 
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Yes, it sounds like an aftermarket competition type clutch.

Have you considered getting together with another NSX owner in your area, one who has a stock clutch, who might let you test drive his/her car?
 
Unfortunately I don't know anybody that has an NSX to compare. I've only seen one around here and that was about 3 years ago. My issue is this. As much as it annoys me I'm not sure if it's worth the cost of changing the clutch. Secondly being in Canada and how expensive the parts are I would definitely by the clutch in the US. So if I proceed I either order the clutch in advanced and once the dealer takes it apart if they find something else was the problem I'm out the cost of a clutch. If I bring it to the dealer and they take it apart first once I order the clutch and it takes 2 to 3 weeks to arrive the car stays at the dealer and if they don't have the room inside it might site outside at night or they would have to wheel it in and out every day.

Is there a way to check how much life the clutch has left. If it's almost at the end and it has to be changed soon anyway then I might do it now. And is there anybody that can tell me how many hours it takes to change it. I already know there hourly rates.
 
freeon said:
Is there a way to check how much life the clutch has left. If it's almost at the end and it has to be changed soon anyway then I might do it now. And is there anybody that can tell me how many hours it takes to change it. I already know there hourly rates.
Click to expand...

Chances are there is nothing wrong with it unless its slipping, grinding, or not disengaging.
 
Re: Clutch pedal too hard?

freeon said:
I've always thought that my clutch pedal was too hard to push in but I had no other nsx to compare it to.
Click to expand...

freeon said:
Secondly being in Canada and how expensive the parts are I would definitely buy the clutch in the us.
Click to expand...

ocd ftw
 
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cmc140 said:
I have an RPS clutch and it was horrible.
Here is a link to the best mod I ever did...

http://daliracing.com/v666-5/info/article_read.cfm?articleID=892

I like it more than a stock clutch now as engagement is lower.
Click to expand...

In the instruction they don't appear to move the pedal out of the car. From what I can see in my car I will have to remove it to drill the new hole. It seems pretty easy to remove. My question is how to remove the big spring and how to put it back in being that it is a tight spot to work in.
 
freeon said:
In the instruction they don't appear to move the pedal out of the car. From what I can see in my car I will have to remove it to drill the new hole. It seems pretty easy to remove. My question is how to remove the big spring and how to put it back in being that it is a tight spot to work in.
Click to expand...

Honestly, I don't remember too much about doing this other than it was a pain to take the pedal out. I don't remember the springs being difficult at all. I do know once pedal is completed you have to adjust the end play. There are instructions in the service manual pdf. Also, with most after market clutches you are supposed to get a dampener delete. My RPS did not come with one included.

Lastly, I had an issue where my engagement point would change. I had new master and slave cylinders installed and bled the system multiple times and could never quite correct it. I finally changed the hydraulic hose at the slave cylinder and have not had an issue since.
 
What do you mean by dampener delete.
 
Yea, taking the pedal is royal pain, but already got it out...

Just FYI for anyone making this mod buy yourself new bushing before taking the pedal just in case. My was eaten up on one side because of the hard pedal. I had some play in the pedal and it was most likely because of this bushing gone. See pix..
 

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    nsx123.jpg
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I did it and what a difference. It went from 38 Lbs to push the pedal to 11Lbs.:biggrin: I just can't believe I drove the car like that for 3 years and the fix was so simple.

If you do this take the extra 5 minutes and take out the seat first. It makes it a lot easier.
 
freeon said:
I did it and what a difference. It went from 38 Lbs to push the pedal to 11Lbs.:biggrin: I just can't believe I drove the car like that for 3 years and the fix was so simple.

If you do this take the extra 5 minutes and take out the seat first. It makes it a lot easier.
Click to expand...

Did you had a lot of re-adjustment after you install it back or you install it as is? I have my pedal removed and didn't install it back because have to buy the bushing on Monday.

Thx


---
I am here: http://tapatalk.com/map.php?ikbjmm
 
I haven't got to that yet. Probably tomorrow.
 
I tried to adjust the pedal as per attached manual. and I have a few questions. According to this the clutch height should be 7.34 inch. With switch A back off as far as possible I only have approximately 7.08. If the manual measure to the floor board the carpet could be the difference but i would still be against the bracket. The stroke length should be between 5.12 and 5.31 I'm at around 5.6. pedal play should be 0.04 and 0.28 and I'm at .05. I don't know if I'm reading the manual wrong but I'm not sure if I understand how to get to these measurements. A friend of mine told me all I have to worry about is the pedal play. Is he right. Also as its set now i only have to release the pedal about 1/2" to 3/4" and the car starts rolling. That seems low to me. Any help would be appreciated.
 

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I adjusted mine so that I knew it was fully dis-engaging and engaging properly. The engagement point is definitely lower than stock. I'm not exactly sure about the measurements that are defined in the service manual.
I hope that helps.
Chris
 
I think the OE specs will not apply after moving the cable. I think as long as there is small play it should be fine. If the clutch would not dis-engage it would not shift in a gear so adjusting the pedal little higher would be playing safe I guess. To adjust my after moving the cable I move it up a little.

Driving now is much easier on the foot. I still had my clutch block when I had Comptech PGII clutch but getting the SS hose from it to the clutch push rod would be the next thing to do, as it's a rubber hose..
 
cmc140 said:
Honestly, I don't remember too much about doing this other than it was a pain to take the pedal out. I don't remember the springs being difficult at all. I do know once pedal is completed you have to adjust the end play. There are instructions in the service manual pdf. Also, with most after market clutches you are supposed to get a dampener delete. My RPS did not come with one included.

Lastly, I had an issue where my engagement point would change. I had new master and slave cylinders installed and bled the system multiple times and could never quite correct it. I finally changed the hydraulic hose at the slave cylinder and have not had an issue since.
Click to expand...

this is very interesting to me, as my SOS twin disc carbon does exactly the same... not only the engagement point is different, the grabbingness(sp?) of the disc is different as well... the car is quite smooth and oem like when i first started, it's doing very nice after a track day. anything in between, shuttering as if my GT wing is going to fall over, or just kill the clutch in front of whole bunch of people at downtown. You name any kind of embarassment n i've done them all. My mechanic said it's the carbon fiber disc character of being not fully warm up n i had to live with it.
 
This is probably little excessive but I went one step farther and cut the clutch pedal to extend the leverage. If definitely helps, but makes the pedal little higher, nothing that can one adjust to. It feels much better now and I can always go back to stock by re-adjusting the length :)

pedal2.JPG


Pedel1.JPG
 
At the advice of cmc140, I decided to try this on the '00 I just bought. I removed the whole clutch-pedal assembly, which was pretty straightforward. I did remove the seat to make more room to work.

The result is not bad. I think I was a bit aggressive with moving the clevis attachment point. I went about halfway to the pedal pivot. Because of the reduced clutch travel, it makes the system sensitive to the adjustment point. The pedal has reasonable pressure now but does engage right off the floor.

Getting things put back together was a serious pain. I had to go get a line wrench for the locknut to loosen it. Getting the pin into the clevis took a while because with it moved closer to the pedal pivot, the frame interferes a bit. But it's back together and I have it adjusted to a reasonable point. At least my car is drivable now and I don't have a sore knee just from driving home from work.

Here is a picture of the pedal with the bushing in the new hole:

uvumudy7.jpg


-Jason
 
why do you guys put new plastic back in it? its gonna happen again, put a flat head bolt and nut and never have to worry about it again. ever
 
You're talking about the little nubs that hit the switches? That probably would have been a good idea. I didn't think about it partly because the nubs appeared to be in good shape. I will probably be pulling it apart soon enough to put a bolt in instead, after I get stranded somewhere. I will be sure to give you credit when it happens.
 

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