Adjusting to FR-S Clutch.
 

A brief history: I've been riding motorcycles exclusively for about 6 years, and I recently bit the bullet and purchased an FR-S about a week ago (I mean, who could resist, right?). Anyway, about 2 days before I purchased it, I asked my girlfriend's mother if it was okay to take her Accord out for a spin, as it has been a while since I had driven a standard transmission, just to make sure the 6MT would be a practical choice for me. I drove it for half-an-hour or so, and I felt really comfortable driving it.

On to my dilemma. After driving the FR-S for a week, I just can't seem to get used to the clutch. Perhaps it's due to my history of only driving econoboxes as standards, as opposed to sports cars. To elaborate a little further, I find that the clutches catching point feels much higher up than what I'm used to driving, and on starts I generally come out a bit jerky, or I feel like I'm slipping the clutch too much. Maybe I'm just over thinking it, because driving the Accord, even after a prolonged hiatus from driving standard, I really didn't have to think about what I was doing. I feel like I put a lot of concentration into driving the FR-S in terms of clutch and throttle pressure. Admittedly, I've only put 300 or so miles on the car thus far, so I'm hoping it's something that will sort it self out over time. I'd love to hear from my fellow drivers, and if there's any tips to help me get better acquainted with the car.

Just calm down. You'll never progress if you are stressing about it. Loosen up a bit and stop thinking about it so much. As for starts, try putting just a little bit more gas into it.

Go to the DIY section, there is a write up on how to adjust the clutch, makes a big difference. Hope it helps.

You get used to it. I also drive a 2001 Tacoma S-runner and the clutch grabs damn near the floor. The first time I drove my FR-S out of the dealership's lot I revved the hell out of it! After about 2 weeks of switching between the two, I've gotten used to the two.

A quick search and you would have found the answer to your problem.
Here yah go http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showt...ghlight=clutch

You're welcome.

The only way to become better equainted with the car is to drive it. I've been driving M/T performance cars for years and there's always a bit of learning curve when getting into a new, unfamiliar vehicle. Just be patient and it will come.

I do feel like it's anxiety educed. It's my first new car, I've only bought pre-owned in the past; I've been pretty horrible, I freaked out when my girlfriend was looking for the cabin light in the dark because I thought she was going to claw the upholstery.

I'm going to take her around the neighborhood and see if I can post back with a more elaborate description of what I feel is going on.


Edit:
Actually I did search, but I searched for "clutch feel", "clutch sensitivity", and found nothing. I don't plan on carrying wrenches with me everywhere so that I can adjust the play with every car I might get in. It's a personal issue that I'd like to work on so that I can get better at driving any car, not adjust them so that they all feel the same.

Wait what? Keep practicing

not to worry! you WILL get used to it,once it becomes your everyday car,
simply by putting miles on it,then it will become second nature,and you won't be concerned again.

I think before you make any adjustments, you should just go out and just stroll around. Every car has there own unique feel to it, you just gotta get use to FR-S that's all.

I did the clutch adjustment within an hour of buying the car. It's no different than adjusting your seat or the steering wheel. And really it's dead simple, just under the dash.

I had an opposite situation. The grab point is so huge on this car compared to what I'm used to. The STI I raced had a twin plate clutch and had a very small grab point. My Supra was the same. My last car was a 08 M3 and it wasn't really as forgiving as the BRZ.

Best way to get better with any car is to drive it. You could always modify it to make it fit your comfort zone a bit more, but I see now point in changing what the experts thought was perfect personally.

Hear and feel like you do on the bike.. dont worry about pedal position.. use your senses. You'll get it pretty quick.

Also something to think about, you're still bedding in that clutch.. Mine didn't really become predictable until 7-800mi or so. I've been driving manuals consistently for the last 17 years.. so definitely the car vs lack of practice. Getting used to this car was much easier than getting used to the WRX.. faak.. that car had a funky clutch feel..

At least you didn't come out of a car with a super stiff clutch like I did.. man for the first couple days all I did was slam my left foot to the floor lol.. Just under 4K mi on it now and I dont even think about it.

I appreciate all of the positive words. I came back from my drive feeling better already. When I actually bothered to look at the tach coming out of 1st, I realized I was never going over 2k RPM. In my head I felt like I was flooring it, so it's probably my nerves biting at me. My commute is so short right now that I'm almost woeful I don't have farther to drive.