how bad is the clutch?

[Oriental Life]

Again, don't want to be PITA, but all of you are referring to clutch pedal assembly feel, not clutch itself.

'Get another clutch' - should read, 'get tighter spring for your pedal assembly'. Or 'get different valve', either way.

[elenien]

Okay.... I think I've managed to confuse myself. I learn new things about the car every time I drive...

I've been driving under the assumption that the clutch engages at the middle or end of the release, and my start and gear changes have been less than ideal. Tonight, while aimlessly driving around town (seems to happen a lot since I got the car...) it hit me that the clutch engages early in the release (so it seems to me), but since it requires such low revs to start it didn't register. Once I realized that, things drastically improved (well, except the pedal is still way too high for me).

This car is making me feel like a shifting novice :P I've driven manuals for over 13 years.

What I'm confused about is that most people have been saying it has a mid to high clutch point...? At the moment I'm thinking it's low-mid.

[kgc]

Originally Posted by FakeWhiteMan

I'm one of the few that like it. I was in a bad crash in november where I broke both of my legs, my back, several ribs, and crushed my lungs. I was in ICU for over a month and in rehab for another month after that. When they put the rods in my legs they ripped nerves in my left leg. So now I have nerve damage that transmits pain to my foot. Luckily, for me at least, the clutch is light enough that my weak leg can push it in without any pain...

Holy crap! What happened?

[ttknf]

Got to drive a BRZ Limited yesterday, and even after driving around surface streets for about 15 minutes and getting used to it, I'm definitely not a fan of the clutch. The pressure is light, but not too light; it's more of the awkward engagement point that bugs me, especially when rolling out from a stop. However, it's not as bad as a lot of other newer cars I've driven, and I feel like with a little adjustment it would be quite good.

[Sleeperz]

When people say it has a mid to high clutch point that is when the master cylinder starts pushing fluid into the slave. If you take the spring off the clutch pedal that is the high point.

When you say low - mid that is when the clutch re-engages at the low point when you start releasing the pedal from the metal/floor. When the clutch pedal is all the way back up the clutch is fully engaged.

With the spring reattached to the pedal that is the free play where nothing really happens.

The service manual will have all the factory adjustment measurements which you can change to suit your clutch style. But too low and the clutch may not fully disengage.

Originally Posted by elenien

Okay.... I think I've managed to confuse myself. I learn new things about the car every time I drive...


What I'm confused about is that most people have been saying it has a mid to high clutch point...? At the moment I'm thinking it's low-mid.

[Sleeperz]

Seems to me that it would depend on which side the clutch fork is on. It would be harder to have a mechanical linkage setup for a LHDriver with the clutch fork on the RHS like my Corolla.

Do not know what the setup on the FRS/BRZ is?

Originally Posted by Oriental Life

I can argue with that, having changed few clutches in my older cars, pedal assembly and clutch cable is easy to route and install. It will give you heavy clutch feel most of the time, even with the weakest pedal springs, but in regards to bite feel - metal cable transmits everything that happens to сlutch release bearing, clutch itself much better than damped hydraulic line and valve. What about speed? Mechanical link will be faster as well, and its a $10 cable in retail money we talk about (~$2 piece is what it costs to manufacture). Compare it with hydraulic clutch assembly cost.

Hydraulic clutches are there for your feather-light feel and shorter throw, thats it. No other advantages.

[FakeWhiteMan]

Originally Posted by kgc

Holy crap! What happened?

I was in my 4 week old 2012 Jeep Wrangler. It had just started to rain and I saw a deer down the road. No big deal, I'll just change lanes and slow down a little in case he does jump out in front of me. Well as soon as I tapped the brakes the rear end just slid out. I counter steered but it just went off road. Once your off the road at 60+ mph your brakes don't do much. About 10 feet off the road was a big tree, and I hit it head on.

You can see pics here

http://www.hvfd6.org/apps/public/new...m?News_ID=1020

Bottom line is I'm lucky to be alive, I've known peole to hit softer things slower and die...

[Shagaliscious]

Originally Posted by FakeWhiteMan

I was in my 4 week old 2012 Jeep Wrangler. It had just started to rain and I saw a deer down the road. No big deal, I'll just change lanes and slow down a little in case he does jump out in front of me. Well as soon as I tapped the brakes the rear end just slid out. I counter steered but it just went off road. Once your off the road at 60+ mph your brakes don't do much. About 10 feet off the road was a big tree, and I hit it head on.

You can see pics here

http://www.hvfd6.org/apps/public/new...m?News_ID=1020

Bottom line is I'm lucky to be alive, I've known peole to hit softer things slower and die...

Not to thread jack but holy %^(&^(&(&%$# dude, you should be dead (no offense). That is one ridiculous crash.

[Silverdub]

I thought it was heavy! My rabbit feels much better and its true that it grips high in the pedal but there might be an adjustment at the pedal like other cars

[FakeWhiteMan]

Originally Posted by Shagaliscious

Not to thread jack but holy %^(&^(&(&%$# dude, you should be dead (no offense). That is one ridiculous crash.

Yeah man, I'm lucky to even be walking. It's impressive how well I'm doing considering.

[Oriental Life]

Originally Posted by Sleeperz

.

Do not know what the setup on the FRS/BRZ is?

Have no idea. Do you suggest to run a link in BRZ\FR-s?

[syelenik]

I like the clutch feeling a bit light and not so stiff. My issue as stated by some above is that a clutch shouldn't start releasing three inches from the floor board and finish releasing with your left knee (left side driver) in your throat. Its too high and too long a rake. You can adjust the clutch pedal height, but you have to do it right, see other posts, and Subaru gets flaky about you doing it because of the waranty which includes the clutch and brakes. I understand they want to be sure the clutch is fully disengaged, but several inches is too much and it takes so long to get fully engaged, that can cause slippage too. And if this car was designed "purposefully for the track" then the current clutch specs are crazy. The clutch actually has a stop to keep it from going to the floor contributing to the too high feeling. Your right and left foot should be in proper relation to each other.

[Khyron686]

Originally Posted by syelenik

I like the clutch feeling a bit light and not so stiff. My issue as stated by some above is that a clutch shouldn't start releasing three inches from the floor board and finish releasing with your left knee (left side driver) in your throat. Its too high and too long a rake. You can adjust the clutch pedal height, but you have to do it right, see other posts, and Subaru gets flaky about you doing it because of the waranty which includes the clutch and brakes. I understand they want to be sure the clutch is fully disengaged, but several inches is too much and it takes so long to get fully engaged, that can cause slippage too. And if this car was designed "purposefully for the track" then the current clutch specs are crazy. The clutch actually has a stop to keep it from going to the floor contributing to the too high feeling. Your right and left foot should be in proper relation to each other.

Follow the DIY and adjust the height yourself! It's not a warranty issue that Subaru is going to care about. You are turning a bolt to adjust travel, not removing/adding plates or cutting things. It's MEANT TO BE DONE. You can also put it back just as easily.

[Deebeaux]

Anyone know how the hydraulic setup is done on this car? If it's a hydraulic thrust ("throw out") bearing it may be contributing to the "light feel" that many people seem to complain about. (Nothing to do with the engagement point.)

I swapped a 6-speed into my Golf TDI which has a hydraulic thrust bearing instead of the master/slave cylinder combo that pushes onto a fork in a lever fashion to disengage the clutch disk/pressure plate. The hydraulic bearing setup is so light compared to the "standard" hydraulic setup it feels like something is broken. It was so light compared to my stock clutch and the 6-speed clutch setup I've got is even upgraded to hold well more torque than the stock unit could handle. Same "feeling" goes for a couple other vehicles I've driven with this setup vs. the older style setup.

Might contribute a bit to the "pedal" feel.