DIY - Easy clutch grab adjustment (~10 mins)

[reeves]

Originally Posted by smokeyFRS

Found one here, very similar:

1.25" of free play on the Clutch pedal? I hope that's not the factory specs..

Great DIY video though!

[Bmore_Raven86]

I did this mod today, I notice a lot of change, what hit me the most was when I drop the cluth pedal maybe half a inch lower than the brake pedals. i notice after taking it for a test drive when shifting from 2nd to 3rd gear on full throttle wasnt much of a rpm drop and it feels the car like its not laggy at all..but I feel like i lost that kick when shifting..did i do something wrong?

[smokeyFRS]

Originally Posted by Bmore_Raven86

I did this mod today, I notice a lot of change, what hit me the most was when I drop the cluth pedal maybe half a inch lower than the brake pedals. i notice after taking it for a test drive when shifting from 2nd to 3rd gear on full throttle wasnt much of a rpm drop and it feels the car like its not laggy at all..but I feel like i lost that kick when shifting..did i do something wrong?

You're doing too much. Watch the video. The clutch pedal should be the same height or a bit higher than the brake pedal.

[Tt3Sheppard]

So what happens if you lower the clutch pedal too much? Mine is slightly lower than the brake pedal. About an inch of free play before engagement. Adjusting the clutch pedal up and down seems to change the engagement point but not the free play amount.

[smokeyFRS]

Originally Posted by Tt3Sheppard

So what happens if you lower the clutch pedal too much? Mine is slightly lower than the brake pedal. About an inch of free play before engagement. Adjusting the clutch pedal up and down seems to change the engagement point but not the free play amount.

8/6/12 SPECIFICATIONS: CLUTCH: SERVICE DATA (2013 FR-S)

Last Modified: 8-6-2012 6.4 F From: 201203
Model Year: 2013 Model: FR-S Doc ID: RM000001YXR00CX
Title: SPECIFICATIONS: CLUTCH: SERVICE DATA (2013 FR-S)
SERVICE DATA
Clutch Pedal
Pedal play 4.0 (0.158 in.)
Pedal stroke 105 to 115 mm (4.134 to 4.528 in.)

I am not really a 'car' guy. Could someone explain these numbers?
I have the entire Repair Manual. Wish I could upload this doc., it's 116 MB.

[artizhay]

Ah, working on my own car. At one point, this would have been something I would have just brought to my mechanic client and asked him to do.

Clutch adjustment, check. Now to learn an oil change. Got it down in theory, but the practical implementation is never as smooth.

Anyway, my original pedal play was about 0.8-1.0in (rough measurements, and used a tape measure rather than a ruler). Got it down to about 0.5in. Feels much better. Always felt like I was doing some strange ballet move, trying to balance my foot in a very awkward position.

Something I noticed is that the further you adjust the pedal towards the firewall, the more it wants to "stick" on the way back out. Maybe I'm just imagining it, idk.

But when depressing with my hand, I would let the pedal out and once it passed the resistance area, it seemed to have a hard time fully traveling back through the free play area, like there wasn't enough force pushing it back out. I drove it like this too and I could still feel it. Depsite the fact that this would still keep the pedal within the freeplay spec.

If I adjusted it back out, it seemed to be able to smoothly travel back to its original position. There just seems to be a fine point where if you adjust it past that point, it wants to stick on the way back out.

Originally Posted by smokeyFRS

8/6/12 SPECIFICATIONS: CLUTCH: SERVICE DATA (2013 FR-S)

Last Modified: 8-6-2012 6.4 F From: 201203
Model Year: 2013 Model: FR-S Doc ID: RM000001YXR00CX
Title: SPECIFICATIONS: CLUTCH: SERVICE DATA (2013 FR-S)
SERVICE DATA
Clutch Pedal
Pedal play 4.0 (0.158 in.)
Pedal stroke 105 to 115 mm (4.134 to 4.528 in.)

I am not really a 'car' guy. Could someone explain these numbers?
I have the entire Repair Manual. Wish I could upload this doc., it's 116 MB.

Interesting that your manual (PDF I assume?) says the pedal play is 4mm.

My hard copy lists the pedal play as 5-15mm or 0.2-0.6in.

This means the distance traveled by the pedal without resistance should be within those specs. So you get a ruler, measure how far out the pedal is, then press it till you feel resistance, and measure again. The difference between the first measurement and the second should be between 0.2-0.6in.

But in your case it should be 0.158in...strange.

[Jun_]

So do you turn the rod counter-clockwise or clockwise to make the clutch lower to the floor? o_O Sorry for the nub question, still new to this. Just got my car last Friday. It came right on my birthday.

[artizhay]

Originally Posted by Jun_

So do you turn the rod counter-clockwise or clockwise to make the clutch lower to the floor? o_O Sorry for the nub question, still new to this. Just got my car last Friday. It came right on my birthday.

Believe it was counter-clockwise.

[Tt3Sheppard]

Originally Posted by artizhay

Ah, working on my own car. At one point, this would have been something I would have just brought to my mechanic client and asked him to do.

Clutch adjustment, check. Now to learn an oil change. Got it down in theory, but the practical implementation is never as smooth.

Anyway, my original pedal play was about 0.8-1.0in (rough measurements, and used a tape measure rather than a ruler). Got it down to about 0.5in. Feels much better. Always felt like I was doing some strange ballet move, trying to balance my foot in a very awkward position.

Something I noticed is that the further you adjust the pedal towards the firewall, the more it wants to "stick" on the way back out. Maybe I'm just imagining it, idk.

But when depressing with my hand, I would let the pedal out and once it passed the resistance area, it seemed to have a hard time fully traveling back through the free play area, like there wasn't enough force pushing it back out. I drove it like this too and I could still feel it. Depsite the fact that this would still keep the pedal within the freeplay spec.

If I adjusted it back out, it seemed to be able to smoothly travel back to its original position. There just seems to be a fine point where if you adjust it past that point, it wants to stick on the way back out.


Interesting that your manual (PDF I assume?) says the pedal play is 4mm.

My hard copy lists the pedal play as 5-15mm or 0.2-0.6in.

This means the distance traveled by the pedal without resistance should be within those specs. So you get a ruler, measure how far out the pedal is, then press it till you feel resistance, and measure again. The difference between the first measurement and the second should be between 0.2-0.6in.

But in your case it should be 0.158in...strange.

So basically we should keep the clutch close to stock? How exactly are you measuring the distance?

[artizhay]

Originally Posted by Tt3Sheppard

So basically we should keep the clutch close to stock? How exactly are you measuring the distance?

I've been thinking about it, and the stickiness I experienced may have been due to the cruise control sensor pushing on the clutch. I left the sensor where it is stock, but it's quite possible that it has enough force to push the clutch back after adjusting to a certain point.

Just a theory, but it seems plausible. So even if your cruise control and gear indicator still work without adjustment as stated in the OP, you may want to adjust it to relieve some of the force.

I used a tape measure but a ruler would be better as it's more rigid. You just keep it horizontal with the floor and measure the pedal travel.

[Tt3Sheppard]

Hmm I'm going to have to try this when I get home. Right now the clutch is set slightly below the brake pedal but from what I've been reading optimal position is even with the brake pedal or slightly higher.

[grodenglaive]

Awesome DIY thread, thanks! My clutch pedal is 1/2 inch higher than the brake - that's about to change!

[xn7485]

Got adjustment done today, took minutes and definately a better feel.

Wonder if OP can answer this.. let say "slightly" is 1mm. Is the clutch pedal 1mm below the top of the brake pedal or 1mm below the bottom of the brake pedal?

I have it at <1mm below the top of the brake pedal as of now.

[_hollywood]

Just did it, the key is to push your clutch in slightly when turning the rod, i cant believe i didnt do this sooner, only took 10 minutes because i was taking my time, cruise control is fine.

Now i can keep my heel on the floor when shifting instead of akwardly balancing my foot.