BRZ vs WRX STI Clutch

[gmookher]

Originally Posted by ngabdala

I have to say being an experienced manual transmission driver that I stall alot in the BRZ, 5200 miles later. I will be using the DIY here to adjust the catch point. I've just been too lazy

remember less adjustment is more

[OrbitalEllipses]

This is my first manual as well, and I stalled a fair bit in the first few weeks. If I tried to describe the clutch on this car I'd say the pedal is soft, with some dead travel at the beginning and a wide area of modulation. It definitely took some getting used to, but I find it to be really forgiving though feel is definitely a problem; the friction area isn't necessarily hard to find, rather it's numb at its "borders" so to speak.

Gurus feel free to correct,

[kykiee]

DIY for Clutch Adjustment - http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8040

It makes a huge difference

[Khánh]

Originally Posted by DarkSunrise

I used to own an 09 STI hatch. Compared to the STI, the FR-S/BRZ clutch is much lighter and the engagement point is higher. You can lower the engagement point with the DIY mentioned above.

Once warmed up, I prefer the FR-S/BRZ transmission over the one in the STI, but the engagement point did take me a couple of weeks to really get used to.



I thought the 370z's clutch was one of the strangest I've tried. When lifting your foot off the clutch pedal, it feels like the spring is stronger in the last 1-2" travel, almost launching your foot off the pedal at the end. Never felt anything like that before.

I can't really complain about the FR-S/BRZ clutch pedal, except for the high engagement point and soft spring.

I'm so glad I'm not the only one that needs some time getting used to driving frs/brz clutch.. for a minute, i thought i suck at driving stick haha

[DarkSunrise]

Originally Posted by Khánh

I'm so glad I'm not the only one that needs some time getting used to driving frs/brz clutch.. for a minute, i thought i suck at driving stick haha

Haha yeah I felt the same way a couple of times in the first few weeks I had the car. Try the DIY clutch adjustment posted above. I eventually got that done and it helped a lot for me since I was used to cars where the clutch engages early on. Much better/more intuitive now.

[Khánh]

Originally Posted by DarkSunrise

Haha yeah I felt the same way a couple of times in the first few weeks I had the car. Try the DIY clutch adjustment posted above. I eventually got that done and it helped a lot for me since I was used to cars where the clutch engages early on. Much better/more intuitive now.

will do

[CTB727]

Originally Posted by OrbitalEllipses

This is my first manual as well, and I stalled a fair bit in the first few weeks. If I tried to describe the clutch on this car I'd say the pedal is soft, with some dead travel at the beginning and a wide area of modulation. It definitely took some getting used to, but I find it to be really forgiving though feel is definitely a problem; the friction area isn't necessarily hard to find, rather it's numb at its "borders" so to speak.

Gurus feel free to correct,

This is probably the best way to describe it.

[JSUB]

Originally Posted by Jive Turkey

i came from a 2011 STi and the brz is a joke to drive compared to the STi. the clutch is lighter, has less travel, needs way less throttle input and is so much easier to drive smooth than the sti simply because its rwd and not AWD.

Indeed ! Clutch is way easier specialy in heavy traffic compared to my past LGT. Wouldn't go back.

[A5D5TRYR]

I think I've stalled the car once but I will definitely be adjusting the clutch a bit. I'm coming from a 2010 WRX where the revs dropped too slow and made fast shifting hard where as the revs drop much quicker in this car and make leisurely shifting harder. I'm finding the revs dropping too far and I have to tap the gas to bring them back up to engage the clutch in the next gear. This is really only an issue when the trans is cold and I need to shift easy. Once it is warmed up and I can shift faster it isn't as much of an issue. Glad to hear other people have the odd issue though, makes me feel like I'm not too much of a shit driver.

[sierra]

I found the throttle response pulling away in first was delayed when it was new but after over 1000km it has come good. I'm assuming this was ECU learn but it was strange I only noticed it pulling away and could double clutch easily, which needs a quick response.
I wish the brakes were a bit more responsive.

[Laika]

Originally Posted by A5D5TRYR

I think I've stalled the car once but I will definitely be adjusting the clutch a bit. I'm coming from a 2010 WRX where the revs dropped too slow and made fast shifting hard where as the revs drop much quicker in this car and make leisurely shifting harder. I'm finding the revs dropping too far and I have to tap the gas to bring them back up to engage the clutch in the next gear. This is really only an issue when the trans is cold and I need to shift easy. Once it is warmed up and I can shift faster it isn't as much of an issue. Glad to hear other people have the odd issue though, makes me feel like I'm not too much of a shit driver.

Keep your foot ever so slightly on the throttle while you clutch/shift. It'll take a couple tries to find that sweet spot but you'll have extremely smooth shifts like this

[A5D5TRYR]

Originally Posted by Laika

Keep your foot ever so slightly on the throttle while you clutch/shift. It'll take a couple tries to find that sweet spot but you'll have extremely smooth shifts like this

Thanks for the tip. I've done this a few times and I seem to be fine once it's warm but the engine RPM just doesn't act the same when it's cold and makes it really hard to engage smoothly when it's cold. I've only had the car almost two weeks so I figure with practise I'll get better. Changing out the trans fluid will likely help as well as I should be able to shift faster when it's cold. To be fair it is way easier to drive this car smoothly than my WRX was and much easier to launch without bogging the engine.

[Mobius357]

Yup, pedal feel has nothing to do with power. My 4cyl pickup is neither sporty nor powerful, but you almost have to stand on the clutch pedal.

[OrbitalEllipses]

Originally Posted by OrbitalEllipses

This is my first manual as well, and I stalled a fair bit in the first few weeks. If I tried to describe the clutch on this car I'd say the pedal is soft, with some dead travel at the beginning and a wide area of modulation. It definitely took some getting used to, but I find it to be really forgiving though feel is definitely a problem; the friction area isn't necessarily hard to find, rather it's numb at its "borders" so to speak.

Gurus feel free to correct,

I thought about this and I think a better way to put this is that while the friction area is wide, it is also vague feeling. You can definitely feel the point of engagement, but stray from that and I can't necessarily tell what I'm doing.