How To: Free Clutch Spring Removal in 15 Minutes - A must do for manual trans!

[Strife26]

Originally Posted by noodlefish

So would you say I should do this the day I pick up my 86? Or 6 months in so I can appreciate the difference (assuming it hasn't been done already by the current owner).

Week. I just did this, but my car is jackstands so I haven't tested it, but pushing the clutch in while off feels much better. It feels like the clutch and it all makes sense now. My aftermarket didn't feel any different from stock. Now I know why, and now I can feel all of the clutch range. Can't wait to actually drive with it.

[Riztnack]

Do I need to reinstall the pin / c-clip? can it just hang or will it cause an issue?

[jcw99]

A lot of us have have put them in ziplock bags and then kept them with other car stuff in the garage, house, etc.

[Anagonda]

Is it just me or is this harder to do on - 17 RHD?
The spring is above the passthru for "clutch shaft". Very sharp metal around the spring and under 5mm of room around the spring. No way to see the circlip or put any tools in that space.

If I remove the clutch pedal, seems to be with one bolt, will the spring fly out? As is it pushed just between the plates or are both ends, "plates", somehow connected to each other? So that the spring cannot come of?

[Harey]

Post in another thread on here by MTEC industries:
"One thing I do want to explain is that removing the spring can damage you clutch master over time. I've tested and noticed increased wear on the inner seals."

Has anyone else experienced this? Not sure if this is just a recommendation to buy their spring or if it really occurs

[jonboy99]

Not sure what the mechanism would be for that, I can't see why the forces at the master would be any different without the spring. Even if there is more wear, is it significant?

[Strife26]

Originally Posted by Harey

Post in another thread on here by MTEC industries:
"One thing I do want to explain is that removing the spring can damage you clutch master over time. I've tested and noticed increased wear on the inner seals."

Has anyone else experienced this? Not sure if this is just a recommendation to buy their spring or if it really occurs

I don't see how that makes sense. You're not applying pressure anywhere, and the pedal is in the same position with or without the spring in place.

If you adjust the pedal too far up, then I can see this causing wear on the clutch, possibly. My cruise control isn't working since I moved mine up, so I either have it too far up, or the fuses I unplugged for my gauges (working on them) included CC.

But when I do move the pedal up too far I can see it moving the mechanism that goes into the firewall. I would think 0 tension there is ideal, but idk. I'm still a bit of a newb. I know basics, not the advanced...stuff.

[jonboy99]

Originally Posted by Anagonda

Is it just me or is this harder to do on - 17 RHD?
The spring is above the passthru for "clutch shaft". Very sharp metal around the spring and under 5mm of room around the spring. No way to see the circlip or put any tools in that space.

If I remove the clutch pedal, seems to be with one bolt, will the spring fly out? As is it pushed just between the plates or are both ends, "plates", somehow connected to each other? So that the spring cannot come of?

That definitely looks trickier, hope you figure out a way to do it. If you do, post the guide, because i've fallen back in love with my brz and can see me getting into a 2017 model in a few years time! Can you unbolt the thin metal plate to get more access?
A few months on from first doing this mod, and still think it's the best thing to do to the car.




*Update- after a few months of daily driving without the spring, I still far preferred it to stock. However, after getting into a rental for a couple of weeks and returning to the BRZ, the pedal did feel pretty heavy. Decided to try the MTEC clutch spring (almost regretted ordering it within 24 hrs after acclimatizing to the brz again), and when I finally got it fitted, was very pleasantly surprised. Much lighter feeling pedal (though weightier than stock), but the majority of the feel retained. After a week of driving, this is definitely the best option for me. Very easy install too, although I used new zip ties as the supplied ones were brittle and one snapped - wear eye protection!

[rendyr]

Hi there....I just removed the spring in my 2017 and have not yet driven it (other darn responsibilities got in the way). But a comment and then a question:

The stock spring looks something like this one ($9 for 6x springs): https://www.mcmaster.com/#9657k379/=1d4ipyg

...the MTEC spring is twenty times that price ...for a spring that seems just like it has less load than the stock one? If I wanted to get rid of that small amount of travel at the top (the "play")...could not I just get a spring with the same dimensions, but with just a far less amount of resistance? So, just enough to push the pedal up, but not really enough to change the feel of being springless?

Would that possibly get rid of any clutch drag that people are vaguely saying might happen?

[jonboy99]

Originally Posted by rendyr

Hi there....I just removed the spring in my 2017 and have not yet driven it (other darn responsibilities got in the way). But a comment and then a question:

The stock spring looks something like this one ($9 for 6x springs): https://www.mcmaster.com/#9657k379/=1d4ipyg

...the MTEC spring is twenty times that price ...for a spring that seems just like it has less load than the stock one? If I wanted to get rid of that small amount of travel at the top (the "play")...could not I just get a spring with the same dimensions, but with just a far less amount of resistance? So, just enough to push the pedal up, but not really enough to change the feel of being springless?

Would that possibly get rid of any clutch drag that people are vaguely saying might happen?

You can get rid of the play in about 3 minutes by adjusting the clutch switch, so that isn't a good reason to buy a replacement spring IMO. I'm not convinced the weight of the pedal will wear your clutch either.



However if you can find a spring that is the right dimensions, no reason not to use it to lighten the pedal effort. I've got the mitec spring now and really like it (with a different slave cylinder though), but no reason not to experiment with other springs if you want a different feel. Just post up here with the results so we can all try them too!

[churchx]

rendyr: Clutch drag in regards with pedal travel adjustment mod is not about dragging when you release pedal/clutch is engaged, but rather that if one overadjusts bite point eliminating all dead travel (so that clutch bite/start of engagement starts right away after starting to release pedal), when clutch pedal is fully pressed/clutch should be fully disengaged, so that while minimal, but still some clutch contact/drag is there, which will make harder to switch into gear / will add extra clutch & synchros wear.

Changing spring, which more there is to ease pedal press, won't change such clutch drag. Changing to softer sprung spring or removing it alltogether is more to make clutch pedal push harder, so that it's easier to "feel" clutch bite point. By reviews works fine for stock clutch, but with some hard to press aftermarket competition clutches better to leave spring in.

[rendyr]

Great to know, thanks! If someone has some calipers, and the MTEC spring, it would be great to know what diameter/thickness they are using.

[jonboy99]

Originally Posted by rendyr

Great to know, thanks! If someone has some calipers, and the MTEC spring, it would be great to know what diameter/thickness they are using.

My springs are installed, but if you mean the overall dimensions of the mitec spring, they are the same as the stock spring. If someone had a jig to measure the spring strength, that would be very handy!

[rendyr]

I was thinking more just the diameter of the wire, and the number of coils. I can get the coil number from pictures, but the diameter of the wire cross section would tell me a bit more.

Of course, the amount of resistance in pounds would be ideal