The clutch on my car is stiff, I like it that way, the friction point is roughly in the middle, and this was the car I learned to drive standard on... So last night I was out with my friends, one of which has a Volvo S60 (his parents) and another who has a Volkswagen TDI (she bought it)... both were manual... The S60 guy insists that I drive that car just to see how light the clutch is... Good lord, I wasnt sure if I was pushing the clutch or not... the friction point is so high, and getting it going from a roll took some getting used to... but the transmission was ... I could see how a lighter clutch would be easier in traffic, and how it would be easier when going for quick shifts, but I HATED it... Im just glad my car's got the clutch it does...

Are there advantages to a lighter clutch? aside from the amount of effort needed to push it? Which do you prefer, ligher or stiffer?

 

i like lighter clutches. my buddy in high school had a built 95 or 96 Mustang he tore down the motor punched it out. did a lot of bolt ons like headers,intake manifold, intake,exhaust,other misc. He put in a racing clutch. he let me drive it a couple times. I was driving it and usually when I drive someone else's car I take it easy unless they tell me to "give it hell" I go to push in on the clutch I thought I messed up the clutch or the clutch was messed up before i got in it. I said to my buddy "dude is your clutch always this hard to step on"(you almost had to kick it) he said "yeah why?" compared to a Honda or Acura Clutch it was at least 5-7 times harder to push in.
advantages of a "stiffer" clutch. I think they can take more HP abuse. most of my buddies with last Generation Cameros SS or Firebirds WS6s swapped their clutches for racing clutches. if you a type like most guys at my high school who at the stoplight take the engine up to about 4-5 k and dump the clutch it will do a number on the stock clutch.

 

I never, ever, ever dump the clutch on my car... The differnetial is weak, and I care to much about it to do abuse to it... My cousins had an 02 Civic, and the clutch was just as light as this S60 was, its insane... I can see how stiffer clutches can take more HP abuse, only because they seem "beefyer"...

 

when my dad was my age (a little younger maybe) he had a 68 or 69 Dodge Charger with a 440 big block 4 speed on the floor and a 4 barrel carb. This is in the summer keep in mind He put a stock clutch in on Friday afternoon took it to the tire shop that night put a fresh set of tires on the back end by Sunday night the clutch and tires were toasted. He said that was an expensive weekend. he still wishes he never got sold that but it was fun while it lasted.

 

I like lighter clutches. It's easier to drive around town. I NEVER get tired of driving in the city in this car, no matter how long I drive (longest so far has been 3.5 hours in city traffic). Plus if your clutch is too heavy you end up with a bulky left calf and a skinny right one. That happened to me with my old 4Runner and I had to spend a year in the gym paying close attention to correct the symmetry.

I have an 06 EX-V6 6MT Accord, and I love the transmission on that! The clutch friction point is high up, but it's easy to shift and the shifts are crisp.

I've noticed the Drive-by-Wire helps me out when I'm shifting.
When I press the clutch in, the DBW gives me a little bit of throttle on it's own without me touching the gas pedal. When I first bought th car I didn't know this and I was getting the little VSA triangle too often cause I was giving it gas in addition to what the DBW was giving me. It's an interesting feature and took some time to get used to, but I love it now.

 

For daily driving and even light spirited driving, a light clutch seems to work better for me. On race cars that I've had a chance to drive, heavier clutches are needed to get the power from the motor to ground.

It just depends on what you need. If you're building a high hp, high torque motor that is going to largely be a weekend toy, a stiff clutch might not matter a whole lot. However, a super stiff clutch will become wearisome in long distances of low speed traffic.

 

Actually, that is the slowness of the DBW system. My TSX does this too and I dont like it. I forget what this is called, but there is a name for it. I have an article about it kicking around somewhere that talked about why this happends (I will see if I can find it). Basically, it takes a short amount of time for the DBW system to react after you take your foot off the gas. So it has the throttle on for a short time after you are off the gas,....which is why there is that little "delay" (or whatever you want to call it) before the revs start to drop. The car thinks the throttle is still on for a quarter second (whatever time it actually is,...less than that) basically after you are off the gas pedal.

For normal driving the system is fine, but it can be annoying at times. For ex,......accelerating onto the hwy and/or WOT when you are shifting very quickly. If I decide to hammer it on an on-ramp or something, I have to purposely shift slower than I want too. This is because if I shift really fast,.........the car will jerk as a result of the revs not starting to drop immediately when my foot comes off the gas (meaning,...they dont start to fall right away, thus the revs are too high with a really fast shift when you let the clutch out and are back on the gas very quickly). I think its annoying, and I would rather the car not do it,......but thats DBW for ya. If they improve it so it reacts faster, then it wouldnt be as noticable.


Back on topic,..............ummmmmmmm i like a clutch in the middle,.......not too light, not too heavy. I like a clutch the starts to take about halfway off the floor too.

 

I have been lucky enough to drive a race car before too, and the clutch was on the heavier side. I liked it a lot, but for a normal car to drive around in, something lighter is better. For those who have driven/drive a TSX,.......anything much heavier than its clutch I wouldnt like. Ahhhhh the TSX has a good clutch.

 

I just drove another friends 97 Saab, the clutch is a big on/off switch. friction point is 3/4 of the way up and impossible to take off on a hill... I would sell that car in an instant if it was mine because I wouldnt be able to stand it for too long, but I also really like the clutch in my car, and am very used to it, so maybe you just get used to the clutch thats in your car

 

No, I tried it. If I let my foot off the gas, the rpm stays where it is for a short 0.2 seconds or whatever. BUT, if I PRESS THE CLUTCH IN, the RPM goes UP! Yes, it jumps several hundred RPM. That is NOT drive by wire lag. Drive by wire lag is when you let off the gas and it stays at a certain rpm. This happens when I press the clutch in past a certain point. It doesn't engage this ability until the clutch is in far enough. I've played with it.

 

I see,........thats just weird then. No need to yell though.

 

OP, I see where you're coming from and I used to feel the same way going from a '96 Sentra to an '06 TSX.

I was so used to the heavy clutch, the tall shifter, and the long throws of the Sentra.
But after getting used to the lighter clutch and short shifter of the TSX, I am absolutely in love with it.
Now it's impossible to go back to driving the Sentra.

Light clutches > heavy clutches

 

I know EXACTLY where your coming from Heavy clutch, and long throws

But I guess your right, if I were to get used to a lighter clutch it would be like second nature, but, for the time being I like my heavier then normal clutch