Clutch pedal feel

Originally Posted by Magic Bus

will most likely give you a lot longer life out of your CSC.

Originally Posted by nis350

care to explain in detail how the rjm pedal would provide longer life of the csc?

Originally Posted by Read T

And just in case your OEM pedal SHEARS off, don't bother calling Nissan for help. Ask me how I know.

Originally Posted by nis350

care to explain in detail how the rjm pedal would provide longer life of the csc?

Originally Posted by MaysEffect

Yea that seems a bit far fetched. But if the claims of smoother clutch engagement is a basis behind it, you would most likely not being slamming the clutch closed during engagement. In this case a smoother engagement would possibly warrant less destruction than a hard engagement at the incorrect rpm level.

Originally Posted by nis350

care to explain in detail how the rjm pedal would provide longer life of the csc?

Originally Posted by Ryan @ RJM

Well since fellow owners haven't chimed in yet I'll take a shot at what I feel the important improvement points are:

First the factory pedal feels VERY numb and disconnected from what the clutch is actually doing. Not feeling what the clutch is doing takes away a lot of driver feedback which helps you feel the critical engagement points. This is due to the spring clutch assist mechanism Nissan used starting already back with the 350Z in 03'. Lighter springs are available from several people here but they make very limited improvement and I'd say 8 out of 10 370Z customers who buy my product tell me they wasted $20bucks trying the spring mod band-aid solution first but weren't happy with the results.

2nd is the long travel and very high engagement point where for a big guy like myself me knee was practically hitting the dash before the clutch would engage on the upstroke of the pedal. In factory form the clutch pedal is taller than the brake pedal height making it awkward to adjust the seat comfortbly, ideally both should be at the same height. This high pedal put me sitting almost all the way back to compensate which is a compromise at best. The RJM pedal allows you to safely lower the pedal height to be equal to or lower than the brake if you so choose.
I say safely as with the factory assembly altering the pedal height down messes with the function of the spring assist mechanism which can stick in assist mode and burn up your clutch and throw out bearing in short order.

3rd is the ability of the RJM to alter the pedals leverage ratio and master cylinder travel. By reducing the master cylinder travel it eliminates the excess travel at the bottom of the stroke and lowers the friction point closer to the floor which many find more enjoyable than a really tall friction point. The increase in pedal leverage means you have finer control over the clutch release and a wider range of pedal motion that is actively modulating the clutch. This leads to much smoother and faster 1-2 shifts which are hard to get consistently smooth on the factory 370Z pedal without a lot of effort put on getting the perfect timing and rpm's just right. With the RJM the 1-2 shift becomes smoother, easier and with less mental effort... it just comes naturally and more fluid which is hard to explain but must really be felt to understand.

4th, not really "feel' related and many don't know this but the RJM's reduction of excess pedal stroke and master cylinder travel reduces or eliminates the chance of OEM concentric slave cylinder failure. Slave failure is almost always the result of over stroking the CSC inside the bellhousing causing the seals to rupture when the CSC piston reaches the end of its designed travel but the master cylinder/clutch pedal continues to push. When the seals burst it's almost always instant death for the CSC. Plus it means getting towed and possibly replacing the clutch too if clutch fluid sprays onto the clutch disk permanently contaminating it.
Reducing the excess pedal stroke is a good thing for extending CSC life and I've had customers who've had 2 or 3 CSC's replaced in a row by the dealership who then installed the RJM pedal and never had the issue return. As well I've never heard of a single CSC failure from any customer running the RJM pedal in the past 2 years of sales while there are hundreds of other 370Z & G37 owners that are still struggling with CSC failures out there on the various owner forums.

Originally Posted by Magic Bus

Go to the link below and click on the video, he'll explain it better then I can. By the way, it's not a RJM representative or employee.

Home

My personal testimonial. I put the RJM pedal on my Z approx 2 months after I got it, not because I couldn't drive the Z, but thanks to this forum, I was concerned about the CSC. Over 5 years and 22,000 miles, yes it's low miles, but I live in downtown Honolulu and daily drive my car in the city, in the 2nd worst city for traffic in the US. My 22k miles equals probably at least 50k plus miles for clutch depressions for most other people.

I've also asked twice on this forum, for anyone who's installed a RJM pedal have a CSC failure and have received 0 response to both request. Will it totally prevent a CSC failure, probably not depending on when you put the RJM pedal in, but I placed a $240 insurance bet by purchasing and installing it when my car was new and I'd do it all over again if I bought another. Oh yes, I recommend that you both do it too.

Originally Posted by DrBacon

Thank you everyone for your replies. I've ordered the rjm clutch pedal and will give it a try when it arrives, hopefully it's not too much of a pain in the *** to install. Not too sure why I can't figure out the Z's clutch, as I've driven other manual cars and never had this much trouble, hopefully the rjm clutch pedal will help with that.