I recently had an extended road test of an early ND. It was a fine car but I found it too civilised.
Anyways, It has more horse power than mine, yet the clutch was so light. So I’m thinking the depression of the clutch isn’t much to with anything other than the spring that moderates that pressure needed? Can you use another return spring or temper the original to be less fierce?
You might find a clutch stopper could help with the feeling and clutch action?
In terms of the pedal itself, as far as I’m aware clutch pedal engagement adjustment isn’t available on the the ND, unlike on NA/NB/NC.
How many NDs have you tested? Just wondering if it might be related to that individual example, depending on mileage/clutch wear etc?
Cheers,
Steve
Interesting post. I have an NC and find the clutch needs some pretty serious leg work to push it down, which in a way is robust and feels good but after a time gets a bit onerous on the old legs. My wife doesn’t like driving the car because of it (and the fact it messes up her hair). Sounds like it’s adjustable so it can easier to press down?
For the NC, here’s a bit more info/context:
Although I never felt the need on my old NC2, the best thread I found for the procedure was here:
https://www.miata.net/garage/adjust_clutch/index.html
Cheers,
Steve
Is the question about NC or ND clutch weight? It’s not clear.
Personally I haven’t found either to have characteristics that remain in memory particularly.
OP has an NC and was test driving an ND. So it’s a question regarding clutch pedal adjustment on the ND.
Surely the return spring on the pedal is just that so should be relatively weak and not have any material effect. The main resistance is from the springs in the clutch itself. which can vary considerably.
As the title mentions heavy clutch I think the ‘problem’ is with the OP’s NC.
There’s a vast range of clutch ‘weight’ between different cars, but I don’t think an NC should be properly heavy. It wouldn’t surprise me if it takes more pressure than the ND, my son’s NC2 is definitely heavier than my ND. It’s the contrast that’s noticeable when you go from one car to another. That said Japanese cars are usually very light on the controls.
I had a drive in a friend’s Ferrari 456. The clutch was so comparatively heavy that that I thought I was on the footrest and actually looked to see where my feet were. I commented that the clutch was very heavy and the owner jumped to its defence saying it was fine. I suppose you need stronger springs if you are putting 400+hp through it.
It’s all relative as well of course, which was why I was interested if the OP had driven any other ND examples. And of course what is ‘heavy’ to one person, might be perfectly fine to someone else.
Then you have the person’s relative strength, leg length, seating position and what their baseline is, i.e. usually the manual transmission vehicle they drive most often. Quite a few variables to consider…
Most of the time on the NC’s it’s never had a clutch in the last 10+years and the pressure plate is weak hence heavy clutch
Anyone who has had a new clutch will tell you it’s as light as a feather
I’m going to embarrass myself here but presumably when you put the clutch out (i.e. depress the pedal) you are fighting the clamping force, provided by the pressure plate diaphragm spring? So a stronger diaphragm spring should give a heavier pedal than a weak one?
Having said that I have only ever had to replace one clutch, not the hundreds you must have done, and that was indeed lighter after the driven plate and cover/pressure plate had been changed.
What happens? Do the fingers get bent so they have to be pushed further/harder to disengage the plates?
I know this is above my pay grade but I have been under the impression that I knew how clutches worked:)
The pressure plate fingers don’t spring over centre on an old clutch
This makes it heavy to press
The pedal return spring has absolutely no effect on the pedal feel. What you’re feeling is the clutch pressure plate.
Thanks for the replies. Just to clarify. … After experiencing the light clutch action of an ND 1.5 (70k) I was test driving, I wondered if I could lighten the clutch on my NC1 ( 1.8/ 50k) which is a lot heavier.
The worn clutch argument maybe right and is interesting but, though nine years older my car has covered 20k less miles.
The newer car may have had less.clutch use as the mileage maybe motorway miles
Your older car may have had thousands of more clutch applications
Yes indeed. Too many variables to come to any conclusion.
The shaft which the release bearing slides up and down on also gets clogged up with dust and fibre from the friction disc. The only solution to that is take it apart, clean it up and reassemble. This is unlikely to get done, but it does make the clutch noticeably lighter to use.
Been trying to get this message across, the my both my NC2s have had low disengagement points from factory, resulting in crunchy gearchanges, adjusted both up so that the clutch disengage point is sooner and the result is much cleaner gearchanges, also the 5 speed clutch is slightly heavier than the 6 speed as I have both to compare it to of the same year and mileage, incidentally, the 5 speed box is much better suited to the car for spirited driving than the 6 speed box as you are up and down it like a yo yo! am lucky to have a direct comparison of both. TBH I never thought the 5 speed would be better but it simply delivers with less hassle.
Yep, I’m a fan of five speeds too. Compared to the ND1 (1.5) the whole action is more notchy but, apart from the heavier clutch, is more involving.
I’ve pretty much knocked the ND off my wish list as it was too ‘swish’. …
Thought I was the only one!! both my NC2s have less than 10k on them so are probably still loosening up and will be better with some more miles, I don’t see any reason to go the ND route either backward step in my own opinion, it was the direct injection that put me off. if it isn’t broke don’t fix it in the name of 3mpg don’t want the future de carbon issues that that they will be having for sure. cant beat port injection for longevity.