Drove a GT Premium but clutch is a potential deal killer

[Stang16]

I have been obsessed with this car for that past month and I really want to order a GT PP. I visited the local dealer this weekend and drove a GT Premium without the PP cause that's all they had. I liked everything about the car except for the clutch. It feels like a clutch straight out of a truck and not one you would find on a sports car. There is way too much unnecessary pedal travel which combined with the high engagement point totally kills the joy of driving the car. I have been reading around and it seems like there is no adjustment that can be done since it's a hydraulic clutch. Anyone feel the same way and is there anything that can be done to shorten the pedal travel?

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[Nucdancer01]

Get rid of the stupid spring and it feels like a clutch again.


Sent from my Oxford White 2015 GT PP, Prem

 

[fmusignac]

+1 on spring delete. It feels great and predictable engagement after removing it.

 

[P4RKER]

If your concern is pedal travel there is nothing you can really do about it. engagement is high so you don't need to go to the floor but the clutch spring just makes it feel like a clutch again. I don't think there is any issue with pedal travel. I have driven many manual trucks and those clutches require full leg travel while this is nice and short. IMO.

 

[Schu]

if you're not a manual person OP... dont even consider a manual transmission in the S550.

if you are a manual person OP... Nothing about this clutch should even give you a single moment of pause.

moral of the story, get the automatic. :faint:

 

[Stang16]

If your concern is pedal travel there is nothing you can really do about it. engagement is high so you don't need to go to the floor but the clutch spring just makes it feel like a clutch again. I don't think there is any issue with pedal travel. I have driven many manual trucks and those clutches require full leg travel while this is nice and short. IMO.

I'm guessing removing the spring won't really affect pedal travel just the feel of the clutch, right? You mention that yours is nice and short so maybe there is variation from car to car. I'll try to drive another one to see if there is any difference cause that one felt pretty long. I'm 5'11" and I had to move the seat uncomfortably close to the wheel in order to fully press the pedal down.

 

[coopdro]

Agree with the clutch assist spring removal. Once I ditched that, I had no qualms about the clutch. I initially was not stoked about the feel of the clutch at all prior to removing the spring.

 

[Stang16]

if you're not a manual person OP... dont even consider a manual transmission in the S550.

if you are a manual person OP... Nothing about this clutch should even give you a single moment of pause.

moral of the story, get the automatic. :faint:

I am a manual person but the last manual car I had used a traditional cable clutch with a low engagement point and very short pedal travel for fast and comfortable shifts. That's why this caught me by surprise and it felt like driving my friend's old pickup.

 

[doulos4jc]

http://www.mustang6g.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13497

For your reading pleasure, night and day difference without spring. A clutch stop could suck up a little travel at the bottom, I'm not aware of anyone installing one yet though.

 

[OppoLock]

You don't have to use the entire range of the clutch and deleting the spring makes it much more enjoyable.

I drove my friend's focus ST recently and the overall clutch pedal travel must've been less than half of my car's, but it didn't feel any better because of this.

 

[Chameleon]

In short clutch spring delete. But I'm guessing they going to look at you kinda funny with you laying by the clutch with the vice grip.

 

[socalsnake]

I'm guessing removing the spring won't really affect pedal travel just the feel of the clutch, right? You mention that yours is nice and short so maybe there is variation from car to car. I'll try to drive another one to see if there is any difference cause that one felt pretty long. I'm 5'11" and I had to move the seat uncomfortably close to the wheel in order to fully press the pedal down.

Clutch engagement isn't all the way to the floor even though the pedal travels all the way down. I would guess clutch engagement is somewhere 1/2 way down to a 1/3 way down the pedal travel...can someone else verify or chime in?

In any case if you don't remove the helper spring, clutching consistency is hard to achieve because of the non-linear feel caused by the spring.

 

[Koncealed]

The spring removal makes it heavier, still a light clutch, but heavier. The clutch shityness is still there though.

 

[Stang16]

Clutch engagement isn't all the way to the floor even though the pedal travels all the way down. I would guess clutch engagement is somewhere 1/2 way down to a 1/3 way down the pedal travel...can someone else verify or chime in?

In any case if you don't remove the helper spring, clutching consistency is hard to achieve because of the non-linear feel caused by the spring.

I'm wondering though if it's safe to just go slightly past the engagement point as opposed to all the way to the floor. The Chinese made transmission already makes me nervous without putting any extra stress on it by not fully pressing the pedal down. I've seen the clutch pedal extenders they sell but those go on top of the pedal instead of under which means you have to lift your foot higher in order to clear the pedal to push it down. I guess some kind of stopper that goes under the pedal would be ideal.

 

[Stang16]

http://www.mustang6g.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13497

For your reading pleasure, night and day difference without spring. A clutch stop could suck up a little travel at the bottom, I'm not aware of anyone installing one yet though.

Thanks for the link. That's something worth trying since you can always put it back. Although it seems to make the clutch heavier. I guess you just can't have it all.

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