Thirty_Seven

iTrader: (5)

Haha, unfortunately I already installed the short shifter myself, but I really do love it. Throws are MUCH shorter, perfect in my opinion. Its slightly tougher to get into each gear but that's something I've experienced in every short shifter car I've driven.

The **** sits at the perfect height now IMO. It looks and feels much more natural.

pledes23

Very kind gesture, thank you. But it's honestly been driving me nuts, stock spring is making it seem as if this is my first MT.. Smh.. It will be here Monday, will try to install it sometime during the week.

So all on schedule for swapping out the pedal this weekend?

35Sport

The solution to your problem lies here...

ZSpeed Performance Replacment HD Clutch CSC Heavy Duty Slave Cylinder Kit

Rochester

iTrader: (8)

AFAIK. My friends should be showing up early afternoon today.

I know, I know. And if I had known when it happened, and the situation were different, then the aftermarket CSC would have happened too.

The CSC blew two days before a family vacation to the Dominican Republic. The car was towed to our local Infiniti Dealership, who diagnosed the problem and told me it was the CSC, fully covered under my remaining warranty. Since the repair with OEM parts cost me zero dollars, and I was leaving the country the very next day... what would you have done?

As much as peace of mind is a valuable thing, you have to look at this with a broader perspective. A failing CSC feels like much more of a common problem because so many of us online b1tch about it. But the reality for Nissan/Infiniti repairs is that it's a fairly uncommon thing. The Service Manager last year said he couldn't remember ever having had to replace the CSC on a G37 6MT before. (However, perhaps the Nissan SM might be more familiar with the problem on the 370Z... IDK.)

Rochester

iTrader: (8)

Pedal installed. More tomorrow after I sober up and drive around some more.

Furlow

Nice! Full counter-clockwise is "100%" which is where I settled at as well. Just make sure to adjust the switches as Jsolo described. Looking forward to your review!

JSolo

iTrader: (14)

Load up on some pain killers. You'll be needing them in the morning.

Rochester

iTrader: (8)

Yes, full counter-clockwise, then just one turn back. It helps to pull up on the pedal when turning the adjustment ****. And yes, the sensors are properly set. The car starts fine with the clutch in, and depressing the clutch successfully disengages Cruise Control. It's all good.

The car is so-o-o-o much easier to drive now, it's crazy.

Anyway, more tomorrow.

lobuzz311

iTrader: (6)

Uh oh. I was afraid you'd say that.
Looking forward to your extended driving impressions.

Was the install as big of a PITA as you thought it would be?

Rochester

iTrader: (8)

Installed last night, driven a fair amount. Another bit of driving today. And now this review.


INSTALLATION

I did not do the installation myself. My buddy Matt did the install, and he wasn’t intimidated at all by the process. We didn’t even remove the driver’s seat, although we were planning on it. Start to finish, it took maybe 1.5 hours. There was a little bit of confusion about the RJM spring and how it’s properly seated. And it took a while to realize it’s possible to over-tighten the assembly, so that the bushings don’t move freely enough for the pedal to return to position with appropriate force. And then there was about an hour of driving around, testing where the three of us liked the dial position best.

We installed the clutch pedal flush with the brake pedal, although it could be adjusted in or out further. I figured even with the brake was fine. Truth is, I didn’t take note where the OEM pedal location was in relation to the brake pedal. If someone wants to comment on that, have at it.


MOVEMENT

The effort required to push the pedal down, and the feel of the pedal on the way up, is now extremely linear. Whereas the necessary force applied to the OEM pedal is very decidedly a curve. Comparing the two experiences, the RJM pedal has a more natural feel. To me, this is a good thing.

Because of this linear movement, you don’t have to *roll* your foot over the pedal in order to engage it properly. I don’t know how else to explain this. Now you just push it in and out, without the need for extra finesse. On the one hand: OMG thank you! On the other hand… there is a weird sense of pride thinking it takes skills to drive Nissan’s 6MT in the G/Z. And while that may be true for some, it’s more a factor of a poorly designed clutch pedal than it is an actual driving challenge to overcome.

BTW, the pedal also has more vibration now. You can feel things through your foot that are typically masked by the OEM pedal. To me, this is also a good thing. To auto designers of mass-produced sedans, probably not so much.


ENGAGEMENT

My friends and I discussed this at length, and all agreed on the following diagram. [edit] I've since discussed this interpretation with Ryan at RJM Performance, and he confirmed relative accuracy to this graphic. Go figure



Essentially, the effective area of engagement has been moved down the pedal throw, and the adjustment **** allows you to adjust the width of that area. Dial the **** all the way clockwise, and you get pretty close to OEM engagement. Dial the **** all the way counter-clockwise, and you widen the effective area quite a bit. Either way, the effective area is now further down the clutch pedal travel than it was OEM.

Personally, I prefer the wider engagement. I think other people do, too. So I dial the **** all the way counter-clockwise, then a full turn back the other way. It might help to use your free hand to pull up on the pedal when turning the ****.


DRIVING

No matter how skilled you think you are with the OEM clutch pedal, there will come a time when you accidentally stall the car. Just admit it, LOL. No one is perfect. However, with this new pedal that will never happen again. Guaranteed.

You know how difficult it is to get a smooth roll out of the hole? Even harder if you’re trying to launch out of the hole? Well, those days are gone. The car is so-o-o-o-o much more easy to drive now, and shifts are like butter, particularly the lower gears 1-2-3.


FINAL ANALYSIS

Should have bought this sooner. I’ve had this car for 3.5 years now, and all along I kept saying jsolo’s return spring was good enough. Why perform elective surgery when all you need is a band-aid, right? Wrong. This mod is only $250 if you or a friend installs it for the cost of beer and a steak dinner. And it’s worth every penny.

Add my voice to the chorus of positive reviews.

Furlow

Damn bro, you've really outdone yourself with this review. A diagram (100% accurate to boot)?? Legendary!

Falker11

iTrader: (3)

Great writeup Rochester - thanks for that. Glad your buddy was not intimidated by the install - I was and decided not to move forward with the install myself - still need to get over to a shop to install mine. This review may be the kick in the *** I need.

How involved is the adjustment of the switches after you adjust the RJM pedal for engagement?

Rochester

iTrader: (8)

Matt is a mechanic, and he's young, but with years of history modding Nissans. I'm an old fart who often pays people like Matt to do work for me. Fortunately, he's my friend, too. So yeah... I'm grateful.


Really minor. Tweak the sensor engagement, then test it out. If the car starts with the clutch pedal in, and the Cruise disengages when you depress the clutch, then you're good to go.

If you had seen me testing the cruise control, you would have laughed. I never use it. Quite literally never.

Because racecar.

ToXIc

iTrader: (2)

ok man.. where the pics.... were you holding two beers the entire time?!



and as usual thankyou for your in depth write-ups

ttv36

iTrader: (1)

Glad to hear everything worked out fine and you are happy with the mod, I mean how could you not be right? The only issue that people seem to have with the clutch is that they didn't do the mod sooner!