I was interested in knowing how many people here have a clutch block installed in their cars. and if you don't know what one is, I can describe it for you and tell you how it helps

 

Okay, what is it?

 

basically, it shortens clutch pedal travel, improving shift times.

say your stock clutch starts to grab 2 inches off the floor. That is where the friction plates start to touch, and anything closer to the floor than that is just moving the plates further apart. Some people fix this by adjusting the clutch pushrod, but this only lets the user adjust where the clutch begins to engage, not how far the pedal travels. Adding a clutch block actually removes some of the distance necessary to push the clutch all the way down. this mod effectively raises the "floor" up to the height at which friction on the plates start.

so if you are shifting with the same mods as me, and we are equally skilled, but my foot only needs to travel 6 inches and yours 8 for every shift, then I will be faster.

our cars are set up perfectly for this mod. I don't remember the thread size but the existing clutch block is set on a threaded stud coming from the firewall.
I used a two by two peice of wood and cut it to length, drilled a hole in the center and countersunk it so I could attach it with a nut and washer to the post.

I have an idea on a production model that is adjustable since no two clutches are the same.

no one seems to know what this mod is or how much it really benefits you. if enough people post here I will do a DIY thread, but for now I am just interested in the responses.

 

I"d be interested in a DIY thread. My clutch gets stuck on my winter mat all the time and really pisses me off. I"ve been trying to not push it down as far, but sometimes its just enough to catch on the mat and stick. Its kinda dangerous actually when this happens in traffic. FYI, don't buy the rubber mats from mitsubishi cause these are the mats i'm talking about.

 

one interested. I will check back after work and mayber get my brothers camera for this weekend.

 

Sounds like a bad idea for those not knowing what they are doing...

Someone is going to set it too high and then not be disengaging the clutch fully when they're shifting, thinking they're so much faster and burning out the clutch.

 

thats right, but if you install right you go through about ten minutes of finding out how far the clutch should be off the floor. and unless you are pretty stupid you should take at least an 1/8" off any measurement you come up with for the clutch block, considering the obvious. and I have found that most DIY's on here aren't for people who don't know what they are doing, heII even modding your car at all for that matter is a bad idea if you don't know how to do it.

 

Doens't the RA's clutch engage fully fairly quickly, maybe its just me but I think it wouldn't be worth it unless it changes the acctual travel of the pedal from the floor instead of where it engages or a block to stop the travel

If its just a block that needs to be made I could mass produce these things with given dimensions.

 

I'd make one.

 

Technically it does change the travel, just opposite the way I would consider best. The best thing to happen would be to have a clutch pedal that was an inch off the floor and was basically a switch. Not going to happen though.

So instead, take out the end of the stroke. Putting a stop at the bottom of the stroke puts the pedal only as close to the floor as is needed to fully disengage the clutch. Mine took off about 1.5" from the stock clutch stop. I call it a clutch block because that is what I was told it was called, although clutch stop is more descriptive of what it does.

In other words, I don't have to "feel" where the clutch disengages when high speed shifting. I mash it to the floor (where my block is) and that is as far as it needs to go to shift.

And please don't tell me that it's bad for the car. I spent at LEAST fifteen minutes in my driveway with the parking brake off testing where the clutch grabbed and then took another 1/8" to 3/16" off the block to make sure it didn't effect the clutch.

My shifting is super fast and I don't chirp gears like an amateur. I will say that my foot is faster than my hand and I will definitely be getting a short shift kit to compensate for this.

Sorry for the long post, I just want you guys to understand what I am talking about. If you try it, you won't ever take it out. I have had one in every manual transimission vehicle I have driven since I knew what fast cornering really was, even a 93 mazda protege stock.

 

only two interested? do you two guys that are interested have enough info to do your own or do you need more description? I don't want to waste my time with a formal DIY with pics if I can just nudge you guys along with some additional info on this thread.

 

a DIY with pics would be helpful

 

ok, will try and get some pics tomorrow to start the write up.

 

its bassicaly like the accelerator pedal stopper in the back if you ever looked. mercedes intergrated a button back there for automatics so whenever you floor it and then push more you push the button and it downshifts the car.

 

I will like to see the pictures so go ahead, will be waiting for them!