Error404

Ok, so I've had the manual transmission in my mustang for a few months now, and I'm still loving every minute of it! Many times more fun to drive than the automatic that was previously in the car! I have no real experience with other manual transmissions, accept for the one I have in mine, with a Spec stage 2+ clutch and MGW shifter with 4.10's and a spydershaft. This is the combo I learned on, to drive a stick. (the 4.10's with 10psi Whipple has been a fun learning experience!)

Today I drove a friend's Infinity G35 with a 6 speed manual. The first thing that I noticed was that his clutch is soooo light, it almost feels like there's nothing attached to the other end of it! It just falls to the floor with a thud as soon as I put any pressure on it. And as soon as I try to let off pressure and slowly let it out, it just springs all the way up before I realize it! (which promptly kills the motor, hah!) And same thing with his shifter, it just falls into the gears like there's nothing attached to the other end. I didn't like the feel of it at all (granted, I only drove it for a few minutes, and my mustang is the only manual transmission I've driven in the past 10 years).

Now, I imagine I don't like the way his car feels because I'm just not used to it. And after he drove my mustang, he said the complete opposite about mine, he didn't like it because my clutch felt like it weighed a ton, and my shifter felt like it had to be muscled into each gear. Both clutches seem to engage at about the same point (close to the top), his is just a whole lot easier to push in, and then springs back up very suddenly compared to mine.

But anyway, back to my question. I'm just curious, how 'heavy' are most s197 clutches? Is my Spec 2+ clutch alot heavier feeling than a stock S197 clutch? Or do mustangs just have heavy clutches? Either way, I love it... and I suppose I have a strong left leg and right forearm now


A note on my MGW shifter: I have noticed, that it's harder to shift into the gears when the car is in motion, versus when it's turned off and doing a 'dry run' through the gears. I'm guessing the shifter needs to be adjusted, or I need harder motor/transmission mounts to keep the torque from the motor in check? 5th gear particularly is difficult to get into while driving a bit more spirited, and reverse too. It feels like I hit a barrier and have to push through that barrier when I shift into each new gear. 5 gear sometimes requires a 2nd try (if I'm driving harder than normal) and reverse sometimes requires a 2nd attempt too. All the other gears only ever require 1 attempt, but the barrier is still felt, it's just easier to 'punch through' than 5th or reverse. The 'dry run' when the car is turned off is much easier to get into each gear, with no (or very little) barrier felt.

MaverickMLFD371

you know I've had this problem with my s197, ever since I've had it and mine is an 05 from when the first started coming off the assembly line. my clutch is very tight and stiff! after driving it for many years I've just gotten used to it, cause I thought thats how it was suppose to be. after driving fellow TMS members stangs just for fun on occassion later on of owning my car, my clutch in no way shape or form feels the same as everyone elses. everyone else's is sooooooo much lighter than mine. I've brought it to the dealer twice to see if there was anything wrong and they've said there's nothing wrong with it. and just for the hell of it, I've had random people drive my car and I've gotten the same response "holy crap, do you have an aftermarket clutch, because your clutch is very very stiff!" I'm completely bone stock when it comes to clutch.

Beargap

I have a 2008 GT with stock 5-spd. I have only owned manual trans cars and trucks since 1970 and find the Mustang to be quite light on the clutch. Speaking critically, it is almost too light and has little feel when it engages. The shift is also very light, although a bit clunky at times, and the car is a joy to drive. Going back to the '71 Camaro V8 I bought in the beginning, that had a clutch that was very heavy, but was directly linked and not a cable or hydraulic system. I remember my fiance saying she felt like she needed 2 feet to press the clutch (her car was a VW bug). She now finds the new Mustang fun to drive.

=Vic=

TonyN

I had an 02 GT before my 07. The SN95 still used a cable. When I got my 07 I couldn't beleive how light the pedal was. I didn't really like it at first. Kind of made it hard to engage smoothly. Now that I have gotton used to it, I have no issues with it and am pretty smooth 90% of the time. Every now and again I will get jerky..lol. But anyways, from my experiences the S197 has a light clutch pedal. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty cars out there with a lighter pedal but I personally wouldn't want it an lighter than it already is.

While on the subject of clutches.... about where does everyones clutch fully engage? I'm starting to feel like mine engages pretty high in the pedal travel. Maybe about 70-75% from the floor. I don't remember it ever being this high (usually areound 50%). It may be in my head though. I'm only at 21k. May need a clutch soon. I guess that comes with all the track abuse and spirited driving. Oh well, time for an upgrade!

EagleStroker

+1 I didn't like the light clutch myself, was happy to get rid of it. It was like a sponge from the factory. And i'd rather have the notchy shifter and know it's in gear than a smooth shifter with a lot of slop

denlem

My clutch feels like it engages about half way. To start it, I do have the have the clutch all the way down to the floor or no go. I do find myself kinda jerky more often than not too. When it does jerk, I hear klunking noises. That don't sound normal so I may be having that checked out tomorrow.

MBK

pretty light; not as light as some imports

nynvolt

The 05 stick I test drove before buying my auto felt much stiffer than what I was used to, but I've never driven a stick shift vehicle with 320 ft/lbs of torque prior to that either. So maybe thats why it's heavier.

My Honda civic, honda crx, a reanult fuego, some old 60's renault, dodge dart with slant 6 all had lighter clutches. The only one that was comparable was probably my grandfathers old international pick up.

But I don't really have any comparisons to modern vehicles with more than 150 hp.

Both of the Hondas were a ton of fun to drive, the shift lever and clutch were really awesome.

Error404

Does anyone know if the Spec stage 2+ clutch feels heavier than the stock? I'm just curious as to how mine feels compared to a stock clutch. I'm not looking to get a lighter one, as I like it how it is, but I'm just curious :-)

EagleStroker

I have a twin disc Zoom, and its like night and day.

metroplex

My stock 07 GT clutch feels about as light as a brake pedal that lost hydraulic pressure or has air in the brake lines (some resistance but not much).

I test drove a Saturn Astra with the manual and OMFG that clutch pedal was LIGHT. It was LIGHTER than the GT's drive-by-wire throttle.

On a scale of 1-10, from uber heavy to ultra light, the Astra was a 9 while the GT is more like a 7.

uofh2005

I'm guessing somewhere in the model year they changed the clutch because I too have a 2005 and its heavy and stiff. The Civic had before was a lot lighter and a couple other cars I've driven lately are so light I didn't think there really was a clutch.

shwaco1967

My clutch doesn't feel to bad, plus I drive an 18 wheeler all day. That clutch feels like it weighs almost as much as a Mustang. I almost got to the point about a month and a half ago where I was sick of driving a standard... That is of course until I got my custom dyno-tune... Changed all that.
When I get tired I have to concentrate because my shifting gets very sloppy. To me the clutch feels a little heavier than a Honda/Toyota set up.

randy_tho

Seems pretty light to me. The clunking noises are normal while jerking. Sloppy driveshaft. Plus the clutch will chatter at low speeds if not getting fully engaged.

steevr

Tony, mine is the same way since new. The clutch has to be at least 2/3 out before the car starts to move.

jaguarking11

As said before the imports do have very light clutches. I learned to drive stick on a Suzuki samurai, all 65hp of fury under my right foot. in 4th gear while romping it it could get to about 50mph. Lets never speak of that death trap again.

I bought my gt, stalled 3 times off the dealer lot. Stalled when I got home, stalled again on the way to work. I was frustrated.

The stock clutch on my car engages at about 70-80 since new, and it engages like a bear trap. Suddenly and violently. The transmission is very very notchy but you can feel what gear your in. Its sometimes stiff to shift, especially when its cold and the car has been sitting overnight. The drive shaft clunks if your not used to it.

However, I would not trade it in for the world. As for the stage two clutch, I doubt it makes much of a difference, simply because the clutch is hydrolic so no cables or mechanical links.

In comparison my buddies bmw, the transmission is very light and the clutch is very light. However the feel of the car is much different and not in a good way. It does not give feedback. Perhaps its the reason he money shifted the car from 5th doing nearly 100 to 3rd and bent every valve in the engine and destroyed the head. Another thing our transmissions have is a lockout. Downshifting from one gear to another is sometimes a pain. It simply locks you out of a gear and wont let you shift in it until you slowed down. Although id rather be locked out of a gear than destroy engine/trans/axle.

wjones14

The S197 clutch effort is really light compared to the SN95. And the 1984-93 models were even more effort still. The clutches previous to the S197 were not hydraulic - they were simply cables with no assist. And as the cables wore, there was more friction and they got even tougher to depress. To me, the S197 clutch effort is just about perfect for a daily driver.

My son has a Neon R/T 5-speed and my daughter has a Mini Cooper 5-speed, and both clutches are about half the effort of the S197. But I think that would be too light for the Mustang GT...

Surprisingly, the easiest effort clutch I ever experienced was on a 1971 Oldsmobile 4-4-2 W-30 that I owned back in 1978. Yes, this car had the 455 cubic inch V8 with the Muncie "rock-crusher" 4-speed transmission, but the reason the clutch was so light was that it was a dual-disc clutch. So the effort was basically half that of a standard clutch, and with two discs there was absolutely NO slippage whatsoever.

JonCo

Same here.

SONICBOOST

I'm still running my stock clutch and even before reading this post I was driving earlier and thinking how easy the clutch is. Ironic...yes... I drove my buddies 350z a few weeks ago and it had a really stiff clutch. These stock clutches on the s197 are like butter! Which is a good thing to me...

SONICBOOST

Thats how I was when I first got my stang. I really had to get used to how light and easy the clutch was...