Reverb2005

I have a 2012 EX Manual Coupe. I had a 2005 DX Manual Coupe.

The clutch engagement between these two Civics seems very different, has anyone else noticed this? I've only driven my older 7th gen Civic and this newer 2012 Civic so I don't have a broad range of cars to compare with so this is just my best explanation of what is going on.

Shift in an older 7th gen and you'll notice that you engage the clutch near the end of the pedal and it all engages at once, for the most part.

Now, with this 9th gen, clutch engagement seems very different. It would seem that there is an initial engagement near the first part of the pedal release, followed by a zone of soft-engagement, then near the end, full engagement.

It really feels that they have taken away the direct-acting feeling of engaging the clutch.

Was this to soften the clutch engagement? If so, it is kind of annoying as I feel I need to press the accelerator twice now for every time I want to engage the clutch. Once when it starts to engage, just to speed match, then again near the end when it fully engages. Does everyone/anyone else clutch feel this way? It doesn't feel "wrong" per-se, just not what I liked about the previous generation, at least the 7th gens anyway.

Anything I can do about this?? Mods??....

Ahh crap I posted this in the DIY section, can a mod move this please?

ezone

It is fine, get used to it.
Most of what you feel is by design.
The rest is because you remember (and your clutch foot remembers) your last car.
It may take a little while to un-learn how the last car was.

I'm kinda surprised you didn't complain about how the throttle-by-wire feels....I think Honda did a great job with quick crisp accurate throttle response, compared to some other brands I've driven.



Moving thread.....

Reverb2005

Ugh, I suppose after a few months I won't even notice/just do it on command. What IS going on there though? How does the clutch actually engage; is it some kind of stepped-system or something like how those nice Ikea drawer closers work, slowing the engagement?

Actually, I was a little worried about that too but really I didn't even notice that much or any real difference. I do a lot of highway driving so I usually have my foot in a single position the whole way. Honda DID do a great job at keeping the response very quick, in my opinion anyway.

I even drive it with ECO on as well. I have the ECO option on my wife's Tuscon and the shifting is so annoying (automatic) that I just couldn't stand it so I turned it off. I guess since I'm driving a manual I don't get that lag in shifting, obviously.

ezone

I have no way to compare discs and pressure plates --old vs new-- side by side.

My guess at what you feel is due to disc construction, the gap between lining faces filled with spring cushion. This would give a longer pedal travel distance from first contact to fully clamped. Maybe it will change a little as it ages, IDK.

Maybe your old clutch setup had very little damping in the disc construction, short amount of pedal travel from first contact to fully clamped.



If the old car engaged the clutch near the top of the pedal travel, maybe it was near the end of its life. Engagement height of the pedal rises once the clutch disc is worn past the point the pressure plate clamps effectively.