well, mine was at 70% of the throw before. i moved it down to 40% (where 0% is the floor and 100% is all the way out)

 

I don't think it's a clutch problem as it is a side effect of having a huge rpm range, and trying to rev match. I just started relearning how to drive after I got my last credit card bill. I think we (3 drivers-3 cars) spent over $400 last month on gas! With the 8 acounting for more than half. I promised to quit taking it to redline in every gear and drive more economically. I was getting between 13-15 mpg. Started driving more conservatively but still not totally granny style, for example, this morning cruising at 65 in sixth decided to move around the slow car leading 5 followers in the left lane, downshifted to 4th, floored it, right-right then back left-left, let off the gas to coast back to my cruising speed of 80 (was 90 before I decided to be more conservative) and looked down and saw 110 the speedo. This last tank with 1/3 before attempt to increase mpg and 2/3 with attempt (but not totally granny driving) resulted in an mpg of 18. So I've decided to only let her rip when needed and expect to get about 20 mpg. Not bad, but I've noticed I need to relearn the clutch. These last two days of shifting at low rpms has lead to many not too smooth shifts. Shifting at 3 or 4k rpms is totally different than shifting at 7-9k rpms. Hopefully it will be a short learning curve.

 

As you discovered, it is easier to shift aggressively than conservatively. With high RPM shifts the engine and the car have more momentum so the process flows very smoothly. When you shift conservatively, move the shifter though the gates as quickly as you would with your aggressive shifts. Less time passing through neutral means less loss of speed and smoother shifts.

 

I would like to repeat the above warnings about adjusting the clutch, but with the addition:

You MUST LEAVE A MINIMUM OF 5 mm PLAY IN THE PEDAL otherwise you may cause excessive clutch wear.

The pedal is held in the upper position by spring pressure. If you ligtly depress it by hand you will hear a light clicking as the pushrod play is taken up and the pushrod hits the back of the clutch cylinder. The distance should be no less than 5 mm (from standard it is usually about 5 mm), but if you shorten the pushrod and make it longer, your clutch release point will be closer to the floor - WORSE for stalling!

I think the original author of this thread should leave their clutch pedal alone...

 

Geeze and driving stick is suppose to be "fun" ???? Pfft.

 

Couple things:

1) Yes, stick driving is phenomenal. There is no comparison. To read of the learning troubles of a few and make a general statement implying stick driving sucks is pretty foolish.

2) My previous car, a 1996 MX-6 M had shared master brake cylinder/clutch. I know because I was leaking fluid all over the place, and I lost clutch. It was fun trying to drive to the mechanic with me pumping my clutch trying to get the air out of the line and restore hydraulic pressure.

3) Why would anyone move the clutch engagement point? Just adapt...rev to 2k or so, slowly release the clutch, add gas when it engages, etc. Once you get that down, you can do it very quickly. The 8 has low torque so mistakes are more noticable, but honestly, this is 101 stuff guys.

 

I would also suggest not to adjust your clutch engagement point by yourself unless you really know what you are doing. You should be able to adapt your driving to wherever the engagement point may be. The only situation in which adjustment is definitely needed is if, as mentioned in other posts, you have no free play in your pedal or the clutch never engages. If you ever have any work done on your clutch system (replace master/slave cylinder, air in line, friction plate replacement), it is possible that the technician can totally screw up the engagement point to the point where there is no free play in the pedal (constant pressure on clutch). I am saying this because of several past experiences with my '92 3000GT.

It all started when my slave cylinder failed while driving, causing complete loss of hydraulic pressure in the line. The clutch pedal stuck to the floor and gears could only be engaged by pulling the pedal up with your hand or foot and pumping it. I had the dealer replace the slave cylinder and refill the hydraulic line. When I picked up the car, there was no free play in the pedal. While driving the car along in any gear with my foot off the clutch pedal, applying heavy throttle (>30%) caused severe clutch slippage. This can very quickly ruin your friction plate or throwout bearing. I brought the car back and had the engagement point fixed.

A couple years later, the clutch master cylinder failed and I brought the car to a different dealer, and guess what, the same exact problem was present when I picked up the car! I had to bring it back again to have them readjust the engagement point.

I guess my point is that you should be very cautious about making adjustments to the pedal yourself. I figure that if trained service technicians can't do it right half of the time, I shouldn't even make an attempt to do it myself.

One more note: if this ever happens to you, don't let the technician try to tell you that you need a new friction plate. Some technicians will hear the symptom "slipping clutch" and automatically conclude that your clutch plate needs to be replaced, when in fact it was his/her incompetence that caused the problem in the first place.