Review: RJM AFP Clutch Pedal System

Crypto2k · 12-11-2014, 09:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NoHyperbole

I had the RJM Performance adjustable clutch pedal installed today, and it is a night-and-day difference from stock. I haven't fully fine-tuned it yet, but this is exactly how a clutch should feel. At 70% (which is the recommended starting point), the clutch effort required is greater, which is appropriate for the 370Z, but at the same time, the feel is much better. Also, the engagement point is closer to the floor, and its window is more predictable/repeatable.

The unanimous praise this clutch pedal has received is well-deserved. As someone else has written, you will wonder why you waited so long to get rid of the stock clutch pedal. I ordered the RJM pedal three days after getting my 370Z. My prior car was a 2007 350Z, and in my opinion, that car's OEM clutch is a bit better than the 370's. I got used to it over the seven years I owned it, but it was by no means great or even good. However, the 370's clutch is borderline intolerable/unacceptable unless you drive the car very gingerly or deliberately.

Further, I want to reiterate how excellent Ryan's customer service is. My experience has been exactly what others have reported. Ryan has answered all of my emails in an timely fashion (within a day at most), and his replies have been extremely detailed and relevant to all of my questions. He does not gloss over anything and goes the extra mile to explain everything in easy-to-understand language. Ryan is simply outstanding, and he deserves the recognition.

So to anyone who is considering replacing the OEM helper spring with the Century spring or even removing it altogether, I implore you not to waste your time with either of those mods; they are Band-Aid fixes at best. Just go all the way and get it done right the first time. Yes, the RJM clutch pedal costs considerably more than a replacement spring, but it is so worth it. Think about how many times you engage/disengage your clutch every time you drive the car. It is such an important interaction point with the car that changing over to the RJM clutch pedal alters the character of the car and transforms it to what it should have been from the factory. Being able to shift gears properly exponentially will exponentially increase your enjoyment of your Z.

Having installed my pedal a couple weeks ago and driving a handful of times since, I couldn't agree more or be more delighted with the way it's changed the drivability of the car. Night and day is no exaggeration. I'd done the spring removal then spring replacement and it was better but I still had to drive with intent and focus which took away from enjoyment.

Installation went pretty easy and the build quality is easily better than OEM. You'll laugh at the size of the assembly you pull out and all the space that's freed up.

Engagement is butter smooth and predictable, it's no longer at the top of the swing and the clutch/car seems to be happier with it as well. The shifts, load on the tranny and power delivery are all vastly improved. Even with an after market clutch and flywheel, first and second starts are very smooth and you can easily inch the car forward without feeling like it's going to die.

Having driven a stick most of my driving life, I thought I'd lost my MOJO with this one and honestly was pretty disappointed. Now I'm extremely happy and look forward to the opportunity to drive it each time.

This is hands down the best money anyone could spend on their Z. Everything else comes secondary to the few items that tie the driver to the car. Thank you RJM Performance for engineering an amazing product, making it budget friendly and for being a great detailed oriented "good guy" to boot. I would buy this again many times over.

Don't hesitate guys....buy it! You'll be ashamed at what you've been missing.

madwi · 12-11-2014, 09:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jpkirk

^^^
So ... there it is.

Mine lanquishes on my desk waiting for the down time to install. This winter sounds good.

It really is a great mod, you will wonder why didn't I install this sooner.

Ryan @ RJM · 12-13-2014, 05:28 PM

NoHyperbole, Crypto2k and Madwii Thank you all very much for sharing your experiences and you're Very Welcome! I'm extremely happy to hear your enjoying my humble product and the improvements it makes to the driving experience as a whole. I'm happy I can do my part to support the cars I love and the great group of guys who own them.

NoHyperbole, Hopefully you received my reply email the other morning to your adjustment question in regards to getting the clutch rod lined up after that AFP setting change. Let me know if there's anything else you need.

Enjoy and Have a Great Weekend Guys!

DOOMMONKEY777 · 12-13-2014, 06:14 PM

Now i have a question that needs to be answered,

The pedal that i have received is v2.0, now i have assembled it and just tried it out to see how it worked without putting on the car. It seems to me that the plates on the side of the assembly that can be adjusted for pedal distance have a little grease on them and are used to compress the pedal assembly together. I found that the compression of these plates also puts pressure on the brass/copper bushings and restricts the pedal to move ie. Coming back from pressed position, also it seems that if i release the bolts torque in order to let the pedal move freely ie. Clutch in, clutch out, puts less pressure on the plates with grease to hold the pedal adjustment in place. So will the pedal stay in its designated set position over a long period of time use, due to less torqued bolts where the pedal moves freely, cuz it seems to me it wont hold its point of set for too long?

Ryan @ RJM · 12-14-2014, 07:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DOOMMONKEY777

Now i have a question that needs to be answered,

The pedal that i have received is v2.0, now i have assembled it and just tried it out to see how it worked without putting on the car. It seems to me that the plates on the side of the assembly that can be adjusted for pedal distance have a little grease on them and are used to compress the pedal assembly together. I found that the compression of these plates also puts pressure on the brass/copper bushings and restricts the pedal to move ie. Coming back from pressed position, also it seems that if i release the bolts torque in order to let the pedal move freely ie. Clutch in, clutch out, puts less pressure on the plates with grease to hold the pedal adjustment in place. So will the pedal stay in its designated set position over a long period of time use, due to less torqued bolts where the pedal moves freely, cuz it seems to me it wont hold its point of set for too long?

DoomMonkey, Yes this mechanism both locks the sliding track for adjusting the clutch rod angle and allows setting the exact side-tension required on the main bearings to reduce any side-side play in the pedal arm. Its worked flawlessly for 3 years now in multiple product designs without any issues of loosing height adjustment.
Now when you tightened these bolts did you follow the Install Guide Specific Procedure for Tightening these bolts or did you just crank them down tight without regard for the tension setting procedure? These bolts can absolutely lock the pedal arm bearings solid if you don't follow procedure which is what I suspect you where doing while bench testing.

The sliding track plates have so much surface area spread over 6 friction surfaces they act much like a quadruple plate clutch... where very little pressure plate force is required to generate a large holding capacity. Similarly the bracket needs very little bolt tension to result in a very large holding force on those plates, so much in fact these plates are already too stiff to move by hand by a 1/4 turn past where the lock washers are just compressed and then you still have several more turns before the bearings start to tighten up.

Finally once installed and set correctly the paint on the bearing surfaces will wear off and the bearings will break in after a day or two of driving to make them slightly looser yet after install.

So I have no worries that it'll function flawlessly once installed following the guide instructions.

DOOMMONKEY777 · 12-14-2014, 06:39 PM

Ok i understand, well i had to ask because i tightened the bolts using a socket in order to gab the bolt and my hand fingers to torque it down as tight as i could and tried the pedal it was stuck the spring couldn't bring it back up, this is where i stopped the installation thinking it might be defective also in my mind knowing that the clutch would apply extra pressure to the pedal in order to bring it back, caused me to think about how much torque to apply vs pedal position vs pedal return.

McLovin2010 · 01-23-2015, 12:33 PM

did the installation and followed the instructions, did the adjustment but my clutch rod had maybe a 1/4 turn available the lock nut would bottom out the fork so the threads couldn't turn, testing first is beautiful but upon leaving the shop and hitting the road if I give any moderate gas I get no power in return/ clutch slipping, I figure this is my throw out bearing not completely releasing? what do I need to adjust or fix in the fork/clutch rod. abs and trac control light kicked on probably telling me this as well its at home and need some info on what needs adjusted.

Ryan @ RJM · 01-23-2015, 04:15 PM

McLovin,

Thanks for the email/post and I’m sorry to hear you’re having some issues. I work a full time day job in addition to running RJM evenings/weekends building these assemblies for customers in my spare time, so I’m sorry for just getting back now.

My first thought is something doesn’t sound right about your installation and I’m wondering if you installed the two white plastic firewall spacers?

If you have the AFP at 70% recommended setting and the clevis screwed completely in then your engagement should be right down at the floor or not even be able to get into gear let alone be still pushing on the throw out bearing.
The RJM pedal design unlike the factory pedal can in no way push on your throwout bearing causing slipping when the pedal is released full up and master cylinder fully returned.

The factory assembly is like a compound bow where if you push a little ways it snaps down and stays there, that is what causes slippage with the factory pedal however the RJM pedal is a linear return spring and always trying to release the TOB no matter where you are in pedal travel.

There are only two ways the RJM pedal could hold your master cylinder down and both would present an obvious problem during install or have to be done against the instgructions. The first would be to turn the clutch rod fully out (extends the fork) while simultaneously adjusting the upper switch down tighter. This would push the master cylinder rod down and would partially engage the TOB against the clutch if done to the extreme. However you’ve indicated you turned the clutch rod fully in (shortening it) which would lower your pedal making this very unlikely.

Secondly would be leaving out the white spacers which would make the entire bracket move closer to the firewall then it was designed for. This condition would artificially make the clutch rod seem way too long and you’d likely have to push the MC rod down to even get the clevis pin to line up thru the arm and the pedal would be Extremely High.

Can you give me more details about what you did during the install?

Right now if the clutch is truly slipping under power (RPMS spike or bounce off the rev limiter when the clutch lets go) then it may be your clutch, not the pedal at all and only coincidence your now noticing it today. The ABS and TCS lights being on when it happens are interesting as I don’t think the car would care if the engine reved without moving as the ECU isn’t looking for clutch slip or it would come on every time you slipped the clutch too much taking off or rev matching a downshift.

Are you sure you weren’t actually spinning a wheel when it was happening causing the TCS to rightfully engage and taking away your throttle control while it stopped the wheel spin?

Let me know your thoughts.

Ryan Morgan
RJM Performance Inc.

Teddy KGB · 02-06-2015, 01:32 PM

Installed my pedal today, (and a little work last night). Love it! Much smoother engagement than stock. I set it at 70 percent and left the three bolt connection right in the middle. Travel and engagement are right where I want it. That being said, if I ever have to work in my footwell again I may just drive the car off a cliff. My back is wrecked. Lol

Ryan, excellent job! You ought to market them to Nissan as to what actually NEEDS to be in this car from the factory.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Ryan @ RJM · 02-07-2015, 03:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Teddy KGB

Installed my pedal today, (and a little work last night). Love it! Much smoother engagement than stock. I set it at 70 percent and left the three bolt connection right in the middle. Travel and engagement are right where I want it. That being said, if I ever have to work in my footwell again I may just drive the car off a cliff. My back is wrecked. Lol

Ryan, excellent job! You ought to market them to Nissan as to what actually NEEDS to be in this car from the factory.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Teddy KGB I'm very happy to hear your install went well and you're enjoying the new pedal system

I know what you mean about working in the foot well of the Z, the tight working space is the worst part of this install but I think the increased enjoyment of the vehicle afterwards makes it all worth it

It's funny you should say that, I've spoken to a few guys who work as Engineers for Nissan and they've purposely made the G/Z's feel the way they do so I don't see them changing ways any time soon... Which is good for me lol

Skyscraper · 02-09-2015, 04:56 PM

Installed my kit yesterday. As others have said, other than the work-space, installation is very straightforward. Took me maybe 2.5 hours at a very relaxed pace. I still need to spend some time playing with my settings to get it exactly to my liking, but my shifts while moving are extremely smooth now. For some reason my pedal is not fully returning when my foot is off the pedal. For me the overall pedal feel is a bit mushy. I am convinced this is due to me not having dialed in the settings to my liking yet. Sent an e-mail to Ryan to get some guidance with my pedal travel and set up.

Ryan @ RJM · 02-09-2015, 06:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skyscraper

Installed my kit yesterday. As others have said, other than the work-space, installation is very straightforward. Took me maybe 2.5 hours at a very relaxed pace. I still need to spend some time playing with my settings to get it exactly to my liking, but my shifts while moving are extremely smooth now. For some reason my pedal is not fully returning when my foot is off the pedal. For me the overall pedal feel is a bit mushy. I am convinced this is due to me not having dialed in the settings to my liking yet. Sent an e-mail to Ryan to get some guidance with my pedal travel and set up.

Skycraper, email replied to

Short version - The issues with the pedal not returning and poor/mushy feel you're having are almost certainly due to the side tension bolts being over torqued causing the main bearings to be pinched and binding them up. See my long winded email for the play by play of how to get it better dialed in.

Best Regards,
Ryan@RJM

Skyscraper · 02-10-2015, 02:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ryan @ RJM

Skycraper, email replied to

Short version - The issues with the pedal not returning and poor/mushy feel you're having are almost certainly due to the side tension bolts being over torqued causing the main bearings to be pinched and binding them up. See my long winded email for the play by play of how to get it better dialed in.

Best Regards,
Ryan@RJM

Muchos Gracias! She's driving like butter!

Ryan @ RJM · 02-10-2015, 04:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skyscraper

Muchos Gracias! She's driving like butter!

Awesome! I'm glad to hear that got it all cleared up for you

dguth66 · 02-10-2015, 06:38 PM

Hey guys
I'm going to order one up very soon

Since I've got a bad back to start with...going to unhook the batt and remove the seat for easier beer drinking too

12-13-2014, 05:28 PM	#108 (permalink)
Ryan @ RJM Enthusiast Member Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Ontario Canada Posts: 345 Drives: 09' G37S Coupe Rep Power: 12	NoHyperbole, Crypto2k and Madwii Thank you all very much for sharing your experiences and you're Very Welcome! I'm extremely happy to hear your enjoying my humble product and the improvements it makes to the driving experience as a whole. I'm happy I can do my part to support the cars I love and the great group of guys who own them. NoHyperbole, Hopefully you received my reply email the other morning to your adjustment question in regards to getting the clutch rod lined up after that AFP setting change. Let me know if there's anything else you need. Enjoy and Have a Great Weekend Guys! __________________ Home of the A.F.P. Upgraded Clutch Pedal System. Smoother Launches, Smoother Shifts & Improved Clutch Control Like No Other Pedal Mod You've Experianced Before Guaranteed! Visit www.RJMPerformance.com or Email Ryan@RJMPerformance.com Also Don't Forget to Like us on Facebook www.facebook.com/RJM-Performance

12-13-2014, 06:14 PM	#109 (permalink)
DOOMMONKEY777 A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Crooklyn Posts: 1,008 Drives: 370Z 6psd-sport-pkg Rep Power: 20	Now i have a question that needs to be answered, The pedal that i have received is v2.0, now i have assembled it and just tried it out to see how it worked without putting on the car. It seems to me that the plates on the side of the assembly that can be adjusted for pedal distance have a little grease on them and are used to compress the pedal assembly together. I found that the compression of these plates also puts pressure on the brass/copper bushings and restricts the pedal to move ie. Coming back from pressed position, also it seems that if i release the bolts torque in order to let the pedal move freely ie. Clutch in, clutch out, puts less pressure on the plates with grease to hold the pedal adjustment in place. So will the pedal stay in its designated set position over a long period of time use, due to less torqued bolts where the pedal moves freely, cuz it seems to me it wont hold its point of set for too long? __________________ Kids don't do Drugs, Drugs are bad, so let the professional druggies do Drugs for you. 537whp/496lb/tq@8-9PSI 93 octane

12-14-2014, 06:39 PM	#111 (permalink)
DOOMMONKEY777 A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Crooklyn Posts: 1,008 Drives: 370Z 6psd-sport-pkg Rep Power: 20	Ok i understand, well i had to ask because i tightened the bolts using a socket in order to gab the bolt and my hand fingers to torque it down as tight as i could and tried the pedal it was stuck the spring couldn't bring it back up, this is where i stopped the installation thinking it might be defective also in my mind knowing that the clutch would apply extra pressure to the pedal in order to bring it back, caused me to think about how much torque to apply vs pedal position vs pedal return. __________________ Kids don't do Drugs, Drugs are bad, so let the professional druggies do Drugs for you. 537whp/496lb/tq@8-9PSI 93 octane

01-23-2015, 12:33 PM	#112 (permalink)
McLovin2010 Base Member Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: Yorktown, VA Posts: 68 Drives: 15 370z white manual Rep Power: 39	clutch pedal issue did the installation and followed the instructions, did the adjustment but my clutch rod had maybe a 1/4 turn available the lock nut would bottom out the fork so the threads couldn't turn, testing first is beautiful but upon leaving the shop and hitting the road if I give any moderate gas I get no power in return/ clutch slipping, I figure this is my throw out bearing not completely releasing? what do I need to adjust or fix in the fork/clutch rod. abs and trac control light kicked on probably telling me this as well its at home and need some info on what needs adjusted.

01-23-2015, 04:15 PM	#113 (permalink)
Ryan @ RJM Enthusiast Member Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Ontario Canada Posts: 345 Drives: 09' G37S Coupe Rep Power: 12	McLovin, Thanks for the email/post and I’m sorry to hear you’re having some issues. I work a full time day job in addition to running RJM evenings/weekends building these assemblies for customers in my spare time, so I’m sorry for just getting back now. My first thought is something doesn’t sound right about your installation and I’m wondering if you installed the two white plastic firewall spacers? If you have the AFP at 70% recommended setting and the clevis screwed completely in then your engagement should be right down at the floor or not even be able to get into gear let alone be still pushing on the throw out bearing. The RJM pedal design unlike the factory pedal can in no way push on your throwout bearing causing slipping when the pedal is released full up and master cylinder fully returned. The factory assembly is like a compound bow where if you push a little ways it snaps down and stays there, that is what causes slippage with the factory pedal however the RJM pedal is a linear return spring and always trying to release the TOB no matter where you are in pedal travel. There are only two ways the RJM pedal could hold your master cylinder down and both would present an obvious problem during install or have to be done against the instgructions. The first would be to turn the clutch rod fully out (extends the fork) while simultaneously adjusting the upper switch down tighter. This would push the master cylinder rod down and would partially engage the TOB against the clutch if done to the extreme. However you’ve indicated you turned the clutch rod fully in (shortening it) which would lower your pedal making this very unlikely. Secondly would be leaving out the white spacers which would make the entire bracket move closer to the firewall then it was designed for. This condition would artificially make the clutch rod seem way too long and you’d likely have to push the MC rod down to even get the clevis pin to line up thru the arm and the pedal would be Extremely High. Can you give me more details about what you did during the install? Right now if the clutch is truly slipping under power (RPMS spike or bounce off the rev limiter when the clutch lets go) then it may be your clutch, not the pedal at all and only coincidence your now noticing it today. The ABS and TCS lights being on when it happens are interesting as I don’t think the car would care if the engine reved without moving as the ECU isn’t looking for clutch slip or it would come on every time you slipped the clutch too much taking off or rev matching a downshift. Are you sure you weren’t actually spinning a wheel when it was happening causing the TCS to rightfully engage and taking away your throttle control while it stopped the wheel spin? Let me know your thoughts. Ryan Morgan RJM Performance Inc. __________________ Home of the A.F.P. Upgraded Clutch Pedal System. Smoother Launches, Smoother Shifts & Improved Clutch Control Like No Other Pedal Mod You've Experianced Before Guaranteed! Visit www.RJMPerformance.com or Email Ryan@RJMPerformance.com Also Don't Forget to Like us on Facebook www.facebook.com/RJM-Performance

02-06-2015, 01:32 PM	#114 (permalink)
Teddy KGB Base Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 79 Drives: 40th Z, Tundra, CBR6 Rep Power: 14	Installed my pedal today, (and a little work last night). Love it! Much smoother engagement than stock. I set it at 70 percent and left the three bolt connection right in the middle. Travel and engagement are right where I want it. That being said, if I ever have to work in my footwell again I may just drive the car off a cliff. My back is wrecked. Lol Ryan, excellent job! You ought to market them to Nissan as to what actually NEEDS to be in this car from the factory. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

02-09-2015, 04:56 PM	#116 (permalink)
Skyscraper Base Member Join Date: Jun 2014 Location: The skies above NorCal Posts: 72 Drives: 09 Touring Sport 6mt Rep Power: 10	Installed my kit yesterday. As others have said, other than the work-space, installation is very straightforward. Took me maybe 2.5 hours at a very relaxed pace. I still need to spend some time playing with my settings to get it exactly to my liking, but my shifts while moving are extremely smooth now. For some reason my pedal is not fully returning when my foot is off the pedal. For me the overall pedal feel is a bit mushy. I am convinced this is due to me not having dialed in the settings to my liking yet. Sent an e-mail to Ryan to get some guidance with my pedal travel and set up.

02-10-2015, 06:38 PM	#120 (permalink)
dguth66 Base Member Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: Canada Posts: 3 Drives: 2016 370Z Pearl Blue Rep Power: 10	Hey guys I'm going to order one up very soon Since I've got a bad back to start with...going to unhook the batt and remove the seat for easier beer drinking too

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