Review: RJM AFP Clutch Pedal System
 

Just installed my new RJM clutch pedal and I wanted to do a review.

DISCLAIMER: I have no affiliation or connection with the company other than nagging them to to make the product for the 370z/G37.

Ever since I found out about this clutch pedal system on the 350z/g35 forum, I got into contact with Ryan at RJM Performance and asked him to make one for us. After 6 months of development, I finally received the prototype for testing. I paid for the pedal, so i dont want anyone thinking that I'm obligated to give a positive review.


So the problem with the stock clutch is the high and narrow engagement point. The high engagement can be alleviated by adjusting the clutch rod, however, the engagement window cannot be changed. This the where the RJM pedal shines. Using an easily accessible turn knob, you can change the pivot point of the pedal. This basically in turn causes the engagement window to increase or decrease.


Installation is fairly straight forward. I'll let the pictures do most of the talking.


After the installation, adjustments to the clutch pedal feel can be adjusted with the turn knob. The best part about this pedal is being able to make adjustments while driving. You can fine tune the pedal feel as youre driving. Once you find the sweet spot, then you can lock down the setting.

Turning to the left raises the pedal and increases the engagement window. It also softens the pedal pressure. Turning to the right lowers the pedal and shortens the engagement window. Using this AFP knob, you can basically change any clutch to soft and smooth cruising mode or stiff and grabby racing mode.

As you can tell from my signature, I have the OS Giken multiplate clutch system. They are notorious for difficult to drive on the street. There is no engagement window, it is either ON or Off. After installing the new pedal, there is a night and day difference. I use to have to start at 1800 rpm from a stop to avoid stalling. Now I can start in first gear with no gas applied. The engagement window is longer and I can modulate the pedal to make every gear shift smooth. The 1st and 2nd gear used to be jerky but is completely smooth now.

I highly recommend this pedal to every 6mt driver. If you have an aftermarket clutch, this is a must. If you have trouble driving with a stock clutch, this will improve your shifts.

For more info: http://www.rjmperformance.com

On to pictures:

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g2...r/IMG_7094.jpg
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g2...r/IMG_7096.jpg
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Interesting...

So let me make sure I understand this, even with a stock clutch, shifts will be smoother and easier? And what are the downsides of having a wide engagement window in terms of aggressive driving?
I like how you can adjust it on the fly. Might just have to pick this one up!

very interesting indeed! im only worried that changing the window might put more stress on the clutch or clutch components, no?

Just ordered mine. Daily driven with a 500 torque rated 6 puck clutch is a bitccchhhhh. Thanks for the heads up on this.

Thank you for posting the pics and reviews.

This is something that I will absolutely be purchasing sometime soon for my next set of additions to the vehicle.

I have the OSGiken twin and the ZSpeed CSC. While I have been happy with the durability (roughly 15,000 miles now) of the CSC and the holding power of the clutch... driving it is a complete nightmare. My friends think I am making up excuses to not let them drive my car when I tell them it is a NIGHTMARE and that it took me thousands of miles to get used to it enough to be able to drive the car smoothly and without stalling... and thats from being someone who has worked in this industry for over 10 years and driven countless difficult to drive clutches.

I have often wondered if its just the clutch that is so on/off or if the Zspeed CSC changes the pedal ratio, or perhaps a little of both... but its a serious pain in the ***!

This adjustable pedal looks like exactly what I will need to make my Z more driveable for anyone, and probably even save some wear and tear on my drivetrain and mounts/bushings just by having superior control over my clutch.

Man I know what you mean. People want to drive my car and they just can't do it lol. I get in my dads Vette with a 800 torque twin disk and it's easy as pie. I fine the system is really sensitive to temperature too. I hope this does it. I still stall it every now and then. Its like it don't move don't move them bam it's like it sucks my foot in lol.

how much does this thing cost?

Cosidering that some parts such as a small carbon fibre mirror cover can be sold for $400 a set this part is rediculously low cost based on the amount of parts and manufacturing that went into this thing.

Its around $250 plus shipping but better to go to their website and confirm.

Ordered mine last week for $220 Canadian which comes to $221.49 US. They were selling the first ones at a discount which included FREE shipping. Don't know if there are any still available at this price, so I would check their website. After trying to win one at ZdayZ (NOT), I decided to pull the plug and order one for my 40th. Now, all I have to do is install it. While I was satisfied with the clutch helper spring mod, it didn't give me the feel and pedal stroke that I am still looking for. I am 100% sure that this RJM AFP will do the trick.

Once installed, I'll post my opinion.

My kit showed up yesterday, I will install it and report back hopefully some time early next week.

mine's still in the mail... Canadian mail service take a fair bit ... can't wait for that thing with only 800miles on the car (in under 20 days laf)

Yes Canada Post blows! Way more expensive and less efficient then the USPS. I live about 1.5 hrs from RJM so I received my kit pretty quickly. I beleve the initial offering of 220 shipped was a good deal for customers since it probably cost RJM about $50.00 to ship these kits to the US.

Yeah I paid $275 total...

Btw nice profile pic

My kit was delivered to Cleveland in less than a week! Of course, we are only five hours away from Toronto.

Can't wait to do the install.

I might look into doing this mod. Supporting some fellow Canucks is a nice bonus.

Just installed with my buddy, he did most of the work, I just handled the stuff that needed a bit more flexibility to do lol, we used his garage and tools nice and shaded area since it was pretty damn hot out today.

The feel is awesome. Highly recommended.

I got used to the stock pedal, and I've only had the car for a month and after installing the RJM AFP adjustable clutch pedal, traffic is no longer an issue, the pedal is simply an amazing piece of hardware, well done by RJM.

Anyway long story short, get the pedal and enjoy your (stock in my case) clutch. I can see how people with a sport clutch swear by this thing.

-Cheers

RJM AFP Clutch pedal
 

I have a few questions for the people that have DIY installed this clutch pedal:

• How well does the clutch pedal return after heavy use?
• Is the installation as easy as in RJM's instructions?
• Any other tips for future DIY installation is appreciated!

Just installed mine last night and very impressed. My 6-puck clutch went from pita to better than stock feel and control, as advertised. I locked it at the starting settings and haven't even experimented with different settings yet. I might adjust the clutch engagement point slightly lower but that's it.
Anybody with a "grabby" performance clutch should jump on this asap!

Is this mainly a drivability upgrade or performance upgrade? Or both?
I'm looking to make my shifts smoother during daily driving..

So, I just finished installing mine, and havent had any driving time yet but heres what I have to say about the install.

Im a left handed person, my right hand is useless. Working under the dash on the left side of the car which means doing every connection, nut, bolt, pin, adjustment etc with my useless right hand was super agravating. I was pouring sweat and couldnt coordinate my fingers properly so it took me a full 2 hrs to do the install.

Not something I want to do any time soon. If I was right handed it would have been done in half the time easily!

Anyways, I should have soom seat time tomorrow so I will report back,I expect all the effort to be well worth it based on all the reviews.

Ok, so I had some seat time now after I completed the install and all the effort with my right hand was worth it. The part is extremely well built and does exactly what they say it does with no negative side effects.

I now have:

-Shorter over all clutch pedal throw
-Smoother clutch engagement without any effort
-Firmer clutch pedal feel

I havent adjusted it yet after the initial setup as per the instructions but it feels good where it is so I am going to leave it there for a while.

Is there a "stock" setting on this clutch.. something like if I don't like it i can set it at the stock setting and it'll act just like the stock clutch pedal?

I have a stock clutch but my shifts are jerky as it seems i can't keep my leg steady while pulling out the clutch and the engagement window is too small for me to try and smooth it out. Would this pedal be recommended in this case?

I just installed mine this afternoon.

The install is pretty straight forward: just undo both safety switch harnesses, pop out the wire holder that holds the bottom one, use a 12m deep socket to take out the 3 bolts that hold the whole assembly comes out. Replace the clutch fork with the one in the kit. Bolt up the new assembly and slide the new pedal in that comes with the kit.

Only stuff I got hung up on during the install was getting the fork off the first time, wasnt thinking about it in terms that the bolt after the fork needs to spin to the right to get the fork to come off, mounting the bracket perfectly so all threads can come through.

I drove it around the first time how it came out of the box and it felt like I had maybe about 3 inches of pedal play, it was too close to the floor for me the way it was engaging.. I raised it up a bit and now it seems better.

I dont know maybe if I didnt tighten something down enough but the pedal at the very top is kind of sloppy with some play to it.. but once you depress it, it's smooth. Idk I gotta drive it around a bit more and see.

Djrelic, Yes it sounds like the upper switch needs to be adjusted down to take up the slack at the top of pedal stroke.
Unclip the return spring so that the pedal is resting right at the top of the master cylinder stroke. Adjust the switch down until the button is just depressed. Tigten the switch nuts and snap the reutn spring back into its keeper. The play at the top before starting to depress the MC rod should now be almost zero. (See Steps 41 & 43 of the Install Guide)

The 2 side bolts that lock the clutch rod angle adjustment also serve the secondary purpose of taking up the side to side play in the main shaft bearings. These need to be torqued a little at a time while checking the side-side play of the pedal arm. Tighten these down until the play is just gone but the pedal still moves freely (bearings not being pinched)
(See Step 39 and photos of the Install Guide.)

That should eliminate both issues you're seeing.
Cheers
Ryan@RJM Performance

This looks awesome.

Nice, I had a feeling might be the issue. I had it kind of shallow mounted just to get it on the road. I'll adjust it soon and see if that fixes the issue. It should.

A question through about the revised fork... I had the bolt behind the fork all the way down on the clutch rod and I put the form on in the kit... It says in the kit instructions that in the revised fork that the threads do not show through it... I know when I installed mine the threads come up about more than half way in the clutch fork. Is that normal? Everything is fine... Just wondering if I was being too gentle with it.

Yes, that sounds perfectly normal. The photo used in the install guide was of the original fork which had a much thinner threaded base then the new revised ones. So on the old ones the tip of the clutch rod would come right through and poke up. The Revised ones are more then twice as thick at the base of the fork so you will no longer see the tip of the clutch rod come through.

This was done to both lengthen the fork giving a better adjustment range for the friction point as well as having more active threads engaged to hold the fork.

Bandit_Kaine, yes you can dial the settings right back to stock if you wish by simply turning the fulcrum point adjustment wheel to the right. From the fully stock position (0% Fulcrum Setting) you can then adjust the engagement width as much as you like up to 10 full turns of adjustment wheel to the left for 100% of the available fulcrum adjustment travel.

Increasing from 0% will lower the friction point and widen out the engagement window so you can modulate the pedal much easier for smoother launches and much nicer shifts. Once you've adjusted the engagement width to your liking you can then independantly adjust the friction point to where you're most comfortable as well.

I'd call this mod both. It's 110% all about upgrading the drivability and enjoyment of our cars. It also serves as a performance mod in that you can dial in a heavy unsprung puck type or twin/tripple disk clutch to be much more enjoyable in daily driving.

For anyone who hates being stuck in traffic this will make life a whole lot easier allowing you to simply roll off the clutch with little or no revs needed to keep from bucking, stalling, shuddering, jerking or otherwise looking stupid while trying to move up a 1/2 car length at a time.

I just installed this pedal today. Very simple and straightforward, the longest part was crawling in and out of the footwell 20 times.

I have only taken it out for a quick trip around the block, but I could immediately tell the difference. The engagement point was lower and was so much easier to engage without jerking it.

After I drive it a bit harder I will know how it is on starts and quick shifts.

All in all this is a great product, even on a stock clutch.

Just placed an order for this. Will post back once i have it installed.

It took me a little while to dial to how I like it, but now its just sick :)

I like the engagement point to be high. Great product.

PS: My mechanic, Seb@SpecialtyZ liked the pedal when he drove my car, and he knows his stuff.

add me to the list of satisfied cutomers...
 

Installed the pedal assembly about 3 weeks ago and it is absolutely as advertised. I previously had a 300ZX twin turbo with a Jim wolf street clutch. Shifted perfectly without problems. After getting my 370 I was honestly questioning keeping the car due to the horrible clutch.
Not anymore.
The car shifts perfectly and just feels right. I wanted to wait a little while to see if there was going to be any problems with it before posting a comment. My thoughts from then to now are the same. Just excellent in design and application. Ryan is quick to respond to emails if you have any questions.

As for installation, I am not anything close to a mechanic and was able to install it. Took twice as long (about 4 hours) due to my lack of mechanical experience. Double checked every step. But it is straight forward.

Thx Ryan. Great work.

I thought the new helper spring would make me happy, but now I lust for this.

Thing is, it took me a long-*** time to just install the spring due to pin difficulties. I'm afraid I would be in my footwell for 8 hours trying to install this and come out of it with a disability.

Sub'd very curious to check this out, maybe for christmas

If you own a G37 with a 6MT or 370Z 6MT this mod is a must! The first thing I noticed after buying my '09 Z was that the 1-2 shift off the line was harsh and a little tricky to master. When I saw this kit I didn't hesitate. I took my time with the install making sure that I followed the instructions to the letter. (2 hours total) The instructions are full of great pictures and each step is explained very well. The design is solid and the fabrication is first rate! The difference in drivabilty is worth every penny. Take a bow Ryan at RJM ! Nice Job!

Man after reading all these posts, the wait for mine is getting more and more painful! :P

got one as soon as they came out and still havnt installed it. I have no clue why but all these posts make me want to do it bad.

I was planning on installing mine this evening, and was just getting the tools together to do it. The one thing I'm missing though is 11mm open end wrench. Crap man who the hell uses 11mm bolts.

I skimmed through the instructions but didn't see what part this tool is actually needed on. Can anyone who has done the install tell me? Could I get by with 11mm socket or a crescent wrench or something or is it some tight fit where you can't get those tools in there?