Short throw clutch pedal? Break pedal? - @JHM

[Lugi20]

I'm 6'-1" and I can't stand the throw on the clutch pedal. My knee comes into contact with the bottom of my steering wheel when I am releasing the clutch. This is the longest throw, highest engagement clutch I've ever seen and I'm thinking that about 99% of my 'rough' shifts can be contributed to this.

Also, the break pedal is way too high relative to the gas pedal. I'm struggling to blip the throttle on downshifts while breaking, it pisses me off to no end.

Are there any modifications available that could help correct these issues I'm having? Does anyone else have the same complaints?

@JHM - You guys are the most well respected SSK company available for this car, is this something you can look at and possibly come out with a solution?

[Stevelev]

Get in touch with Andy at South Bend Clutch - he'll set you straight. The upgraded SBC clutch on my heavily modded A4 had an engagement point much closer to the floor compared to the stock clutch ...

[whartung]

6'1" shouldn't have any reason to hit the wheel... just adjust the wheel or your seat or something. i'm 6" and have no issues at all. then again, i come off the clutch with my ankle, and my engagement point is pretty close to the floor...

or, cut an inch off your left leg?

i dont have them yet, but ive heard the rs4 pedals fix the heel-toe problem.

[Lugi20]

Get in touch with Andy at South Bend Clutch - he'll set you straight. The upgraded SBC clutch on my heavily modded A4 had an engagement point much closer to the floor compared to the stock clutch ...

But this would require me to upgrade my clutch all together, and my clutch is fine. I suppose this would work but its a much more expensive alternative than what I had in mind.

6'1" shouldn't have any reason to hit the wheel... just adjust the wheel or your seat or something. i'm 6" and have no issues at all. then again, i come off the clutch with my ankle, and my engagement point is pretty close to the floor...

You're right, my height shouldn't matter but my driving style does I guess. Most cars I can just use my ankle/heel as a pivot to engage/disengage the clutch pedal, but I have to lift my heel off the ground to get to the engagement point on this one.

Is there no assembly on the pedals that could get swapped out without changing anything drastic like the master/slave cylinders?

[Sunny4]

I agree. The high clutch point on these S4's are annoying. I have gotten used to it but there is soo much play with this clutch that driving in traffic can become painful. I too would like to know if there is a way to fix the alignment of the pedals.

[fitzS4]

im pretty sure you can change where your pedal engages.....but im not sure

[05UltraSprt]

im pretty sure you can change where your pedal engages.....but im not sure

I brought my A4 to Audi for the same issue and they told me the clutch was not adjustable. I haven't had a chance to take the S4 in to ask the same question, but I'd bet I'll get the same answer.

All I can say is... I think it would be worth a new clutch just to have it engage closer to the floor. It may end up being my first mod.

[Lugi20]

Bumping to try and get real responses.

I'm really suprised that more people aren't complaining about the pedal heights, its the one and only major gripe I have with this car.

[Captain Insano]

I do agree that the clutch engagement on these cars is weird. Unlike any other MT car I've driven. I never thought about the extremely long pedal throw until you mentioned it. I previously just thought that it's too dang soft while pressing the clutch and therefore takes a long time to get used to. I'm still not used to it and I've been driving the car for around 1200 miles.

[D.K]

It wouldn't surprise me if the clutch was set with a high engagement point in order to protect some manual transmission drivers from themselves. There are lots of manual transmission drivers out there that really can't (and shouldn't) drive a manual transmission, and having a high engagement point ensures that as long as the clutch in being pushed, that point will be reached.

[sakimano]

weird...i'm 6'6" 230lbs and don't have this problem.

maybe I'm 'top-tall'.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/defin...erm=top%20tall

You're right, my height shouldn't matter but my driving style does I guess. Most cars I can just use my ankle/heel as a pivot to engage/disengage the clutch pedal, but I have to lift my heel off the ground to get to the engagement point on this one.

[1audifan]

I read your complaint the other day and agree mine doesn't grab until the very top. I was just looking around and found this article. This guy is adjusting to raise the engagement point I would think you could do the oppsite to lower it. If you try this I would love to get feedback on the results.
Good Luck!

http://www.a4mods.com/index.php#inde...djustment.html

[nrosei4]

It wouldn't surprise me if the clutch was set with a high engagement point in order to protect some manual transmission drivers from themselves. There are lots of manual transmission drivers out there that really can't (and shouldn't) drive a manual transmission, and having a high engagement point ensures that as long as the clutch in being pushed, that point will be reached.

FYI. Just the opposite is true. Typically, the 'engagement point' is usually set low (within reason). A higher engagement point is due to wear in the clutch. The higher, the more wear.

[Lugi20]

I read your complaint the other day and agree mine doesn't grab until the very top. I was just looking around and found this article. This guy is adjusting to raise the engagement point I would think you could do the oppsite to lower it. If you try this I would love to get feedback on the results.
Good Luck!

http://www.a4mods.com/index.php#inde...djustment.html

An interesting mod! This would help bring the engagement point on the clutch lower, but it wouldn't lower the actual height/throw of the clutch pedal itself.

[ososlow]

I'm 6'-1" and I can't stand the throw on the clutch pedal. My knee comes into contact with the bottom of my steering wheel when I am releasing the clutch. This is the longest throw, highest engagement clutch I've ever seen and I'm thinking that about 99% of my 'rough' shifts can be contributed to this.

Also, the break pedal is way too high relative to the gas pedal. I'm struggling to blip the throttle on downshifts while breaking, it pisses me off to no end.

EXACTLY THE SAME here man! you are not weird at all, or we are the only 2 weird persons in this world, whatever others might like to think.

add heel and toeing with the heel hitting the center tunnel and the right knee hitting on the redundant center console wall next to the ashtray. i can never get a comfortable sitting position. because the clutch is so unncessarily deep, you need to move the seat more forward than you need to and then you are like giving birth to a steering wheel.

i don't know of any solution though, tiptronic might be an answer, or get another car (which would be my choice instead of another leg ).

[jaybquick@JHM]

I came accross this thread and bookmarked it the other day so I could come back and give you some feedback when I could find the time. Well here it is.

If you wanted to shorten the pedal throw you would have to change the ratio of the clutch pedal to the clutch slave cylinder much like you would with a short throw shifter.

There are 2 ways to do this.

1. Drop the pivot point in the clutch pedal down where it attaches to the clutch master. The problems with this are, 1. you would then have an increased length of throw and possibly bottom out the clutch master cylinder piston, thus rendering your clutch system unusable. 2. Being that the rod is lowered and there is no way to lower the mounting of the clutch master cylinder without cutting the car apart it would come in at an awkward angle and prematurely wear out the clutch master cylinder bore due to the piston having too much side load and scuffing (it is made of plastic as well). 3. the increased throw may allow the system to release the clutch too far thus rendering the pressure plate useless and causing damage to it and possibly throwing the SAC out. 4. Even if you shorten the clutch master cylinder rod to compensate you would then have to put a stop on the clutch pedal to not allow it to pull out too far and once again the side load would be an issue. - Even though these are negatives the only true way to try this is to have a car and see what kind of room and increased throw is available. Just doesn't seem feasible and or cost effective since I would have to modify oem clutch pedals to do this.

2. Raise the pivot point of the clutch pedal and extend the pivot side of the pedal. Thus keeping the clutch master cylinder straight in line with the piston. The major problem with this is COST. We would have to remove the complete pedal assembly and try to find a way to change the pivot of just the clutch and not the brake, since they tend to be on the same shaft it just would be very very expensive.


Don't get me wrong it could be done. The dropping the pivot point down in the arm is possible if done right. However I would need a car for many days and have to do lots of testing to make it work.


I suggest a stronger pressure plate be installed without a SAC (Self Adjusting Mechanism) mechanism. However the Audis SAC is what allows the pedal to have the same height when new vs. a worn clutch. The SAC ratchets to keep your pedal height right. So a normal pressure plate if adapted would have the behavior to that of a Honda or Toyota where the pedal height slowly changes with age. Don't get me wrong this has its pluses and minuses but just be aware before trying such a thing. We are using sachs racing pressure plates with ahigher clamp load and no SAC on the B5 S4s with good results, however it took a lot to get everthing to work right, like a custom throwout bearing. But with these the clutch engagement is a lot lower. We do plan on making clutches for these cars hopefully in 09. Most likely they will have the SAC but we will obviously look into the NON SAC style as well.


Hope this info helps with any direction you guys take.

[duud40]

You could just go for another master cylinder (one with a bigger bore) however this would make the pedal harder to press . I dunno if this is a bitch to do (mechanicaly wise).

[jaybquick@JHM]

You could just go for another master cylinder (one with a bigger bore) however this would make the pedal harder to press . I dunno if this is a bitch to do (mechanicaly wise).

Actually it would do the oposite. A bigger bore with a bigger piston would displace more fluid on a given stroke and if anything make it easier and possibly push the slave too far as well. Thes sizes of evertyhing are well calculated from the factory. Obviously a smaller bore would increase effort but not release the clutch as far. However since it grabs so high it would probable be acceptable.