Replacement clutch hard to drive?

[ysaliens]

I had a shop replace the original clutch in my 2013 Mazdaspeed 3.
The original clutch was very worn out.
They used a Duralast clutch kit (I didn't know).

Before clutch replacement:
- Clutch pedal was very light and easy to press
- Clutch engaged somewhere around the middle or towards the top of the pedal
- Very easy to drive

After clutch replacement:
- Clutch pedal stiffer, harder to press
- Clutch engages ~1cm off the floor...essentially you have to JAM the pedal to the firewall and it will engage in the last 1cm of travel.
- Very hard to drive...engagement point is very short...like an on/off. Combined with a hard to press pedal and the engagement point being all the way at the firewall, I have stalled a fair bit.

I asked the shop and they say that is how a new clutch is supposed to feel - it may settle a bit. I researched and there doesn't appear to be any adjustment for the clutch in these Speeds. Is this how a new clutch is supposed to feel? Was it a bad install?

[SSinstaller]

According to the manual the pedal should start engaging the clutch about 2.5" from the floor and be fully engaged .91" lower.

If its engaging at the floor you could check for air in the line, but they wouldnt have needed to open them unless you got a new slave cylinder..

IMO, the shop needs to fix it, especially if they chose that clutch kit.

[ysaliens]

It is engaging pretty much at the floor though has been "settling in" slowly. I have 50 miles on the clutch so far and it's a smidge better.

The engagement area is still relatively small though and pedal is still hard to press (compared to OEM clutch).

Do clutches have break-in/settle period - and how long? I doubt they machined the flywheel when installing the new clutch.

[SSinstaller]

I've always given a new street clutch 300-500 miles to break in, the clutch disk and flywheel surfaces will wear together slightly. Not machining or replacing the flywheel means any damage/surface glazing is still there.

I can't belive an actual mechanic would bill the labor that this job costs and not at least recommend a quality clutch and flywheel kit.

Not machining or replacing the flywheel is just asking for trouble.

[Jeff23spl]

before blasting the mechanic shop i would ask the price paid and which kind of clutch and parts to they put?

A well done clutch job would be to install a new flywheel along the clutch kit. And doing so may easily bring the bill between 1500-2000$....You may have got what you paid for...

Unless they know the limited amount of shop that could surface a dual mass flywheel it need to be replaced. If you don't, as stated above, the uneven surface on one side will damage the new disk. Like installing new brake pads on a rusted rotor....
And trying to do it redneck style may end up bad also...

According to what they did install, it is likely to not be as smooth as it was from factory.
If you replace a dual mass with a single mass, you likely lose some ''comfort'' by losing mass energy (less weight) but mostly the flex in the middle of the wheel that react like a rubber drive shaft flexing under load to help beginners drivers.

And because you burned the oem one, they may have chosen a stronger one that comes with harder pressure plate springs or maybe a 6 puck disc instead of the oem organic one. At the end, you get a stronger and quicker clutch that needs a little more work for the driver.

I loved mine for spirited driving but during winter traffic jam i was missing my oem....

So you can have the pedal travel corrected but for the rest, it won't change much unless you get another clutch kit again.

[Fstrnyou]

The ACT 6-puck clutch in my 6 is BARELY more pedal effort than stock. More grabby than stock with 6-puck, but I was used to it after a day or so. Engagement point was similar to stock.

[Carskick]

My Southbend S2 Endurance engaged on the floor when it was new, just as you described. In fact, some mornings it was hard to get into reverse because it would engage a bit even at the floor. I had Slave Cylinder replaced, too. Over time, it has gradually moved more towards the middle on it's own.

I think a combination of the break in period and the normal self adjustment of our clutch system causes this. It's very annoying at first, but should get better with time.

As far as the on/off switch feel of the engagement, my stock clutch always felt like that from new. The Southbend I got is similar, but a little less so.

If it's drivable, I'd give it at least a few hundred miles to see if it starts breaking in.

[Db09ms3]

My OEM setup was grabby as fuck and a little heavy. Now that I have the LuK replacement and fidanza FW with new OEM slave cylinder it does feel super light/easy, pedal feel wise.

[Fstrnyou]

LuK is OEM. So your difference in feel can only be attributed to the flywheel change.

[Db09ms3]

Perhaps