I've had this problem for awhile now and i haven't gotten to drive someone else's vq to compare. My clutch pedal is very heavy I've got some big *** legs too and it mostly just makes my knee hurt after a commute.

So I'm on my second clutch since I've owned the vehicle the first one was a South bend stage 2 with lightweight flywheel with a csc. Now I'm on an exedy stage 2 didn't replace flywheel just resurfaced and I installed a cmak to delete the csc and the pedal feel between the 2 clutch didn't change AT ALL.

So I assume the pedal isn't supposed to be this heavy and everything behind the slave is confirmed okay so I assume it's hydralic or pedal itself so I changed the master and bled all the old fluid out and even took off the return spring on the pedal assembly and still same pedal feel. I will say this I wasn't able to bench bleed the master it's a luk master so there probably air in the line but it feels the same as the old master which was oem.

just for reference for pedal feel I can only compare this pedal feel to a tdi with an oem clutch which is just as light as a Honda fits clutch and a built gti with a stage 2 that was a little bit heavier than my tdi. My tdi I can effortlessly push in with my hand same thing with the gti and on the g I can only push it in with bodyweight on my hand and alot of effort

 

Weird that between different clutches and with the CMAK kit it’s still heavy. Maybe it’s RJM clutch pedal time to adjust your friction point / clutch pedal effort.

does it feel like it drags, or it feels like just heavy foot pressure?

 

Could also probably be the pressure plates you have, or a bit of air inthe line.

 

Consistent pressure all the way through no dragging. Ive been looking at the rjm may be the route I go next

 

Pressure plate was changed between the clutches and the same feel I mean this could just be how stage 2s feel on this car but the exact same feel? Makes me think it's not mechanical

I can confirm theres probably air because i didnt bench or gravity bleed the new master but air wouldnt make it hard asf itd make it squishy and probably affect the range of motion yeah? Range of motion is the same infact the pedal feel is pretty much the same feel outside of the return spring not being on ATM

 

Even from the factory it’s pretty heavy and friction point high up in the pedal travel range.

if you have time, maybe remove line at the Slave and press the pedal to ensure it’s nothing before the slave? If it’s moving free, you likely have a super heavy clutch I guess. RJM pedal will allow you to adjust friction point and ease of moving the pedal. I “hear” it’s a really great product, but have never personally used one. Having that adjustability has to be great!

 

As a detailer, I'm around a lot of cars and the OEM clutch in my G35 is noticeably heavier than 95% of the other manual cars I deal with. Even a Porsche Cayman GT4 has a lighter feeling clutch. On the other hand, I had a '74 Z/28 with a 3400 lb (according to the previous owner) pressure plate. My left calf to this day is 1/2" larger than my right one.

 

Here's my guess since you mentioned "stage 2", most companies that sell "stage 1-3" clutch kits are basically just playing on customer ignorance rather than providing a good product, they use catchy phrases like "stage 2" to make their product seem like it's better than it really is.

They are typically just selling you a very heavy pressure plate, unless you're making a LOT more than stock WHP you don't need this.

Any real clutch manufacturer will never use this terminology, they'll give you a spec sheet with how many pounds of torque the friction disc or pressure plate is good for. They won't call it "stage X", that's ebay seller bullshit.

You can take a stock'ish friction disc, put a massive pressure plate behind it, and it will hold more pounds of torque (+25% to +75% usually), but it's going to feel terrible to drive and usually wears out components faster like TO bearings, pivot *****, etc.

You can take a more aggressive friction disc on a stock pressure plate and it will hold more pounds of force than the previous option, it will feel a little grabby but won't wear out components faster but it will eat the flywheel surface faster.

About bleeding the clutch, you can't bench bleed the CMC, the best way I know to bleed them is a Motiv Bleeder with a universal adapter.

What is your WHP, if you haven't had a dyno then what are your power adding mods, this will help decide exactly what clutch/pressure plate you should be using. Anything with a stronger pressure plate is for stuff that's up in the 500whp or so range. Stock friction disc and plate is good for 350whp or so, then you start getting into a better friction disc full faced with more aggresive friction, then MAYBE a stiffer pressure plate, then 6 puck with a stiffer pressure plate, then 4, 2 puck with an even stronger pressure plate. If you're naturally aspirated you're fine with the stock pressure plate and friction disc. If you do some track days then upgrade the friction disc but keep a stock pressure plate.

Going straight to a stiffer pressure plate is just going to add leg fatigue and less driveability, especially if it's +50% clamping force or greater.