Ultimate Clutch Pedal installed first impressions

[dturn37]

Hey guys, So one thing I wasn't super happy with was the feeling of the plastic clutch pedal in my newly acquired 1M. I was also getting a creaking sound that was starting to drive me nuts so I started investigating alternative options other than OEM. Heard some very positive things about the ultimate clutch pedal and since its completely reversible I figured I'd give it a try. Installed it last week and instantly fell in love. Feels so much better than the plastic stock arm and the shifts felt so much smoother. I would occasionally feel some slop and it seems to completely fix that issue. I was a little nervous about the install but it was actually not hard at all with the right tools. There's three settings for the clutch height and I just kept it at "stock" but might venture into having a slightly lower setting. Really great upgrade that I highly recommend. Now on to putting this Akrapovic exhaust on. Love this 0 degree weather we have going on right now in Chicago ugh.

[sterile stork]

Originally Posted by dturn37

Hey guys, So one thing I wasn't super happy with was the feeling of the plastic clutch pedal in my newly acquired 1M. I was also getting a creaking sound that was starting to drive me nuts so I started investigating alternative options other than OEM. Heard some very positive things about the ultimate clutch pedal and since its completely reversible I figured I'd give it a try. Installed it last week and instantly fell in love. Feels so much better than the plastic stock arm and the shifts felt so much smoother. I would occasionally feel some slop and it seems to completely fix that issue. I was a little nervous about the install but it was actually not hard at all with the right tools. There's three settings for the clutch height and I just kept it at "stock" but might venture into having a slightly lower setting. Really great upgrade that I highly recommend. Now on to putting this Akrapovic exhaust on. Love this 0 degree weather we have going on right now in Chicago ugh.

I had it on my first E92; immediately picked up another piece as I took delivery of my 1M It's a great addition to the aftermarket community, thanks HPA!

[The Wind Breezes]

Honestly this is super silly. Sounds like your bushings were worn out or something, or more likely buyer justification is in full swing. It's just a lever and it's not just plastic it's reinforced with fiberglass like a Glock frame. There's no reason to replace it unless you can't think of better mods to do to the car, of which there are about a zillion.

[dturn37]

Have you tried this clutch pedal upgrade the wind breezes? Seems silly to shoot it down if you haven't tried it. It really helped with the slop I was experiencing and the lower throw makes for some smooth shifting. Only a few mods I'm going to do to my 1M and I'm glad I did it.

[The Wind Breezes]

Originally Posted by dturn37

Have you tried this clutch pedal upgrade the wind breezes? Seems silly to shoot it down if you haven't tried it. It really helped with the slop I was experiencing and the lower throw makes for some smooth shifting. Only a few mods I'm going to do to my 1M and I'm glad I did it.

Do you know what bushings are? I get that the pedal has a different leverage (slightly shorter throw) but it's not like the stock one is unusable or even not good, it's extremely usable and 100% fine with a competent driver.

Anyway, even if they were totally blown and the pedal was rattling around which would be very unusual you can still operate the transmission quite smoothly assuming no other issues. I've driven some real shitboxes that people claimed they were unable to shift smoothly, and in fact it was driver error every time. A couple of these guys had been driving manual trans for years and tens of thousands of miles, they just never learned how to do it that well.

Justification is an extremely strong thing. We all have a miniature version of Steve Jobs's reality distortion field inside us.

[Ric in RVA]

Anyone ever just replace the bushings in the OE clutch pedal?

I need to lube mine since it makes noise sometimes. Maybe I will see if I can replace the bushings. I have a lathe and bronze bushing material in the shop.

edit...or I could just buy delrin...

http://www.harrisonmotorsports.com/e...shing-set.html

[dturn37]

Oh don't get me wrong the OE pedal feels great but I've been driving stick for 20+ years and there's always room for improvements. I like the feeling of a shorter throw and I like the fact that I can adjust the spring pressure as well . Will be fun to try the other settings when I track the car next spring.

[flzrider]

I wouldn't mind trying the pedal out, but I've always wondered why BMW specifically chose to make the clutch pedal (on all manual models) out of plastic while the brake pedal is steel. Is there a safety concern here that is being overlooked?

[sterile stork]

Originally Posted by The Wind Breezes

Honestly this is super silly. Sounds like your bushings were worn out or something, or more likely buyer justification is in full swing. It's just a lever and it's not just plastic it's reinforced with fiberglass like a Glock frame. There's no reason to replace it unless you can't think of better mods to do to the car, of which there are about a zillion.

The adjustable nature of the product is quite nice; the static pedal placement as well as spring-force can be adjusted, very easily. It's by no means a must-have, however something I was happy to have paid for, twice.

[The Wind Breezes]

Originally Posted by flzrider

Is there a safety concern here that is being overlooked?

No, there's not! Glass fiber reinforced plastic is extremely goddamn tough / strong and your brake pedal would be made out of it too if it wasn't legally required that the brake have a steel lever. Steel parts can break as much as anything else. The relevant factor is that the part, whatever it's made out of, is properly engineered to work with the loads it will receive. You can make a lot of materials work, you just need to have the right amount of them in the proper shape.

[tjswarbrick]

135i, but same pedal.
The UCP changes the location and angles slightly, is adjustable, includes bronze instead of plastic bushings, and doesn't flex like the plastic one.
I wouldn't have replaced my stock unit with one if I hadn't broken the darn thing trying to reinstall it after a bushing swap (the gritty, squeaky creaking of the stock nylon bushings was driving me nuts.) But after having done so, the feel is such much better - and takeup/release is now 100% consistent from shift-to-shift.
Love it.
Those who haven't tried it may have trouble understanding. Don't worry about them. Just enjoy the drive!

And post clips with the Apro exhaust!

[flzrider]

Originally Posted by The Wind Breezes

No, there's not! Glass fiber reinforced plastic is extremely goddamn tough / strong and your brake pedal would be made out of it too if it wasn't legally required that the brake have a steel lever. Steel parts can break as much as anything else. The relevant factor is that the part, whatever it's made out of, is properly engineered to work with the loads it will receive. You can make a lot of materials work, you just need to have the right amount of them in the proper shape.

I'm a mechanical engineer, I'm very familiar with the material properties of glass-filled nylon vs steel. I've never heard of a requirement, state, federal, or otherwise that requires a steel brake pedal. But if that is enough to satisfy your concerns, then by all means proceed. But in the absence of proof, I, personally, will maintain using my non-ultimate OEM pedal.

[The Wind Breezes]

Proceed with what? I don't even have a third pedal and I'm not planning on changing the remaining two lol.

As far as the law thing, looks like I was mistaken: https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/49/570.55

Guess it just needs to take a big load and not yield, at least that's how I read it.

[tjswarbrick]

Polymers have their place, and can be a reasonable substitute for metals depending upon composition and the application.
But that doesn't mean I have to like them.
In touch-parts, I prefer wood and leather. In structural members and items under stress, give me a proper metal.

If you drive slushbox, DCT, or otherwise 2-pedal what qualifies you to criticize our feelings on the long-term feel and operation of our clutch pedal?
I could feel my stock one flex under use. Not enough that I would have ever worried about it, and not that it really mattered because it wasn't until it had disengaged anyway. As a mechanical engineer and realist, I know the welded aluminum flexes (microscopically) too. But the Ultimate is rigid enough that I don't feel it.
If BMW had used bronze , or at least Delrin, bushings for the clutch pedal I would never have felt the need to mess with it at all. It was the squeaking and creaking of the stupid nylon bushings that sent me down the path.

That's my biggest problem with plastics. There are so many out there that without solid proof that a structurally sound, dimensionally-stable, self-lubricating or otherwise specific, proper and pricey component is absolutely required in order to meet performance targets, the project managers let the bean-counters spec a cheaper one that will "do the job." Which leads to premature failure or unsatisfactory long-term performance.

Like the tiny nylon gears in my garage door opener that left a white powder in the bottom of the box and made me late for work...

BTW, when I first put in my new "upgrade" bushings on the old pedal, they were slightly oversize and I couldn't get the c-clip back in place. About day 3, one of them fell out.
Clutch still worked "just fine" - but I could rattle it around with my foot, and it felt like crap. Plus I was afraid it was going to fall off...
It was after carefully removing fractions of a millimeter from each and reinstalling that I broke a chunk of plastic out of the pedal arm upon reinstallation.

[tjswarbrick]

Originally Posted by The Wind Breezes

Honestly this is super silly. Sounds like your bushings were worn out or something, or more likely buyer justification is in full swing. It's just a lever and it's not just plastic it's reinforced with fiberglass like a Glock frame. There's no reason to replace it unless you can't think of better mods to do to the car, of which there are about a zillion.

FYI - OT but pertinent -
Glock .45acp is not suitable for .45 Super or .450 SMC (high pressure, "magnum" velocity ammo of identical dimensions) without modifications to the arm. Springfield and HK put a little steel where the steel slide stops against the FRP frame. They are.

FRP is "just fine". But a proper application of a suitable steel just makes things that much stronger.