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Hey guys. With the return of Winter this year I was reminded of the car's tendency to be notchy with 2nd gear (when really cold, sometimes it refused to shift from 1st to 2nd without repeated tries) so I decided to google this problem and see if other NC drivers have had similar issues. I found that many people have had the same issues, so I found a very simple guide on miata.net that fixed it by raising the friction point of the clutch. Apparently there's a bit of clutch dragging going on in stock NCs.

Now the gearbox is much better and shifts fine, even when cold. My problem now is I'm wondering if I have adjusted the friction point too high. The clutch begins to engage at roughly 1cm below the dead pedal, around an inch higher than it did when stock.

Without obvious clutch slip (which I haven't experienced since the adjustment), is it possible that I've raised it too high? Should I slightly lower the friction point to around 50/50 or is it just a matter of comfort?

you need to get your head around the fact that manual changes are never perfect- thats one reason people esp in Au have taken to automatics. Technique and mechanical sympathy is required. Clutch take up is really much the same for all manuals- ie if they take up barely when you release the pedal then it needs attention. Read any workshop manual for a guide on free play - not sure if there is a manual for an NC but if there is good plan to get one for reference. Clutches slip if they are stuffed or if they are partly engaged ie no free play. I would say your adjustment is fine and it certainly should not be taking up 50% of the travel.

Adjust it to where you're comfortable with. But I wouldn't want it to engage too low personally. Note that you should adjust it again when you install a new clutch.

JB

+1 for mechanical sympathy. Theres something to be said for double de clutching from 1st to 2nd until the gearbox warms up, definately do this for my 14yo gearbox and it helps, rather than brutally trying to slam it into 2nd as I've seen some people do with their cars. Hurts me every time