When I was checking out the 2017 Mustang GT I wanted to drive the six speed manual. No local dealers had one on their lot. And I talked to the 4+ local dealers. I did drive an automatic but a Mustang needs a manual. One of the dealers finally called me with one. I took a friend along. At the dealer, the sales guy tossed me the keys, said he wasn’t riding in the back seat and to come back before it was out of gas. We got in the Mustang, I started it up, put it in first and let the clutch out. I spun the tires in the parking lot. Probably impressed the sales guy. My lady friend asked me what was wrong with the car. I told her it was the driver thinking I likely needed some practice with this high horsepower car. When I got it to the street and turned right I almost put it sideways when I hit second gear. Odd. So we had some fun taking it for a drive. I was ordering the six speed.
When my Mustang came in and I had time to drive it something was real different with this manual car. I visited some Mustang forums to see what other owners were saying about these cars. That is when I discovered these cars come with a 185 lb. Clutch Helper spring. And many owners were saying that stiff spring doesn’t let you feel when the clutch engages. I’ve driven cars with clutches most of my life so that made sense.
Steeda offers a 35 lb. Replacement clutch spring. I took the 185 lb. Spring out and drove it while waiting on my Steeda spring. Huge difference. I could feel the clutch engage. My mechanic told me to install the Steeda spring so the clutch pedal would stay up as it wore. Installing the spring was pretty simple. And yes, it was the right thing to do. My 2017 Mustang now drives like I’m use to.
I’m sure getting use to 435 HP and 400 lbs. Ft. of torque was an issue for me on my test drive. But it was that clutch spring that made it awkward. I’ve driven my Mustang enough to say I’m very use to it by now. I’m sure you could get use to the stock clutch spring but I much prefer the lighter spring.