Hey Everyone,



For a while I was researching about this mod, the removal of the clutch delay valve (located on the slave cylinder) on the 9th gen but could not find concise reviews or information on how EXACTLY it affected the vehicle and clutch system. I went ahead and jumped the gun, and wanted to post here to let other know:



In one sentence, this is the best mod you can possibly do to a manual transmission, v6 coupe. Rewinding back to when I first purchased the car, I was completely appalled by the clutch. I have had 5 manual transmission cars prior to this one, some significantly older (early 90s) and not a single one had such a horrendous clutch. It really was absolutely horrible, and I was pondering selling my new 30k car because it absolutely ruined any enjoyment.



Essentially, the car would engage the clutch at completely random points. Its like hitting a constantly moving target. First gear would grab all the way down low as soon as you start releasing the clutch, second would grab somewhere randomly halfway through the pedal release, under heavy acceleration it would grab all the way on top. I thought it was just something to get used to, but boy was I wrong. Not only does this damn thing change the engagement points, they're not even consistent. You could shift at the same gear, same RPM and the clutch would grab wherever it decided to. Absolutely no predictability, and all the performance of the v6 went down the drain because every single shift was completely botched, I could have automatic civics take me down the line. It took me over 3-4 seconds to smoothly shift the car as I had to extremely slowly release the pedal and hope that it would catch where I wished it would (but it never did). Since it grabbed at random points, every single shift would send a jerk throughout the whole car as the stupid thing caught on too late or too early, never on point.



Then one day, I drove my friend's 4 cylinder Sport accord with MT. This model also supposedly has this valve, but you could not imagine my OUTRAGE when his car, nearly half the cost of mine, shifted perfectly in every single gear. I couldn't believe it, I was struggling for MONTHS trying to properly shift my car, and on the first drive in his I was shifting better than I ever could in mine.



At that point, I contacted a couple of forum members who have done the mod, and all recommended me to go for it. So I did.



And the result: Perfect, smooth shifts. The clutch is completely predictable now. It engages at the same point in every gear. It engages SMOOTHLY. Under hard acceleration, it still engages at the same point. The car shifts faster than ever before, I would guesstimate a half-second or so, and you actually have CONTROL over it. It feels like I got rid of that old piece of junk, and got a brand new car that actually cares about the driver and the thrill of the ride itself.



I have heard complaints that it makes the car harder to drive when going slowly or putting around the city - absolutely not. In fact, it is magnificently improved, gear changes are incredibly smooth and undetectable to my passengers, who previously would frequently complain. Downshifts are also significantly improved.



Bottom line is, do it. Whoever designed this valve needs to be found and brought to justice, I absolutely cannot comprehend why (OR HOW) they could possibly ruin a car like this. 30$ later, and my relatively new car can finally shift as well as my old 2002 accord, or even 1990 Miata. De-engineering at its finest



Anyway, that is my $0.02, If anyone is pondering this mod and has questions, feel free to ask and I will do my best to answer.



Long live the MT! Hits thanks if this was useful!