from what I've experienced, yes.
my buddy had an act stage 4 clutch and I forget what flywheel and it was super hard to push down.
but it caught as soon as you pressed it down.

I'll bet the previous upgraded the clutch since he swapped the motor and upgraded other parts as well.

 

Its probably upgraded. Every stock honda I've been in feels like mush after driving my car for a while since Im so used to the pedal pressure. I doubt a stock clutch would feel stiff enough to cause fatigue unless something is wrong.

 

ok thanks guys. I actually have 2 integras, the other is a G3 with a stock clutch but it was down for a while so I was driving the 92 with the stiff clutch. I was used to it until I got the g3 running again, now when switch back to the 92 and press in the clutch its like JESUS MF CHRIST!!

its easier to deal with knowing its a high performance clutch and not because of the cable drive.

 

I use a Competition Stage 5 and it is not stiff in the least. Lighter feel than my old Exedy Stage 2.

 

so maybe different brands just feel different?

 

Probably depends on the age and wear of the clutch master cylinder more than anything else. When I had my clutch changed when I got the car I noticed a difference though. Nothing close to when I put in the Omni-power CMC though. Things stiff as hell!

 

some companies increase the clamping capacity on their pressure plates when you go higher in their "stages" where as other companies like competition clutch uses a different clutch disk with a high coefficient of friction to accomplish the same goals for power capacity (although you can get higher load pressure plates optional with Competition clutches) the advantage to using an almost stock pressure plate with better griping disk is that you do not have excessive pedal effort. thus making the clutch set a more "streetable" setup that lets face it is more popular now since more and more people want a car to do multiple task which is why you see more companies developing "street friendly" high HP/TQ capacity clutch sets

 

^^ very well put

 

Yeah, i believe they're a little stiffer so it will recoil faster, thus engaging the gear faster.
I had a 97 with 180k so i'm pretty sure it didn't have the stock clutch and it was pretty stiff. All the other cars that are stick i've driven they've been pretty mushy.

 

some companies increase the clamping capacity on their pressure plates when you go higher in their "stages" where as other companies like competition clutch uses a different clutch disk with a high coefficient of friction to accomplish the same goals for power capacity (although you can get higher load pressure plates optional with Competition clutches) the advantage to using an almost stock pressure plate with better griping disk is that you do not have excessive pedal effort. thus making the clutch set a more "streetable" setup that lets face it is more popular now since more and more people want a car to do multiple task which is why you see more companies developing "street friendly" high HP/TQ capacity clutch sets

The problem with increasing the gripping power of the clutch disc is two-fold:

1 - increasing the coefficient of friction of the clutch disc is much harder on your flywheel. In addition to this since the friction is greater, the time it takes for your trans and your engine to match revs decreases, adding more shock to your trans. In my experience, clutch 'feel' is greatly reduced.

2 - In higher torque applications, the need for high holding power of the pressure plate is almost essential. Again, we see added stress to not only the disc and the flywheel do to an effect that can be described as 'stop-go', where the disc is subjected to enough torque for it to slip and then instantly bite again because the plate doesn't exert enough force to keep it from losing it's grip. Ultimately, the plate is what sandwiches everything together. You could have a solid metal disc in there, but at the end of the day it's only going to stay put if it's pressed together hard enough.

The goal to a good clutch package is to combine a disc, a plate, and a flywheel that are matched to not only provide adequate holding power for you application, but increase the longevity of eachother without putting undue stress on any one component, including the transaxle.

 

most likely he upgraded it... i replaced my oem clutch with just stage 1 exedy, and it felt like 50-100% stiffer then stock... it was really hard to step on at first, but now after driving it for so long, it just feel natural. so yea, oem feels soft like a sponge... anything harder would means he upgraded it. (or you have really weak legs!!!! jk lol)

 

so my question is, are higher performance clutches harder to press in? or are cable driven clutches naturally really hard to press in?

A stock for stock cable vs hydro clutch (same clutch) the cable will be ever so slightly stiffer but not significantly so.

So you've clearly got an upgraded clutch pressure plate going on.

 

The last owner but in a stage 2 exedy clutch in my 92. lets just say my left foot has double the muscle on it. Went on a trip up north once, and got stuck in nyc stop and go traffic. After half an hour, I thought i was going to die.