I'm pretty sure all of the B5 clutches do not grab until the pedal is quite far away from the ground. Is everyone else's like this? This was my first manual car...and its just annoying to me when i have to start out from a stop because my first thought is always to get on the gas a bit and let the clutch up...but the car doesnt move until the pedal is like half way up. If I bring the pedal up fast until i hit the engagement point...it bucks a bit.

When shifting..do you guys push the clutch all the way to the floor...or have you taught yourself just to engage it enough to get past the friction point?


Is there a way to adjust the throw of the pedal?

 

It is typical that the pedal engages high on these cars. There is an adjustment however located at the arm of your pedal. You have to remove the cover drivers side (of course) above the pedal assembly. Stock A4 clutches suck (my opinion). They use a dual mass flywheel which weighs a ton, is expensive as hell and makes shifting a bitch because you have to wait with each shift for the RPMs to drop in order to have a smooth shift. Noticed this? The real solution is to dump the stock clutch and flywheel and go with a conventional setup. It is an amazing difference! Faster revs, better shifts, maybe not quite as smooth of engagment in first (I have a solid clutch disc however) but it made me wonder why Audi choose dual mass. Maybe drive line vibration was a concern?
Anyway, my 50 cents.

 

wow, thats something i'd definately consider. What are some of the best ones to buy and the prices to go with them?

 

I personally always push the clutch all the way down. If you get in the habit not to, you start pushing it down less and less until finally you're just doing it wrong and wearing the hell out of your clutch. As for letting it up and bucking, you just gotta practice it. it really isnt that big of a deal, though i agree that it first its very annoying. don't worry you'll get used to it. I've become slighgtly fond of my clutch, but i'm always up for upgrades.

 

I used the SPEC stage 2 setup. At the time they didn't have the spring loaded disc so I ended up with the solid. Surprisingly there is very little chatter. If you order this setup make sure they send you the correct size flywheel bolts. I believe the price was ~400-500 for the flywheel (crap, don't remember) and ~250 for the clutch-pressure plate,TO setup? Hum, seems like a lot? It's a bitch to change but worth it.

 

2004 A4 Ultrasport. My stock clutch was fried at 17k miles. Now, there is a good reason. I drive very aggressively - and track my car a lot. The stock clutch does suck and the weight of the flywheel is WAY too much for a track car. I was downshifting from 4-3 at 95mph (on the track), and the pedal went to the floor - but never came back up. Long story short...clutch was not strong enough for high performance driving over long periods of time and it finally said no more.

I got an ESC Tuning Stage 2 RS4 clutch and flywheel. This reduced the flywheel mass weight from 25 lbs or so to 11.5 lbs. It revs MUCH faster now, but it also engages with a lot more "bump". It is pretty amazing the difference. Pedal is stiffer, but not too much. It is much racier now.

You have to get used to eliminating that bump with practice - you'll get used to it in any car with practice. I changed the snub mount a while back to make the shifting smoother, and that little addition made a world of difference in the transmission/engine vibration that occurs at the shift when the engine torques. It is also adjustable, so you can make the needed mods as you go.

When you are downshifting from say 4th at 4000rpm to 3rd, if you engage the clutch, shift, then let the clutch out, you will ALWAYS have a torque bounce as the clutch engages in 3rd...that is a result of the rpm of the engine and the rpm of the flywheel not matching.

SOLUTION: if you are braking, you can do a heal-toe shift, where you put the ball of your right foot on the brake pedal, and as you are braking, depress the clutch, roll the right side of your foot onto the gas pedal and rev it so it matches the rpms of the new gear you are downshifting to...shift into 3rd...let the clutch out...ta-dahhhhhh. You shifted with the revs matching between the two gears and there is little or no bounce (as you get good, it feels and sounds really good). This is how all racers downshift to protect the drivetrain of their car, and to keep control of the car as you are putting power to the ground.

If you are NOT braking...but wish to take a lower gear for more torque, then you do it similarly, but it's actually easier. In the 4-3 downshift example, lift your right foot from the gas, depress the clutch, put the car in 3rd...and just before engaging the clutch, tap your foot on the gas (depending on your gear, speed and rpms, it could be just a little or mashed to the floor). This will rev the car (rpms) to the higher rpm that the new gear will be engaging at.

The added bonus on our cars, is that if you are, for instance, downshifting before a corner where you'll need speed off the corner, this method also spools the turbo to get the car set for the power you'll need coming off the corner.

This method will all but eliminate the bumps you are experiencing in your downshifts, and the snub mount and practice will eliminate the bumps in upshifts. It took me a while when I first started racing, but practice made it better. Even if you never race...try this and it will make your drive smoother and a lot more fun too! By the way...don't give up just because it's hard at first (and it is). You'll really be glad you got it right, and so will your car.

Good luck!