I am going to be needing a clutch pretty soon and have been looking for a good solid replacement. I would like something that will hold a decent amount of hp. I like the ECS setups but they are lil pricey for me. Another good stock replacement is an idea but with a lightened flywheel. I have been considering one of the eBay flywheels specifically. The eBay clutch setups, not so much but the flywheels I have never known one of them **** out on a person and I have used one before.

SOmething else I noticed but the stock replacements does not look to use a sprung hub and I am assuming the OEM does not as well. WTF? Can this only be used on the duel mass flywheels?

The other option is Valeo kit that replaces the flywheel or a RhinoPac kit.

I am just wandering what others have used and suggest? Price conscious on this but I am willing to pay for a decent setup. Also when does the stock clutch give up? I have seen varying numbers from K04 015 power levels all the way up too GT2871 Elim levels. If it matters it is a quattro and I don't launch hard or any of that Jazz.

Thanks

 

The ECS RA4 conversions are about as cheap as you're going to find for a reputable clutch/flywheel setup. I would be very cautious about buying an eBay clutch. Some of the sellers I've seen are re-painting OEM Sachs pressure plates and clutch disks and marketing them as "high performance" or whatever. If you go that route, be sure to get lots of hi res pics of all of the parts.

I'm running a Clutchmasters FX-300 Fibertuff with a 19lb steel flywheel and I couldn't be happier with it. I don't launch the car so I can't comment on how it would handle that, but I drive it ~60 miles a day to and from work and it's very easy to drive. Also improved the pedal feel and engagement point over the stock clutch IMO. That setup will run you about $1k.


Also this:

https://www.audiforums.com/forum/aud...pgrades-61761/
https://www.audiforums.com/forum/b5-...ersion-136803/
https://www.audiforums.com/forum/b5-...-daily-186477/
clutch - AudiForums.com - Threads Tagged with clutch

Should be noted that my comments in the thread in that third link are no longer applicable. The early versions of that clutch kit had reliability issues, but they've since been resolved and plenty of guys are having good experiences now.

 

I have actually looked through a bunch of threads but what I was hoping to get is the info I got from you pertaining to certain setups and how they have lasted. You rarely see updates to threads years down the road as to how a product is still performing.

I have no intentions on using a eBay clutch but I have used their flywheels. I have never known any of these to have problems. I have actually used their clutches as well but know some work OK and some are ****.

Does anyone know how much a stock Valeo replacement will hold that replaces the flywheel? Or just a straight stock replacement? Thanks

 

Some more info that just popped into my head:

-Be wary of resurfacing the stock flywheel. Some shops won't do it at all because it's dual mass, others will just tell you that it's burned up.

-Clutchmasters and South Bend are offering 240mm (S4) clutch/flywheel setups as an upgrade over the OEM 228mm disks. This is what I run. They hold more power, but aparently shift a little bit slower. Doesn't bother me because I shift like old people **** anyway, but if you're thinking about running auto-x or dragging the car, it's something to keep in mind.

I've never seen any "official" figures pertaining to the torque rating on a new stock clutch, but I'm pretty confident your turbo plans are going to surpass that rating. At the very least I would look into the RA4 stage 2 or equivalent.

 

I've got the Valeo single mass flywheel kit. It's been working pretty well for the last year and 4 months with my FrankenTurbo setup. Mostly I baby the clutch.

Though lately I've noticed my engagement point getting higher. When I first got the clutch it engaged closer to the middle of the pedal travel (unlike at the top similar to the stock clutch). But now it's engaging closer to the top like the stock clutch... but not slipping.

If I did it over again I wouldn't get the Valeo kit, but the ECS RA4 conversion. My concern with that kit is the 12lb (I think) flywheel, as far as chatter goes for a DD.

 

The Ebay Flywheel is 14.8 lbs which should help a bit with revs but not kill the momentum of the flywheel at the same time. Some flywheel momentum is good on turbos if you are running a huge turbo. Ultra light weight setups are bad *** on high strung NA setups. My setup is somewhere between just like the eBay flywheel. The only issue with it is no one has a decent clutch to match it that I know of and it looks like I would be flying blind into.

The Rhino Pac cflywheel is around 16 lbs though...

These are the MOST overpriced parts for an Audi A4, the clutch kits and software. **** like SR20DET's and B16's you can slap Eprom in and be golden for less then a $100. Not an Audi. OH well.....


EDIT: I think what I am going to do is a buy Valeo with flywheel or Rhino Pac and run it till it gives up. Then go with a SouthBend or Clutch Master as to what best suits my setup then. My car still has the stock setup at 130xxx miles and it honestly still feels just fine. I really don't launch it hard and that is what typically kills the clutch.

I looked the ECS setups but as noted the S4 or RS4 replacements are not cheap which I would be stuck with after it takes a ****. They themself cost as much as a performance upgrade like one I mentioned above.

Something worth noting I read up on the dual mass and as I suspected the flywheel itself has springs so the clutch does not need them. The clutch itself is a solid hub but the flywheel acts like a buffer between the 2 since solid hubs are brutal. Some of the eGay kist couple the solid hub stock clutch with a solid flywheel. I bet this is a BAD idea and figured I would note this for others.

 

i got the ra4 conversion and have zero complaints. holds my power just fine and i only have the s4 disk.

 

Damn You, Damn You, Damn You. Now I am back on the fence. My obvious concern is when it lets go an upgrade replacement is expensive. However the S4 setup is designed for a lot more torque and HP out of the box. I am genuinely surprised the stocker I have is still holding strong so by common assessment the stock S4 should also have the extra capacity built into it as well.

Have you launched yours? What would you say your overall driving style is? Do you think the flywheel is too light, just right, or? Thank you.

 

The s4 disk is good. If you want to upgrade to the rs4 clutch, only the pressure plate is different. I'm pretty easy on my clutch. I don't launch often at all, but the couple times I have its held up fine. Mike hood will tell you the flywheel is ridiculously light, but I think it's fine. I will say that after 5000 or so miles when I was stock and pulled my motor to put the new one in, the ra4 system looked brand new. I could hardly tell it was used