best clutch?

Sc0

Veteran Member
Joined
May 21, 2000
Location
Houston, TX USA
TDI
'02 Golf GL 5sp Candy White Tan cloth interior
Had the VR6/G60 setup, a good deal for a stock or slightly modded engine with a slight rattle.

Had the old SBC Stage3 Endurance, got noisier and hub springs were being eaten up by the retainers, also not fond of their warranty of only applying to "shop" installed clutches...

Am running a Clutchmaster setup currently, noisy as hell and is getting noisier, am scared as to what I am going to find inside but still works. Currently this setup slips when getting frisky with the skinny pedal... (I like the design of the spring hub due to fully enclosed springs)

I am not even considering a SPEC clutch, pulled one out of a AWP due to the springs coming out of the hub and locking up the pressure plate.. Garbage.

My modifications: FMIC, 11mm pump, R520 injectors, 3bar MAP, ST1852 rebuilt by Kerma, 3" exhaust, TDtuning files.
 

IndigoBlueWagon

TDIClub Enthusiast, Principal IDParts, Vendor , w/
Joined
Aug 16, 2004
Location
South of Boston
TDI
'97 Passat, '99.5 Golf, '02 Jetta Wagon, '15 GSW
Sounds like you've eliminated most of the options. You might try a Sachs Power Clutch. Some people have had good luck with them, but they do have higher pedal effort.
 

Sc0

Veteran Member
Joined
May 21, 2000
Location
Houston, TX USA
TDI
'02 Golf GL 5sp Candy White Tan cloth interior
I just researched a little bit and it doesn't look like Sachs has a SMF application that would hold over 400ftlb of torque without going to the sintered puck disc... (Not something that is desired for a street car.)

I have no idea what my TDI is putting out but the FST clutch that is currently in it is rated to hold 375ftlb of torque. I think I would feel safe with a clutch that held 425+ ftlb torque. If nothing else I suppose I can goto a shop to get a SBC stage 3 endurance installed just to have a warranty, which brings me to my next question...

Has anyone tried to warranty a SBC clutch?
 

IndigoBlueWagon

TDIClub Enthusiast, Principal IDParts, Vendor , w/
Joined
Aug 16, 2004
Location
South of Boston
TDI
'97 Passat, '99.5 Golf, '02 Jetta Wagon, '15 GSW
You should get your car on a dyno so you know what you need. Many people over-estimate their engine's output and end up searching for or buying more clutch than they need. I'm betting on a Mustang or similar dyno you've got no more and 325 ft/lbs. at the wheels. SBC has told me that without an LSD and slicks you'll spin the tires on a VW with the Stage 2 Endurance clutch before you'll slip the clutch.
 

jptbay

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 9, 2007
Location
Thunder Bay
TDI
2003 Beetle, 2006 Jetta Wagon
I have heard bad things about all of them.

I think vendors do a good job of pumping up certain brands.

I won't recommend anything, but I have run a Spec stage 3+, with a 18lb flywheel I sourced elsewhere, for over 30 000 miles now. Works great.

If and when the springs rattle out of it, I will consider one of the newer style floating discs.
 

white95v6

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 1, 2009
Location
tullahoma,tn
TDI
2000 jetta 5spd tdi 2003 jetta jw 5spd tdi
Look on boras web site. He has some good deals on clutches that he has a local man build. I think I am putting his in both of my jettas.
 

raydeee

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 23, 2007
Location
Toronto,Hamilton,St.Catharines,
TDI
2000 Jetta TDI,2009 Jetta TDI
Bully Stage 4

I had a bully stage 3 before a 6 puck but it was a bit hard when pressing now that it went due to flywheel wear I was so pleased with it I went to the stage 4 softer than stock setup by far and. Around 525 lbs torque vr6/eurospec g60 flywheel.
 

jcilforever

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 17, 2010
Location
Southeast
TDI
2004 Jetta (SOLD), 2004 Beetle, 2003 Jetta Wagon (parts car) all manuals all for sale
You should get your car on a dyno so you know what you need. Many people over-estimate their engine's output and end up searching for or buying more clutch than they need. I'm betting on a Mustang or similar dyno you've got no more and 325 ft/lbs. at the wheels. SBC has told me that without an LSD and slicks you'll spin the tires on a VW with the Stage 2 Endurance clutch before you'll slip the clutch.
I can attest to this.
 

nathan_b

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 12, 2012
Location
athens ohio
TDI
1999.5 alh jetta/ 2002 alh jetta
99.5 clutch,

malone stage 3, sprint 520, vnt 15, 11mm pump, intercooler piping and muffler remove. is tuned to the max 18.5psi and spins the tires all the time, has never slipped.

every once ina while I rev it up, mash it and drop the clutch in 4th while rolling..

never slips, no rattle, great pedal feel, although I am certainly the odd one here.
 

eddie_1

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 27, 2004
Location
Hannover, Germany formerly Toronto & NY
TDI
Jetta Wagon 2003 TDI tuned to 170HP, A6 Wagon 2008 TDI 2.7L tuned to 340HP
If you went to a 6speed tranny 02M DRW etc then with 240mm even a stock clutch may be good enough and still have more options and inherent robustness. Probably why all these souped up smaller 225mm clutches keep failing.
 

eddie_1

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 27, 2004
Location
Hannover, Germany formerly Toronto & NY
TDI
Jetta Wagon 2003 TDI tuned to 170HP, A6 Wagon 2008 TDI 2.7L tuned to 340HP
I just calculated a 14% increase in surface area when going with 240mm clutch. Also the extra area is on the outside where the torque is higher, so the grabbing will be much better like on brakes that are grabbing bigger rotors further out although pads can be same size.
 

mtbr297

Vendor
Joined
Nov 3, 2002
Location
Ft. Worth, TX., USA
TDI
2015 Golf TDI, Seat Leon FR PD 150 6 speed.
SBC in my opinion is the best. Stage 2 endurance, had no complaints. Stage 3 is just too much pedal effort for daily driving.
 

saab9turbo

Veteran Member
Joined
May 29, 2011
Location
norway
TDI
golf mk3 tdi syncro 3door;)
can anyone tell me the diameter of the clutch and number of splines for an 96my ahu golf?:)
 

eddie_1

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 27, 2004
Location
Hannover, Germany formerly Toronto & NY
TDI
Jetta Wagon 2003 TDI tuned to 170HP, A6 Wagon 2008 TDI 2.7L tuned to 340HP
Even with Southbend Stage 2 Endurance it broke my tranny, which is the next weak link. So on a stock Tranny it doesn't make much sense to go above that anyway, unless you want to baby the car.
 

IndigoBlueWagon

TDIClub Enthusiast, Principal IDParts, Vendor , w/
Joined
Aug 16, 2004
Location
South of Boston
TDI
'97 Passat, '99.5 Golf, '02 Jetta Wagon, '15 GSW
Even with Southbend Stage 2 Endurance it broke my tranny, which is the next weak link. So on a stock Tranny it doesn't make much sense to go above that anyway, unless you want to baby the car.
How did you manage that?
 

eddie_1

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 27, 2004
Location
Hannover, Germany formerly Toronto & NY
TDI
Jetta Wagon 2003 TDI tuned to 170HP, A6 Wagon 2008 TDI 2.7L tuned to 340HP
How did you manage that?
Hi Peter, I floored on the Autobahn merge in 5th like my 150mph video one too many times. You know the 5th is a weak link and deWitt has a mod for it. Not sure how good the mod is, but the 02M DRW is built like a tank. Probably one of the best trannies built. The shifter linkage apparently has some weakness with rivets but I am gentle with it.
 

IndigoBlueWagon

TDIClub Enthusiast, Principal IDParts, Vendor , w/
Joined
Aug 16, 2004
Location
South of Boston
TDI
'97 Passat, '99.5 Golf, '02 Jetta Wagon, '15 GSW
You're right, 5th seems to be a weak link. A colleague here who doesn't drive hard at all just stripped his 5th gear. I've been mystified as to why I haven't had this problem until I realized I never drive the car hard in 5th. On the track I'm in 3rd and 4th all the time, and I haven't tried any top speed runs in a long time. I can get 120 MPH out of 4th anyway.
 

06jettatdi89

Member
Joined
Apr 29, 2017
Location
Indiana
TDI
2006 Jetta tdi
2006 vw tdi 1.9 5spd Jetta

Hey guys I'm looking for info. My car started making a ticking noise around the transmission and engine but only when 1500rpms or higher and it felt like the transmission or clutch slipped just one time before I got it off the road. It is leaking oil but only when I drive it(didn't drive it very far). It smells like burnt transmission fluid(my thinking is is getting on the clutch which is burning it maybe) but it moves in every gear and clutch still seems to work. I'm thinking that part of the clutch broke which was what was making the ticking noise and that the part that broke took out a transmission seal but I'm not 100% sure. Just wanting to see what other people think if that's a possibility or not
 

KERMA

Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
Sep 23, 2001
Location
here
TDI
99 beetle and 04 jetta
The best clutch is always whatever that particular vendor is selling.

just want to point out... Every product inevitably has "issues" whether caused by the product or user error or abuse or whatever. The more popular it is, the more likely there will some complaint or other, whether it is justified or not, for whatever reason. You don't always get a full picture from rants on the internet.

So when you see "I've never heard anything bad about so-and-so" there's a good chance that there simply aren't many (or any) of them being used. Just saying
 

carsaremytoys

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 11, 2016
Location
WI
TDI
01 Jetta TDI 5MT, 05 Passat wagon TDI 5MT
My VW guru mechanic runs a 12.30 1/4 mile on the stock luk clutch
 

Justin S

New member
Joined
Dec 28, 2017
Location
Indiana
TDI
2006 Volkswagon Jetta
Clutch Problem

I recently put a new clutch kit in my 2006 Volkswagon Jetta TDI. Ever since I put it in, it shakes taking off (Like your in to high of gear) but rpm’s don’t drop. It has been doin this for a couple months although it hasn’t hurt anything I was just wandering if anyone knew why it did this, thanks
 

Mongler98

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 23, 2011
Location
COLORADO (SE of Denver)
TDI
98 Jetta TDI AHU 1.9L (944 TDI swap in progress) I moved so now i got nothing but an AHU in a garage on a pallet.
depends completely on the application. if you want a daily driver out of it with fairly the same clutch feel, south bend clutch endurance clutch is really good, it holds up to anything i can throw at it.
 

Trey Works Out

Active member
Joined
Feb 8, 2014
Location
Los Angeles
TDI
2000 VW Jetta TDI (ALH, MK4,1.9L))
99.5 clutch,

malone stage 3, sprint 520, vnt 15, 11mm pump, intercooler piping and muffler remove. is tuned to the max 18.5psi and spins the tires all the time, has never slipped.

every once ina while I rev it up, mash it and drop the clutch in 4th while rolling..

never slips, no rattle, great pedal feel, although I am certainly the odd one here.
I also have this setup and I think my clutch may be slipping ever so slightly under some scenarios. Malone stage 3, 520 injectors, turbo-back exhaust, cleaned intake, EGR & egr cooler delete. I'm looking into if I'll need a better clutch in the near future with this huge power gain (just tuned today malone stage 3) and I want to be prepared if and when I'll have to get a new clutch

I'm considering: https://www.southbendclutch.com/clutches/10446/

-Stage 2 Daily
-Stage 2 Endurance

Does anyone have the endurance? I see that the "daily" has a very similar to OEM clutch feel to it (which I like) but I wouldn't mind the extra torque that the endurance offers if this still has a pretty decent "feel" to it
 
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IndigoBlueWagon

TDIClub Enthusiast, Principal IDParts, Vendor , w/
Joined
Aug 16, 2004
Location
South of Boston
TDI
'97 Passat, '99.5 Golf, '02 Jetta Wagon, '15 GSW
I've had both in my car. Endurance for a long time, Daily now. The pedal effort on the two clutches is the same, and is similar to stock. However, the engagement on the daily is a little smoother. I think the sintered iron in the Endurance tends to be a little more grabby. But I wouldn't hesitate to use either in a daily driver.
 

Nevada_TDI

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 17, 2008
Location
Reno, sort of...
TDI
2001 Jetta TDI
I currently have the Stage 2 Daily Driver clutch I like it very much. I used to have a Stage 4 tune with PP764 nozzles and it never complained or slipped.


I now have a Stage 4, 22 PSI tune on .216 nozzles and the tires break free in first and/or second gear.
 
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