VALEO VS SACHS Clutch Conversion Kits

Jonny Zero

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Jul 19, 2008
Location
Burlington
TDI
R.I.P ~ 2001 MK4 GOLF TDI ~ R.I.P
:confused: Conflicting stories. What to do? What do YOU think?

I purchased a Valeo clutch kit, but wanted the SACHS G60/VR6 kit.....I am not familiar with Valeo.

I'm running 764 nozzles and that's it. I have no plans to modify the hell out of this high mileage TDI daily driver (356,000 kms), but want this clutch to last to the bitter end....
 

Uberhare

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Joined
Sep 3, 2006
Location
Ontario, Canada
TDI
Too many.
Look at the springs in the hub - the Valeo has significantly larger ones. It is specifically designed as a conversion kit by Valeo for that application. The Sachs kits are based on the VR6 clutch kit. The VR makes it torque at higher RPM.
 

Jonny Zero

Veteran Member
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Jul 19, 2008
Location
Burlington
TDI
R.I.P ~ 2001 MK4 GOLF TDI ~ R.I.P
This is what I've gathered from speaking to other members/vendors + reading older posts...

If you want to explore the realm of mods, go with SACHS. If not, Valeo. (Valeo rated for 230 ft lbs torque vs Sachs @ 300). The Valeo is only rated for 300NM, so if you are running 240 - 250 ft lbs torque or more, forget Valeo.....

The Valeo unit may be the way to go for the following reasons though:


Valeo pros:

1. Less chatter/flywheel noise - APPARENTLY SACHS has an anti chatter flywheel available now
2. Flywheel superior to eurospec.

Valeo cons:
1. Harder pedal feel
2. Possible issues with bolt thread depth -- SOMEONE ELSE stated that SACHS had the bolt thread depth issue, not VALEO.


Now if you research on European sites, they're all about SACHS when referenced to Valeo.

The Valeo is only rated for 300NM, so if you are running 240 - 250 ft lbs torque, forget it.....
 
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Uberhare

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Location
Ontario, Canada
TDI
Too many.
Sachs is NOT rated for 300. Show me some print on that. :D

I've had the Sachs slip @ 240-250 ft-lbs. New - broken in correctly with new flywheel.
 

pipes p

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Mar 28, 2011
Location
edmonton
TDI
2011 jetta tdi dsg
personaly, the sachs worked great for my 01, if you already have the valeo and are not going for the big torque, you should be fine. ive read posts (quite a while ago) that sachs torque rating is on the conservative side while valeo ratings are inconsistent, some had more than 250 ft pounds w/no problems & some with less and clutch did not handle it? hope this helps:)
 

pipes p

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Mar 28, 2011
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edmonton
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2011 jetta tdi dsg
Sachs is NOT rated for 300. Show me some print on that. :D

I've had the Sachs slip @ 240-250 ft-lbs. New - broken in correctly with new flywheel.
this is the only time of heard of a situation like yours, mine had similar power and drove it like i stole it when having a little fun:D im sorry to hear yours did not hold up! you are right, it is not rated for 300 ft #, but if im not mistaken, there were quite a few on here that were pushing that w/no problems.
 
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petea4

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Jan 26, 2005
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Toronto
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'01 Golf GLS

Jonny Zero

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Burlington
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R.I.P ~ 2001 MK4 GOLF TDI ~ R.I.P
He is adamant about sticking with VALEO and out in the open about it. The others are talking behind closed doors with very minimal info to back up the SACHS argument and seem to be mod junkies.

Bottom line, the 2 vendors are not open today so it looks like my buddy and I will be installing the Valeo kit this afternoon. My old clutch worked fine with my set up before, so I can't see the Valeo having any trouble, even if I go with a small tune....It's the damn DMF flywheel that gave out 356,000KMS after the fact.

Thanks for all your input and opinions... Hopefully this will help out the next guy that ends up in my predicament. We all know that will happen sometime or other :) I will follow up with the results soon enough.
 
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petea4

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Jan 26, 2005
Location
Toronto
TDI
'01 Golf GLS
We mod junkies know what we are talking about! Lol

I get it, you have second thoughts about your purchase and looking for reassurance.

It will be fine on you stocker or mild tune. No street racing for you. :)
 

Toby

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Joined
Apr 17, 2002
Location
Pickering, Ontario
TDI
2000 Golf Gl 2dr
When I bought my Valeo it was getting rave reviews and had a higher torque rating then the Sachs :rolleyes:. I bought it based on reviews, price and lack of noise.

Turns out infomation published was not entirely accurate. Since I only had only been bitten by the mod bug at the time and not infected, it worked well with with my nozzels (pp520s) on their own. Since I assumed my clutch could handle more, more it got with a tune(RC3) . It didn't take long for the slipping to start (about 1 WOT run).

I contacted the seller seeking advice, he was great explaining the "published" numbers were optimistic and appologized immensely as he had just found this out after pushing these so much. We came to an agreement and I ended up with a DC stgII.

My opinion FWIW (i have drivin all of these clutches):

Valeo: affordable, quite, smooth, light pedal effort, ok for stock maybe one light mod (eg.nozels)

Sachs: good price, a little noisey, heavier pedal, smooth, good for a few mods (eg tune and nozzels)

DC stgII: Kinda pricey, very loud, heavy pedal, not so smooth, good for multiple mods (eg tune, nozzels and turbo)

Jonny, you could come by and drive/listen to my DC for comparison if you like.
 
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Uberhare

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Location
Ontario, Canada
TDI
Too many.
I would personally rate these kits on par, with the Valeo being a bit smoother (larger springs). I would only use either kit for a mild tune and nozzles. Anything over 240-250ft-lbs go bigger. Both kits can be had for around the same price I believe. Most "rattles" can be attributed to the weight of the flywheel. On a TDI daily driver I would stick with the stock(ish) weight ones. On 1.8T cars - go with the 11-14 lb setups.
 

craig01b

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Mar 17, 2004
Location
Guelph, Ontario.
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None
Car is almost stock, I would use either. Opinions are like a$$ holes, we all have one....

General observation about the two clutches, the Sachs holds a little more torque. That is about the only difference. Flywheels are another story....mine rattles at idle, only really annoying in a drive thru, otherwise I never really notice it.

Enjoy your new clutch!
 

Friar

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Sep 17, 2005
Location
North York, ON Canada
TDI
2006 Jetta TDI, 5spd
I don't know about Sachs, but at Brandon's suggestion I had the Valeo SMF + Clutch put in my 2006 Jetta TDI last fall... no problems great performance and negligible "chatter".. overall I rate it high and am very pleased.
 

Jonny Zero

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Jul 19, 2008
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Burlington
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R.I.P ~ 2001 MK4 GOLF TDI ~ R.I.P
I have the rattle too....Other than that, she's working well with my set up. I'm happy.

As previously stated, I'm not doing anything else on a mod level, so it wasn't a bad choice. I might have the car sold in the next week, so I will be looking for something a little newer very soon.

Can someone post something to compare rattling sounds?

Thanks for all the feedback :)
 

newtdidave

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Mar 9, 2009
Location
Ancaster
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2003 TDI GLS 5sp ALH
I put a Valeo in, and within 2 mnths, slipping. 45,000kms later, still driving, just have adjusted my driving habit according to the clutch. Vendor when bought highly recommended Valeo over Sachs, even when I told him exactly what I was doing. Personally, I would have gone with a SBII if I had had more time.
 

Precisiontuning

Registered Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
Aug 18, 2005
TDI
n/a
I have been selling and installing both Valeo and Sachs for over 7 years now. Sachs is stronger than Valeo for sure. Both are good but if I have to choose I will pick Sachs. Valeo tend to vibrate and chatter more than Sachs.
 

Jonny Zero

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That's interesting. I have heard the opposite from most people. In fact, the guy that did mine told me that he did a SACHS not too long after and he said I would hate the sound coming out of there....

Definitely some kinda strange sound eminating from that area from mine too... Not sure if I would call it a chatter, but definitely some sort of "zingy" vibration and it changes when I engage and disengage the clutch.... Normal I suppose?
 

FleTDI

Member
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Oct 24, 2010
Location
Canada
TDI
2005 Jetta wagon TDI
Valeo or Sachs - and Valeo fit issue?

Hi Folks.
This is an older post, I know but didn't really want to start yet another one to confuse people looking for similar info (keep it together I say...)

I have been out of the loop for a few years- A telephone pole leapt out and whacked the front end of my 200 Jetta. I managed to get a nissan diesel pickup cheap so have been driving that for the past 6 years. Finally managed to get back into a VW.
I bought a 2005 wagon TDI. 4 months later, the Dual Mass Flywheel let me know it is hurting. I got it apart and out of the car by myself in the yard in the rain (I live on the wet Coast of BC, Canada) with the usual tight fits and jiggling. Thanks so much to everyone who has posted on this site for saving me a lot of frustration and head scratching while doing it!!!

Sooo, I now have it apart and ordering parts. I was going to get a Valeo single mass to replace it, but a VW mechanic told me the other day that the Valeo sometimes has problems with not being able to disengage (something about linkage lengths) and he said there was no solution to it if you happened to have that problem. I haven't heard anything about this issue on the forums, so wondering if anyone has had that problem.

Valeo seems easier to get in Canada.

Thanks for any feedback you might have.

Cheers
JB
 

IndigoBlueWagon

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Aug 16, 2004
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Valeo conversion kits work fine and drive well. However, they are best for cars that are not modified, or, at most, have a mild tune. Their torque rating is similar to the stock DMF clutch on MKIV cars and won't hold as much power as the Sachs clutches. Otherwise they're totally fine.
 

dandywriter

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Jul 18, 2007
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Ottawa (Kanata), Canada, eh?
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2014 Golf Wagon 6M
I put a Valeo SMF conversion from DMF into my 2006 in Sept 2011 at 68k; I'm currently just past 220k km. I haven't heard that, nor have I had any problems. I was concerned that the SMF would be noisy, but it's quieter than the DMF was, and it shifts much, much better. I wish I had done it earlier. I have a stage 1 tune.
Dan
 
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FleTDI

Member
Joined
Oct 24, 2010
Location
Canada
TDI
2005 Jetta wagon TDI
Valeo conversion linkage

Valeo conversion kits work fine and drive well. However, they are best for cars that are not modified, or, at most, have a mild tune. Their torque rating is similar to the stock DMF clutch on MKIV cars and won't hold as much power as the Sachs clutches. Otherwise they're totally fine.

Thank you for your quick response. One against many - I will go with the forum's wisdom! I have no mods and am not a wild driver, so am sure it will be fine.
You guys rock. Will post a 'result' when I have it going to help clarify if anyone else has heard what I had.
Not really looking forward to the reinstall of tranny, but I suspect it won't to it on its own....
Cheers
 

petee_c

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Jun 2, 2014
Location
Heidelberg, Ontario, Canada
TDI
15 Golf TDI, was 06 Jetta TDI, 15 q7 tdi, was 11 Q7 TDI
Valeo Clutch put in this summer in my 2006 Jetta TDI with 1.5 Malone tune (at 260K km). Found one on clearance on RockAuto that was about half the price of what Auto Camping wanted...

- completely happy with it.
- clutch pedal feels a lot lighter than stock

my stock dmf clutch was beginning to slip occasionally in 5th gears... (not all the time - stock clutch looked in decent condition when it came out...)
 

petee_c

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Jun 2, 2014
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Heidelberg, Ontario, Canada
TDI
15 Golf TDI, was 06 Jetta TDI, 15 q7 tdi, was 11 Q7 TDI
Hey, My MK5 stage 2 Malone tune, stock clutch is not slipping ( can you believe it) under WOT and full torque, only problem im having ( have had before the tune) was the throuout bearing making noise when i engage in 1st gear, or a lot of noise if i go reverse :) Soo.. since the stock DMF is fine with stage 2 Malone torque ( 253ftlb), i was considering getting the Valeo SMF kit too for mine. How has it been holding for you? I DO use WOT only after clutch is fully engaged, its fun, but again, no slippage on the stock one, i figured if i go Valeo SMF it wont slip... I dont want to pay double for the Southbend stage2 daily...
I've had it about 7.5 months and 26,000km - no issues yet. I did have a couple cold mornings ( like 2 mornings) were it was really crappy shifting, but it resolved itself and I never figured out what caused it.
 

derek5120

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Sep 25, 2014
Location
Arthur Ont.
TDI
2003 jetta GLS
I had to put a valeo in my car due to not having the correct flywheel for my sachs pressure plate (long story). I've had no slippage with 1019's and a vnt17, that said I've got a SB coming before I go for a tune.
 
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