Which clutch??

[Jordan1.8t]

Hello,

Last night i noticed my clutch has just very slightly started to slip.
Cars an a3 1.8t aum 5speed.

Im unsure weather i should go for a smf or keep to a dmf.

Ive looked on awesome gti and jbs.
Im just not really sure.

Future plans to the car are to remap stage 2 so should eventually be running 225ish bhp and 250+ tourque.
I might possibly think about a hybrid or a ko4 in the future.

Can someone piont me in the right direction

 

[Westy]

Sorry I couldn't resist:

 

[Reesy]

Sorry I couldn't resist:

Subtle as a brick.

EDIT: Nice paint skills.

 

[Prawn]

stop looking on tuner websites is my advice! they will sell you standard parts, branded as a 'conversion kit' and charge you an absolute fortune!

ABF single mass flywheel and VR6 clutch kit is what you need, a standard replacement will not cope with stage 2 for long, mine lasted 10k miles before it slipped, on a brand new standard clutch. not cool.

an ABF flywheel, brand new from TPS is £130ish, then £90 for a clutch kit at GSF, and another £15 for all the bolts required.

Takes about 4 hours start to finish to remove the box and replace it all, and refit the box.

Well worth it though, faster pick up, lower rotating masses, lighter pedal feel, and more torque capability.

No point in doing anything else really.

 

[aragorn]

Does it actually have a lower rotating mass?

I did a similar conversion to my old A4 1.8T using a flywheel from an old Audi 80, and an early A4 TDI clutch kit but while the flywheel itself was a little bit lighter, the coverplate is bigger/differently shaped and makes up the difference, so the whole assembly is the same weight.

Also, lighter pedal feel generally means less clamping force, which isnt really what you want?

My clutch in shed is a hybrid thing i put together myself, using another Audi 80 flywheel, redrilled to take the cover plate from an Audi S2 and a 240mm friction disk from some Audi V8 inside. Its a LOT heavier than the standard clutch in my other A4 though, which i put down to the hugely increased clamping force of the S2 coverplate.

 

[Jason.s]

Mine was lighter when i did that conversion but you could feel the clutch bite a lot harder on biting point.

 

[aragorn]

Your S2 clutch was lighter than the original 1.8T item?

Weird!

Mines so much heavier i almost punch my foot thru the floor when i get into the avant with its standard clutch!

Maybe its something to do with me using the LT Van pressure plate rather than an Actual S2 one?

 

[camscockle20vT]

Does it actually have a lower rotating mass?

I did a similar conversion to my old A4 1.8T using a flywheel from an old Audi 80, and an early A4 TDI clutch kit but while the flywheel itself was a little bit lighter, the coverplate is bigger/differently shaped and makes up the difference, so the whole assembly is the same weight.

Also, lighter pedal feel generally means less clamping force, which isnt really what you want?

My clutch in shed is a hybrid thing i put together myself, using another Audi 80 flywheel, redrilled to take the cover plate from an Audi S2 and a 240mm friction disk from some Audi V8 inside. Its a LOT heavier than the standard clutch in my other A4 though, which i put down to the hugely increased clamping force of the S2 coverplate.

I noticed my clutch conversion from valeo(i think thats what its called) was lighter and was all balanced on the flywheel all in one peice. The clutch peddle was lighter but i think thats just all new clutches.


As for this thread on a whole, id suggest just goin with what prawn said, all the parts are tried and tested and is alots cheaper than replacing your DMF, i probly would have gone the route of ABF fly and vr6 clutch but no one replied to my first thread about the reputation of the valeo conversion from carspares lol, luckily it all turned out good and my clutch conversion was a success.


Good luck with your decision.

 

[Prawn]

I did the swap on my daily back in summer, and weighed the two setups on digital scales back to back on my driveway, the SMF setup was just under 2kg's lighter if I remember correctly, with the whole lot coming in at 13kg, instead of 15.something for the dual mass stuff. I've still got the old bits and a spare VR6 clutch setup in my garage, so I'll try and weigh it again at some point.

I know what you mean about ligther pedal feel, but it must be due to the design of the diaphram or something, because the VR6 clutch can hold LOADS more torque than the standard setup. my newish standard clutch started slipping at 250lbft, yet the VR6 clutch held 290lbft for years without a single slip, and some people have put 330lbft through them without issues too.

 

[Jason.s]

Your S2 clutch was lighter than the original 1.8T item?

Weird!

Mines so much heavier i almost punch my foot thru the floor when i get into the avant with its standard clutch!

Maybe its something to do with me using the LT Van pressure plate rather than an Actual S2 one?

Lighter pedal feel i mean. The actual weight was the same sadly. Would have been nice to lose some weight but oh well.

Maybe the feel is the pressure plate as you say? Who knows. When i first got in after the new setup went in i was amazing how much different the pedal felt. So much lighter and the feel of it biting was much sharper than before.

 

[aragorn]

Oh i'm not disputing the ABF / VR6 combo is the way to go, just didnt think it would be any lighter in terms of weigh or pedal feel thats all!

The issue with the Valeo conversion is the clutch itself isnt a standard part, so when it wears out, who knows if you can actually get another one, or if you have to buy a complete new kit!

 

[aragorn]

Thinking about it, the hybrid thing did feel really light when it was brand new. So much so i thaught i must have had a bubble of air in the line or something. After a bit of driving the lightness went away though, and jumping from one car to the other the difference is huge.

That said the clutch in the avant probably isnt a great comparison anyway as its knackered. The missus managed to get clutch float short shifting from 2nd to 3rd at 4.5k half way thru an overtake lol! It still seems to hold so long as its fully engaged before you apply the power, so i've been ignoring it

 

[Jason.s]

lol If its not fully broken dont fix it

 

[camscockle20vT]

Oh i'm not disputing the ABF / VR6 combo is the way to go, just didnt think it would be any lighter in terms of weigh or pedal feel thats all!

The issue with the Valeo conversion is the clutch itself isnt a standard part, so when it wears out, who knows if you can actually get another one, or if you have to buy a complete new kit!

Aparently you can buy the clutch seperate as stated on a previous thread. Either way id of gone the ABF n vr6 clutch if id known about it. But as an alternative i think the valeo is decent.

 

[Jason.s]

Yeah the Valeo kit you can only ever fit that same clutch to it again so you`re a bit stuck if you need a clutch and you cant get the Valeo clutch easily or quick enough for your needs. They kind of have you over a barrel with it in terms of repeat business. Thats if you keep the car long enough to need to change the clutch again. (if you arent tuning)