Boje
Go Kart Champion
- Location
- Brooklyn, NY
- Car(s)
- 2018 Golf R
Okay, so, I know starting a new clutch thread around here is enough to get me banned, and quite rightly so, but I’ve had my GTI for three years (never intended to modify it, ha) and have ended up doing everything in my signature without needing to ask a single question on here because there’s so much great information and so many helpful people. BUT the clutch situation has me scratching my head in complete bewilderment. So, I’m hoping someone can chime in here without biting my head off… bear with me.
<< TL;DR: 6MT GTI with an EQT Stage 2 93 Oct tune, making presumably over 400ft/lbs. Which upgraded clutch is compatible with a DMFW, won’t shudder or vibrate or chatter too much, and has a minimum torque rating of 450ft/lbs, will last, has some kind of customer service (warranty, ideally) associated with it, and is closest as possible to the stock clutch in feel? Or, if I want a comfortable daily, is a Stage 2 tune on a 6MT simply not worth it? >>
I bought my car (a 2015) with 65k miles on it, and it’s now at 99k. I’ve been running a JB4 pretty much since I got it, gradually going from map 2 to 3, to a custom map 6 that George helped me put together. It’s not too crazy, but it gives me the best of both maps 2 and 3, basically. I’m driving a 6MT (obviously), and my clutch has been fine throughout. I drive the car like a maniac quite a lot of the time (I live in Brooklyn, but do long road trips around the US, almost exclusively on backroads). I have a lot of fun with it, but I’m careful with the clutch: minimal slipping, no hard throttle at low rpms, pretty much no hard throttle in 5th or 6th at all, etc., etc. I floor it in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd a lot, but it’s never been launched (well, not by me. There was that one mechanic who I caught launching it on my dashcam, was furious, and negotiated a couple of thousand dollars’ worth of work for free as a result… that was annoying).
So, recently I decided to get an Accessport with an EQT Stage 2 93 oct OTS tune. I loaded it up and my clutch started slipping immediately. This was just before the pandemic hit the US and because of it, I went back to the JB4 while I figure out the clutch situation (I’m a freelance photographer, so my entire income just basically ceased for the foreseeable, argh). I knew my clutch wouldn’t hold up to this tune, and wasn’t too worried about it as there are so many options for this platform, and so many people with tuned 6MT cars, I thought I’d just use the forum as I normally do, obsessively research it as I tend to do, and pick the option most appropriate for me. If only it had been that simple. I have read literally hundreds of pages of discussion of clutches on here (and Vortex, and Reddit), and yet I cannot find an option that seems like the right one for me. That TTRS thread for example, I’ve read it all the way through. Twice.
EQT’s site used to (it's now changed, seems a little less specific) state that their Stage 1 91 Oct OTS tune makes around 390 torque. I don’t know what my car makes with the Stage 2 / 93 Oct tune, but it’s got to be over 400 torque, which rules out a lot of the go-to Stage 2 clutches for me. I want something that will last, and I really don’t want to do my clutch twice. I want decent headroom, so looking for a minimum rating of 450ft/lbs.
I want to avoid noise and vibration at all costs. My GTI is my daily, and I’m very sensitive to NVH. SMF not an option for me because of this – I will be buying a new DMFW, so looking for a kit that’s compatible with that. TTRS DIY not an option because I don’t know that it will reliably hold the power, seems like it wouldn't. DKM not an option for me because of all the reports of vibration, shuddering, and non-existent customer service. Nearly bought the 4-puck Sachs clutch with its high torque rating, but have read too many reports of shaking and shuddering in first and reverse, so have been put off a bit. Have read lots about the Sachs SRE but weirdly I’m unclear exactly which kit that is – FCP Euro’s clutch listings (ideal retailer because of warranty) are quite confusing, and don’t list torque ratings for all of them… I’m thinking that may be the option, but I’m not sure of its torque rating, or if I’d be buying the right kit if I went that way.
And, lastly, when you take into consideration the crank walk issue which may or may not be exacerbated by upgraded clutches, and the apparent dissatisfaction of so many folks around here with aftermarket clutches who daily their cars, was the Stage 2 tune simply a mistake? Is it possibly not really worth it? Should I sell the Accessport and keep the JB4 and the stock clutch, which seems to be fine, even at my mileage? (I wanted more power, yes, but also the Cobb traction control, and left foot braking. For me, they were big reasons for getting the tune.)
I’m really hoping someone chimes in here and basically says, you’re an idiot, you need this one, here’s the link. Massive gratitude to anyone who can help (and to anyone who actually read this far!). I want to get this done, break it in, and load that EQT tune back onto my car and be grinning like an idiot again as I take those 15mph backroad bends at 60. And yes, I used the search function and the Google. Many, many, many times. I'll be very grateful to anyone who can point me in the right direction here.
Here she is, because why not:
<< TL;DR: 6MT GTI with an EQT Stage 2 93 Oct tune, making presumably over 400ft/lbs. Which upgraded clutch is compatible with a DMFW, won’t shudder or vibrate or chatter too much, and has a minimum torque rating of 450ft/lbs, will last, has some kind of customer service (warranty, ideally) associated with it, and is closest as possible to the stock clutch in feel? Or, if I want a comfortable daily, is a Stage 2 tune on a 6MT simply not worth it? >>
I bought my car (a 2015) with 65k miles on it, and it’s now at 99k. I’ve been running a JB4 pretty much since I got it, gradually going from map 2 to 3, to a custom map 6 that George helped me put together. It’s not too crazy, but it gives me the best of both maps 2 and 3, basically. I’m driving a 6MT (obviously), and my clutch has been fine throughout. I drive the car like a maniac quite a lot of the time (I live in Brooklyn, but do long road trips around the US, almost exclusively on backroads). I have a lot of fun with it, but I’m careful with the clutch: minimal slipping, no hard throttle at low rpms, pretty much no hard throttle in 5th or 6th at all, etc., etc. I floor it in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd a lot, but it’s never been launched (well, not by me. There was that one mechanic who I caught launching it on my dashcam, was furious, and negotiated a couple of thousand dollars’ worth of work for free as a result… that was annoying).
So, recently I decided to get an Accessport with an EQT Stage 2 93 oct OTS tune. I loaded it up and my clutch started slipping immediately. This was just before the pandemic hit the US and because of it, I went back to the JB4 while I figure out the clutch situation (I’m a freelance photographer, so my entire income just basically ceased for the foreseeable, argh). I knew my clutch wouldn’t hold up to this tune, and wasn’t too worried about it as there are so many options for this platform, and so many people with tuned 6MT cars, I thought I’d just use the forum as I normally do, obsessively research it as I tend to do, and pick the option most appropriate for me. If only it had been that simple. I have read literally hundreds of pages of discussion of clutches on here (and Vortex, and Reddit), and yet I cannot find an option that seems like the right one for me. That TTRS thread for example, I’ve read it all the way through. Twice.
EQT’s site used to (it's now changed, seems a little less specific) state that their Stage 1 91 Oct OTS tune makes around 390 torque. I don’t know what my car makes with the Stage 2 / 93 Oct tune, but it’s got to be over 400 torque, which rules out a lot of the go-to Stage 2 clutches for me. I want something that will last, and I really don’t want to do my clutch twice. I want decent headroom, so looking for a minimum rating of 450ft/lbs.
I want to avoid noise and vibration at all costs. My GTI is my daily, and I’m very sensitive to NVH. SMF not an option for me because of this – I will be buying a new DMFW, so looking for a kit that’s compatible with that. TTRS DIY not an option because I don’t know that it will reliably hold the power, seems like it wouldn't. DKM not an option for me because of all the reports of vibration, shuddering, and non-existent customer service. Nearly bought the 4-puck Sachs clutch with its high torque rating, but have read too many reports of shaking and shuddering in first and reverse, so have been put off a bit. Have read lots about the Sachs SRE but weirdly I’m unclear exactly which kit that is – FCP Euro’s clutch listings (ideal retailer because of warranty) are quite confusing, and don’t list torque ratings for all of them… I’m thinking that may be the option, but I’m not sure of its torque rating, or if I’d be buying the right kit if I went that way.
And, lastly, when you take into consideration the crank walk issue which may or may not be exacerbated by upgraded clutches, and the apparent dissatisfaction of so many folks around here with aftermarket clutches who daily their cars, was the Stage 2 tune simply a mistake? Is it possibly not really worth it? Should I sell the Accessport and keep the JB4 and the stock clutch, which seems to be fine, even at my mileage? (I wanted more power, yes, but also the Cobb traction control, and left foot braking. For me, they were big reasons for getting the tune.)
I’m really hoping someone chimes in here and basically says, you’re an idiot, you need this one, here’s the link. Massive gratitude to anyone who can help (and to anyone who actually read this far!). I want to get this done, break it in, and load that EQT tune back onto my car and be grinning like an idiot again as I take those 15mph backroad bends at 60. And yes, I used the search function and the Google. Many, many, many times. I'll be very grateful to anyone who can point me in the right direction here.
Here she is, because why not:
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