Aftermarket clutches vs Crank Walk

[Wade_GT]

I was planning on a stage 1 tune until I started seeing crank walk issues creep up on YouTube and on this forum among folks with upgraded clutches/pressure plates. My understanding is the upgraded pressure plate causes wear on the thrust bearings which then leads to crank walk.

So, my question is, are there any uprated clutch options that would allow one to safely go stage 1?
How does the Clubsport S deal with this?

Thanks!

 

[Escape Hatch]

I was planning on a stage 1 tune until I started seeing crank walk issues creep up on YouTube and on this forum among folks with upgraded clutches/pressure plates. My understanding is the upgraded pressure plate causes wear on the thrust bearings which then leads to crank walk.

So, my question is, are there any uprated clutch options that would allow one to safely go stage 1?
How does the Clubsport S deal with this?

Thanks!

If you are concerned with an issue impacting a small sample size then you are likely too risk averse to tune your car.

 

[Dog Dad Wagon]

Dude the numbers are blown out of proportion. Look at this:
https://www.golfmk7.com/forums/inde...-together.371168/#lg=attachment164273&slide=0

All it really comes to is pay to play.

Is it THAT much of a surprise that we can increase the HP/TQ figures on these cars over factory with just E85 and a tune by literally 60-70%, and in <5% of cars there will be some catastrophic failures?

Obviously the DSG figures prove that the MT is the failure point, but the MT is also the cheaper, no-cost option on the car. Bundled into base price of vehicle. Makes sense they scrimped some pennies on it.

 

[Acadia18]

Dude the numbers are blown out of proportion. Look at this:
https://www.golfmk7.com/forums/inde...-together.371168/#lg=attachment164273&slide=0

All it really comes to is pay to play.

Is it THAT much of a surprise that we can increase the HP/TQ figures on these cars over factory with just E85 and a tune by literally 60-70%, and in <5% of cars there will be some catastrophic failures?

Obviously the DSG figures prove that the MT is the failure point, but the MT is also the cheaper, no-cost option on the car. Bundled into base price of vehicle. Makes sense they scrimped some pennies on it.

So, I agree the numbers are blown out of proportion. However, that chart paints a petty bad picture. For manuals with upgraded clutches, it has 27 reports of crank walk out of 371 total. 7.3% is a god awful horrific level of failure. Like, catastrophic. Obviously this is different due to a modification, but if a standard product had a 7.3% failure rate, it would be pulled from shelves immediately.

 

[Dog Dad Wagon]

So, I agree the numbers are blown out of proportion. However, that chart paints a petty bad picture. For manuals with upgraded clutches, it has 27 reports of crank walk out of 371 total. 7.3% is a god awful horrific level of failure. Like, catastrophic. Obviously this is different due to a modification, but if a standard product had a 7.3% failure rate, it would be pulled from shelves immediately.

True.

Ugh. I got an MT Alltrack, and I really wanna go IS20. Is there an aftermarket upgrade for this thrust bearing? lol

 

[StorableComa]

There are lots of scary things that can go wrong with a tuned car. If the possibility of crank walk scares you, have you read on LSPI or ringlands going bye-bye? Not trying to fear monger, and the heavier the tune/mods generally the greater the risk as it applies to all cars for failure of any kind - But when you mess with something that was detuned from the factory for longevity/warranty reasons by the manufacture you're entering the "Pay to Play" arena as everyone keeps saying.

Honestly my opinion is if you do your homework, and learn how to drive your car (Don't lug, please don't try and pass in 6th, etc.) you'll have few issues if you keep up on things. Be prepared to pay more attention to your car than get in and drive it, don't forget to cut maintenance intervals in half for most things (Oil, plugs, depending on use other fluids), and have supporting mods that assist the engine rather than trying to squeeze the max out of stock components. YMMV, but the TL/DR version is most stage 1 OTS tunes are safe as they're made for mass consumption, don't drive your manual in higher gears outside the power band hard- and make sure you don't go launching the car without supporting mods.

 

[mk7_drew]

Use a Fluidampr to reduce crankshaft vibrations. If you’re really uneasy there are a handful of DMFW options that you can use i.e. SACHS SRE and 4 puck options, none of these options can completely prevent crankwalk from happening but they can reduce the stress on the thrust bearings from a reduction of vibrations in theory.

 

[jimlloyd40]

There are lots of scary things that can go wrong with a tuned car. If the possibility of crank walk scares you, have you read on LSPI or ringlands going bye-bye? Not trying to fear monger, and the heavier the tune/mods generally the greater the risk as it applies to all cars for failure of any kind - But when you mess with something that was detuned from the factory for longevity/warranty reasons by the manufacture you're entering the "Pay to Play" arena as everyone keeps saying.

Honestly my opinion is if you do your homework, and learn how to drive your car (Don't lug, please don't try and pass in 6th, etc.) you'll have few issues if you keep up on things. Be prepared to pay more attention to your car than get in and drive it, don't forget to cut maintenance intervals in half for most things (Oil, plugs, depending on use other fluids), and have supporting mods that assist the engine rather than trying to squeeze the max out of stock components. YMMV, but the TL/DR version is most stage 1 OTS tunes are safe as they're made for mass consumption, don't drive your manual in higher gears outside the power band hard- and make sure you don't go launching the car without supporting mods.

True what you said but a completely stock car can break piston ringlands if it's misfiring badly enough.

 

[Anthony3o55]

I’ve fear this as well but I’m feeling comfortable in staying with an OEM flywheel thats ment for the car which is the DMFW. Im very very interested on the RSR clutch. I might as consider buying a Fluidampner when I do the clutch. Still doing research

 

[StorableComa]

True what you said but a completely stock car can break piston ringlands if it's misfiring badly enough.

Maybe, I'd think it'd throw itself into limp mode first, but I can't say for certain. Normally when I hear about stuff like that on a stock car, it's because they've ignored the maintenance since they bought it.

 

[Hoon]

if a standard product had a 7.3% failure rate, it would be pulled from shelves immediately.

It's funny watching manual guys try to downplay this.

 

[Acadia18]

It's funny watching manual guys try to downplay this.

In general, I think that number is overblown though. It's a small sample size, from a very small biased population. While crank walk is definitely something that does occur occasionally, I doubt the actual failure rate is anywhere near 7.3%.

 

[Dog Dad Wagon]

In general, I think that number is overblown though. It's a small sample size, from a very small biased population. While crank walk is definitely something that does occur occasionally, I doubt the actual failure rate is anywhere near 7.3%.

Me too. The polling bias of only asking on Facebook creates skews toward the vocal minority. The only person who knows this number is VW based on warranty claims for TD1’d vs stock cars lol

 

[Wade_GT]

So, I agree the numbers are blown out of proportion. However, that chart paints a petty bad picture. For manuals with upgraded clutches, it has 27 reports of crank walk out of 371 total. 7.3% is a god awful horrific level of failure. Like, catastrophic. Obviously this is different due to a modification, but if a standard product had a 7.3% failure rate, it would be pulled from shelves immediately.

Yes, this the background behind my post. Clearly 7.3%, even if there is a margin of error, is a risk worth better understanding.
The Fluidamper suggestion to reduce vibration makes sense in theory. I’m also interested if the Sachs SRE clutch is among the safer options.
Good discussion here guys - thanks for sharing.

 

[maxwell]

It's funny watching manual guys try to downplay this.

No downplay here. I am deeply concerned about going beyond stage 1.