Sorry if this is an an obvious question but I've seen that the stock clutch in the 6mt can't withstand added power well. I'm looking at the JB4 or cobb tuner and keeping it stock for now and potentially going fbo with a more aggressive tune in the future in which case I will upgrade the clutch. I'm wondering how the stock clutch would hold up to a base tune for now. I'm very new to GTI owner ship and want to know the risks and benefits of keeping it stock and just getting a base tune. Also feel that it should be added I am going to be daily driving it over 100 miles a day 4 days a week.
7
stock 6mt clutch
- Thread starter lleedy
- Start date
I've been stg 1 EQT for 24,000 miles. 60+ autocrosses, 5 trackdays and a day at the drag strip on the stock clutch using 255 width 200tw tires. No slip yet.
What kills the stock clutch is slipping it in 1st gear and WOT in 5th and 6th gear from low rpms.
There are guys that made 90k miles on stock clutch at stg 1 power. It's all how you drive and some luck.
What kills the stock clutch is slipping it in 1st gear and WOT in 5th and 6th gear from low rpms.
There are guys that made 90k miles on stock clutch at stg 1 power. It's all how you drive and some luck.
I've never done that to my car either. I bought it used with 50k miles on it. My MK6 also never wot 5th and 6th, slipped at stage 2 power.
It won't hold forever, it will go. And when it does, it sucks.
If you bought mk7 with 50k miles on it, you have zero idea how it was treated. Stg 2 will slip, period.
I bought my car new, it has 27k miles, 24k with the tune and it's been driven hard. I do avoid slipping it in 1st and WOT from low rpms. We'll see how long it lasts, but most people that kill the stock clutch within months of upgrading to stg 1 power just don't know how to drive.
That's what I was getting at. Nevertheless, you're the only one here that's raving about the stock clutch. Your time will come, precious.
My stock clutch held JB4 power for a year and then started slipping on EQT stage 1 after 3+ back to back pulls. I didn't wait around to see how bad it got. If your plan is FBO just make sure you buy what you need in terms of a clutch once. Sounds like 400+ TQ, so a Southbend Stage 3 or one of the many attractive options from SPEC.
I'm not raving about it at all. All clutches wear out. I drive in a way that preserves the clutch as long as I can. Always have. In no way is that an endorsement of the weak stock clutch. For the average driver stg 1 won't slip if you don't slip it in 1st or do WOT puls in 5th and 6th for some time. It's still a weak clutch.
helushune
Ready to race!
- Location
- Austin, TX
- Car(s)
- 2017 GTI Sport 6MT
I flashed to EQT Stage 1 about 8 months ago (didn't write down mileage) and am still on the stock clutch and it seems like it's holding up alright but I don't launch or go WOT in 5th or 6th. I think the thing to do is bank for a replacement since the stock clutch seems to be running on borrowed time after any upgrade in power.
Thank you everyone for the help, with all of the daily commuting and traffic I know I will have to deal with and inevitably be stuck in stop and go traffic, was pretty sure I was gonna get a base tune and suffer the consequences later on down the line. I have driven a manual on several occasions before this, but this is the first manual car I've personally owned. Seems that I'm just asking to grenade my clutch almost immediately. Any suggestions on a clutch? The stage 2+ spec clutch seems like a good deal. Open to any ideas.
helushune
Ready to race!
- Location
- Austin, TX
- Car(s)
- 2017 GTI Sport 6MT
It seems the South Bend or Sachs is a pretty common choice. I'm still debating what to move to.
I have said this before, but for the sake of sharing information I will let you know as well. I started at about 10k miles and got a Unitronic stage Stage 2 flash, along with their downpipe. I drove like this until I got my ACT clutch around 60k miles. Slippage? nope, however I always made sure the car was in in the power range (around 3500 rpm), before I would mash the gas. That was obviously to be as easy as possible on the clutch.
-You can however drive foolishly of course, and cook your clutch quickly. Just drive smart and watch the tach before you hit. When I pulled my stock clutch it still had plenty of life left.
-You can however drive foolishly of course, and cook your clutch quickly. Just drive smart and watch the tach before you hit. When I pulled my stock clutch it still had plenty of life left.
Yep, morons can kill the stock clutch at stock power and you can preserve the stock clutch at higher power levels if you understand what makes the clutch slip and avoid doing those things. It's that simple.
It doesn't make the stock clutch good though.
I have to imagine the R manual has a better clutch than the GTI. The actual cost for VW to have used that clutch is negligible. It's just stupidity to hamper the car like this. Maybe they want to push us all to DSG?
Could be a push to DSG lol. I bought my GTI from the Dallas area, and mostly over the phone since I wanted to know numbers and all before driving 2 hours north for no reason. However I get there, and fresh out of PPI inspection (not officially listed for sale) was a Lapiz Blue Golf R w/DSG. The dealer offered it to me for a couple grand under MSRP and it was tempting because the R's had no trouble getting MSRP at the time.
SPEC is an excellent choice, they have multiple different kinds at stage 2 so just make sure what you pick meets your power goals.