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Re: MK4 GTI 1.8T Clutch?
Dual Mass flywheels are not bad flywheels, but not good either. It is cheaper to buy a whole clutch kit with a single mass flywheel then just a dual mass flywheel alone.
The dual mass flywheel that came in most VW's after 2000 where made by Sachs and honestly their holding power is not that great. There was a LUK version that was in the 99.5 and early 2000's that actually was very good, but was replaced forever by the Sachs.
The next thing is reliability, these flywheels have a greater tendency to fail then the Single Mass flywheels hence another reason for the change. Most people pay almost as much in labour as they do for parts in a job like this, so most want good parts so they don't have to pay for labour again.
So a cheaper, more reliable, more holding strength clutch seems like an upgrade or smart move if you come to the point of having to replace it.
Now in terms of the flywheel, for 1.8t's a lightened flywheel will make sense as your power band comes later in the rpm therefore a lighter flywheel will help you get there faster. A TDi though gets its power in the lower rpm's and the lightened flywheel will actually hurt it more then help it. Reason being that once you get the mass of the flywheel moving the heavier one will help with the upper RPM's where the TDi suffers. I would never recommend a lightened flywheel for a TDI, but a gasser will see a benefit from it and would highly recommend that.
In terms of which clutch kit to go with, well you have to decide how far you are going to push your car in terms of performance. I knew I was going to be pushing my car far so I spent $800 on the parts alone on a performance setup that could hold more power then a TDi could ever hold. I know lots of guys on milder setup's though that have gone the valeo or sachs route and have done just fine. If you are close to the line on holding power I would also upgrade, cheaper the upgrade then the cost of a replacement clutch and time.
In terms of feel, well you can get used to almost anything that comes you way. Nobody has really complained about a lighter pedal being such a hard thing that they will never get used to it. The biggest thing you will have to get used to is the extra grip and the position at which the pedal engages the new clutch.
Alot of MK5 TDi have had their stock DMF explode on their cars, this is a common thing over on TDICLUB. The dealers are using the VR6 Single mass clutches as replacements for these and do you think they want to pay for a job twice?
Do yourself a favor, ditch the DMF and move to a single mass and save yourself some $$.
Benjamin
Dual Mass flywheels are not bad flywheels, but not good either. It is cheaper to buy a whole clutch kit with a single mass flywheel then just a dual mass flywheel alone.
The dual mass flywheel that came in most VW's after 2000 where made by Sachs and honestly their holding power is not that great. There was a LUK version that was in the 99.5 and early 2000's that actually was very good, but was replaced forever by the Sachs.
The next thing is reliability, these flywheels have a greater tendency to fail then the Single Mass flywheels hence another reason for the change. Most people pay almost as much in labour as they do for parts in a job like this, so most want good parts so they don't have to pay for labour again.
So a cheaper, more reliable, more holding strength clutch seems like an upgrade or smart move if you come to the point of having to replace it.
Now in terms of the flywheel, for 1.8t's a lightened flywheel will make sense as your power band comes later in the rpm therefore a lighter flywheel will help you get there faster. A TDi though gets its power in the lower rpm's and the lightened flywheel will actually hurt it more then help it. Reason being that once you get the mass of the flywheel moving the heavier one will help with the upper RPM's where the TDi suffers. I would never recommend a lightened flywheel for a TDI, but a gasser will see a benefit from it and would highly recommend that.
In terms of which clutch kit to go with, well you have to decide how far you are going to push your car in terms of performance. I knew I was going to be pushing my car far so I spent $800 on the parts alone on a performance setup that could hold more power then a TDi could ever hold. I know lots of guys on milder setup's though that have gone the valeo or sachs route and have done just fine. If you are close to the line on holding power I would also upgrade, cheaper the upgrade then the cost of a replacement clutch and time.
In terms of feel, well you can get used to almost anything that comes you way. Nobody has really complained about a lighter pedal being such a hard thing that they will never get used to it. The biggest thing you will have to get used to is the extra grip and the position at which the pedal engages the new clutch.
Alot of MK5 TDi have had their stock DMF explode on their cars, this is a common thing over on TDICLUB. The dealers are using the VR6 Single mass clutches as replacements for these and do you think they want to pay for a job twice?
Do yourself a favor, ditch the DMF and move to a single mass and save yourself some $$.
Benjamin
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