Howdy all,

Anywho, been cruising the searches. Not finding the answers I want, and much of the info is v old. Rather afeared that it means I won't find the answers I want, but here goes.

I want a 2.7T S4-esque clutch for an 01 A4 1.8TQ. S4 pedal effort is fine, although prefer a little less. S4 drivability is crucial. Not interested in a lwfw, yet will consider one of the heavier ones if necessary. Least important is the power handling, although it really needs to hold at least 250 hp/ftlbs.

I do not drag race or drive aggressively. The most crucial thing is drivability. Any ideas?

TIA,

Damocles

you can use sachs-race-engineering clutches.

http://www.sachs-race-engineering.de

Well, that was a laugh. German v rusty. It seems that Sachs has a performance clutch and heavy duty pressure plate. If I read the PDF's correctly, the HD PP with the special organic clutch disk will support 328ft-lbs. That will do nicely. The disk lists for 308 Euros. I couldn't find a price on the PP.

Well, I'm off to look for US outlets. Can source from Europe if I must. Thanks.

Damocles

edit: Found a website in english, https://www.sachs-uk.co.uk/ They don't seem to have US engine codes listed, but it's all the same. PP lists for 238 Euros. Also have "performance" release bearing for 41 Euros.

Did some more searching, and that seems to be much more along the lines of what I am looking for in terms of drivability. Very few posts about it tho.

Damocles

i have had mine on for just over 2000 miles and it gets better every day. for the first 500 it was very grabby and woudn't let me slip the clutch at all. it then started (and continues to) get progressively better. although i haven't tried it in the dry, it will easily do a awd burnout in the rain.
my setup is a neuspeed k04 kit, full neuspeed stainless exhaust with downpipe, labree testpipe, efk, and plasma coils. i estimate it at 240-260 hp and roughly the same amount of torque. i have had two surgeries on my left knee including a full acl reconstruction with titanium screws and have no problems at all with the pedal pressure.

the clutch skeleton has sachs stamped on it. it looks like all they do is substitute the ofe material.

Thank you very much. If someone drove your car that had not driven an A4 before, would it be obvious to them that the clutch was not stock? Except in holding power of course. I guess that is what I am looking for, something that doesn't draw any attention to itself.

Even if it isn't ideal, it still looks like my best choice right now. Please humor me and tell me what I would be getting myself into anyway.

Thanks again,

Damocles

was it the K70205SS?

i have had the dxd ofe on my K04 99.5 1.8t avant for almost 5000 miles now. my boss has an 01 s4 avant with rsk04 turbos and a oe rs4 clutch. we both kept the stock dual-mass flywheels.

brand new his was much better. it felt tight and grippy and easy to modulate. it held tight and felt broken-in almost immediately. engagement was right on the floor which was wierd. my a4 is up at the top so i stalled his car a few times. his clutch pedal has to be on the carpet to disengage. mine does it halfway down.
the s4 feels smoother but it also has a mountain of low end torque so it doesn't mind cfrawling away in second.


the ofe (with SS pressure plate) was REALLY grabby out of the box. it had a quick engagement with little to no slip. the first time i went wide open was a track day about 500 miles in. it held tight and fast throughout the 5 sessions. now with 5000 miles on it i can't tell the difference from stock. a friend with a focus couldn't believe how tight it held.

i did a couple 4500 rpm clutch dumps in the rain and it immediately lit them all up. i have no doubt that it would do the same on dry pavement. these weren't all out clutch drops, more like an autocross style launch.

i second guessed my clutch selection for a couple weeks but after that track day it got a lot better. i absolutely love it now.

the SS pressure plate does make the pedal a bit stiffer but it doesn't take more than a week to get used to. i had a full acl reconstruction on my left knee two years ago and it doesn't bother me at all. if my 8 month pregnant wife can drive it anybody can.

Thanks for the description. You seem to be saying that this is more than robust enough for my needs, and although it starts out very touchy it does mellow out at least somewhat once broken in.

Could you please confirm that the engagement is smooth enough once it has broken in? I want to make sure that I understand you correctly on this point. Everything else that you described seems great. This car is only used as a daily driver, so I want to make sure that it is livable.

From what you seem to be saying so far, this could be a valid stock alternative for any performance-minded people who wear out their original clutch even if they don't need the full holding power that it can provide. That would make it exaclty what I am looking for.

Thank you,

Damocles

After talking to them I ordered their lowest organic clutch disc with the SS pressure plate. They say it is still worth over 350ft-lbs on a quattro with normal organic disk feel. That is more than enough for my needs. Pedal is so ridiculously light, the extra 25% effort of the SS shouldn't be a problem.

Thanks for all of the advice. I wouldn't've ever had the confidence that this is what I wanted without it.

Damocles