3200 Miles, Stage 1+, and my clutch is slipping badly.

[pierovw]

Congrats. Sounds like VW is working with you. Nice to know that manufacturers are willing to be reasonable. As stated earlier, could have been a bad clutch from beginning. Interested to see what they find. I am sure that there are going to be a lot of folks worrying about mods and clutch longevity. Nothing more than **** happens...

I'm one of those folks haha I was planning on getting APR stage 1 this week and now I am having second thoughts... I really don't feel like changing clutchs at my expense at 8000 miles

[Dutchmastr9]

good to hear that they are going to cover the clutch

[triman11427]

I hope all goes smoothly. Tell them there are 500 R owners watching their every move on the forum and we are all anxiously awaiting this process.. Not a threat, just maybe some more motivation for them to treat you nice.

[Dutchmastr9]

I'm one of those folks haha I was planning on getting APR stage 1 this week and now I am having second thoughts... I really don't feel like changing clutchs at my expense at 8000 miles

nut up or shut up

[droopy1592]

That is an extremely broad generalization. If you are not counting a quick rotation of the front tires at the moment of releasing the clutch maybe. If you are talking about literally no spin at all that statement is just plain wrong, its very easy to spin the front tires on my R. Depending on how quickly I released the clutch I could have spun the front tires on every pass if I wanted to. And this was on a track full of rubber and vht that was being sprayed on the ground every 3-5 passes. I can spin the front tires launching at 4000 on the street every time.

I must drive like a wuss then. Even my 4.9 sec 0-60 run with a 2.1 sec 60' I had no wheelspin. Granted I was more like 3700rpms than 6000. To scared to do that haha.

[goforit2007]

so what is the word from the OP?

[Atl-Atl]

I must drive like a wuss then. Even my 4.9 sec 0-60 run with a 2.1 sec 60' I had no wheelspin. Granted I was more like 3700rpms than 6000. To scared to do that haha.

4.9 is quick, what mods do you have? I'd like to be at 4.9.

[slidemx5]

Did you go to Leith VW? If so I'll make sure to go there for service.

Update :

VW has approved the replacement of the clutch and pressure plate, and potentially the flywheel if, after inspection, they feel it has sustained any damage. The car goes in for the repair this coming Tuesday.


PS: For those who think that my clutch issues are attributed to driver technique or abuse, listed below is a sample of some of my previously owned cars. If you knew me and we weren't having this conversation on the internet, there would be no question as to whether or not I know how to drive properly.

My previously owned cars:
81 Caddy w/ built 16v and 150 shot Direct Port Nitrous
83 GTI with a 1.8t swap
84 Jetta GLI
88 Cabriolet
89 Corrado G60
89 BMW 325is
96 Jeep Cheeroke with 265k miles. Still on the original clutch!
01 Wolfsberg Edition 1.8T Jetta x2 Both chipped with APR's 93 program
03 1.8T GTI with APR's Stage III+ kit and an o2m swap
03 Mini Cooper S with every bolt on imaginable

Every car mentioned above was a manual, and I still have the Jeep to this day! I have never experienced a clutch issue like this, and I drove my GTI much harder and for much longer than the 3200 miles I've put on my R.

I'll be back with updates after the repair.

[Siliconrane]

Update :

VW has approved the replacement of the clutch and pressure plate, and potentially the flywheel if, after inspection, they feel it has sustained any damage. The car goes in for the repair this coming Tuesday.


PS: For those who think that my clutch issues are attributed to driver technique or abuse, listed below is a sample of some of my previously owned cars. If you knew me and we weren't having this conversation on the internet, there would be no question as to whether or not I know how to drive properly.

My previously owned cars:
81 Caddy w/ built 16v and 150 shot Direct Port Nitrous
83 GTI with a 1.8t swap
84 Jetta GLI
88 Cabriolet
89 Corrado G60
89 BMW 325is
96 Jeep Cheeroke with 265k miles. Still on the original clutch!
01 Wolfsberg Edition 1.8T Jetta x2 Both chipped with APR's 93 program
03 1.8T GTI with APR's Stage III+ kit and an o2m swap
03 Mini Cooper S with every bolt on imaginable

Every car mentioned above was a manual, and I still have the Jeep to this day! I have never experienced a clutch issue like this, and I drove my GTI much harder and for much longer than the 3200 miles I've put on my R.

I'll be back with updates after the repair.

Welcome to the replaced clutch club . . . you are member number 2.

Make sure you get some photos. I want to see what happened and compare notes with what mine looked like. I expect it to be completely different, but I am still interested none the less.

nut up or shut up

OH YEA . . . for those that wanted to look . . . Stock SACHS Clutch Part Number for the GoRf:

201878003760

Happy Hunting.

[Shtbox]

I'm surprised that APR, MTM, etc, don't have warnings about wearing out clutches with their upgrades. This absence will only result in a lot of angry customers knocking their products.

really? youre a ****ing idiot.

because APR, MTM, etc are responsible for a potentially defective clutch (or VW just supplied these with weak clutches stock)? yup, that makes sense.

[AAC Welder]

Welcome to the replaced clutch club . . . you are member number 2.

I feel honored!! I'm adding it to my signature

[Siliconrane]

I feel honored!! I'm adding it to my signature

Indeed.

[dmorrow]

I'm surprised that APR, MTM, etc, don't have warnings about wearing out clutches with their upgrades. This absence will only result in a lot of angry customers knocking their products.

I think that whenever you increase the HP and/or torque of your car that you should realize that their is a potential to wear out drivetrain parts faster. Common since says the more power you add to your car (if you use this new power) and the harder you drive it will decrease the life of the clutch. How much is difficult to say but as time goes on we will have some test subjects.

Isn't this part of the issue with modifying a car? I have had Stage 1 for about 100k miles on my A3 so I am not against modification just realize some risk goes along with it, especially depending on how you drive it.

[B5Speedo]

It's tough to make blanket statements like that. I had a friend drive his 80,000 mile FSI to APR for a K04 upgrade. After 120,000 Miles he replaced the stock clutch. IIRC the the Golf R has a stronger clutch than the regular GTI MK5 with same engine and K03 turbo.

What I meant was if there is no statement by APR or MTM that a stronger clutch is recommended then I would assume the clutch can handle the mods and a problem is due either a design/maufacturing error or driver error.

[B5Speedo]

Welcome to the replaced clutch club . . . you are member number 2. .

Hopefully, this club has a very low membership.

[pierovw]

Hopefully, this club has a very low membership.

This

[triman11427]

From what I've been told by some extremely reliable sources is that our 240mm clutch is more than adequate to handle the extra HP of a stage 1 or 1+. Personally, I think this is unique issue to a few unlucky owners. I wouldn't blame driver competence necessarily. It might be a quality control issue at VW where a few poor quality clutches got through on a Friday afternoon or Monday morning Too much German beer.

[Siliconrane]

From what I've been told by some extremely reliable sources is that our 240mm clutch is more than adequate to handle the extra HP of a stage 1 or 1+. Personally, I think this is unique issue to a few unlucky owners. I wouldn't blame driver competence necessarily. It might be a quality control issue at VW where a few poor quality clutches got through on a Friday afternoon or Monday morning Too much German beer.

I have to agree with this . . . I also happen to know that I did get a different clutch . . . its not a SACHS clutch any more. I got a LUK cluch this time.

[autofi]

I have to agree with this . . . I also happen to know that I did get a different clutch . . . its not a SACHS clutch any more. I got a LUK cluch this time.

You are LUK y!

[AAC Welder]

You are LUK y!

lol .......................

[bsmith75]

I have to agree with this . . . I also happen to know that I did get a different clutch . . . its not a SACHS clutch any more. I got a LUK cluch this time.

This is interesting...wonder what OP gets?



B.

[AAC Welder]

This is interesting...wonder what OP gets?



B.

I'll let you know.

[triman11427]

Try not o screw this one up

[specialkk43]

Any update?

[_leo_]

What I meant was if there is no statement by APR or MTM that a stronger clutch is recommended then I would assume the clutch can handle the mods and a problem is due either a design/maufacturing error or driver error.

i have an 07 GTI with stage 2 APR tune, and i put 90000km on it with the stock clutch and its still going strong. its sad to see her go tomorrow but the R is making its way to my driveway

[Lucas_R]

Guys - dont be put off my going Stage 1 or Stage1+ etc because of this clutch incident. This was obviously a faulty clutch, and with any mass produced item you will occasionally get a dud.

Here in Australia, we have quite a few Golf R's running over 200kw at the wheels on the stock clutch. Some have upgraded the turbo to a GTX3071 Garrett and running 250-280kw and still on the stock clutch.

The dodgy clutch in the OP was a one off, although unfortunate none the less.

[JosephHatfield]

I think it's a conspiracy by VW to prevent folks from modifying their cars. Deliberately produce weak clutches that shatter into pieces when driven with anything other than a stock engine. Then when they do fail, refuse to cover the repair and blame the damage on the ECU modification. Eventually everyone will give up and just drive their car completely unmodified.

What do you think? Plausible?

[abeR]

No

[JosephHatfield]

No

Oh, thanks. Way to pour cold water on my pet theory!

[BigmountainVMD]

I'm sure if ANYONE had been denied a warranty claim at this point there would be a huge blow up on here about it... I mean come on, there are 15 threads with people whining about the lack of LED tails let alone VW refusing to repair a clutch with less than 7 or 8 thousand miles on it.

[_leo_]

lol that would mean even stock you'd get liek 50k miles from the stock clutch. i doubt even the ****tiest automaker would be stupid enough to put in a clutch that is that weak

[JosephHatfield]

lol that would mean even stock you'd get liek 50k miles from the stock clutch. i doubt even the ****tiest automaker would be stupid enough to put in a clutch that is that weak

I'm sure if ANYONE had been denied a warranty claim at this point there would be a huge blow up on here about it... I mean come on, there are 15 threads with people whining about the lack of LED tails let alone VW refusing to repair a clutch with less than 7 or 8 thousand miles on it.

OK, good points. Thanks. I feel better all ready.

[MissUnderstood]

This is pretty rare of an issue. The 02M clutch is pretty stout. I've seen several stock clutches holding 400 plus HP. It only takes 1 time of a slip to cook the clutch to hot and from that point your SOL. Unfortunately OP this has happened to you. Course you may have a very prematurely leaking rear seal but I doubt it. Look for a Kevlar clutch setup, they last a very long time and hold a good amount of power

[iThread]

bump for updates.

[tashistation]

I did warn everyone. Use the search function. Well, since I had this experience with my 1.8t I think it was more of a question to the people on this forum. I asked if anyone was planning on upgrading their clutch and stated my experience (and all the other experiences on the 1.8t technical forum) with the 1.8t stock clutches going out after the 93 octane program upgrade. I think the people here not doing power upgrades will be fine with the stock clutch for the most part.

ya but the 1.8t clutch was known to be weak. Most people I know just replaced it with the VR6 clutch for mild mods like stage 1. Seems silly that VW would put a weak clutch in an AWD car. My bet is the OP's issue is plain premature failure and not due to the stage 1 mod.