Luk or Sachs?

[BenMTL]

Hey guys, after recently having my brakes replaced locally looks like my clutch is starting to slip as well

I've got ~85k miles on the clock with the stock flywheel/clutch so I've was expecting a little more out of it (100k?) but actually it seems that is "normal" change interval for our cars anyway...Now, my local part supplier helped me out with my brakes a lot so I'm going to order my clutch from them as well. They only carry Audi OE parts so for clutches, they have Luk (which is OEM on our cars I think?) and Sachs...The Sachs one is a little more expensive and some people say it is a better quality/brand than Luk...What do you guys think? $30 price difference, both are made in Germany I believe, OE part suppliers to Audi, same warranty, etc.

Also, do I need a new flywheel with this mileage as well or is it OK to just get it resurfaced?

[chris@fifteen52]

Don't replace that clutch just yet. I was flashed at 20k miles and at 100k my clutch started to slip, babied it for a week or 2 and it was fine. At 150k it started to slip and same thing babied it for a while and fine. Now I am at 250k with the stock clutch still. I think these clutches get a little high spot on them and start to slip but once they get worn a bit more they are fine.

[BenMTL]

250k miles on stock clutch and flywheel?

Now no slippage again?

Question remains though, between those 2 brands...Which would you guys go for?

[chris@fifteen52]

Yes I have 250k miles on my stock clutch and flywheel and APR stage 1 since 20k miles and have not had a slip since 150k miles.

[johnruan]

If it's $30 difference I would go with Sachs. Our car is dual mass flywheel and I read there ain't any machine shop do resurface our flywheel. Even they do I'll save the headache get new flywheel instead bc I heard it will fail if resurface. Why not go aftermarket it will came out same price with clutch and flywheel and better holding power if you're modded.

[vvenom800tt]

Make sure the car isn't just surging. My car did it on the highway when i stepped on. Thankfully my plugs were bad. So check your plugs first

[Jake@JHM]

I would go with this: https://jhmotorsports.com/shop/catal...0t-p-1257.html

Luk

[BenMTL]

I read there ain't any machine shop do resurface our flywheel. Even they do I'll save the headache get new flywheel instead bc I heard it will fail if resurface.

Is anybody else able to confirm this? Has anyone replaced the clutch on our cars with a resurfaced stock OEM flywheel?

I ask because LuK sells clutch kits for most cars for like $300 up here and 99% of people just buy those kits, but to add their dual mass flywheel (I think) to the kit costs an extras $500 so around $800 for our cars instead of $300 for most

[aluthman]

Buy drumnjuny's CM SMFW thats been for sale forever in the classifieds. Waay cheap.

[konarider94]

I bought a LUK clutch 2 years ago for $270 shipped. It has been working fine. Old one wasn't slipping but I had about 100k miles and had to pull the transmission so just put one in there for convenience. I just threw it on the original flywheel without resurfacing. It wasn't heat checked or anything so I didn't see an issue about reusing it.

I won't vote because I can't compare it to sachs but the LUK works fine. I doubt you will see any difference between oem spec clutches.

[BenMTL]

I just threw it on the original flywheel without resurfacing. It wasn't heat checked or anything so I didn't see an issue about reusing it.

Sounds like we are talking about the same LuK set, just a little more expensive here :) Now, is the stock flywheel single or dual mass? Can it even be resurfaced? Even if it doesn't have to be resurfaced (like you didn't), while everything is apart I'd want to do it anyway just to be safe.

[konarider94]

There is no reason to resurface it if it doesn't need it. If it is machined badly it will tear up the clutch faster. Hit the glaze with a little sandpaper if you really want but I don't think I did that. If the clutch has been slipping a lot and it is heat checked and/or not flat then you will want to take some sort of action.

It is a dual mass stock. I never even looked into getting it resurfaced so I'm not sure. I would search around just like you would to figure that out.

[billyhoyle]

Dual mass flywheels can also develop looseness/play between the plates, so it isn't just a matter of resurfacing it. If there's play, I think it's hooped. Check out youtube for some vids of this.

[FraggyA4]

our clutches are self healing in a way. They will slip for a short while then you just burn it a little baby it and it will come back. I kept mine in till 140 and it looked like it could of gone another 30-40k. I'm running the jhm clutch and I love it.

[konarider94]

Dual mass flywheels can also develop looseness/play between the plates, so it isn't just a matter of resurfacing it. If there's play, I think it's hooped. Check out youtube for some vids of this.

Good point. I was only talking about the friction surface.

[konarider94]

our clutches are self healing in a way. They will slip for a short while then you just burn it a little baby it and it will come back. I kept mine in till 140 and it looked like it could of gone another 30-40k. I'm running the jhm clutch and I love it.

I really don't think there is anything special about the audi clutch compared to other manufactures. Maybe a lightly glazed clutch will slip and then you wear it off driving easy for a bit. Forcing it to slip more will only make the problem worse, sometimes they don't ever get better. You can have a temporary slip by overheating it, it may return to normal after it cools off. Whats really neat is when people glaze a clutch so bad that they cant get them to disengage. There have been stories of people holding the clutch in and downshifting/accelerating as hard as possible to get them to break free. I've heard of this more in the truck realm than cars.

[Spike00513]

Don't replace that clutch just yet. I was flashed at 20k miles and at 100k my clutch started to slip, babied it for a week or 2 and it was fine. At 150k it started to slip and same thing babied it for a while and fine. Now I am at 250k with the stock clutch still. I think these clutches get a little high spot on them and start to slip but once they get worn a bit more they are fine.

OEM LuK DMF here. I hear people get 200-300k mi out of these.
Feel changes constantly. I chalked it up as being similar to how brakes work, laying down a layer/thin film of transfer material to the metal rotor, regenerating/"healing" itself.

Slippage, to me, is when you gas it in 4th and the revs shoot up, but the car doesn't accelerate..
I hear they can slightly glaze too, maybe it cleans itself up over time..

[BenMTL]

Been doing my research on this and have come to several conclusions;

1) 9/10 people who replace the clutch on our cars don't touch their flywheels from what I see...At least not after the first clutch replacement. After the 2nd or 3rd, only then does it MAYBE need to be replaced or resurfaced.

2) It is indeed possible to resurface a dual mass flywheel but you need to find an experienced shop with speciality tools and machines. If they don't have the experience, they can screw it up and you will always have vibration in your clutch pedal when disengaged (sounds like permanent damage, eventually needing complete replacing).

3) The dual mass flywheel by Audi themselves is not even counted as a wear item...Under normal conditions, it should indeed last the life of the vehicle (or at least 150-200k miles), unless something catastrophic happens. Apparently, you can see the face of the flywheel when you take everything apart (to replace the clutch) and you should just inspect the face to make sure it is smooth and flat (no grooves or markings).

So I will just be buying the ~$300 LuK kit and replacing that, while only quickly visually inspecting my flywheel while I am already in there...Does that all seem about right?