My clutch is almost certainly on it's way out!

My garaged has quoted me a generous £90 including VAT for the labour, but I want the get for reasonable cost a uprated clutch.

Ideally i was hoping that simply a stronger standard clutch was available from a more powerful car or gearbox that would be a direct fit in the drivetrain.

I don't wanna spend hundreds of £££'s on a 'perforamnce' clutch kit but if a cheap excedy uprated clutch exists then i would like to know.

There are some shockingly cheap standard ones available on Ebay and i suppose at this price it wouldn't matter if i burnt them out either 18months.

Link attempt below

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Brand-New-Clutch-Kit-VW-Polo-Mk4-6N-1-6-94-96-/180538664375?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item2a08f165b7

2nd

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Clutch-Kit-inc-Bearing-Skoda-Felicia-1-6-96-01-/400162080645?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item5d2b84c785

Basically the car i bought had a replacement clutch fitted in apr 2007yr and the car had done 23,000miles since then, i have now put an additional 10,000miles on it in the last 5months and i would be lying if i said i didn't wheel spin and use the clutch to hold the car on hills at traffic lights, but i worry that with doing over 20,000miles a year a standard clutch is gonna last me only 18months.

Further more the car is going to have more power soon, i have a variety of tuning products at home, and FINALLY this weekend my manifold, 100 cell cat, and diesel mid and rear exhaust is being fitted. i also have some 'performance' silicon HT leads at home ready to be fitted along be iridium plugs, and a Kentcams performance camshaft(new and unused) bought off a lad on the polo O.C. forum for only £120, i hope that they all total a bhp output of about 86-90bhp!

to be completely honest, you aint gonna over work a standard clutch! i'm pumping 130bhp though a standard LUK clutch and it's fine and i don't tickle it or drive like i've got miss daisy in the passenger seat... i give it beans like my underpants are on fire...

re: kent cam... as far as i'm aware they only make a cam for the early mk3 gt engines in a polo, my advise is be very very careful, the timing marks are in a completely different place, plus it puts the dizzy drive spindle at the wrong angle...

AAAArww crap, i thought it would be a straight fit, it's the same engine code, why would the cams be different?

Edited 17 February, 201115 yr by Sonner

p.s. i think it's kent cams but far from 100%, it may be a piper or a cat cam, would i still have the problem or is it just kent cams

Edited 17 February, 201115 yr by Sonner

sorry for all the questions Tom but whats a dizzy drive spindle.

and i think you're right about the clutch thing, demon tweeks will sell me one for £378, thats £8 more than the car cost me.

i think i will buy one of those cheap £80 ebay ones when the clutch goes in May(according to my prediction)

he said he bought it for his 1994yr Polo 6N 1.6, im emailing him now to ask him what make it is

I have a reground felicia 1.6 cam here if you are stuck for one.. its defo a felly one as we sent it to be ground at Kentcams

i've got a ported cylinder head for a 1.6 too knocking about at home.

if you do go for a new clutch kit, get one from sachs or LUK

here goes. it's not a case of the engine code being wrong.. it's more to do with the cam manufacturers being total bell-ends and mis-selling cams. ever wondered why his cam is brand new never fitted?

standard cam, at tdc, shows equal lift (intake opening & exhaust closing) on number 4 cylinder

piper 280 cam, timing up to same timing marks (it's about 5 teeth out) should be the same as the pic above when timed to the same marks, obvisouly this puts the rotor arm in the dizzy at the wrong angle too... this was listed as fitting a aee engine, but in fact it was ground from a blank for a gt engine which uses different timing marks etc

if old jimbo has got a re-grind i'd snap his arm off for it if i was you, it will fit straight in as it would have been made from a 'proper' cam with all the right timing

Spent time on the clutch thing. An organic friction facing on the drive plate is probably the best upgrade as regards longevity, however the std luk one was pronounced as good enough for 150brake by competion stuff makers. If you want a quick upgrade that will be good for 40% more power got a 4 paddle 1600 ceramic friction plate, little use, won`t wear out. A bit on or off tho. pm.

You could always use a diesel 200mm clutch but the flywheel and starter need changing too.

Edited 17 February, 201115 yr by rolo

the diesel flywheel wont fit without a few mods rolo me old mucker

Why do you say that tom. It bolts on ok and the starter ring is the same

This is the best thread i've ever had!!! i have checked Jorily and the clutch kit on there is £60 so when it goes i think that will be sufficent.

Just to be hypothetical for a moment

Assume that my exhaust, manifold and sport cat are all fitted, along with my sealed induction unit and my silicon leads

add to that a ported cylinder head and a reground cam courtesy of felicia16v, i wonder what the bhp would be, i wonder if it would be close to 95bhp,

and with all that stuff fitted, would it then be a sensible option to increase the rev limit to say 6200rpm and if so how would it be done?

OR(maybe im just being silly now) if i keep the rev limit standard is the engine strong enough to tolerate say a 20/30 even 50 shot of NOS

i have had a full NOS kit sitting around at home for the last 4yrs and always been to scared to fit it to one of my more valuable cars.

Why do you say that tom. It bolts on ok and the starter ring is the same

yes the starter motor and ring gear are ok, plus the stud pattern of the fywheel to crank is the same too.. the reason it doesn't fit is the diesel flywheel has square corners and it fouls on the adaptor plate on the 1.6 engines (adaptor plate is compltely different on the diesels) i'm sure with some careful work on a lathe, and maybe a little bit of grinding on the adaptor plate it could be made to fit and could be quite a useful upgrade using a diesel clutch... however the diesel flywheel is very heavy (circa 12kg) so you wont catch me fitting one unless it's been slimmed down to the thickness of a lottery ticket.

is the engine strong enough to tolerate say a 20/30 even 50 shot of NOS

nos isn't my thing tbh, i wouldn't get involved with that

what about raising the rev limit, especially if there are cams fitted, is it simple?

I think raising the rev limit would involve some jiggery pokery inside the ECU either a software mod or some soldering I don't know. I know you could get an ECU for the 1.3 spi or mpi that had the limit raised.

Phil

Humble pie time. Never occured to me that way round. The diesel cube wouldn`t start partly because the drive was 10 teeth instead of 9-no mesh so this must have been a 1300 one then?

Humble pie time. Never occured to me that way round. The diesel cube wouldn`t start partly because the drive was 10 teeth instead of 9-no mesh so this must have been a 1300 one then?

Been looking back to see if the starters are the same and the info from the forum seems to be they are, so what this 10 tooth drive was doing on a skoda starter dont know, also found the source of me thinking the flywheels had the same dimensions. Put the 2 together and obviously not.

Have a 10 tooth on the diesel pickup but its a vw drive with the same pitch as the 9.

there is some truth in it rolo, the 1.6 flywheel will fit a diesel, but the diesel flywheel wont fit the 1.6 petrol due to clearance issues with the adaptor plate

there is some truth in it rolo, the 1.6 flywheel will fit a diesel, but the diesel flywheel wont fit the 1.6 petrol due to clearance issues with the adaptor plate

Yes got both in front of me looks resonably straight forward to shave the diesel down to the dimensions of the petrol might do it as the fun needs a clutch, just to see.

As this is a clutch thread can mention that the latest high spec clutch has arrived this weekend. What I thought was a race clutch was a boy racer version, have now got a high torque 250brake version machined into the flywheel, so box out again time, at least it knows the way.

MMMmmm interesting, i wish i knew what you two are talking about.

i'm plannig on doing that to min when the gearbox next comes out or when my current clutch goes pop, i've got a diesel flywheel knocking about somewhere which i can.. lathe up :wonder: i need to figure out a way of fitting a polo gti crank sensor for future use into the adaptor plate too whilst i'm there,