When I got my vRS a couple of weeks ago, i was supprised how heavy the clutch was for what is a small, relitivly low powered car.

Anyway, I have taken it for a stage 1 remap, and to cut a long story short, there were a few problems with the ECU that appear to be from aprevious owner of the car remapping it, then putting it back to standard before it was sold.

Also there was a K+N filter fitted I didnt know about. No big deal, but it shows that a previous owner was aware that there was tuning products available for the car.

I should get the car back today with its fresh map on, and it should hopefully be running around 170bhp which will be nice. My one concern is that with 80,000 miles and this extra power/torque the clutch will need replacing soon.

Then I got thinking, if it was possibly mapped before, maybe the clutch went, and it was replaced with an uprated, heavy duty stronger clutch at some point and this would explain why my clutch is so heavy.

So basicly, what Im asking other vRS owners is, how heavy would you say your clutch is?

Mine is very heavy, definatly the heaviest clutch I can remember in about 15 manual cars Ive owned. It also has a very small biting point. Its quite on/off with not much play in between.

The guy that mapped my car had an uprated clutch on his Golf capable of 500lb/ft and his was lighter than mine.

It dosent really bother me, and it would be a bonus if it already had an uprated clutch fitted, I just dont know any other Vrs owners local that I could compare mine against.

Does what i've described sound normal?

Thanks.

Edited 1 August, 201213 yr by chopper-lew

That sounds to me that's it's a uprated clutch. Where you say it's on or off that's what makes me think it is. Someone correct me if I'm wrong. Where abouts are you?

Edited 1 August, 201213 yr by danny6189

Yeah, its quite on/off. I keep stalling the vRS after driving my wifes Leon cupra as that has a very light and smooth clutch.

My previous cars clutch was rated to 450bhp and I would easily say the vRS pedal feels twice as hard to push down.

Is there anything else (defect wise) that can cause a really heavy clutch or do you think its a safe bet to say its been uprated?

I'm not a 100% sure. Best thing is for a more technical person to answer about if it could be any other parts.

Sounds like it has the Sachs 400lb/ft torque clutch, just a guess but this one is known for being pretty heavy in comparison to the standard.

Sounds like it has the Sachs 400lb/ft torque clutch, just a guess but this one is known for being pretty heavy in comparison to the standard.

Could be a brucy-bonus if thats the case.

Either that or there is somthing wrong with it to make it feel heavy.

I take it the average vRS owner would not describe their standard clutch as exceptionaly heavy then?

Edited 1 August, 201213 yr by chopper-lew

Does seem uprated and possibly single mass flywheel too as its very on and off. You could try bleeding the clutch hydraulics to see if the pedal will soften.

On/off would suggest a paddle clutch, rather than full-face. Could still be DMF though, the type of flywheel won't really affect the biting point or the "amount" of bite, simply the noise.

edit - as for heaviness, I'll be honest and say I never noticed a difference going from OEM to Sachs on my old car. However, I drove my mum's Zafira for just a few hours the other week, and when I got back in the Fabia I could barely push the pedal down having got used to the featherlight clutch in the Zafira. So yours does sound uprated, but you'd be better off getting someone local to you to try it and see what they think, clutch heaviness is something that will differ from person to person so it's impossible to describe with text. Most people who sit in my car despise my clutch, whereas I love it and would possibly have it even heavier if I could.