Well, the time has come to put a clutch in the Octavia.  Under full boost there's a lot of slippage and it's getting worse as the miles pass by.  The car is still driveable but it requires a light right foot and a lot of self control.  

Seeing as the car is running Stage 2 with 300lbft of torque, I'll need to get something that can handle the increase over standard torque.  I'm a fairly sedate driver most of the time so the clutch wouldn't need to be doing launches every day, but I don't want to be changing things in a couple of years time.

I've seen this from Awesome, 

https://www.awesomegti.com/shop-by-brand/ecs-tuning/ecs-stage-1-clutch-kit-228mm-5-speed/

but I don't necessarily need the lightened flywheel.  

I've had a look round and have got a bit confused by what's out there.  I know a few people are running different setups and would appreciate knowing what you're day to day experiences are.  I would like it to be as near to standard to drive as possible due to the Mrs using the car, so anything too awkward wouldn't go down very well.  

Price does come into the equation as always so that's also something to consider.

Thanks in advance.

I'll be in this position (new clutch, not stage 2 - probably) next year.. have a read through this, it might help

 

Can’t complain with the Darkside kit. Pricey but rated to 300ft-lbs. Holds the power well and with launch control. 😂

@DeanVRS20VT did you go for the 7kg or 10kg fly??

 

Just looking at the Valeo smf kit from ECP and, with their Bank70 code, it's £270... 

1 hour ago, Evil said:

@DeanVRS20VT did you go for the 7kg or 10kg fly??

 

Just looking at the Valeo smf kit from ECP and, with their Bank70 code, it's £270... 

 

… Wow, was only £220 the other day! I was checking it for someone else.

 

I went for the 10KG to give a normal road application. Even for my driving style, I’m not going to be Rev matching and engine braking through towns to justify the 7KG.

 

I've decided to go with the ECS kit with the heavier flywheel from Awesome in the end.  I couldn't quite stretch to the cost of the Darkside kit as it was nearly £900 including postage.  I'm sure it would be a great choice but there'd be fitting on top of that and it was just too much.

The ECS kit is £570 plus postage but the twist is that after I'd paid for it I was informed there's a two to three week back order.  Luckily I can use the van or the Ignis for now but I want to get the car back on the road as it's easy for an expense like a clutch to put a car off the road for a while.  If that happens it's possible for a car to still be sitting there a year later and that leads to all sorts of problems.  The sooner it's back on the road the better.

Thanks for the advice and opinions as it always helps to make a decision.

Edited 1 September, 20214 yr by skinnyman

On 01/09/2021 at 19:25, skinnyman said:

I couldn't quite stretch to the cost of the Darkside kit as it was nearly £900 including postage.

£900?? 
 

Have you got a 6 speed? As the 02J setup (5-speed) is only £350 without vat?

 

I paid £400.28 delivered when I got mine.

There’s also a chance you only need the clutch and not the whole kit. It was most likely that a new flywheel was installed with doing the SMF.

I've got experience of both the ECS and Darkside kits. The Darkside kit definitely wasn't £900 though. This is the one needed for the VRS:

 

https://www.darksidedevelopments.co.uk/products/darkside-silent-g60-single-mass-cast-flywheel-clutch-kit-for-5-speed-02j-02a-02r.html

 

I put the ECS kit in my previous VRS and went for the lighter flywheel option. That was about 10 years ago when the kit was about £200 cheeper than it is now. My Dad has the car now and the clutch still feels just the same as when I first installed it. Nice light pedal feel, perfectly smooth operation and no noise whatsoever going from dmf to smf. If you didn't know it had been fitted, you'd assume the car was still running the standard equipment.

 

My current Octavia has the Darkside kit, which I installed in 2016. I went for the Darkside kit this time rather than the ECS purely down to the price hike. The Darkside kit is just as good, as ultimately they're pretty much the same performance wise, but if I had to give a preference, the ECS is definitely smoother, particularly when pushing on.

On 03/09/2021 at 11:24, DeanVRS20VT said:

£900?? 
 

Have you got a 6 speed? As the 02J setup (5-speed) is only £350 without vat?

 

I paid £400.28 delivered when I got mine.

 

Hmm.  I contacted Darkside, gave them my reg & VIN and Jamie replied with the link for the more expensive kit.  Ah well, I'll have to see what the ECS kit is like now.

 

On 03/09/2021 at 11:26, DeanVRS20VT said:

There’s also a chance you only need the clutch and not the whole kit. It was most likely that a new flywheel was installed with doing the SMF.

 

The thing is, I don't know what's in there at the moment.  It might be a SMF but it might be the original DMF so I just thought I'd get everything to make sure.

 

On 05/09/2021 at 18:28, niceyellow vrs said:

The Darkside kit is just as good, as ultimately they're pretty much the same performance wise, but if I had to give a preference, the ECS is definitely smoother, particularly when pushing on.

 

Worth knowing that, thanks.  I've ordered the heavier flywheel on the advice from Darkside and the garage I use.  When it eventually turns up I'm hoping that was the right choice as I'm quite happy with how the car drives and don't really want to change things too much.

Out of interest, my clutch started slipping at about 78K with a stage 2 remap and other mods. It was the original clutch.

 

After looking at the usual suspects I thought I'd try a MK4 golf diesel clutch as the clamping power was higher. 

 

Fitted this to a lightened fly I obtained and have done 3 flat out track days since.

 

Absolutely no slippage and feels good. Cost less than £200 from a reputable motor factor, OE quality.

Talking from personal experience from owning several 20vt mk2 golfs, a lot of people doing the conversions with 02j boxes, people put the vr6 clutch and g60 flywheel, never had a problem with this set up in any one of my 20vt mk2 and all of them were pushing the 300ft/lbs mark and i imagine itd be a damn sight cheaper than anything else??

 

They even do a kit on ebay.. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/372637899975?hash=item56c2f31cc7:g:LucAAOxyuPtQ-WEr 

That is a good price for the kit.

 

I will keep that in mind if/when this diesel clutch fails!

 

So far, so good. It feels strong without a hint of slip considering the additional power. We shall see.

It'll be interesting to see how the other options last and with hindsight maybe I should have looked at things a bit further.

 

On another note, I'm still waiting for the clutch kit to be delivered. I ordered it from Awesome on 1st September and it still hasn't been posted. There's been a delay with ECS sending their stuff out, a delay with shipping from the US, a delay at customs and now a delay with whatever is happening now.  If I'd known it'd be a month before it was even getting shipped I'd have looked elsewhere. 

I'm a patient individual and can appreciate a certain amount of delay but even I am starting to sound a bit sarcastic in my commutations with Awesome.

23 minutes ago, skinnyman said:

It'll be interesting to see how the other options last and with hindsight maybe I should have looked at things a bit further.

 

On another note, I'm still waiting for the clutch kit to be delivered. I ordered it from Awesome on 1st September and it still hasn't been posted. There's been a delay with ECS sending their stuff out, a delay with shipping from the US, a delay at customs and now a delay with whatever is happening now.  If I'd known it'd be a month before it was even getting shipped I'd have looked elsewhere. 

I'm a patient individual and can appreciate a certain amount of delay but even I am starting to sound a bit sarcastic in my commutations with Awesome.

4 weeks, without prior warning, is getting on for excessive imo.... 

 

My  clutch journey starts next year..... can't wait (he said, sarcastically)

I second Evil on that, that wait time is taking the p*ss. 

Cant you just ask for a refund and get the kit or similar to what i linked? You'll save close to 50% of what you've spent and i imagine it'd come alot quicker lol

20 hours ago, Endoof said:

I second Evil on that, that wait time is taking the p*ss. 

Cant you just ask for a refund and get the kit or similar to what i linked? You'll save close to 50% of what you've spent and i imagine it'd come alot quicker lol

 

It's very tempting. 

I called yesterday and was told it's going to be next week now. No apology just that's how it is.....🙄

Edited 30 September, 20214 yr by skinnyman