New clutch, should I lighten and balance the flywheel??

Cupra_Bod

Active Member
Oct 10, 2014
131
0
Hi Guys,

After getting more annoyed at the puddle of oil on the drive from under the Cupra I have just been told by my garage that the rear main oil seal has had it!

He said the gearbox, clutch and flywheel will have to come off as there are traces of oil from inside the flywheel housing so the clutch will start to slip, he quoted £900 to supply and fit:

New oil seal
New clutch
New flywheel

my question is, should I source a lightened and balanced flywheel and fit a competition clutch while it is all apart?? if so does anyone know where I would find these??

Thanks in advance!
 

Cupra_Bod

Active Member
Oct 10, 2014
131
0
Why so expensive to fit a clutch, is it a monster job??

It was approx £350 for the labour as he said it was around a 5 hour job, he said they would have to lower the engine, take off the gearbox then the clutch and flywheel, drain out the oil, sort out the oil seal (which is actually all that's wrong) then fit a new clutch and flywheel then put it all back together,

I don't know how true it is but he said there was oil leaking into the flywheel housing which in turn will get onto the clutch and make it slip then its useless

I have heard about people getting their flywheel lightened and balanced but I have never done this myself so wondered if it was worth it?
 
Feb 25, 2009
957
0
Rotherham/Leeds
No, techniclutch get horrendous reviews - google the name and see for yourself. Unless your budget stretches to £900+ before labour for clutch + flywheel, then stick with OEM equivalent. Sachs and LUK are ideal, but my personal preference is Sachs.
 

Cupra_Bod

Active Member
Oct 10, 2014
131
0
No, techniclutch get horrendous reviews - google the name and see for yourself. Unless your budget stretches to £900+ before labour for clutch + flywheel, then stick with OEM equivalent. Sachs and LUK are ideal, but my personal preference is Sachs.

Thanks for the info mate, I have only read x4 reviews and they are all bad!! needless to say my money is not going to Techniclutch, do you still have any details of where you sourced your equipment from??

Oh sorry, I must have not explained myself correctly, that £900 is inc labour so its £900 with all OEM parts I am hoping to get hold of some uprated parts now as I have found someone who can fit the bits for me cheaper than that
 
Last edited:
Feb 25, 2009
957
0
Rotherham/Leeds
Darkside list their prices without VAT, it's closer to £400 by the time you've added VAT and shipping - and it's the exact same kit as the one available from ECP.
 

Cupra_Bod

Active Member
Oct 10, 2014
131
0
Darkside Developments have a clutch, flywheel and pressure plate for about 300 quid.

1.9tdi tho

Thanks it's the tdi that I've got, ill give ecp a call see what they can do for me, I'm now thinking is it really worth going for uprated parts??
 
Feb 25, 2009
957
0
Rotherham/Leeds
Having looked into this very recently, unless you fancy spending £1000+ including fitting, then no it's not. (I'm referring to clutch and flywheel options, you can buy an uprated clutch alone for less money).
 

Cupra_Bod

Active Member
Oct 10, 2014
131
0
Having looked into this very recently, unless you fancy spending £1000+ including fitting, then no it's not. (I'm referring to clutch and flywheel options, you can buy an uprated clutch alone for less money).

Would the standard DMF be ok with an uprated clutch or is it not man enough for the job?
 
Feb 25, 2009
957
0
Rotherham/Leeds
It won't be as long lasting, in theory, but in practice if your driving style isn't "drive it like you stole it", you'll be fine. My standard DMF is just about packing in at 110k, 40k of those remapped. I'm fitting the Sachs OEM equivalent DMF and would expect to see another 100k out of it.

Edit: Sorry just realised I didn't directly answer your question! Yes the standard DMF will be OK with an uprated clutch, just make sure you get the right systems (Sachs and Luk are the two different systems, they're interchangeable as far as the car goes, but you can't mix a Sachs clutch with a Luk flywheel and vice versa.
 
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Cupra_Bod

Active Member
Oct 10, 2014
131
0
It won't be as long lasting, in theory, but in practice if your driving style isn't "drive it like you stole it", you'll be fine. My standard DMF is just about packing in at 110k, 40k of those remapped. I'm fitting the Sachs OEM equivalent DMF and would expect to see another 100k out of it.

Thanks mate, that's helpful info! I think that's probably the route ill be taking
 

Cupra_Bod

Active Member
Oct 10, 2014
131
0
It won't be as long lasting, in theory, but in practice if your driving style isn't "drive it like you stole it", you'll be fine. My standard DMF is just about packing in at 110k, 40k of those remapped. I'm fitting the Sachs OEM equivalent DMF and would expect to see another 100k out of it.

Edit: Sorry just realised I didn't directly answer your question! Yes the standard DMF will be OK with an uprated clutch, just make sure you get the right systems (Sachs and Luk are the two different systems, they're interchangeable as far as the car goes, but you can't mix a Sachs clutch with a Luk flywheel and vice versa.

Just had a thought, I was watching a video on you tube where a bloke is machining away half of his flywheel before he fits it to the car, If I wanted to do this is it as straight forward as taking it to an engineers to get it reduced?
 

Cupra_Bod

Active Member
Oct 10, 2014
131
0
No, you'll affect all sorts of the things and the results probably won't be great. I wouldn't really recommend lightening the flywheel on the TDI anyway.

Ok cool!
well so far everything I have thought about and looked into modding, I've been told not to bother upgrading as there's no need and to go with standard equipment on the main so I'm quids in!
Now its a case of book it in and get it done! Thanks for the advice
 
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