South Bend FE is shot. what should i replace it with..

[tuned A4]

will need something that will last more than 20k. thoughts?

[F16HTON]

[manhertm]

Damn 20K? Either Southbend is worth shit, or you pound on your gears like nobody else.

[A4 TSCHUSS]

My OFE lasted 30k but it was abused like no other with many launches and 1/4 mile visits and everyday hard driving, then the organic side of the disk started to seperate. I have an FE now at like 900 miles.

[rudtf]

is that a spaceship?

[A4 TSCHUSS]

nope just a $1200 twin plate clutch setup

[FourRings80]

My OFE lasted 30k but it was abused like no other with many launches and 1/4 mile visits and everyday hard driving, then the organic side of the disk started to seperate. I have an FE now at like 900 miles.

watching your videos on youtube made me want to start modding my A4, and never looked back since!

I got a used SB stage 5 FE SS from a geat fellow AZ, and was wondering did the engagement point change went you installed yours and any complaints? (rep points pending )
Thanks!

[Condo]

watching your videos on youtube made me want to start modding my A4, and never looked back since!

I got a used SB stage 5 FE SS from a geat fellow AZ, and was wondering did the engagement point change went you installed yours and any complaints? (rep points pending )
Thanks!

When I had the FE in my car the engagement point was much closer to the floor and the pedal was a lot stiffer. It only took a few days to get used to though.

[A4 TSCHUSS]

I never had a problem with the clutch until the very end at like 30k on it, it started making noise and then I took it out and found the one side coming loose. It was very low at the start but then moved up from the floor a little bit after it broke in and it was notchy when it was new and then it got easy to put in gear after it broke in.

[FourRings80]

Thanks guys, looking foward to install the Clutch Condo no break in period .
So the only upgrade compared to the southbend stg5 FE SS would be a clutch master set up? specs...

[tuned A4]

not at all. this was with normal driving. my car is my dd. its in the shop now and they are going to give me a call later today to tell me exactly what went. i was at a light and left off the clutch and first caught fine. threw it into second, let off the clutch and it didnt engage. i noticed a spinning/grinding sound coming from the bottom of my car. car had to be taken away as it would not catch in any gear.. thoughts? that clutch greg threw up was nice but not spending $1200. i need to pick something up quickly. what are everyones thoughts on what i should get? another one or should i go with the OFE? will it last longer?

[tuned A4]

When I had the FE in my car the engagement point was much closer to the floor and the pedal was a lot stiffer. It only took a few days to get used to though.

what clutch are you running now?

[mike-2ptzero]

not at all. this was with normal driving. my car is my dd. its in the shop now and they are going to give me a call later today to tell me exactly what went. i was at a light and left off the clutch and first caught fine. threw it into second, let off the clutch and it didnt engage. i noticed a spinning/grinding sound coming from the bottom of my car. car had to be taken away as it would not catch in any gear.. thoughts? that clutch greg threw up was nice but not spending $1200. i need to pick something up quickly. what are everyones thoughts on what i should get? another one or should i go with the OFE? will it last longer?

Might not even be the clutch if your car is a quattro. If any part of the driveline breaks the car will feel like the clutch wont catch. Tell them to check the axles before they pull the transmission because it could be something as simple as a broken CV joint.

[A4 TSCHUSS]

I am kinda betting it is the clutch seperating though like mine did and others have as well. One side of the clutch with break loose in the rivots that hold the disks together and it will spin or tear in to pieces. If there was grinding and spinning that makes sense to me. If this is the case and the clutch came apart like that contact South Bend and talke to Andy or John and they will give you a new disk for free and also resurface your pressure plate.

[Papachristou]

the FE SS will take a lot more pedal effort due to the strong pressure plate and the engagement point will be right on the floor. also its a very quick engagement with the FE SS. its either on or off... it took me a day or so, i love it now.. plus no one else can drive it

[Condo]

what clutch are you running now?

I have a Clutchmasters FX600 that will be installed in the next two weeks as soon as my engine is back together.

[mike-2ptzero]

I am kinda betting it is the clutch seperating though like mine did and others have as well. One side of the clutch with break loose in the rivots that hold the disks together and it will spin or tear in to pieces. If there was grinding and spinning that makes sense to me. If this is the case and the clutch came apart like that contact South Bend and talke to Andy or John and they will give you a new disk for free and also resurface your pressure plate.

That issue shouldn't happen with the FE since it is metal on both sides.

[A4 TSCHUSS]

Didnt even realize he had the FE, I just read South Bend.

[A4 TSCHUSS]

Think my South Bend FE with 1000 miles shit the bed on me after 1 burnout at the 1/4 mile. Will find out soon when I take the tranny out.

[G-Bus]

Is really the tranny and quattro able to take burnouts or it's really bad for it? Of course, we're talking if the clutch is able to take it.. I know it's bad for every tranny but is it able to take it?!

[Redgoat]

My FE lasted about 25k miles.. and mind you those were 25k HARD miles :) I dropped the clutch many times, let friends drive it who hadn't before, etc.. The only reason my clutch went is because it got to hot, and welded the clutch plate to the flywheel. (High RPM drop).

I could have saved the clutch had i known that it was hitting 1200+ degrees by simply disengaging the clutch for about 30 seconds and revving the engine to make sure they seperated

[mike-2ptzero]

Is really the tranny and quattro able to take burnouts or it's really bad for it? Of course, we're talking if the clutch is able to take it.. I know it's bad for every tranny but is it able to take it?!

Well most of the people doing "dry launch" are doing it on 100% street tires so its really not doing much other then rising the temps up just a little. Normal street tires use a much harder rubber so they are not designed to heat up quickly like a set of drag radials. I have done this on my car and Charlies B6 avant, both cars had BFG drag radials on them at the time. Haven't done that since early last year.


Video of me doing a dry launch before staging in charlies old B6, this is a few years old.


Basically when doing this you take a much higher chance of breaking something just to try and get that slightly better 60 ft. But it does give you a good idea of how much traction you might have during the launch of the actual run.

[TonyD]

I've had my FE for about 10-12k now and I've been HARD on it. Lets hope it lasts!

[GO-GOTEKNO]

my OFE is probably the best clutch Ive had,21,000 miles and numerous launches later..

[MikTip]

I've had my OFE HD for 1 year.

I run the K04, with supporting mods, and I can make the OFE HD slip like mad very easily, if I try to launch my A4.

I've aready bought another clutch and flywheel setup, as I'm simply waiting for the day the OFE HD go south....

[dougyfresh]

/\
For anyone who has blown an FE SS and plans on drag racing with their set-up.

Otherwise, the FE SS should hold up to street use. Well, in theory it should.

When I had the FE in my car the engagement point was much closer to the floor and the pedal was a lot stiffer. It only took a few days to get used to though.

Like all SB clutches. My OFE SS is the same way. Took a few days to get used to it. Now its like second nature and the OEM clutch feels very wierd to me.

[Molotov]

Not too many reviews of that clutchmaster, that I can find anyways. Probably won't be doing a clutch until spring/tax return anyways, but I'd like something that can handle many nights of 15+ 6k rpm launches. Turns out if you go to Napierville you pretty much only wait a minute or two before going again.

p.s. How much torque is that fx600/700 rated for? it says "a tremendous amount of torque" haha

[mike-2ptzero]

Here is what it comes down to

BAT + drag racing = 6 puck or twin plate. Just something I learned in the 8 years of drag racing the A4 while testing many different WOA clutch setups.


The nice thing about the twin plate is that you end up with a nearly OEM pedal feel with the clutch engaging very high on the pedal. This means much quicker shifts since there is less time spent pushing the pedal during the shift and this will really reduce the time between gears.

[dougyfresh]

The nice thing about the twin plate is that you end up with a nearly OEM pedal feel with the clutch engaging very high on the pedal. This means much quicker shifts since there is less time spent pushing the pedal during the shift and this will really reduce the time between gears.

I did not know that. Good to know.

Pressure on the pedal is not too severe?

[Molotov]

I guess I'll just buck up for a fx600 next year, with everybodies BAT's starting to put some numbers down, I'll probably have to follow the best lead in a couple years

[tuned A4]

Might not even be the clutch if your car is a quattro. If any part of the driveline breaks the car will feel like the clutch wont catch. Tell them to check the axles before they pull the transmission because it could be something as simple as a broken CV joint.

ding ding ding. i really thought it was the clutch!

[mike-2ptzero]

I did not know that. Good to know.

Pressure on the pedal is not too severe?

It is soft since its not really high clamping pressure that is being used to hold all that power. It is the increased surface area from the multiple disks.


I have driven 2 different cars running triple plates, eurocodes S4 at the Eurotuner GP and my buddies EVO8 at the USCC. Both of them had a very soft pedal feel.

ding ding ding. i really thought it was the clutch!

So did they find what was broken?

[CO AVANT]

I'm going with the fx600 too in spring, Greg is the man for these. After Greg, JoJo and I ghetto die grinded the welded surfaces down on my FE disc and 034 steel fly we just reinstalled it. Felt like crap at first but the drive back from Cali worked the surfaces flat again. I actually get less gear rattle/chatter now than I did right after it was installed. It has held up fine now and I'm abusing the crap out of it during "spirited" driving. Just not launching it till I get rid of it. Just like Mike said, solid discs do not work as well as a twin plate or 6 puck for launching. If your going to FE solid disc then don't go steel lwfw. The materials are too similar which I feel is cauing the welding to take place easier.

[mike-2ptzero]

I'm going with the fx600 too in spring, Greg is the man for these. After Greg, JoJo and I ghetto die grinded the welded surfaces down on my FE disc and 034 steel fly we just reinstalled it. Felt like crap at first but the drive back from Cali worked the surfaces flat again. I actually get less gear rattle/chatter now than I did right after it was installed. It has held up fine now and I'm abusing the crap out of it during "spirited" driving. Just not launching it till I get rid of it. Just like Mike said, solid discs do not work as well as a twin plate or 6 puck for launching. If your going to FE solid disc then don't go steel lwfw. The materials are too similar which I feel is cauing the welding to take place easier.

Well even the billet aluminum flywheels use a insert ring. At that point you might as well stick with a stock flywheel, but isn't that what david has in his car when his FE welded itself to the flywheel this past weekend?

You also dont want to go with an even lighter flywheel then the 15 lbs billet steel flywheel since this will just make the problem worse since a lighter flywheel allows the engine to rev up at a faster rate.

[dougyfresh]

It is soft since its not really high clamping pressure that is being used to hold all that power. It is the increased surface area from the multiple disks.


I have driven 2 different cars running triple plates, eurocodes S4 at the Eurotuner GP and my buddies EVO8 at the USCC. Both of them had a very soft pedal feel.

Thanks Mike. That is good to hear. I think Jake said he knows someone near us that has a 6puck. Not sure what model and brand but its a 6puck so he and I are going to give that car a drive to first-hand see how it feels.

Based on Jordan's experiences I am confident that my OFE SS (with stock DMFW) won't hold up to a launch at the track. I won't know this indefinitely until I try it. If things do take a shit and I like the feel of the 6puck I will be buying one from DTH. John (Condo) also has one so he'll be able to provide his comments since he came from an FE SS.

[CO AVANT]

yeah I'd go with a twin plate over a 6 puck if you like smooth engagement/driveability in city. I have rode in a 500whp B5S4 with a 6 puck. I did not like it at all personally.

[LampyB]

I've had my OFE HD for 1 year.

I run the K04, with supporting mods, and I can make the OFE HD slip like mad very easily, if I try to launch my A4.

I've aready bought another clutch and flywheel setup, as I'm simply waiting for the day the OFE HD go south....

wow this is kind of a disappointment. i was told the HD was supposed to hold up to 300hp or somewhere around there. you can't be at that with a K04 right?

i bought the upgraded Southbend HD from Jeff Lee. I think it's supposed to have the FE pressure plate, or something along those lines to hold more power. hopefully it actually does in the future...

[mike-2ptzero]

yeah I'd go with a twin plate over a 6 puck if you like smooth engagement/driveability in city. I have rode in a 500whp B5S4 with a 6 puck. I did not like it at all personally.

Well it really depends on the driver. It can have a very on/off feel but with the right driver it can be worked to act just like a stock clutch. There would be no way I would be able to pull my car onto the trailer I use if my clutch was 100% on or off.

Nearly every person that has tried to move my car stalled it a few times before getting it where they wanted it. I have even had people give up and tell me to do it myself.

[dougyfresh]

yeah I'd go with a twin plate over a 6 puck if you like smooth engagement/driveability in city. I have rode in a 500whp B5S4 with a 6 puck. I did not like it at all personally.

Opps. I meant twin plate when I was typing 6puck. Sorry. I gotta lay off the coffee.

[Molotov]

Nearly every person that has tried to move my car stalled it a few times before getting it where they wanted it. I have even had people give up and tell me to do it myself.

see that's what I want, that way people would quit asking to drive my car haha. I could be like, sure, and just watch them fail