Flywheel/clutch options for mainly tracked MK5

[brian_badonde]

Hi folks,

After ringing the neck of my GTI last night at the track, I noticed a rattle on startup before I left to go home and on a motorway pull in 5th gear the clutch slipped momentarily later on. I think my original DMF and/or clutch is on its way out after 117,000 miles of diligent service. Is there a consensus on the best option for flywheel/clutch combos? I've read some conflicting advice on whether a single mass conversion is a good idea or not, with some suggesting increased load on both the crank and the transmission as a result of taking the torsional damping of a DMF out of the system. I'm not clear on whether this has actually resulted in damage to either gearbox or bottom end or whether its just someone theorising and getting worried.

For context, this car is not my daily driver and only comes out for fun trips and track days. It's a stage 1 map with a turbo-back exhaust/high flow cat, no dyno numbers but probably around the 250bhp mark at the crank so not huge numbers. I may go for stage 2+ at some point but the brakes and suspension are a higher priority before that. Either way, I doubt I'll be shoving a bigger turbo on there and going for big power - I figure this will factor into the decision of how aggressive to go with the clutch/flywheel replacement.

Any advice would be appreciated, thanks.

[pudding]

Helix mate.  Just had another one fitted to mine the other day, the most recent improved billet pressure plate version.  I'm only on the second one due to DMF failure, not because there's anything wrong with the clutch..... just a case of 'whilst you're in there'.  Pics below.

I strongly recommend you throw the newer metal crank seal on whilst you're there.  The original seal was in a plastic housing and prone to leaking.  The newer ally housing also features a much improved seal design    The crank seal is £100 though mate, so not cheap, but cheaper than replacing an expensive clutch due to oil contamination.

The Helix can handle about 400lbft and is all the clutch you need.  It also has perfect traffic manners, the only negative is a heavier pedal which is inevitable, but if you have strong legs you might not even notice it 

Stay away from Single mass conversions unless you don't mind a lot of transmission chatter.  As it's a play time fun car only, this may not bother you, but for a daily car, single mass is a big no no and it's not kind to either the transmission or the crank.

[brian_badonde]

Thanks for the advice, I'll price up a helix and an OEM dmf. To be honest though, the state of the underbody of the car is horrific (on the Trump end of the orange spectrum, check out the before/after below on a recent job) so I think it's only got a couple of years left before it ends up on a scrapheap...it's about 10 times worse than yours on your other thread! So I'm loathe to spend a bomb on it as that's money that could be going towards a Cayman S or something.

Thanks for the tip on the rear main seal, I've heard of those going pop quite regularly but I've been very lucky with my engine having next to no leakage in the time I've owned it. If I get the job done I'll definitely replace it whilst I'm in there.

I take it you replaced the clutch yourself? Looks really good on there. Is it a ballache of a job? I've done the timing chain and restored the whole front axle before so I'm not afraid of getting stuck in but clutch/flywheel seems quite intimidating haha.

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