Soo stumped on which stage 2 clutch to go with for my MK6R, looking for insight

[GETCARTER]

Hey everyone! First time poster here.

I have a 2012 Golf R Rising Blue that I have owned for a year-ish and wish to put a better clutch in it for my stage 2 Light. I have been reading all sorts of different forums and posts over the last few days and just feel like I have come to a road block with a decision.

I have been looking at:
-DKM stage 2 Kit
-South Bend Stage 2 daily

I than come across posts that talk about skipping stage 2 with DKM and go with the twin disk stage 3 setup, posts about going with HS Tuning RSR clutch over the south bend (RSR I can not find a place in Canada to buy) and than only a few mention BFI.

At this time I am going with a stage 2 light / cts turbo downpipe and do not *need* a 600hp holding clutch like the DKM stage3 but.. it never hurts to have it for who knows which path I go down the road. I suppose I am looking for personal input from multiple people on why they went with the clutch they, hoping to lean me towards one over the other. The DKM Stage 3 looks and sounds great but how hard is that pedal after break in?


Thanks everyone

 

[vdubnick]

DKM, especially for the money... heard too many re-dos with SB for me to want to use it in a DD

pedal is definetly stiff, even after break in, but you get used to it. also, change the bleed valve, or do the free mod, removing the restrictor. makes a night/day difference, especially with a stiffer PP.

 

[GETCARTER]

DKM, especially for the money... heard too many re-dos with SB for me to want to use it in a DD

pedal is definetly stiff, even after break in, but you get used to it. also, change the bleed valve, or do the free mod, removing the restrictor. makes a night/day difference, especially with a stiffer PP.

Thank you for the reply.

Would you suggest the Stage 2 over the Stage 3 twin disc. They are pretty expensive in difference.

 

[vdubnick]

stage 2 is plenty unless you are going beyond k04

 

[R^2]

I went right to the stage 3 DKM twin disk. Stage 2 high torque and wanted to have the head room to add more power / Turbo upgrade.

 

[Joe_Mama]

Im still on the stock clutch. Stage 2 tune. Come at me

 

[vdubnick]

Im still on the stock clutch. Stage 2 tune. Come at me

I couldnt make it past stage 1, 3rd gear slip at 3.5k

 

[Joe_Mama]

My original clutch was defective and the pressure plate broke at 30k miles so I got an entire new clutch assembly from the dealer gratis. I'm almost at 90k miles now but I didn't get stage 1 tune until 45-50k and stage 2 at maybe 75k? so I've probably only got about 30k miles stg1 and 15k miles stg2.

It most certainly slips on hard launches

Definitely on borrowed time.

 

[Allchokedup]

I have SB daily and 40k miles in on ko4. No issues here

 

[KollinWithaK]

You're going to hear lots of different answers from everyone. I know people who have had tons of issues with DKM and throw out bearings (Mk7 crowd) personally. I have a Stage 2 2012 Golf R, and I'm running the Southbend stage 2 endurance clutch. It will hold both power and torque for all bolt-on mods that you can do up to a bigger turbo and is what I find to be the best bang for the buck. Pedal feel is almost stock.

I find DKM stage 3 (on a mk7 anyways) to be far too aggressive and it really requires you to put some effort into pushing the pedal down to shift. Not a fan personally. Plus you are overpaying for torque ratings that you'll never come close to hitting if you don't plan on going passed stage 2.

As I said, you'll hear lots of different answers from everyone.

 

[vdubnick]

no matter what you go with, bench bleed the slave cylinder!!!! I got the DKM kit from ECS, and the LUK slave cylinder was bad out of the box. Had a leak, and i would have been super pissed if i just installed it to pull it back out. Luckily I bled it on the bench and saw the leak before I installed it. ECS overnighted me a new one for free.

 

[Thumper]

You're going to hear lots of different answers from everyone. I know people who have had tons of issues with DKM and throw out bearings (Mk7 crowd) personally. I have a Stage 2 2012 Golf R, and I'm running the Southbend stage 2 endurance clutch. It will hold both power and torque for all bolt-on mods that you can do up to a bigger turbo and is what I find to be the best bang for the buck. Pedal feel is almost stock.

Agreed, there are and will be tons of opinions. I know that doesn't make it easy but glean the facts from those that have different options and decided which makes the most sense for your needs.

I have the SB 3 Endurance on my R, pedal feel is soft as butter, of course when I was younger I drove a 69 Camaro with mechanical linkage and a Stg3 Centerforce and found it to be a little stiff. lol

Clutches are pricey and install is a big job so it is definitely a part I recommend approaching with a one and done attitude. If you know you will be happy at Stg2 and never want more then fine, but if you think there's a decent chance you'll want to go with more power might as well just get the clutch you'll need down the road and have piece of mind.

 

[KollinWithaK]

Clutches are pricey and install is a big job so it is definitely a part I recommend approaching with a one and done attitude. If you know you will be happy at Stg2 and never want more then fine, but if you think there's a decent chance you'll want to go with more power might as well just get the clutch you'll need down the road and have piece of mind.

100% agreed with what Thumper stated above. The last thing you want to do is drop a clutch in a year only to upgrade again because you decided to go aftermarket turbo for more power or something like that.

 

[Rolling_GTI]

Try Ringer Racing. Uses Sachs pressure plate, feels very stock and I'm on over 120,000 miles on my current one at k04 levels. They last. My first was replaced at 90,000 miles due to the throw out bearing failing, clutch still had half life left.

 

[Joe_Mama]

Try Ringer Racing. Uses Sachs pressure plate, feels very stock and I'm on over 120,000 miles on my current one at k04 levels. They last. My first was replaced at 90,000 miles due to the throw out bearing failing, clutch still had half life left.

Nice. Always good to have more options.