a4kouhi

Searching around it seems a lot of you guys are going with the South bend stage 3 or 4. I have an APR stage 3 car and needing to replace my Spec stage 3 clutch. I didn't like this clutch at all. I am looking for something a lot smother. I only do spirited driving, no hard launches. I was thinking of going with South Bend but don't know which stage to go with. I was thinking of getting maybe a stage 2. My main goal is to keep it smooth with no chattering. Would I be able to get that with a stage 3 or 4? I am planning on keeping the flywheel stock since I have read that it will help in keeping the shifting smother. Any help will be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

@wesome

no chatter with Southbend stage 4 + oem flywheel. I also have a 3+ apr car

Kingttr

My stage 3 always seemed like it engaged pretty much like stock. In retrospect, and having been driving other Audis w/ stock clutches, it is a good amount stiffer, and a good amount less smooth. Completely tolerable though for me for 4+ years, good enough that I opted to go with the same stage 3 clutch on 2 cars in a row.

Silver Streakin'

Southbend stage 4. I get chatter, but I have a UR lwfw

Ertman

no problems shifting

a4kouhi

Would you say it is still smooth? Specially starting off in 1st gear?

Ray Khan

miles ahead of the 6 puck SPEC I had before it. a little chatter, but still plenty smooth in my book. Go with the OEM FW if you really want it to be smooth.

Chard

my clutch is on it's last leg...I am worried if it'll even last the next week as it's tough to even feel if the gear is engaged or slipping.

I'm APR stage 3 as well so I've looked into what I think are our only options: Southbend, Spec, and ECS. Right off the bat, I'm throwing the ECS idea out because they seem overpriced. That leaves Southbend and Spec.

The Southbend is $949 w/ Aluminum flywheel from AWE ($919 according to Southbend's website which explains the sucker) for the Stage 3 OFE. I would be worried about getting that one because it seems like it's on the top end as far as the power it can handle vs. the power the stage 3 puts out.

A stage 4 kit w/ Al flywheel is $1054 (using Southbend's numbers since AWE doesn't go higher than 3 on their site). This will handle 450 ftlbs torque.

The Spec clutch is $1088 for the Stage 3+ clutch and billet flywheel. This is supposed to handle 550 ftlbs torque. If we downgrade to the Stage 3, it'll cost $938 and handle 450 ftlbs.

I'm just trying to organize the numbers, but my question now is, why are people going with the Southbend? Are there comparisons between the Southbend and the Spec clutches? Seems like a Spec Stage 3 with a billet flywheel is the way to go as far as the numbers are concerned.

Ertman

you might learn why we don't like SPEC