Audi clutches and their fault
03-01-2011, 11:13 AM
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Audi clutches and their fault
So after realizing that the S4 clutch is garbage compared to the old Getrag 6 speeds and the clutches Jap manufacturers are using on the 350Zs and such I wanted to figure out why... Not just because I had pedal clicking when clutch is hot or creaking and they changed everything out only to have jerky shifting than needed a new clutch. I drove a couple of the b8s and realized these cars do hesitate on the tach but not on the butt dyno. Try to do the slipping clutch test... do about 40-45 put the car in 6th gear and floor it (after clutch is up and gear is engaged already) watch the tach it hops up a lil (very lil) and drops down but the power is there from the second you hit the gas (unlike a slipping clutch which lags). I dont know why this built in hesitation is there but its definetly there on multiple S4s I have driven recently. 1st-2nd gear shifts are not as comfortable as I have seen in other cars either. I dont hate the car at all or by any means because of this but truth is that it makes me feel that companies are trying to phase out the manual trans by building them out of lesser quality materials. Also there was the case of the guy on here or on AZ that found the flywheel to be out of spec on 2 clutches from Audi even a brand new one... Thats not cool for a 45k+car. I have only driven manuals my whole life and tracked cars driven everything from stock manuals to stage 3 racing clutches with a grab that can snap a neck. This manual is by far the bottom of the bucket. Just IMO. Im not a troll or in any means hating my car just the clutch manufacturer was a terrible choice. Maybe for cost cutting lol.
03-01-2011, 06:02 PM
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While I agree about the flywheel spec problems being a real problem for our friend in AZ, I think you might be a bit offbase here...
Not that I'm a car reviewer and have driving experience on hundreds of different manual vehicles (but I've driven 10-20 certainly), but the S4 clutch is NOT the worst I've driven. In fact, speaking of "Jap" ones, the Infiniti G35/G37 clutch was much worse last time I drove it (couple years ago). Now I don't have much racing experience here, so I'd defer to you and the many other experienced racers here on the board, but for everyday driving, I find Audi clutches great in general, and would only say Honda and BMW do it better, as far as mass market vehicles.
Not that I'm a car reviewer and have driving experience on hundreds of different manual vehicles (but I've driven 10-20 certainly), but the S4 clutch is NOT the worst I've driven. In fact, speaking of "Jap" ones, the Infiniti G35/G37 clutch was much worse last time I drove it (couple years ago). Now I don't have much racing experience here, so I'd defer to you and the many other experienced racers here on the board, but for everyday driving, I find Audi clutches great in general, and would only say Honda and BMW do it better, as far as mass market vehicles.
03-01-2011, 06:18 PM
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I guess I would have to disagree also. I've owned at least 11 manuals (including a couple of Corvettes including a Z06) and driven a few more and think the S4 is actually quite good.
03-01-2011, 06:28 PM
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I think that the real thing that going cause phase out of manuals is meeting Cafe standards. They need more gears (who wants to shift a 7 or 8 speed tranny) and hybrid combos that are carefully controlled by computers to get the gas mileage up.
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03-01-2011, 06:34 PM
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But then again, I do find myself in neutral when coasting to a red light, and that should use less gas...
03-01-2011, 06:50 PM
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to the guy who said the DSG does it too..thats wacky lol
and i always liked the s2k clutch.
it just might be that clutches accompanied with AWD vehicles act different than ones attached to fwd or rwd drivetrains. All my other manual cars have been RWD and one FWD and they didnt feel like this one. This clutch just feels brittle like if you shift hard 1st to second it jerks bad (did this in dealer demo not to mess my own car up lol). Also once the trans gets hot clutch always feels different 9which i heard can be fixed by greasing with white lithium grease cause the grease used on the linkages is no good when hot) meh i still like this car a lot its awesome i just wanted to vent
03-01-2011, 07:16 PM
#10
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Putting it in neutral actually uses more gas than just leaving it in gear, assuming that you are in a higher gear. Just take your foot of the gas and let it coast and you will use no gas. Check it out by using the instant fuel economy gauge.