Last week, I gave a long-term review of my outgoing clutch, an RSR clutch kit from HS Tuning. I enjoyed having the RSR clutch on my car and it lasted for over 165,000 miles. However, I needed a stronger clutch to hold the additional power and torque from my IS38 upgrade. HS Tuning has a solution with their RSR Hybrid clutch kit; but it doesn’t solve anything that my first choice of clutch doesn’t. Enter the tried and true Stage 2 Endurance by South Bend Clutch (SBC). Why choose this over the RSR Hybrid? Three factors drove my decision: Reputation, drive-ability, and a benefit of having an authorized distributor install the clutch. If that sounds a bit strange, I’ll explain…
SBC’s reputation is among the best in the automotive world. SBC makes clutches for the vast majority of cars and light trucks that have manual transmissions. My own experience was with a Stage 2 clutch in my ’98 Jetta TDI. My TDI output ~300 lb-ft and was my everything car, including commuting, travel, towing, and autocross duty. The clutch had over 200,000 trouble-free miles on it when I sold the 445,000-mile car! South Bend Clutches come in various strengths, called “stages.” I chose their Stage 2 Endurance clutch kit, which is advertised to hold 465 lb-ft. That’s a good margin above my IS38’s 370 lb-ft. The kit comes with a throw-out bearing, new fasteners, and a single-mass flywheel. I’m done chasing power mods; so, this kit is all I need and may even be the last clutch I’ll ever need.
The RSR clutch engaged closer to the floor than stock. It took a couple weeks for me to adjust to that. By way of comparison, I’d slip the clutch a bit in my wife’s stock 2018 Jetta since I was no longer accustomed to the higher engagement point of the factory clutch. The SBC engages a bit higher than RSR, which puts it very close to the stock engagement. The SBC is also the same feel as the RSR; so, I didn’t need to adjust my clutch efforts. I think anyone choosing Stage 2 Endurance as their first new clutch would adapt to its driving features very quickly! My installer said there’s no chatter. I suspect he’s used to heavier clutches or lighter flywheels. I can certainly hear some chatter, but it’s very light. Oddly enough, it sounds a tad like VW’s common rail diesel.
My third attraction to the SBC was knowing that my preferred mechanic, Euro Pros of Yorktown, VA, is an authorized SBC distributor. Why does that matter? It probably doesn’t to anyone who does all of their own maintenance. However, I’ve never been one to tackle “heavy” jobs like a clutch since I lack appropriate tools and prefer to minimize my daily driver’s downtime. So, I’ve always let a pro or worthy home mechanic do that sort of job for me. As you can see from this screenshot, SBC does not honor their warranty unless their kit is purchased through one of their distributors. They ask for the shop’s info when you register the clutch kit’s for its warranty.
Coincidentally, Euro Pros ran into a problem while installing a Stage 3 clutch kit on my daughter’s Mk7 Golf. Her new flywheel was out of balance. It’s rare, but it happens. Since Euro Pros had procured the parts, then they were on the hook to make everything right. As a distributor, they made all contact with SBC, arranged an overnight replacement, and had us on the road the next day. Had I purchased the kit online to save money, then *I* would have been responsible for negotiating with my vendor, likely without overnight shipping, AND paying Euro Pros to remove install the replacement kit. This rare benefit sold me on shop-provided parts! Sometimes, it’s worthwhile to spend a little extra to have the shop do the whole job, especially if your car is a daily driver and needs to be on the road quickly!
The break-in period for clutches is 500-1000 miles, preferably in city traffic. Highway travel makes little use of the clutch; so, I found benefit in driving on more surface streets. Not only was it better for the break-in, it also gave me more time to get adjusted to the new pedal feel. Now that over 1000 miles have passed, I can hardly tell the difference between this clutch and the one I removed. I can hear the light chatter when I first start the car in the morning. Again, it’s not a big deal at all! I’ve even resumed my frequent trailer towing. This photo shows my trailer-mounted antenna tower experiment. See my ham radio page if you’d like to learn more about this project.
I can’t think of any other features or details about this clutch that I may have forgotten. Can you? Please feel free to ask questions if you have them.
More Grip!
Scott
Hi Scott,
I’ve been following your website and youtube channel for a few years and have really enjoyed hearing your approach to added performance. I feel we’re quite like minded(and possibly the similar age) in our approach to additional performance but still want the great driveability and good manners that the stock GTI originally offered. I have a 2017 GTI that has upgraded power and is in need of a new clutch(currently running the stock clutch). I’ve narrowed my choices down to the Southbend Stage 2 Endurance and the RSR Hybrid, in that order. My biggest concern about the Southbend clutch(which is why I’m writing you) is the noise it produces. According to your review, it is very minimal and not a problem to live with. I’ve read reviews from many other users and the opinions vary from being a non-issue to downright irritating. For many reasons my first choice is the Southbend, but if the noise is obnoxiously noticeable then my wife is NOT going to be okay with it. Now that you’ve been living with the Southbend clutch for awhile, what advise do you have for me.
Thank you,
Jon
Thanks for writing, Jon! And thanks for the long-time viewership! If you’ve seen my SBC video, then you might have heard (or not) the very subtle “diesel” sound at lower RPMs. It’s VERY difficult to hear on camera, but the human ear can certainly perceive it. If your wife is as discerning as mine about what she doesn’t or doesn’t like, then she’ll either notice and accept it or just hate it every day. There’s not much I can do to help predict that. Fortunately, my wife tolerates a little noise at low speeds, accepts that *my* car will have its nuances, and she’s probably thankful to have a car of her own. 😉 With that said, the fact that HS Tuning admits that there is “very low” chatter indicates to me that something WILL be heard somewhere. It can be a very expensive “Catch 22,” choosing between RSR and SBC.
You didn’t mention your level of tune. Unless you’re on a high-torque Stage 2 file of some sort, the regular RSR clutch may be sufficient for you. If you go that route, then there will be no noise at all… the engine will sound like a sewing machine. What do you think? Tell me about your mods and tuning. Take Care!
Scott,
Thank you very much for your detailed response. I agree, trying to quantify the annoyance of something as subjective as clutch chatter is very difficult. I spoke with my installer and in his opinion the chatter of the Southbend Stage 2 Endurance is less than the sound of a VW common rail diesel. We had a 2012 Golf TDI and I and my wife were always amazed how quiet it was for a diesel so that gives me confidence in going with Southbend.
The car currently has an APR Stage 1 high torque tune and if I stayed with that then both of these clutches are overkill. I’m happy with this tune and will live with it until the IS20 turbo fails. At that point I likely will go with the IS38 or APR’s DTR6054 turbo. Therefore, I only want to go through one clutch change since it is quite a pricey labor charge.
Thanks again for your feedback.
Jon