Clutch Life

[MikeFish]

Has anyone experienced a proper clutch failure on one of these cars? I'm talking about the clutch slipping ie foot down in 5th at 30mph and revs rising but not going any faster?
This is what in used to when talking about worn clutches but it seems the majority here have been changed due to the pedal sticking down rather than a proper failure of the clutch. Stu mentioned above about a bit of slipping and I think that's the first time I've heard it mentioned on an RS4.

[S4Player]

I completely destroyed a Sachs clutch. Crumbled into pieces lol

[nij]

My original clutch was fried, that's why the flywheel was replaced as well. Didn't try the high gear foot down test as I was having trouble engaging gears, so I took it easy on my way to the dealer.

[stu]

Has anyone experienced a proper clutch failure on one of these cars? I'm talking about the clutch slipping ie foot down in 5th at 30mph and revs rising but not going any faster?
This is what in used to when talking about worn clutches but it seems the majority here have been changed due to the pedal sticking down rather than a proper failure of the clutch. Stu mentioned above about a bit of slipping and I think that's the first time I've heard it mentioned on an RS4.

With that faulty clutch, I couldn't get the thought out of my head that the car was feeling flat losing power around the 5-7k rev range. Audi had installed it. I thought the power problem was vacuum but Revolution sorted all that out for me (I did have a few solenoid issues). It was much improved still didnt feel right when used the way the car should be (ie not fannying around in traffic). I tried the high gear acceleration trick to see if I could see the rev counter wobble but nothing.

When the clutch actually failed it was same as Nij's: within about 100 miles it went from difficult 1st and second to the point where I couldn't change gear unless the engine was turned off.

[RossDagley]

RE slip, mine slips on anything close to a "launch" - just pulling away from a roundabout aggressively is sometimes enough. If I try an actual launch, I get the pedal stick issue too. Then the stench of clutch for about an hour

[toyneg]

RE slip, mine slips on anything close to a "launch" - just pulling away from a roundabout aggressively is sometimes enough. If I try an actual launch, I get the pedal stick issue too. Then the stench of clutch for about an hour

time for a new one I think Ross it has done well though eh?!

[RossDagley]

RE slip, mine slips on anything close to a "launch" - just pulling away from a roundabout aggressively is sometimes enough. If I try an actual launch, I get the pedal stick issue too. Then the stench of clutch for about an hour

time for a new one I think Ross it has done well though eh?!

Yeah - it certainly has done well. Been half way to the moon (literally!).

I do want to take it to MRC soon for replacement but don't know if the stock clutch is enough for me - I'd love some input on this if anyone has some experience?

[irishmike]

Mine did about 60k, got sticky pedalitis and got progressively worse to the point I couldn't select gears at all.
Bit of slippage when flooring it.

New clutch in 5k now and all good

[Iain_S4]

I sold mine at 123K, still with the original clutch although I had the feeling that a replacement was not far off.

[Gavla]

Mine failed entirely at around 31K after 4-5 months of the pedal being sticky and just living with it. I could not select any gears - luckily it was when I was just driving out the Garage. Had a new LOBA Stage 1 fitted.

[NJMAudiRS4]

Still original at 75K, occasional sticky pedal when giving it some beans but no slippage. Can pull along in 6th at 30mph without any problems.

[R1RS4]

Mine failed entirely at around 31K after 4-5 months of the pedal being sticky and just living with it. I could not select any gears - luckily it was when I was just driving out the Garage. Had a new LOBA Stage 1 fitted.

What's the Loba stage 1 like to live with and how miles have you done with it?

cheeRS

[MikeFish]

That's interesting then, the most common failure mode is the inability to select gears rather than slippage. I don't know much about clutch construction but would have thought a powerful car would suffer from the slippage issue but I guess whatever makes a clutch fail with slippage must be well engineered in the RS4 and the part of the clutch that when fails stops you sleceting gears is the weaker point.

[lengster1]

45k when it would not select gear at high rpm,friction plate had split,suffered occasional sticking down issue aswell.

[Gavla]

Mine failed entirely at around 31K after 4-5 months of the pedal being sticky and just living with it. I could not select any gears - luckily it was when I was just driving out the Garage. Had a new LOBA Stage 1 fitted.

What's the Loba stage 1 like to live with and how miles have you done with it?

cheeRS

It's different at first, stiffer, sharper biting point, although sometimes chatter if you like picking a high gear at low revs (although negligible now as its bed in). I've changed my driving style to suit - a bit like when you first upgrade the exhaust to a non-res and have to drive around that drone at 1,800 - 2000 RPM, you adapt and before long you forget how it was...

I personally like it, I've done around 6K miles so far so it's bed in well and is still is a sharp as when it was fitted.