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I have been hearing horror stories about burning the glutch easy and that it is even possible to destroy it with a single run. I wonder if there is an alternative glutch that would handle street+drag without the fear of burning it? Or is it all just exaggeration?

clutch? i think it is highly unlikely you will wreck it so soon unless you are doing 7000rpm starts then likely something else will go too.

Dealers give two warnings when you take delivery of the car.......... the first relates to taking it easy when the engine is cold.......... the second is the clutch..... "do not try 8000 rpm launches and make sure you take your foot off the clutch and place it on the foot rest when not using clutch" So obviously Audi are concerned...........B5 was the same though and mine has done 69,000 miles without change or problem.

simple1 wrote:Dealers give two warnings when you take delivery of the car.......... the first relates to taking it easy when the engine is cold.......... the second is the clutch..... "do not try 8000 rpm launches and make sure you take your foot off the clutch and place it on the foot rest when not using clutch" So obviously Audi are concerned...........B5 was the same though and mine has done 69,000 miles without change or problem.

If Audi are effectively warning about clutches being a potential problem then they are surely opening themselves up for warranty claims when clutches do give up the ghost.

I had an Impreza P1 a few years back and it was known the STI/P1 clutch had problems and i had two clutches fitted within 30000 miles free on warranty with no questions.

I wonder if a few 8000rpm side steps will see Audi be as warranty friendly as Subaru?

Subaru handles 7000+ rpm launches relatively well, although I have done 2 switches within 71000 km(good considering how many streetraces and drag competitions the car has seen). One switch being free of cost, the clutch ate through the flywheel because of a defect. As i will use the Audi in a similiar fashion, then it would be good to know, what I will be up against, rather then collecting the bits and pieces from the asphalt myself

When I had gearbox and clutch problems with my original B5, no questions were asked, the gearbox was a known issue, the clutch was blamed and replaced twice before the gearbox was diagnosed.... I would bet the data logging system in the b7 is a little further advanced than the B5, especially with two switches attached to the clutch pedal, they will look at the log before handling a claim..........great technology advance that one....

I have never had a clutch issue with any car unless I repeatedly launched the car/did not take care of the clutch properly. Basically, take the car out of gear and do not ride the clutch at traffic lights. Try and be gentle/progressive on release when a gear has been selected and do not launch from high rpm.

Standard clutches will only take so much and it is in the interest of the manufacturer to make them a relatively weak point in the transmission setup. If they equipped all sports cars with very high torque-rating clutches (e.g. twin plates), their gearbox warranty claims would go through the roof.

If one drives like an idiot and takes no care of the car/clutch or launches it all the time, why should audi (or any other manufacturer) pay for people's stupidity and carelessness. In this respect, I fully agree with data logging as it will settle the above warranty arguments easily. If one wants to drive in a clutch-unfriendly way...at least be man enough to pay for damage resulting from your driving style.

You must work for audi

Does the B7 RS4 clutch have a twin-plate setup? I read that in one magazine test, but that's the only time that I've seen it mentioned.

When I did the RS4 experience in November at Silverstone, we were warned right from the start to get the car rolling before booting the throttle. They said it was a "comfort" clutch and could have been made harder, but was like this for ease of operation.

The guy I shared a car with booted it from a standing start - the result was a hot burny smell, a lot of slipping, and a ticking off from the instructor.

On the subject of data logging - will we be allowed to see it for ourselves to ensure that the technicians are behaving themselves when our cars are in for service? We know they wouldnt take a car out for a sound thrashing - would they?

I am sure you can get a print of the log, I was standing in the workshop with tech when they were uploading the info and he went through it all, was releaved to see max revs had been 4400 when I had been attempting to keep it below 4000 for run in period.