How Did My Southbend Stage 3 Endurance Clutch Fail? MK7 GTI - Clutch #4

What a notorious car for clutch failures. Buying a Southbend clutch was no exception…

[@tecvictv]

So you recommend just getting an oem TOB? I am planning on getting a southbend stage 3 daily on my GTI with is38 turbo. Or should I just get another brand clutch?

[@JacesOwnWorld]

Honestly, it’s tough to recommend a certain TOB because I’ve had kit TOB’s and OEM TOB’s fail. I would say just use whatever TOB that comes in the kit you buy. There are guys who run the SB STG3 Daily with no issues. I’ve heard that clutch has worked well for people. I had the SB STG3 Endurance version, and there have been others who had their TOB’s fail soon like mine did. I also think the longevity of the kit depends on the style of driving you do. If you drive your GTI a lot in stop and go traffic, I recommend getting the Sachs Performance w/DMF. It has lasted me the longest and tends to work best with the daily stop and go driving. It also has the lightest pedal feel and zero clutch chatter. Revs don’t rev as fast due to DMF, but it’s not a big deal. It also holds IS38 power just fine. If you drive your GTI mostly spirited driving with less stop and go driving, the SB STG 3 Daily clutch is a good way to go. I highly recommend buying from either FCP Euro or ECS Tuning, as they both have lifetime return warranties on their products. This way if your clutch does go bad, you buy another one and get refunded store credit for the purchase amount.

[@JKL8]

SB stage 3 slave cylinder failed leaking on my Golf R. Switching back to OEM.

[@JacesOwnWorld]

Dang man! I’m sorry to hear that! My slave also failed on my SB STG3! I had the Endurance version. Just crap man! Such a bad design by VW. This car would be amazing in manual form if this slave/TOB design was better. So far the MK6 all-metal version that came with my XClutch Stage 2 kit, is holding up perfectly. No issues. No leaks. I’ve put 6,700 miles in the clutch so far, 100% city driving. I talked with an XClutch rep, and they said they specifically designed the clutch around the MK6 all-metal slave/tob. So I’m hoping because they designed their clutch to be used with this specific slave/tob, that it will last longer. I haven’t heard of any other brands designing their kits around the slave/tob they provide. So, time will tell 🤞

[@JKL8]

@@JacesOwnWorld Exactly! Mine is Stage 3 Daily. Guess the SB kits now come with OEM Slave Cylinder. LOL...

[@bansonb1386]

I have had the same experience with SB. MK7 GTI Stage 2. OEM clutch was overwhelmed at Stage 1. SB clutch lasted for a little while, then begin to slip. SB replaced it under warranty. Now the second one is slipping badly (2 SB clutches and barely 30k miles). And they are pricey! Never again. I am ready to go back to OEM and remove the tune.

[@roymartinez25]

dam man that clutch looks bad bad real bad not worth the money at all, but hey everyone has different opinions and the amount of hot spots is incredible, lets not even talk about the TOB garbage, i think the new clutch with the OEM TOB is going to be amazing the main reason of the clutches failing is the TOB not the clutch it self is sad that all this companies get cheap TOB and charge way to much for the kit, like I told you I'm leaning towards the ecs stage 4 but still trying to look for info and feed back from it and 1000% getting a OEM TOB. great video keep them coming and lets get a review/update of the Xclutch later. take care.

[@JacesOwnWorld]

Yeah, definitely not worth the $$. Will do bro! Thanks for watching!

[@alexisgueits7684]

I have the Sachs clutch and I have been IS38 for the past 4 years and 2 days ago the throw out bearing went to heaven... Looking at the Southbend Stage 3 but damn $1,900. I will probably buy the same Sachs and get the FCP euro credit. But this time I will put the OEM throw out bearing.

[@JacesOwnWorld]

From my experience, the Southbend Stage 3 clutch is not worth the cost. It fails just the same as them all, but costs almost double. You should just stick with the Sachs Performance clutch and yeah, get the FCP credit. Running it for 4 years seems pretty legit. Did you not use the OEM TB/slave the first time?

[@alexisgueits7684]

@@JacesOwnWorld I used the one in the kit... Maybe that's the OEM 🤷🏽‍♂️ Let me check

[@JacesOwnWorld]

It probably is. I bought my Sachs Performance clutch kit from FCP Euro too. I researched quite a bit on what TOB/slave to use with it, and the one that came in the kit is the one that was recommended to use. I pre-bled mine before installing it. It feels really good. Others using the Sachs Performance clutch kit said it was stiff at first and then lightened up like 20-30% stiffer than OEM. Those guys have never used a SMF kit before, so when they said it was stiff, I laughed because this kit is so soft compared to the DKM, SB, and XClutch kits I’ve used. Those are so much heavier and a lot more difficult to modulate in traffic all day. Still not bad, but compared to the Sachs Performance kit, those are a lot stiffer. I’m really liking the softness OEM feel of the Sachs Performance kit, and I’m glad it’s able to handle IS38 power easily.

[@FeefTheSloth]

ngl a veloster sounds better than this. super unlukcy, i agree with what you said though. it really takes a toll mentally and phyiscially but i wish the best for you.

[@JacesOwnWorld]

Thanks man. Yeah, those Veloster AB’s are sweet, but a little on the “cheap feel”, “boy racer” and small side (I’m 6’4” and don’t fit in those very well) for my liking. I wouldn’t mind owning one, but not sure how reliable they are when modified extensively and driven every day.

[@xxhypedupxx8336]

I'm still on stock clutch.😅 Trying to teach others in my family how to drive stick before I swap em. Lol

[@xxhypedupxx8336]

Also waiting on review on that beautiful new clutch.

[@JacesOwnWorld]

Haha. Yeah, it’s best that those learning to drive manual learn on easy, light clutches. Heavy clutches are a no-no! I made that mistake teaching one of my nephews on my GTI when I had the DKM Stage 2 kit in it (pretty heavy clutch), and he absolutely roasted my clutch. Stalled it probably 10 times. Clutch failed about 6 months later 😫. Will do man! I’m over 200 miles break-in on it right now. About to upload a break-in review tonight. Thanks for watching! Stay tuned.

[@xxhypedupxx8336]

@Jace’s Own World oh no.... I'm not ready for the stalls. My hearts already crying haha.

[@JacesOwnWorld]

Haha

[@bryanhallman8183]

Have you tried a Spec? They're pretty popular with owners of other marques (Honda, Ford; etc.)

[@JacesOwnWorld]

No, I haven’t . But if it still uses the OEM TOB/slave, that part will still be prone to failing on a clutch that uses a much stiffer pressure plate. The pressure plate, disk, and flywheels aren’t really the issue with this car. It’s the lame designed tob/slave by VW.

[@johnw.9572]

Every manufacturer has a faulty part once in a while doesn't mean that they are all like that

[@JacesOwnWorld]

I know but that shouldn’t disclose me from being able to let people know my experience. This part didn’t fail immediately. It failed after several thousands of miles. That doesn’t deem the part “faulty”. That deems the part “poorly made and designed”.

[@charlypr88]

Get a sachs tob and bleeder/delay valve... Also you could resurface the flywheel my guy and save lots of money. I kept my dkm fw and ordered just the pressure plate and clutch for 400 bucks

[@richsgarage5897]

How much horsepower/torque have you been running when burning through these clutches? I’m considering going stage 1 on my MK8 GTI but I don’t want to have to swap the clutch more then once.

[@JacesOwnWorld]

I’ve never dyno’d, but with the IS38, it’s probably around 350whp/410tq. But I haven’t been going through clutches because of my power. Three of them have had their tob/slave cylinders fail on me, which seems to be a common issue. When they fail, your clutch pedal sticks or goes fully to the floor, and brake oil starts leaking inside the bell housing, which contaminates the clutch, and then you need an entirely new clutch. So mainly, it’s a really bad design from VW. Super annoying. If you go Stage 1, you’re def going to need to upgrade you clutch sooner than later.

[@JacesOwnWorld]

@RosewellTech Sounds like you got two really fun cars in your lineup 🤙. That’s some good mileage you got out of your stock clutches so far. When I had my stock clutch on my MK7 GTI, I was pushing stage 2 power for almost 40k miles. Well, one day I took my car to Discount Tire to get new tires. My car was backed in and parked on a slight downhill in their parking lot. One of the Discount Tire employees came out to get my car to bring into the bay to put my new tires on. I was watching him and he literally stalled my car 5 times in a row and the 6th time burnt the hell out of my clutch. I was pissed. Well guess what? My clutch started slipping two weeks later. I honestly think my OEM clutch would have lasted another 10-20k miles if it wasn’t for that moron. I wonder if the OEM clutch in the MK8 GTI is stronger than the OEM clutch in the MK7/7.5 GTI. After all the clutch issues I’ve had, earlier this year I decided to go back to a DMF setup, and I bought the Sachs Performance clutch kit. Sachs is the OEM clutch manufacturer on our cars, so I knew the quality would be better. Been running it for about 6 months now and it’s been flawless. Holds 400ft/lb of torque, but others say it holds more because they use it on their hybrid turbo setups with zero issues. I really like it and I don’t miss a SMF setup like I’ve had several times before. A suspension upgrade really is beneficial for these cars. Makes them wake up, especially upgrading the rear sway bar. The car corners so well with it and turn-in is amazing. My future plan for this car might include an engine rebuild, hybrid turbo, ethanol, gutted interior, and a Wavetrack LSD. This car would be an absolute weapon with those things done.