Okay - so I now have 25,000 miles on this clutch kit, with zero issues. Grabs strong, and with my bleeder block and clutch pedal spring removal the engagement point is clear and feels like it should. I don't remember what the old clutch felt like anymore, but I have been in stop/go traffic hundreds of times with this clutch kit and I think the extra grabbiness/stiffness of the pedal is the only minor downside to this kit. It's not unmanageable though!
I did some extensive research and found the Sachs stage 2 SMF kit. SMFs handle the higher RPM shifts better and holds up to 530nm. You will notice that although the pedal is stiffer, you have more feel. The lighter flywheel makes the engine rev quicker and becomes far more responsive. Of course, you are dropping a significant amount of rotating mass, so your car will accelerate slightly quicker. Yes, it is a little more expensive, and it does sound a little diesely at idle, but if you actually drive the car, it isn't even a question in my mind. I have had mine for around 30k miles, and it still grabs HARD with a stage 1+ APR tune. I ordered mine straight from Germany.
Pros:handles high RPM shifts, holds high torque, more feel, quicker revs, responsive, accelerates quicker
Cons:stiffer pedal, diesely sound at idle, more expensive
I went with the Sachs SRE Clutch kit with Sachs DMF. The clutch kit is claimed to hold 400ft/lbs of tq. It added a little stiffness over the stock clutch which is exactly what I wanted and it holds stage 2 power very well. The shifts are smooth like the stock clutch and there is no added noise with the DMF.
Pros:holds high torque, smooth shifts, no added noise
So after a year of having the tune, the stock clutch started giving me problems. I decided to bite the bullet and buy the Sachs SRE clutch kit for the MK7 GTI. I just got the car back today and drove it around for an hour or so after picking it up. FIRST IMPRESSIONS FEEL - Wow, the clutch pedal is like an on/off switch right now. It was SUPER stiff and springy when I first started driving it, but after driving for an hour it I am already executing perfect shifts again and the pedal has softened up a tiny tiny bit. Still a big change - and still going to make sitting in traffic a bit more cumbersome unless it softens up a bit more. PERFORMANCE - Still in the break-in period, so I haven't given it the full beans yet. But man oh man, if you want lightning fast shifts and perfect downshifts, this clutch is a willing dance partner. NOISE - Zero, zip, nada. No different than stock. If anything, my stock clutch was a little more chattery. VERY PLEASED AT THIS. VIBRATION - refer to "noise" Overall, I am very pleased so far. When I first got in the car I was a bit shocked at how fast/stiff the pedal action was - but after driving it for a while I found that I was shifting the car faster and cleaner than I did with the stock clutch.
I just had a clutch be replaced on my R53 even though it wasn't slipping - the pressure plate was bad and failing, along with the slave cylinder leaking, and I ended up just replacing the whole kit while they had it off the car. (Valeo kit for $500, then $1500 in labor.) I would be prepared to replace it soon. It's expensive but incredible peace of mind.
I put on the Valeo clutch kit, which comes with a single mass lightweight flywheel, performance-y clutch, and throwout bearing. I haven't broken it in fully yet (only got about 40 miles on it so far), and I wouldn't necessarily recommend it for daily driving unless you really want the driving experience. The first impression is that the clutch pedal is really light, like stepping on a marshmellow. Then, you feel the resistance toward the end of the pedal travel and it feels like stepping on a slightly denser marshmallow. I threw it in gear, engaged the clutch, and boom, stalled it. Tried again, and stalled again. The clutch pedal feels light, but it feels comparable to having tight brakes on the front wheel of a bicycle, meaning that you've gotta be really gentle on the release otherwise you either stall or lurch. When driving, rev matching becomes a lot more important because you're going to look like you've never driven a stick before; of course, you should always rev match (regardless of whether you're breaking in a new clutch or not), but instead of having to be without the 700-1000 rpm of the new gear, you've gotta be within the 100 rpm range to keep from jerking. The power does feel way more responsive, but perhaps too responsive; personally I enjoy a bit more challenge but I can see casual drivers not liking it. It feels a lot like driving an older car, particularly the way old torque-y trucks do when you come off the clutch. I like it, but it's something to get used to. Single mass flywheels do vibrate more, but in this case I could hardly feel it (no torque-y truck feeling here). There is a bit of a buzz on the shifter if you hold it around 3k/4k rpm, but it's very negligible (like, not even phone-buzz noticeable). The single mass wheel does seem to kick up the idle speed, and the car does rev to life with a bit more intensity than usual (I'm guessing the starter motor's just stronger than it needs to be to crank it), which is far from a bad thing; just an observation, really. Nothing to say about the throwout bearing. My old one squealed a bit, this one doesn't. Fixed the problem. I'm glad the kit comes with it, though.
Pros:light pedal, responsive power, no vibration
Cons:hard to drive, requires rev matching, too responsive
A solid flywheel conversion clutch kit is popular; I have heard good things about the Valeo solution but if you want the quiet , smooth operation you are used to.... Stick with the stock setup. A friend of ours put the Valeo kit; in his 1st generation Audi TT 1.8t 5 speed and he has been happy with it.. Valeo has designed all the parts to work together and the disk, has some dampening springs built into it, in attempt to replicate a dual mass flywheel.
On a well engineered kit like Sachs SRE, so far my experience is that it makes clutch engagement point a bit higher and makes disengagement feel more predictable.
I am APR stage 2 + and have had the sachs kit for about 6000 miles now. Never a problem and just as quiet as stock from day 1. A little more effort pushing the clutch in but no big deal.
I installed a 210mm clutch kit in my car and (I think) it doesn't work: I saw Black Forest Industries only sells the 210mm clutch for MkI's as an upgrade so I went on Rockauto and bought a Sachs 210mm clutch kit for an 84 1.8L Rabbit and a flywheel on Ebay
