Black diamond clutches any good?

Hi all, im building a fast road 1600 gti engine (EG code) with cam, forged pistons, twin carbs etc. And need a new clutch, the only clutches I can find are black diamond, have read mixed reviews about them on other cars but nothing on the mk1 golf's, has anyone actually ever used one with good power? I'm hoping for around 140-160 bhp so I think stage 1 would be fine, but black diamond only recommended stage 1 to 15-20% power increase. I read somewhere that the standard sachs clutch I'd capable of 200bhp, but I'm thinking that's unlikely
Any help at all would be greatly appreciated!

There's nothing wrong with the standard clutch (I say standard, I mean the OEM upgrade to a 16V clutch/flywheel etc with the appropriate friction disc for your gearbox) they can handle the power no problems. So there's no point spending further money on a black diamond item.

paul_c said

There's nothing wrong with the standard clutch (I say standard, I mean the OEM upgrade to a 16V clutch/flywheel etc with the appropriate friction disc for your gearbox) they can handle the power no problems. So there's no point spending further money on a black diamond item.

Cheers Paul for the reply, so do you mean upgrade to a larger friction disc with the appropriate flywheel and pressure plate? I could upgrade to the 1.8 gti clutch with flywheel and pressure plate but I'm not sure it would be cheaper than the upgraded 1.6 clutch

Yes. I can't remember the specific bits needed but there's plenty of info somewhere on this forum about it. I'm not sure of costs either but I can't imagine the black diamond would be massively cheaper?

just buy a std sdachs clutch kit, it'll be fine. if you cant find a 1.6 200mm one use a 1.8 8v 210mm and swap the flywheel to suit.

the sachs kits use the same pressure plate for both 8v and 16v kits. and i have one currently takign 149 torques and 166bhp in my mk2 abf no problem

My old Mk1 Golf GTI ran fine with a standard clutch, and achieved 14.15secs on the quarter mile. I also used a datalogger and there was no issues with clutch slip at the launch. I never had it dyno'd in its fastest state of tune (I did have it dyno'd once, then undertook a bunch of tweaks) but I estimate it was around 160-170bhp. Being a 16V, it will have had slightly less torque than an 8V though :-)

rubjonny said

just buy a std sdachs clutch kit, it'll be fine. if you cant find a 1.6 200mm one use a 1.8 8v 210mm and swap the flywheel to suit.

the sachs kits use the same pressure plate for both 8v and 16v kits. and i have one currently takign 149 torques and 166bhp in my mk2 abf no problem

paul_c said

My old Mk1 Golf GTI ran fine with a standard clutch, and achieved 14.15secs on the quarter mile. I also used a datalogger and there was no issues with clutch slip at the launch. I never had it dyno'd in its fastest state of tune (I did have it dyno'd once, then undertook a bunch of tweaks) but I estimate it was around 160-170bhp. Being a 16V, it will have had slightly less torque than an 8V though :-)

Thanks lads for the help! I just went and bought a standard 200mm sachs clutch kit, it was only 50 quid so if it slips I won't be too bothered about having to buy an upgrade as it's worth a shot! Cheers again, I'll try and remember to upload a video when it's eventually complete hahaha

nice one, be plenty for a 1.6 gti. generally the strongest part of the drivetrain is the clutch, the gearboxes are the weak point