Seth,

Are you sure you have the correct vendor? We don't sell anything like that.

We do however move a lot of the Sachs Racing clutch kits for the later model Porsche TT variants.

Let me know if you need info on that.

-Mike

 

Seth,
I think AWD Motorsports in Florida is the vendor you were thinking about in reference to the stainless clutch line. I just posted the GT2 Slave Cylinder conversion which may not be the best route, however be careful comparing a 996 with a 997. Also, I don't see the braided line doing much to change the feel of the clutch since the hydraulic assist which makes for the soft mushy (binary) feeling you spoke about comes from two separate lines off the rear hydraulic pump and reservoir. That fluid never passes through this braided line. Not to mention, the pressure from the master cylinder is very low and not nearly the same ratings as in brake lines which I think most folks are associating the same upgrade. Not to knock Mike's products and this is purely speculation since I never mounted a different line and swapped directly to the GT2. Remember, that your pressure plate has a lot to do with the stiffness as well since that is what your slave is actuating so if you swap, but kept a stock pressure plate/clutch plate setup then it may not be what you experienced on the 996 GT3. Just my 2 cents.

 

Yep, AWD, not AWE. Sorry about that. Thanks for the clarification and the thoughts.

 

Corrected, sorry about that.

 

AWE's Sach's 2.5 clutch rocks - it is very similar to stock re pressure. I love the light flywheel that came with it - really noticeable change. Does it make noise - yes and the longer you have it the more noise it makes. However, the improvement makes the noise (idling with clutch not engaged) well worth it. You can always tell a "car guy" when they come up and notice you have a racing clutch because of the bag of bolts noise.
K

 

I have been driving Porsches as my daily driver since 1991 when I purchased a ’88 944S. I have had several daily driver Porsches since that time, after the 944, they were all 911s. I am very familiar with the product, how to drive and maintain it, and I have a long history of service on all of my vehicles from Porsche direct only.

I had one issue with my 2001 996 Cabriolet when I undertook replacement of the clutch; a minor rear main seal leak only. I purchased my car from Porsche as a lease return from a Porsche employee with 50,000 km on it. My car had more than 160,000 km on the original clutch, and it was operating flawlessly when I undertook this upgrade. I elected to upgrade my clutch and flywheel as I wanted the minor leak rectified, and I attempting to be proactive to save myself future labour to disassemble the same portion of the drivetrain to replace the clutch in the future and to increase my car’s performance. My dealer is a Premier Porsche dealer, the Sachs clutch and lightweight flywheel were supplied by AWE Tuning.

The work was completed in the spring of this year, and the car returned to me. Very soon after its return, it became clear that the clutch was not operating properly, and within approximately 2000 km the clutch began to slip and fail. The car was returned to Porsche, who disassembled the clutch to diagnose an repair.

At that time, AWE refused to replace the part without inspection. I waited with my vehicle disassembled for more than 2 months for the parts to be sent away, inspected, tested etc. The Porsche dealer's ability to install the part correctly was brought into question by AWE (I find it extremely unlikely that a dealership of this calibre and reputation could install a clutch incorrectly), my driving style and ability was questioned (clearly, with 160,000 km+ on the original clutch and very little wear it was not my driving style), so by the process of elimination, I do not see how the issue can by anything other than a defective part and/or supply of the incorrect parts. After all of this, it was discovered that AWE had indeed supplied incorrect parts for my vehicle. In the end, the part was replaced and reinstalled.

The problem did appear to be solved, and the clutch did operate properly for several months; then the same symptoms reappeared, and the clutch began to slip again with less than 4000 additional km. That is a total of approximately 6000 km to burn-out two brand new clutches. I don’t that believe that the worst driver could be responsible for that level of wear, so once again it’s not the driver. If it is extremely unlikely that a Premier Porsche dealer installed a clutch incorrectly once, then it is practically impossible that they did so twice, so it’s not the installer.

I returned the car once again. Inspection of the parts shows unusual wear and heat damage. The flywheel is scored and worn as well. I am not a mechanic, but clearly there was something wrong with these parts individually, in combination or with some part that is incorporated in their installation.

I told my service advisor that I did not want to go through the same nightmare again (the dealer was amazing and extremely helpful throughout the entire matter). I instructed him to replace the Sachs clutch with a factory part and to get a refund on the Sachs clutch as it clearly never operated properly. Once again, I was buying a new factory replacement clutch when I didn’t need one in the first place! In addition, the lightweight flywheel is damaged and of no use to me. Luckily, I kept the original flywheel to reinstall, but I had still paid for a flywheel that is either defective of incorrect and was now clearly damaged.

AWE Tuning refused to do anything further to mitigate my damages, simply saying that their parts dont fail.

I was without my vehicle on two separate occasions for extended periods of time, I was forced to purchase a new factory clutch when I didn’t require one, I purchased a flywheel that was unusable and I am out tens of thousands of dollars as a direct cause of my purchase of AWE Tuning supplied Sachs parts.

Its only one person's experience, but after more than 20 years of owning, servicing and modifying Porsches, buying Sachs parts from AWE Tuning was the worst experience I have had.

 

You resurrected a 2 year old thread to post the identical post about a vendor you made in another thread that had zero to do with your troubles.

Very mature and definitely the best way to do things.....

 

Commenting on a potential clutch purchase from AWE Tuning with my specific previous and recent experience of doing exactly that is precisely on point.

I often search for threads which discuss purchases or upgrades which I am considering undertaking, and I appreciate people sharing their experiences with me, good or bad, and regardless of their currency, to educate myself and to assist me in making those decisions. If someone had shared an experience like mine, I could have saved myself a great deal of money, time and inconvenience...isn't that EXACTLY what these forums are for?

By contrast, what exactly did your post add to the discussion?

 

Your issues have nothing to do with this post other than they mention AWE.

If you have such an issue, start your own thread.

 

Back on topic please