The Mk8 GTI is wild man. I've had K04 and IS38 upgraded GTIs and the Mk8 was the first that I felt the DSG slipping from just a tune. Now we have the Mk8 Golf R and I still feel the tuned GTI hit the hardest for street riding, that torque wave hits so early, makes for an amazing daily driver.
the mk8 gti cannot compare to the tuning potential of the mk8R trust me. Until you've felt borderline 500hp crank on the mk8R on e85 stock turbo (my setup), you haven't felt anything yet.
Wow Mk8 potential is so much higher than what I'm used to, every VW generations gets better. Alex, Do you remember you tuned my big turbo mk6?. Well I sold it a few months ago and got a 7.5 R which I'll be molesting just like my old GTI. I'll be hitting you guys up soon and looking forward to working with you again. if you check out my videos you may recall the dyno video from years ago. ~ Franco
The MK7 GTI was leaps better than the MK6 power wise and it seems like the MK8 is leaps better than the MK7! IS38 levels of power without the unreliability of an IS38 turbo. I wonder how much an intercooler would help? It's also nice how on the MK8 you can leave the DP alone and don't have to worry about a check engine light due to swapping it out.
Yes that’s about right. The mk8 GTI jumped up to is38 power levels and the mk8r just to pmax stg1 power levels. This is why Garrett now offers the mk7 pmax for that mk8 GTI and a larger 63mm wheel pmax for the mk8 R. The intercooler is usually a 10hp bump but has the bigger benefit of sustaining the power level when driven hard for longer or in hot temps. The only downside is the weight on the nose.
Hmmmm, I don't think the MK8 has been out long enough to determine its reliability of its turbo's. Also, IS38's are pretty solid turbos. 130k miles on mine, custom tuned on meth, and zero issues with it. Its the IS20's that were more problematic.
@@tjprovo24 I've heard the exact opposite. I never hear of IS20 problems but I head so many stories of people who've has IS38's fail anywhere between 40-60k miles and some people say they've gone through two IS38s in rapid succession. It seems to be you either get a really good one or a bad one
It's okay if you stick to your manual, tune it, drive it hard and do preventative maintenance; give this car 10 years before I'd trade it if purchased new. By driving hard, you're taking this out 2x a week, running it for 20 minutes or more and keeping it above 3k RPM. Then, let it settle down, let the oil cool down, and enjoy your ride. This keeps carbon buildup to a minimum because most of these cars are purchased as commuter cars, rarely see 5k rpm and seldom fully reach operating temperatures during their morning drive....all terrible things when you're looking to prevent carbon buildup, a carbon cleaning cost anywhere from $400-800 dollars. With no tune and driving like a Normie, with the occasional long trip, it's more expensive than most to maintain. All the decarb, fluids, gas, etc., still need to be done, but you're not getting the jaw-dropping performance in between. My Mk7 GTI performance ( Autobahn US Market) went 170k km and was tuned from 6k km till death, with no carbon buildup....death was a phase cam washer failure...a little thumb-sized metal washer thing broke to bits and killed my baby. However, it was still getting 5.7l per 100km highway and spanking last 2012 GT Mustangs (the retro classics) up to that previous week. The only things that mechanically broke were 1)the stock LSD (track day failure) 54k k and 2) the water pump 62k km (40% of these failed before 75k km). The water pump should be treated like a maintenance item, just as Honda does. Electronics only became an issue in extreme heat and cold...AC crapped out on a 45C summer trip. It didn't fail, but it blew warm air unless set to maximum. I had to go into the settings and change sthe basic AC settings for max ac all the time instead of at max. The stock setting is region-specific, and most people never dive into those settings. I watched a 15-minute RUclips video, while I sweated my balls off, and had that set. This allowed the ex-wife and I to stay cool in the car with our standard climate settings and low fan speed without freezing to death with max blower and max AC. Paint protection is nice but optional. There are thin spots, so be careful when you get that worked on. Sunroof leaks/squeaks-If you hear it squeaking over bumps, it will leak come winter. A little bit of water freezing between the seals will lift the thing and cause water to get into the car or the controls for the sunroof by the sunglasses holder. Either grease it twice a year and clean it out, like I did, or keep it in a garage, like my friend did. Or I don't get the sunroof (like I did on my 2024 GTI). After fixing my car for almost 10k, I traded it in for a Mk 8 GTI Autobahn (SE USD). I regret not waiting for a low km Performance. After driving with Dynamic chassis control for almost 10 years, switching to passive suspension is weird and somewhat unsettling. I read the road more instead of the car reading my mind. There's no difference on the track, but when driving around on janky roads, this is noticeable if you had active suspension before. The new car is stiffer than the old car and bump and dumps will knock out a filling if you're going at speed. Tires: If you drive hard, buy track tires/rims and save yourself being worried about destroying the stock rims. If you drive in the winter, buy winter tires and wheels, just do it, no more argument if they make a difference don't be one of those dicks doing 25 in a 50 zone because you're a cheap and stupid. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, buy Continental DWS, and you'll be fine. The D (dry), W (wet), S (snow) are some of the best all season tires I've found. Once the S is gone don't use it in the winter. Get the alignment done once a year and the tires rotated with every other oil change, and you are FINE Headlights - really good with HID options, crappy with base car. They are expensive to change, and many used cars will need new ones. Reliability - 7.5 Performance (stock) - 7 Performance (tuned) - 9.0 (get an R if you want a 10) there's a lot of things you could change, but don't need to. If you have Adaptive suspension...you can leave it pretty much alone or just lower it with progressives. Brakes are good but can be improved but you're not going to get MORE performance out of them. Remove the back seat for weight reduction...remove spare tire, remove subwoofer. The car will handle and move a little better. otherwise there car is really good as is. Fuel economy - 9.5 - depending on the year and tune premium is required, while the newer cars are good with 87 octane...crazy. Bang for the buck - 8, the Hyundai N models are the real deal if you want performance and money savings...However, they don't have the quality inside, and it shows. I've got nothing else to say about the GTI - I tested many an R; stock they have to go flat out to "feel" faster than a tuned GTI. The new golf R with the trick rear diff feels more like a GTI in the handling department and these will be interesting in the used market in a few years. If you want better performance, handling, comfort, fuel economy, and cargo capacity....the Type R Civic is the only thing that comes to mind. The other is a Mazda 3 with a 2.5 turbo...but the handling sucks when pushed.
![[SFM] Risky Recital](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/RzNkY1_Nk3o/mqdefault.jpg)
Nice work Alex. It’s crazy how difficult the Mk8 DSG nut has been to crack.
Yup I am sure it will get there. The transmissions even on stock software are keeping up.
The Mk8 GTI is wild man. I've had K04 and IS38 upgraded GTIs and the Mk8 was the first that I felt the DSG slipping from just a tune. Now we have the Mk8 Golf R and I still feel the tuned GTI hit the hardest for street riding, that torque wave hits so early, makes for an amazing daily driver.
Couldn't agree more!
The chassis and tuning is much better too. Rotates in corners much better than MK7. I don’t feel the mk8 needs a rear sway bar.
the mk8 gti cannot compare to the tuning potential of the mk8R trust me. Until you've felt borderline 500hp crank on the mk8R on e85 stock turbo (my setup), you haven't felt anything yet.
Eesh thats all without an intercooler to keep temps in check. Good job alex and vw
The turbo in the mk8 GTI is about is38 sized. That helps.
Best tuners hands down
Shoutout to Clayton for making my egg a rocket
Eggs to rockets is what we do!
Wow Mk8 potential is so much higher than what I'm used to, every VW generations gets better. Alex, Do you remember you tuned my big turbo mk6?. Well I sold it a few months ago and got a 7.5 R which I'll be molesting just like my old GTI. I'll be hitting you guys up soon and looking forward to working with you again. if you check out my videos you may recall the dyno video from years ago. ~ Franco
Franco great to hear from you! Looking forward to working with you on your R! Lots of potential to unlock!
mk8 bolt on potential is nice but the 7.5R imo is a goated look. such a good looking car.
Alex and VW, I am impressed 👍
Thank you!
Really impressive gains, well done!
Thank you Mitch. These motors are impressive. Punch well above the class.
Have you tuned many mk8r’s Alex? I’m wondering what stage 2 full bolts on e85 with your magic on the tuning would net. Thanks
Each car is a bit different but the R with the bigger turbo will comfortably go 420-430whp with ethanol and bolt ons.
Amazing job with the tune !
Out of curiosity, why are the stock power figures from last year's mk8 video so much lower compared to this one?
Thank you. We have aligned the dyno with the industry standards. The numbers read are the same but this time they are corrected.
The MK7 GTI was leaps better than the MK6 power wise and it seems like the MK8 is leaps better than the MK7! IS38 levels of power without the unreliability of an IS38 turbo. I wonder how much an intercooler would help? It's also nice how on the MK8 you can leave the DP alone and don't have to worry about a check engine light due to swapping it out.
Yes that’s about right. The mk8 GTI jumped up to is38 power levels and the mk8r just to pmax stg1 power levels. This is why Garrett now offers the mk7 pmax for that mk8 GTI and a larger 63mm wheel pmax for the mk8 R. The intercooler is usually a 10hp bump but has the bigger benefit of sustaining the power level when driven hard for longer or in hot temps. The only downside is the weight on the nose.
@ does Garrett sell the mk8 GTI turbo for the mk7? The pmax seems to have a bit more lag in it
Hmmmm, I don't think the MK8 has been out long enough to determine its reliability of its turbo's. Also, IS38's are pretty solid turbos. 130k miles on mine, custom tuned on meth, and zero issues with it. Its the IS20's that were more problematic.
@@tjprovo24 I've heard the exact opposite. I never hear of IS20 problems but I head so many stories of people who've has IS38's fail anywhere between 40-60k miles and some people say they've gone through two IS38s in rapid succession. It seems to be you either get a really good one or a bad one
No it sells the pmax here. www.stratifiedauto.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=332_240_256&products_id=1055
Are these VW still unreliable? Have electrical issues? Weak turbos?
The power train is very solid.
It's okay if you stick to your manual, tune it, drive it hard and do preventative maintenance; give this car 10 years before I'd trade it if purchased new. By driving hard, you're taking this out 2x a week, running it for 20 minutes or more and keeping it above 3k RPM. Then, let it settle down, let the oil cool down, and enjoy your ride. This keeps carbon buildup to a minimum because most of these cars are purchased as commuter cars, rarely see 5k rpm and seldom fully reach operating temperatures during their morning drive....all terrible things when you're looking to prevent carbon buildup, a carbon cleaning cost anywhere from $400-800 dollars.
With no tune and driving like a Normie, with the occasional long trip, it's more expensive than most to maintain. All the decarb, fluids, gas, etc., still need to be done, but you're not getting the jaw-dropping performance in between.
My Mk7 GTI performance ( Autobahn US Market) went 170k km and was tuned from 6k km till death, with no carbon buildup....death was a phase cam washer failure...a little thumb-sized metal washer thing broke to bits and killed my baby. However, it was still getting 5.7l per 100km highway and spanking last 2012 GT Mustangs (the retro classics) up to that previous week. The only things that mechanically broke were 1)the stock LSD (track day failure) 54k k and 2) the water pump 62k km (40% of these failed before 75k km).
The water pump should be treated like a maintenance item, just as Honda does.
Electronics only became an issue in extreme heat and cold...AC crapped out on a 45C summer trip. It didn't fail, but it blew warm air unless set to maximum. I had to go into the settings and change sthe basic AC settings for max ac all the time instead of at max. The stock setting is region-specific, and most people never dive into those settings. I watched a 15-minute RUclips video, while I sweated my balls off, and had that set. This allowed the ex-wife and I to stay cool in the car with our standard climate settings and low fan speed without freezing to death with max blower and max AC.
Paint protection is nice but optional. There are thin spots, so be careful when you get that worked on.
Sunroof leaks/squeaks-If you hear it squeaking over bumps, it will leak come winter. A little bit of water freezing between the seals will lift the thing and cause water to get into the car or the controls for the sunroof by the sunglasses holder.
Either grease it twice a year and clean it out, like I did, or keep it in a garage, like my friend did. Or I don't get the sunroof (like I did on my 2024 GTI).
After fixing my car for almost 10k, I traded it in for a Mk 8 GTI Autobahn (SE USD). I regret not waiting for a low km Performance. After driving with Dynamic chassis control for almost 10 years, switching to passive suspension is weird and somewhat unsettling. I read the road more instead of the car reading my mind. There's no difference on the track, but when driving around on janky roads, this is noticeable if you had active suspension before. The new car is stiffer than the old car and bump and dumps will knock out a filling if you're going at speed.
Tires: If you drive hard, buy track tires/rims and save yourself being worried about destroying the stock rims. If you drive in the winter, buy winter tires and wheels, just do it, no more argument if they make a difference don't be one of those dicks doing 25 in a 50 zone because you're a cheap and stupid. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, buy Continental DWS, and you'll be fine. The D (dry), W (wet), S (snow) are some of the best all season tires I've found. Once the S is gone don't use it in the winter. Get the alignment done once a year and the tires rotated with every other oil change, and you are FINE
Headlights - really good with HID options, crappy with base car. They are expensive to change, and many used cars will need new ones.
Reliability - 7.5
Performance (stock) - 7
Performance (tuned) - 9.0 (get an R if you want a 10) there's a lot of things you could change, but don't need to. If you have Adaptive suspension...you can leave it pretty much alone or just lower it with progressives. Brakes are good but can be improved but you're not going to get MORE performance out of them. Remove the back seat for weight reduction...remove spare tire, remove subwoofer. The car will handle and move a little better. otherwise there car is really good as is.
Fuel economy - 9.5 - depending on the year and tune premium is required, while the newer cars are good with 87 octane...crazy.
Bang for the buck - 8, the Hyundai N models are the real deal if you want performance and money savings...However, they don't have the quality inside, and it shows.
I've got nothing else to say about the GTI - I tested many an R; stock they have to go flat out to "feel" faster than a tuned GTI. The new golf R with the trick rear diff feels more like a GTI in the handling department and these will be interesting in the used market in a few years.
If you want better performance, handling, comfort, fuel economy, and cargo capacity....the Type R Civic is the only thing that comes to mind. The other is a Mazda 3 with a 2.5 turbo...but the handling sucks when pushed.