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Big Turbo GTI v. R Upgrade
- Thread starter Mlaplaca08
- Start date
Dog Dad Wagon
Autocross Champion
- Location
- Go Birds
- Car(s)
- 16 Touareg TDI
I said “grass is greener.” You like the GTI more coming from an R. I like my dinky Alltrack more coming from a GTI. “Grass is greener.”
Coming from multiple Subaru’s I could not like the r at all. I drove my friend’s R a bunch and test drive one and a “Quattro” a3. I do not like that awd system at all and they need a mechanical lsd in the front because that xds just wasn’t enough.
Since I budgeted out enough for an r or “Quattro” a3, I just went with an autobahn gti.
That awd on demand crap was done way better by the focus rs (especially the last model year) and the rs3 (by a tiny bit). If the mk8 R adds an lsd in the front I’m in.
Since I budgeted out enough for an r or “Quattro” a3, I just went with an autobahn gti.
That awd on demand crap was done way better by the focus rs (especially the last model year) and the rs3 (by a tiny bit). If the mk8 R adds an lsd in the front I’m in.
This. A lot.
JerseyDrew77
Autocross Champion
- Location
- Virginia & NC
- Car(s)
- 2016 TR GTI S 6MT
Ohh shit... all of the R owners are now going to come in here riding on their high horse with their guns blazing. Lol
Hoon
Autocross Champion
- Location
- Rhode Island
I'll never own a FWD again. AWD is fun in a straight line on the street, but most AWDs handle very much like FWDs.
I really miss BMWs honestly. The GTI is so horribly off balance and the aero is crap. I don't know what my next platform is going to be but there's a strong chance it'll be RWD. Even with big power and good suspension, FWD dynamics just make the car boring AF.
I really miss BMWs honestly. The GTI is so horribly off balance and the aero is crap. I don't know what my next platform is going to be but there's a strong chance it'll be RWD. Even with big power and good suspension, FWD dynamics just make the car boring AF.
JerseyDrew77
Autocross Champion
- Location
- Virginia & NC
- Car(s)
- 2016 TR GTI S 6MT
I'm a little shocked by this. Why put all that money in to it if you find it boring? I find it to be very fun to drive, even more so with the big power. Have you gone to any tracks? Not sure what they have in RI or around it but for me I have VIR which is a pretty fun track.
daconchslop
Autocross Champion
- Location
- SC
- Car(s)
- ACS SE/Tech
Boring is definitely not how I describe my driving experience in the GTI. If anything AWD would seem very boring. RWD is where it’s at if Hooning is what you’re after, Hoon. Lol
staying_tuned
Drag Racing Champion
- Location
- Poconos
- Car(s)
- 2016 Mark 7 Golf R
:: gallops in :: Traction isn’t going to find itself, back to work.
Idgaf. Their awd system sucks. And they’re either in denial or just don’t know what a good awd system feels like
I rode in an r that had this Bluetooth thingy that forced it to full 50/50 and it felt way way better.
They can say how much they love their 3 extra mpg too. But let’s be for real, if you aren’t going to tamper with the haldex, it’s a terrible awd system when compared to competitors. Even the way the haldex awd handles yaw sickens me bro. Imagine hauling an extra 200-300 pounds more and for what? Pffft
EDIT I also drove the R in deep snow with snow tires. And during a tropical storm with damn near category 1 speed winds. I’ve done the same in many sti’s, wrx’s and crosstreks. The R can only go fast in a straight line till you tamper with how the haldex operates. And even then it understeers way too much to be a good awd system. And yes, I’ve also drove REAL QUATTRO in the same conditions.
I’d say real Quattro>sti>Wrx=Evo 10>other Subaru’s=focus rs>haldex fake Quattro
Hopefully the mk8 R makes improvements. Cuz awd on demand was done way better by the focus rs
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staying_tuned
Drag Racing Champion
- Location
- Poconos
- Car(s)
- 2016 Mark 7 Golf R
Yeah, I think geography plays a big role (at least for me) in opting for the R. In the northeast the roads are always cool and in bad shape. Not being able to WOT off a line while turning left or right gets annoying. Straight forward, forget it. Been driving AWD cars for to screw with feathering a throttle regardless if I'm carrying more weight due to the AWD system. In the winter, while snows on FWD are quite common and very capable, the level of butt pucker is magnitudes greater in a FWD car over even an archaic AWD system like the R has. Ease of resale is also huge for me. I cycle through platforms a lot and if I can pay a few k extra up front (Got my 16 R CPO w/ 40,xxx miles for $24K OTD 6 months ago) to not have to enter a fray to entertain an army of tire kickers looking at 100 other similar specimens nearby, I will every time. As of right this moment, there are 53 used Golf Rs in a 200m radius of 18229 (Covering NYC, Philly, NJ) spanning years 12 through 19. Same exact parameters yield a whopping 250 used GTIs.
The above is why I have an R. I'm not delusional about its AWD system being amazing and if you're looking for pure performance bang for the buck and don't mind layering in traction mitigation along the way, go GTI for sure. One good thing about the plethora of GTIs available as a buyer is that you can get an absolute steal.
For my purposes the R is:
- More practical in a 4 season environment
- Offers predictable traction across a wider range of surfaces both stock but especially after significantly increasing power
- Is easier to move when it comes time to part ways
I've been humbled by enough GTIs (especially at road-racing events) to ever try to argue that the R is a better performance platform in general. At VIR last week I got lapped by what appeared to be a bone stock MK7.5 GTI. Me getting lapped is nothing, I suck, but this driver and the GTI were dancing beautifully around many P and high HP domestic cars. The GTI is amazingly capable. It's the things other than performance that might be worth considering.
The above is why I have an R. I'm not delusional about its AWD system being amazing and if you're looking for pure performance bang for the buck and don't mind layering in traction mitigation along the way, go GTI for sure. One good thing about the plethora of GTIs available as a buyer is that you can get an absolute steal.
For my purposes the R is:
- More practical in a 4 season environment
- Offers predictable traction across a wider range of surfaces both stock but especially after significantly increasing power
- Is easier to move when it comes time to part ways
I've been humbled by enough GTIs (especially at road-racing events) to ever try to argue that the R is a better performance platform in general. At VIR last week I got lapped by what appeared to be a bone stock MK7.5 GTI. Me getting lapped is nothing, I suck, but this driver and the GTI were dancing beautifully around many P and high HP domestic cars. The GTI is amazingly capable. It's the things other than performance that might be worth considering.
I’d argue that the R’s haldex has the potential to be better. Making it full time 50/50, adding proper tires, tampering with xds and increasing the haldex traction and considering the rs3 tire trick where you run slightly wider tires in the front. All of this will really make for a different driving experience. Especially in bad weather and on track. The icing on the cake would be to set xds to weak and running a mechanical lsd in the front.
I just described my brothers R. And at high plains race way, his stage 1 unitronic (dsg tune too) with full interior ran almost 2 seconds faster than my stage 2 wrx. Even when we switched cars, the time gap was about the same
The R has it in it to posses a better version of the haldex awd. But the existence of the Audi s3 nerfs the R bad. Sadly, the R gets stuck with a less dynamic awd system.
My brother even preferred my wrx with blizzaks in the snow vs his r and blizzaks. Till he modded the hell out of the awd system. Colorado winters on the mountains will test your awd and after all the work he put into it, that R’s awd system became the dark souls of golf R’s
bentin
Autocross Champion
- Location
- Austin, TX
- Car(s)
- 23 Golf R - 3 Pedals
The R and S3 are mechanically identical. Even the RS3 runs the same Haldex. All three have tiny rear axles and running a constant 50/50 split is going to create some serious wear issues.
Let's also not go promoting Subie's tired 50/50 fixed setup as a great solution. Longitudinal quattro and xDrive run a 40/60 split and can send 100% to the rear under slip. Subies push more than a GTI, even an STI set to full rear bias understeers more than a stock GTI. Sure, you can create a little throttle oversteer, but the chassis still pushes like a pig.
Let's also not go promoting Subie's tired 50/50 fixed setup as a great solution. Longitudinal quattro and xDrive run a 40/60 split and can send 100% to the rear under slip. Subies push more than a GTI, even an STI set to full rear bias understeers more than a stock GTI. Sure, you can create a little throttle oversteer, but the chassis still pushes like a pig.
The r and s3 definitely have the exact awd system. Though the s3 has the higher msrp. Hence why it’s existence hampers the R. Subaru’s tired 50/50 split is proven and why should it change? It pays dividends and performs amazingly. Especially when compared to the haldex set up.
I tried xdrive and personally at the limits I didn’t like it at all, but I never tried it in the snow. Now real Quattro, that’s great! Even in the s4, the defanged version of Quattro, it’s great!
The sti takes turns a lot more effortless than a gti and r. It’s on rails. And yeah, it does understeer a bit, Subaru did to it what gm has always done to the vette. They favored understeer. Spinning out in an awd car is hard to recover, hence the understeer being a primary trait. But in no way does it understeer more than a gti. I’ve no idea how u even came to that conclusion LMFAO. The gti terminally understeers and tries to pull u off the road till you address xds and increase traction on the haldex. Tires help too
I’m not saying the sti is better but I’ll say if I had to pick an awd system it would be what the sti has vs the haldex
Finally, it doesn’t “push like a pig” at all. The gearing ensures that much. If you’re near Denver pm me. I’ll let you go all out in the sti so you can see the difference yourself bro.
Edit: the rs3 has wider tires in the front. And over all turns in way better than an r and s3. There might be some other considerations besides the tires, there has to be because it understeers less.
with the GTI that has the sport diff, especially after I turned it up with obdeleven, pulls into corners to the very limit of traction. front and rear sways and a deadest kit and the GTI is pretty neutral unless you put a boot in it mid corner. RWD is more fun to kick the tail about, but for some light street hooning on the way to work, it's pretty nice.