Street Touring Hatchback (STH) discussion/setup

[xXDavidCXx]

BTW guys, how come nobody mention that I made the September GRM magazine all the way on page 112?

It took a random guy I knew from 5 years ago to contact me and ask how to set up a GTI.

Later it dawned on me that I didn’t know how he knew I drove a GTI.

He was surprised, and showed me the screen shot.

Also me:

relevant detail: I cancelled my subscription some time ago, which is why I didn’t know.

 

[GTIfan99]

I will say the mk7 R Haldex works great in a straight line.

My wife was out of town a couple weekends ago, so I fit an autocross, track day and a trip to the drag strip in, just for shits and grins.

My fastest run was 13.75 at 104, which I think is pretty good for a Stg 1 91 oct full weight car. I lined up with an stg 1 R dsg and he just drove away like I was in slow motion. 11.8 to my 13.75.

There were some stg 2 dsg GTI's doing mid 12's though, so that's pretty quick.

I did line up with a 90's Camaro SS. Walked him all three times. Poor guy. I actually really like the C3 SS, they were rated at 320hp and look fantastic. Much better looking than the coke head looking Mustang GT of the same period.

Anyway, R's are fast in a straight line, like no shit fast.

 

[jmblur]

I will say the mk7 R Haldex works great in a straight line.

My wife was out of town a couple weekends ago, so I fit an autocross, track day and a trip to the drag strip in, just for shits and grins.

My fastest run was 13.75 at 104, which I think is pretty good for a Stg 1 91 oct full weight car. I lined up with an stg 1 R dsg and he just drove away like I was in slow motion. 11.8 to my 13.75.

There were some stg 2 dsg GTI's doing mid 12's though, so that's pretty quick.

I did line up with a 90's Camaro SS. Walked him all three times. Poor guy. I actually really like the C3 SS, they were rated at 320hp and look fantastic. Much better looking than the coke head looking Mustang GT of the same period.

Anyway, R's are fast in a straight line, like no shit fast.

Yeah they're stupid fast off the line with a launch. Almost every time I bring an instructor in the car they comment on how much torque it has off the line. More turbo lag to deal with out of slow corners for sure though.

 

[GTIfan99]

Yeah they're stupid fast off the line with a launch. Almost every time I bring an instructor in the car they comment on how much torque it has off the line. More turbo lag to deal with out of slow corners for sure though.

Yeah, I have a buddy running DS with his R, and you really have to be careful not to let it get out of the power band.

 

[krs]

It was stupid cold today. High maybe touched 43 with 15-30mph winds. Had a few squalls of ice pellets.

Also turns out R-S4s don't really like cold weather lol. Never got more than barely warm to the touch. Still fun though for first time back this year. Definitely rusty.

Have you thought of mounting your camera in a different location to try and capture both side views? Really can only see the drivers side, when the other side is just as critical.

 

[jmblur]

Have you thought of mounting your camera in a different location to try and capture both side views? Really can only see the drivers side, when the other side is just as critical.

Yeah I have a headrest camera mount half designed. Just need to finish it up and print it (I work for a 3dp company, but I've been too busy to devote much time to this lately)

 

[jmblur]

Yeah, I have a buddy running DS with his R, and you really have to be careful not to let it get out of the power band.

I have a feeling the mk8R is going to do damn well in DS. Torque vectoring dif, stiffer suspension, more power... Could be a class winner depending on course. Will be interesting to see how it shakes out vs new GR86.

 

[MonkeyMD]

BTW guys, how come nobody mention that I made the September GRM magazine all the way on page 112?

View attachment 246377

It took a random guy I knew from 5 years ago to contact me and ask how to set up a GTI.

Later it dawned on me that I didn’t know how he knew I drove a GTI.

He was surprised, and showed me the screen shot.

Also me:

relevant detail: I cancelled my subscription some time ago, which is why I didn’t know.

Pretty cool. That Top Gun CTR was from my region. Her and her husband decked out in Top Gun outfits too.

 

[Mini7]

I will say the mk7 R Haldex works great in a straight line.

My wife was out of town a couple weekends ago, so I fit an autocross, track day and a trip to the drag strip in, just for shits and grins.

My fastest run was 13.75 at 104, which I think is pretty good for a Stg 1 91 oct full weight car. I lined up with an stg 1 R dsg and he just drove away like I was in slow motion. 11.8 to my 13.75.

There were some stg 2 dsg GTI's doing mid 12's though, so that's pretty quick.

I did line up with a 90's Camaro SS. Walked him all three times. Poor guy. I actually really like the C3 SS, they were rated at 320hp and look fantastic. Much better looking than the coke head looking Mustang GT of the same period.

Anyway, R's are fast in a straight line, like no shit fast.

After going to a tuned IS38, I would say an R has a big advantage over a GTi on a road course. Being able to harness the extra power in a GTi is really tricky. I’m not seeing the Vmax gain I was expecting and I would attribute a lot of that to the corner exit speed onto the straights. In an R you can go to power sooner and more aggressively.
Weight disadvantage aside the R will beat a GTi every time.

Im curious whether the new R will be faster with more power dialed into the rear axle for the track. Like a 30/70 split.

 

[scrllock]

After going to a tuned IS38, I would say an R has a big advantage over a GTi on a road course. Being able to harness the extra power in a GTi is really tricky. I’m not seeing the Vmax gain I was expecting and I would attribute a lot of that to the corner exit speed onto the straights. In an R you can go to power sooner and more aggressively.
Weight disadvantage aside the R will beat a GTi every time.

Im curious whether the new R will be faster with more power dialed into the rear axle for the track. Like a 30/70 split.

IIRC the only way the R gets >50% of torque to the rear is by braking the fronts to induce oversteer in drift mode. It's not as nice as the GR-Four drivetrain in the new corolla.

 

[Maiden69]

New R can do 50/50 when needed, not for drift mode. Drift mode sends 100% of that 50% to the rear wheel on the outside of the turn to induce oversteer.

HumbleMechanic did a video of both the new MK8 GTI and R, driven by both Paul (DAP) and him back to back and comparing times.

 

[bobivy1234]

After going to a tuned IS38, I would say an R has a big advantage over a GTi on a road course. Being able to harness the extra power in a GTi is really tricky. I’m not seeing the Vmax gain I was expecting and I would attribute a lot of that to the corner exit speed onto the straights. In an R you can go to power sooner and more aggressively.
Weight disadvantage aside the R will beat a GTi every time.

Im curious whether the new R will be faster with more power dialed into the rear axle for the track. Like a 30/70 split.

That's some of the same thoughts I have about upgrading to IS38 or even going Vortex Std/XL on track because FWD is going to have limits on track especially with power handling. I like to think about TCR regulations which the GTI fits into (2.0L turbo FF) and they cap HP at 350 which seems to be a good FWD power benchmark unless all you're going for is drag strip time.

When I bought the GTI, I knew the R was the better track car out of the gate but also twice the cost and requiring almost the same amount of aftermarket parts as the GTI. At the R's price point today of $30-40k+, a prepped E36/E46 BMW or Miata with spares would probably be the better call anyway (or a Rush SR-1 please) to go all-in as a dedicated track-proven race car. The GTI has been and will continue to be a great beginner/intermediate FWD track vehicle that can haul everything but will always have its limitations unless you want to spend a boatload to do it right and stand out.

 

[bfury5]

Not to mention the open difs...

we don't need diffs where we're going

disclaimer: get a diff, don't be like me

 

[mrmatto]

Oh I've got a diff. A completely open one. 1-wheel drive, baby!

 

[MonkeyMD]

Last autocross. Came in 1st in class (out of 2 cars LOL). Don't even ask about overall. Proabably 50 out of 150.