2023 Mk8 GTI Build - Better than the Mk7? - EP1

[@closg9309]

MK8 is so much better than previous gens. Just the tech alone is awesome, I love mine.

[@stratifiedauto]

I am excited about the car. The mk6 and 7 we work with are great to tune and this should be no exception.

[@vr6gls]

Except the interior and front end. I much prefer the interior and front end of the MK7 generation.

[@katiecannon8186]

@@vr6gls I much prefer the 8. 😉. The only thing I’d charge about my 8 is the one piece seat. Adjustable head rests are better. And, of course, less gloss black.

[@BlamBar-qj8yh]

@@vr6gls the interior and front end still looks waaay better on the mk8 than the mk7, which looks outdated and will continue to look more outdated as the years go by.

[@jimmys_mk8209]

After a year and a half of ownership. Awesome car, hate is overhyped

[@markday5797]

Just found your videos, as a MK7.5 GTI owner and long time GOLF and GTI owner. This is just what I was looking for. Subscribed! 😀

[@stratifiedauto]

Thank you and more content to come!

[@goldzzz14]

What the heck. The Canadian Rabbit is pretty much a US market autobahn, just without a sunroof or navigation? That’s sweet

[@AJW0812]

Right when he said it had dcc and I saw auto climate I said the same thing.

[@CubanRider]

Agreed about the lever, it's the thing I miss the most about the previous gens. Our Mk8 is the same spec as yours, silver as well, and I think it's still a phenomenal car for the money. Nearly 20k miles on ours already, first mod was a set of wheels with Pilot Sport 4S and now with an ECU and TCU tune it's quite enjoyable and very quick.

[@stratifiedauto]

Great to hear you’re enjoying yours. How are the driving dynamics once you tuned it?

[@CubanRider]

​@@stratifiedauto Feels as fast as our IS38 Mk7 with even quicker spool, it really scoots off the line. We had both a Mk7 with the long-geared 6 speed DSG, and the Mk7.5's 7 speed that felt like an automatic. The Mk8's 7 speed is much more enjoyable because they brought the pops/farts/fuel cutoff back. With the TCU tune it holds the gears slightly longer and you get crisp shifts. I ran it with the ECU tune without the TCU and felt it slip a couple of times, which I had never experienced with tuned stock turbos. The TCU tune fixed it right up. I think dynamically the car handles slightly better than the base Mk7, we never owned a GTI with the DDC. The understeer is still there, but with grippy tires you can get away with a lot before it starts running wide. The one things I absolutely wish I could change, even more than the shift lever, is the front assist auto-braking feature. Unfortunately. it won't stick and you have to turn it off every time. My start-up sequence is: press the globe or use the pull down menu to turn off start/stop and put ESP on sport or off depending the settings. Then I press the button on the left stalk which gives me the safety features shortcuts, and press down arrow 5 times to get to the front-assist to unclick it. The sequence was really annoying at the beginning, but now I have it on auto-pilot and there's not much else that annoys me about the car.

[@stratifiedauto]

Thankfully ours does not have front assist. Sometimes less is more.

[@CubanRider]

@@stratifiedauto lucky! Could've really done without it

[@HarryTwatter]

Just picked up a 40AE Mk8. Looking forward to tuning it

[@stratifiedauto]

Excellent. We’re looking forward to the software for this platform so we can really work our magic as well.

[@ParadiseProjectsGroup]

You get used to the lever in about 2 weeks, it's called habituation.

[@dpsfit]

Do you agree that it's best to take it easy on the engine during the first 1000 miles to break it in? Just noticed you were driving it kinda hard for the video at some points. Or maybe you weren't, I'm not sure how to gauge it really. Just want to know how to best take care of my new MK8 during the 1000 mile break in. Thanks!

[@stratifiedauto]

Many schools of thought on this. I would drive it normally while varying rpm’s and loads.

[@ashtonmuise8387]

What do you think of the dcc vs non dcc? Is it a must? Especially on rough roads..

[@stratifiedauto]

If you are planning on upgrading the suspension I would skip it.

[@MegaHollywood1971]

The torque ramp on the factory tunes are well designed to transition really well when at WOT. But, you know Alex, that once you apply the tunes to these cars - that fundamental disappears 👍

[@stratifiedauto]

I want to retain at least some of this when tuning the car especially in the lower gears. Taking this car to time attack will help hone this in. Because as you said from the factory it is quite good.

[@jimboyd3218]

In your opinion is the DSG much better than the manual transmission?

[@stratifiedauto]

Overall on this platform yes it’s the one to have.

[@dreso0516]

Just pull the shift level back twice and it puts it into sport

[@andyhawkins7988]

How is this car in the winter? Can it handle the occasional snowfall?

[@stratifiedauto]

Absolutely with the correct tires.

[@sheechan8407]

Why vw uses the weaker DQ381 gearbox which handle 370 -400nm only? That limits bigger mods?

[@stratifiedauto]

We haven’t seen issues with the DQ381. The only other box used on the mqb was the dq250 and this is smoother.

[@gwagb27]

Do y’all offer a tune for the mk8 gti yet

[@stratifiedauto]

Soon

[@claytoncausey5792]

First

[@RAaaa777]

It comes with engine cover, probably was stolen

[@Anthonyhancock71]

Mk8 is not better. And the fog lights are horrendous😂😂😂

[@Andrewzwyatt]

The MK8 is too ugly to justify upgrading

[@stratifiedauto]

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

[@RDriver2.0]

The total line of the MK8 is hot garbage. I dumped my deposit on the 2022 R and instead went FBO and stage 2 on MK7 R. Very pleased!!

[@Andrewzwyatt]

@@RDriver2.0 Well the only mk8 i would consider looking past the flaw for would be the mk8R purely because of the expieriences ive heard with how it drives. But the mk7 and 7.5 still has my heart

[@zacharnold9654]

Bro shut up you probably drive a Subaru

[@papayspeanut]

The mk8 destroys the mk7 what are you talking about lol stage 2 mk8s are like is38 mk7’s you sound salty for no reason. Also they can run full e85 vs mk7 needs upgraded hpfp

[@TheoFennel]

Useless none back-lit controls for heating and volume controls.

[@stratifiedauto]

I too miss the physical controls.