IS38 VW Golf Alltrack Review - 8 Months & 8,000 Miles Later | POV Drive

After driving my IS38 Swapped MK7 Volkswagen Golf Alltrack for 8 Months and nearly 8,000 miles, here's what I have to say about it.
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[@powersweilnau5510]

Love your content on this beautiful vehicle! It is the perfect blend of real world performance with practicality!

[@BrendonWagner]

It sure it, thank you for the kind words!

[@SamW-lj3qu]

Great summary of your Alltrack adventure - I have enjoyed your content on a car that many of your viewers drive and are considering "upgrades" ✌

[@chrisa2693]

Hey Brendon, Great vid. Love the content! Your review on "rev hang" is most likely the stock flywheel vs. a lighter or racing flywheel. No amount of tuning will change the mass of the stock flywheel. I had a Stage 3 B5 A4 (APR kit, south bend clutch, Porsche injectors, turbo back exhaust). When I had my second clutch installed (auto cross, track events, launches), I went with an aluminum flywheel. This made the engine throttle and RPM more controllable. Noisy, but the responsiveness was great. Drivetrain stabilizers, strut braces, and beefier engine mounts will help transfer power more directly into the drivetrain at the cost of vibration.

[@coldhardrock]

Thanks for the video! Love seeing any Alltrack content that's out there. I've got basically the same car but bone stock still and have been trying to decide what my route for making more power should be... Based on your response and reading threads elsewhere, I'm kind of thinking at this point an IS20 might be a better match for the 1.8t than the IS38 for the driving I do. Still a great bump in power overall, but hopefully would hold onto a little bit of that lower end torque that is so nice for daily driving. Thoughts? Hoping to start the power journey this summer but we will see.

[@BrendonWagner]

Honestly if I had to do it again, I would probably do an is20. I miss having lower end torque even if it would come with losing some more top end, the power is awesome but it’s not super at power so you do get used to it after some time. I’d me more than happy to answer any other questions you have in the future as well!

[@radagilliam3692]

I thought u was following that bright orange mk7 jetta until that last turn.😂 I would keep this car and do a RS3 swap with Tranny OR trade it in for a lexus Rx with just as much space but holds luxury and value. Good video!

[@BrendonWagner]

Hahaha. There’s someone who has done the swap before, I’ve seen it in person and it looks great. With that being said the RX might be a smarter move haha

[@mrw1160]

Hike it x9 pedal tuner, I have one in my alltrack its a whole different animal. Seriously your stock electronic gas pedal is set to retard your accellerations. The eco mode also really works on the pedal tuner too I wouldnt use any other pedal tuner.

[@BrendonWagner]

I'll look into it, thanks!

[@natureaerials]

I am wondering if you had to do it again, would you have done an IS20 instead for a bit more torque? I have heard others say the same thing for the IS38. You gain more but the torque around town is the daily fun.

[@BrendonWagner]

I haven't driven an IS20 but it might be the best of both worlds. I honestly would rather have more low-end torque than a bit more power top end for daily driving especially with the manual. Either is still a great option though.

[@mikejames3263]

I too have the is38 in my alltrack and I think I'd rather have gone is20 because of the earlier initiation. Getting onto the highway is fun, but then it's almost never in boost cuz the rpms are low at cruise speeds.

[@natureaerials]

@@BrendonWagner thanks for your thoughts. Do you need an intercooler for an IS20 on the Alltrack? If so, is there one that is easy to install on the Alltrack?

[@BrendonWagner]

@@mikejames3263 that's how I feel about it too

[@BrendonWagner]

@@natureaerials No problem! Intercooler is highly recommended, I have a stock-mount Mishimoto one. If you end up doing an intercooler, I would also upgrade the intercooler pipes, I wish I did and I've heard it makes a huge difference for a couple hundred more dollars.

[@SamW-lj3qu]

BTW Brendon et al, after driving for over 30 years, driving many reputable japanese vehicles, the Alltrack is the only car I have enjoyed driving every single day, thank God as it's been super reliable, on par with any of the japanese cars I have driven but way more fun. Zero regrets. I do have one question, for stage 1, if someone only wanted modest power bump, say 20-30 hp to both high and low end torque, would you be able to keep most stock components or would you have to upgrade suspension and other components?

[@BrendonWagner]

You can keep stock components for a stage 1 tune, maybe upgrade the intake if you want more turbo sounds

[@emaavo]

cool car

[@BrendonWagner]

Thanks!