Performance Mods to My Mk7 GTI

[@LucasHuang]

+1 for practical performance mods. everyone these days think they need to be 500hp and on air to fit in

[@StealthGTI]

Thanks for the note, Lucas! My performance mods are about the only things that are practical. Once you see my electronics stuff, you'll see that I'm clearly out of my mind! HAHA! I have more ham radio content coming soon. BTW, I've seen some of your videos. However, YT doesn't seem to put them in front of me. I'm going to watch more, including your latest, and see if that works your content into my algorithm. Take Care!

[@strokermk3]

What I like about these videos is that they show things over time and not just some max hp numbers on the graph. For me personally not the hp that matters but the longevity, reliability and fuel economy. Especially now than it seems ICE engines are ending their run and I will drive mine as long as I can.

[@StealthGTI]

If you're interested in fuel economy, then you may appreciate this Thursday's video! As for the future of ICE, I think we'll be able to buy them for at least another 10-15 years. By then, battery technology may be so good that electric may become the powertrain of choice. Thanks for visiting!

[@paulyC]

Fantastic video. I always enjoy watching "older" (and I mean that with the utmost respect) people review cars. Your GTI is very sensible and tastefully modified. A car a "young" person such as myself can aspire to.

[@StealthGTI]

Glad you enjoyed it! As far as remaining "tastefully modified," I've gone a bit nuts with the ham radio stuff. My "stealth" look is blown! HAHA! Thanks for visiting.

[@jcsrst]

Nice to see an adult driving a GTI! Loved all the mods and your reasoning behind them. All sensible and real world friendly.

[@StealthGTI]

Thanks for that comment! I get a strange mix of comments between me driving a "kid's car" (seems priced out of range for most "kids") and me being too old to "love" cars the way I do. I just "do me!" ;-)

[@RickGTI2019]

HEY ! I’m 77 and drive a GTI, so there ! RickGTI

[@BenDover-io9vg]

Great video. I went a very similar route modding my car. I debadged the rear and side emblems not long ago and I love how it makes the car even "quieter". It's got hardwired Uniden R7 and a two channel Blackvue setup. It's MIB1 so I'm looking into some retrofits as far as tech upgrades go. Here's some of my comments and insights on what you discussed. - I haven't driven an APR tuned MK7 yet but I would imagine their tunes are great. I can't imagine it's any faster or slower than the other OTS tunes but I see the appeal in the simplicity of APR. I had their catted downpipe for a short period and the fit and finish on it was spot on and seamless. I'm think they know what they're doing. - As far as the clutch goes, my theory is that VW set the capacity to be just beyond stock torque levels to make it a designated point of failure from abuse and neglect. I would imagine if the stock cluthc was stronger we would see a lot more snapped drivetrain components and blown engines caused by abuse and lugging (LSPI). DKM got a lot of bad wrap for their twin disk kit allegedly causing crankwalk but Ithik it's way overblkown. I've been very happy with their stage 2 "MB" clutch kit. It holds stage 2 power no problem and I've heard it holding IS 38 cars without issues as well. It cost half that of a South Bend daily kit so it's up there in my top best bang for the buck mods. - I think APR and other tuners recommend 2-step coler plugs but I don' 't buy it.. No issues with RS7s. Another very effectiive and cheap plug is the Ruthenium HX. Last I checked RockAuto they were around $8 a pop. - My fuel economy is awful. Completely my fault though cause the car is just too fun. Average give or take 20mpg 50/50 highway city. -I think IS38 will be my next big mod. EQT is working on OTS IS38 tunes which pretty much sold me. Going ethanol and messing with the fueling feels like a hassle I'd rather not deal with. - Lastly I love my pops and bangs. It's fun being loud and obnoxious sometimes. 3rd gear downshift driving through every highway overpass is mandatory. It get LOUD past 4000rpm so I do my due diligence not to hurt anyone. Tailgaters can eat em all day though; it really catches them off guard. The Harley guys love it.

[@StealthGTI]

Thanks for sharing your experience! Given your fuel economy comment, you may be interested to see this Thursday's video... the results of my economy testing. Take Care!

[@jwkjwk7137]

Thank you for posting so much great GTI content!

[@StealthGTI]

Glad you like them! Thanks for visiting!

[@deanmarr785]

Another great informative video. Well done sir

[@StealthGTI]

Thank you kindly, Dean!

[@MarkIzaguirre]

I was waiting for this. Thank you sir 👏🏽

[@StealthGTI]

My pleasure! Thanks for visiting!

[@limitededition3278]

Scott just out of curiosity if you'd like the suspension down just one inch. Why not just get air suspension added? Don't listen to all those saying the bags will blow up air suspension has been a round for years and unless you really are abusing the car I do not see that being the case with you. However, I do know you have all that hardware in the hatch so that might occupy some room.

[@StealthGTI]

I still appreciate the ride of the stock suspension. Plus, as you speculated, there's no room for an air system in my car. See my latest video for what's to come. Thanks for visiting!

[@TheFlyingPLiner]

You should try out the Eurocode front and rear chassis bars. No detrimental effects wrt ride quality but a huge improvement on steering feel and handling. Fairly inexpensive and easy to install as well.

[@StealthGTI]

Thanks for the suggestion!

[@svvervinmedia]

Fantastic suggestion! I had a kit like this in my previous cars. How's the low mounted bar in the cargo area affect daily usability?

[@TheFlyingPLiner]

@@svvervinmedia For me there's basically no intrusion at all. If you needed you can remove in a few minutes.

[@TheFlyingPLiner]

@@svvervinmedia kzbin.info/www/bejne/iWKVcq2Qo9mKpa8

[@saakey]

Hey there... glad I found your channel - I just bought a '18 GTI manual. I like your breakdown of the Mods you've done--definitely thinking it's going to be the same path I'll take--although since my car has 52k miles on it now, thinking i might just do the clutch first, since it sounds like if i apr tune it, right around the corner would be the clutch anyway--so I think i'll start with the clutch... although now that I think about it, maybe should tune first--don't like to fix something that isn't broken yet. haha... anyway, my main question is on your clutch--i've been doing a little bit of research on clutches and i hear a lot of people talking about this 'chatter' with installing their 'stage 2' clutches--and how stiff they can be. But you didn't mention any of that--how was your experience out of the box with your RSR clutch? Thanks in advance!

[@StealthGTI]

I think the RSR clutch is fantastic! It has 150,000 miles on it and slips only on rare occasions. I think I need to replace it, but it just keeps on holding! I think the "regular" RSR clutch is a good choice if you stop at a tune and exhaust. Good Luck!

[@Comfy_Snorlax]

I really like your powder coated Nogaros, tiretech love marks are having consider refinishing them in gunmetal. I was also thinking about having them refinished in the RTX3000 series Founders Edition bronze lol

[@StealthGTI]

Thanks for the compliment! What color is your GTI?

[@Comfy_Snorlax]

@@StealthGTI Love following your trip thread on mk7forum and your recurring updates. I have a '17 GTI in Pure White, with 23k miles, so your high mile updates are awesome lol

[@StealthGTI]

@@Comfy_Snorlax - I appreciate your comments about my travel series. I know those videos aren't as entertaining or informative as dedicated travel channels. So, I appreciate knowing when someone enjoys them. Oh, I just realized that you READ the stories. But I'll leave those sentences here in case you want to watch the travel playlists. BTW, I think bronze or gunmetal will look good on your white GTI. Have fun!

[@sevenforce_korea]

No.1 gti tuner i think..:)

[@StealthGTI]

Thanks for visiting!

[@poyo3582]

I agree pops and bangs can be annoying but some do sound good

[@StealthGTI]

Every now and then, I get a pop or backfire when blasting into the upper revs. It sounds aggressive and can be fun. But I'm glad it doesn't go on and on and on... ;-) Thanks for staying to the end of the video!

[@justinrodriguez8844]

Awesome video, I’m just curious is this Cali legal? I’m looking to do this to my GTI but I don’t wanna draw any unwanted attention and I wanna pass smog. Also mod list?

[@StealthGTI]

I don't think the downpipe will pass smog in emissions states. APR has even discontinued their downpipes and their "Stage 2" programming. But their Stage 1 program and Stage 3 DTR6054 upgrade each retain the factory exhaust and MAY be CA-legal. You should find a group that's familiar with CA and ask them. As for my mod list, the closest I have is at stealthgti.com/mechanical/. Thanks for visiting.

[@justinrodriguez8844]

@@StealthGTI your the best mr stealth!

[@andrewgray2588]

Hi Scott, I didn't hear you mention anything about an intercooler unless I missed it? Also curious about your custom tuning comment... I agree that if custom tuning is required for a car with fueling mods, MPI, etc, then reliability takes a nosedive, but a custom tune (from a reliable source such as EQT) on a simple bolt on car like yours would theoretically be safer and make just as much if not 5-10 more HP than any OTS tune as the tune would be customized for your specific mods and backed up by logs.

[@TheWilliec1999]

2:37

[@StealthGTI]

Thanks for the note. There's a "chapter" in the video called "Downpipe and Intercooler." I didn't talk much about them, just a mention and their effect. Regarding a custom tune, APR's program is designed to work with their products and a variances of the GTI (each car's a hair different, I suppose). As a result, I imagine they've held back a few horsepower so that their canned tunes work well with each car's variance. I can live with a little less. Thanks again for your visit.

[@4GuitarTrance]

Lol! I agree about the "Pops and Bangs" issue. There is this guy near me who has a GTI, and when it comes down the street it is the loudest, most obnoxiously loud "Pops, Bangs and Backfires" sound I've EVER heard. It's so bad it sounds as if there is something wrong with the car. It is obviously LOUD simply for the sake of loudness. Aside from that irritatingly raspy FART-CAN sound, It's not even a pleasant tone one would want to hear on ANY ride... except, of course, the guy who owns that disturbingly loud FART-CAN sounding GTI. I've heard some really nice sounding GTI's that were modded to sound that way. This guy I speak of is NOT one of them!!! As a funny side note about this guy, on top of it all (Let's draw some MORE attention to your GTI, dude! :-P), he has a bumper sticker that reads: "Bad COP... No DONUT!" Lol! I have to laugh at that one considering everything else with this particular guy. :-P. Ahhh... to each his/her own, I suppose.

[@StealthGTI]

Thankfully, we have no one like that in my community. If it was me, then *I'd* be "that guy" disturbing the peace, especially when I had a commute that started at 5am. Still, the sensible side of me would choose to have it disabled when NOT in Sport mode; plus, odds are good that mine would be disabled the vast majority of the time.

[@ernestprice1837]

any unexpected maintenance episodes after 128K miles driving back and forth across the Country?

[@StealthGTI]

The car is approaching 200,000 miles and has recently developed another misfire on cylinder #2. If you've watched my channel before, then you know that I had an injector fail at 110,000 miles. For now, I'm running a few tanks with injector cleaner to see if my symptoms subside. They *seem* to have changed a tad. If I'm wrong, then we'll go with an intake cleaning and swap injector positions to see if the fault moves. Even if another injector has failed, I'm still very happy with the car! Thanks for visiting.

[@justindaniel5959]

Since you did a stage 1 tune, was the car serviced at vw dealership , did the car have warranty and weren’t you afraid something goes wrong with the engine ?

[@StealthGTI]

No dealership visits after the tune. I took a risk and never looked back. If you're concerned about warranty, get APR's "Plus" tune. It's basically a "Stage 1 Low Torque" file that has a drivetrain warranty. Run that until the warranty expires and then upgrade. Good Luck!

[@4GuitarTrance]

Do any of these "tunes" decrease engine/component life? (other than your clutch :-P I have a DSG, BTW) I've always heard when you boost an engine's performance -- especially those similar to the VW GTI variety "performance" car -- you decrease the useable life of one's engine and/or components... possibly even risk eventually blowing engines some boosts are so extreme. If not, or better yet, if only certain performance mods, which will decrease engine or component life? Not that the GTI is anywhere near race or supercar status, but even "race" cars blow engines now and then. Hence the old adage "Things that burn more brightly during their existence burn half as long?" Yes? No? BTW... Love your GTI vids. I always look for new additions.

[@StealthGTI]

I suspect engine or component life could suffer, especially if you're one to USE the extra power very frequently. This is especially true for those who track race their cars regularly, which probably puts the engine operating in zones beyond what the engineers designed for a street car. Thanks for the compliments about my videos. I try to publish a new video each Thursday. Take Care.

[@onelowvdub]

Vwr springs on any car rides like stock and is a perfect 1" or so drop fyi

[@StealthGTI]

I'll consider them. For now, I'll just stay with stock until I have an issue. Thanks for visiting!

[@fly04002]

What do you use for a cell phone mount?

[@StealthGTI]

I'm using a ProClipUSA car mount with a simple magnetic swivel mount from Amazon that's stuck to it. If you see screws, they're from an older setup. Keeping the screws looks better than blank holes. 😳

[@mrigetsbuckets-5902]

How do you feel DSG hold ups when tuned as well, on stage 2, stage 3 ?

[@StealthGTI]

I've read good things about how the DSG responds to a tune, so long as the DSG itself is tuned, too. I told my mechanic that I chose a manual transmission over DSG due to reliability and cost of repair. He said it's all a wash. My next car may have a DSG, which would be my first "automatic" transmission in my life. Thanks for visiting!

[@mrigetsbuckets-5902]

@@StealthGTI really appreciate the reply, I have mk7.5 gti IE stage one high torque and upgraded DSG, and it runs incredibly smooth, so I Was curious since I have downpipes and such coming in for stage 2.

[@jeffwongdesign]

Thanks for the info. I have a stock 7.5 with 8500 miles. I wanted to do the stage 1 apr tune + dsg, but I still have 3 years of factory warranty. Would you recommend the upgrade given that my warranty would be voided?

[@Porkchop17]

I went stage 1 apr on my 2021 gti after just 1000 miles. I had the same dilemma about voiding factory warranty. After watching so many videos on tuned gti’s I just had to pull the trigger. It was absolutely fantastic like the car was finally running properly. So quick and so fun. For the 30 min drive home after the initial flash, I couldn’t stop giggling and smiling. I stayed stage 1 apr for about a month before I got the full refund on it and flashed back to stock. I’m now running a cobb accessport with a stage 2 tune from EQT and several other mods. Time flies fast hahaha.If you do decide to tune though, i would recommend going for a cobb accessport instead. A bit more expensive initially but the flexibility you have is just so worth it. EQT stage 2 was way more smooth than apr stage 1 and holds power through to 6k rpm. It felt like apr boost would just kick in way too hard at 3k and I worried for the turbo. It would also lose steam in higher rpms. There are also several other tuners out there that you can get maps from like sneekytuned, stratified, 5150 and more (if you don’t want to run the off the shelf cobb tunes). Overall, If you’re on the fence about it and trying to save money, i would not recommend flashing at all. It’s the most slippery slope in the universe.

[@MarcusBedessee]

Id look into JB4 if you wanna go stage 1 and keep your warranty.

[@StealthGTI]

It's a risk. In my opinion, if you increase engine output and then have a coincidental powertrain problem, VW has grounds to say that the program caused the fault. It would not be hard for them to convince a judge of that, even if they're wrong. However, I don't think a tune should affect a warranty claim on a separate system, the stereo, for example. Some dealers are "mod friendly" and would cover an unrelated problem. Others will kill the entire warranty. I took a financial risk and have loved the experience. But I can absorb some maintenance costs. That was not the case 10 years ago. So, it's a matter of what you're comfortable with risking. Good Luck!

[@StealthGTI]

A slippery slope, indeed! I'm pretty sure this is as far as I'll push the car, though. Thanks for visiting!

[@MV-qm9ne]

DO IT ! You'll love it. My bet is, if you get stuck with some problem, hand a hundred bucks to the mechanic and he'll ignore what he sees when he runs the diagnostics.

[@danrubenstein2898]

No dogbone insert? Did I miss it?

[@StealthGTI]

I lumped that under "miscellaneous" where I discuss engine mounts, but didn't specifically call out the dogbone. So, my dogbone is stock... the original, in fact. Thanks for visiting.

[@danrubenstein2898]

@@StealthGTI How are you not getting the horrid slamming sound of your motor trying to go through the radiator on hard acceleration?

[@StealthGTI]

@@danrubenstein2898 - I disabled my cross differential system (XDS) using either VCDS or OBDEleven. The XDS uses ABS to bias power to either side. I think it may conflict with the VAQ differential. By disabling the XDS, I have left all of the power transfer duties to just one system. I would think VW engineers are smart enough to have accounted for the two systems working together. So, I could be wrong in my approach. However, I seem to be having success with good transfer of power without wheel hop or transmission mount slamming. See my "Convenience Mods" page at stealthgti.com/2017/02/05/convenience-mods/ for more info and links to instructions. Take Care!

[@Zharsergey]

Have you done intake valve cleaning?

[@StealthGTI]

I have. See that video at kzbin.info/www/bejne/m5STaIKcitSea7c. Thanks for visiting!

[@MercSLRFan]

Clutch is definitely not fine for factory horsepower, mine is slipping at 80k stock and I'm not in the minority.

[@StealthGTI]

I don't guess I'd know for sure since I replaced mine relatively early. And, since I tow and abuse the car, I would have figured that replacing a stock clutch with stock horsepower at 80k as acceptable. Thanks for sharing your experience.

[@MercSLRFan]

@Neil M I’m in Europe so that’s km but I get your point. Installed Sachs SRE anyway.

[@RadhakrishnanMudliar]

Thanks for awesome video I have a Jeep Compass 4x4 Multijet 2.0 with ZF 9HP transmission. i which i could find someone as good as you who can make videos for Multijet 2.0 + ZF 9HP transmission

[@StealthGTI]

My daughter grew up with a stuffed Gary. HAHA! Thanks for visiting.

[@josephbrenyah4910]

You did not say anything about the your subwoofer.

[@StealthGTI]

As Gustautas said, this was about performance mods to the car. The subwoofer and electronics are covered in depth in other videos. Thanks for visiting.

[@Michael-kd4oi]

I bet you are getting 43 mpg. On factory all season touring tires, i got 43 mpg then it dropped to 32 mpg with stickier tires, and back to 39 mpg after going stage 2. Also DSG fart and overrun all the way!!!

[@StealthGTI]

Thanks for the note! Next week's video will reveal my MPGs. BTW, what is "overrun?"

[@Michael-kd4oi]

@@StealthGTI it’s the fancy name for pops and bangs.

[@StealthGTI]

@@Michael-kd4oi - Oh, okay. I imagined it as the sound that I hear when slowing in gear.... sort of a gurgle sound without popping... and definitely no bangs. ;-)