Acquiring the mk8 gti clubsport.
In July, we picked up our 2021 VW Golf GTI Clubsport Mk8. Having owned a MK7.5 Golf GTD for 3 years, I was very keen to get back into a Golf. There is a reason they are, for a lot of people, the perfect all-rounder. The arguably perfect balance of practicality, usability, quality and performance makes these cars very attractive.
For what the GTD made up for in fuel economy (60+MPG), it lacked in engine dynamics, sound and out right performance. It was a fantastic every day car that was very capable (achieving a 9:03 BTG, bone stock, on my second ever visit to the Nurburgring), but was not particularly exciting to drive. This never mattered much as I also had the Astra Vxr, a 310 BHP Turbo Petrol track car, which certainly ticked the 'exciting to drive' box. However, in March 2021, the GTD went back to VW and I was left with a Golf-Sized void that needed filling! The plan was always to save until a time came where I could afford a Mk7 GTI Clubsport or Mk7.5 GTI TCR to use and enjoy as a personal car, possibly replacing the Astra VXR as the resident track car. This plan changed however, when I started to learn more about the new Mk8 GTI, specifically the Clubsport, and how capable they were. We decided that from a business perspective, the Mk8 platform made a lot of sense, as it was so new and performance parts already available were very limited. Long story short, we picked up our Mk8 GTI Clubsport on the 31st of July... time to get building!
initial impressions of the car
Initial impressions of the car were really promising. I could tell straight away that this was a car that was designed to perform. The most noticeable thing to me straight away was how quick the steering ratio was, requiring little movement of the wheel to haul the car round corners. This made the front of the car feel very direct and extremely agile.
The handling dynamics of the car were also very impressive. The cars grip feels bias towards the front axle, especially when you are putting power through that fantastic front differential. The front of the car really feels like its dragging the rear end round corners, a very welcome characteristic of a FWD hot hatch. This is something we have had to work hard to implement into the dynamics of the Astra VXRs, by using a mixture of expensive suspension and chassis components, suspension tuning by Spires and very sticky tyres, for comparison.
The brakes are good for a stock set up. They have a very progressive feel, which gives great control over how hard you want the thing to stop. The stopping power is more than enough for the road, especially with stock engine power. The longevity of the brakes, however, seems to be a weakness of the stock braking system. A 'spirited' 10/15 minute drive is enough to notice a deterioration of braking performance due to heat. This is to be expected from most stock brake systems. An upgraded pad and fluid would be more than enough to cure this. We will be looking to fit a set of EBC pads and RBF brake fluid in the very near future. I think that as long as you are aware of the braking limitations of the car, the stock set up with upgraded pads and fluid would be more than adequate to have good fun at a track day. Some front brake cooling would also make a huge difference, as we’ve seen with other cars on road and track. This is a product we will be looking to develop very soon.
The power of the car is absolutely enough, simple as that. Getting straight out the Astra VXR and into the Golf, it is certainly no slouch! You could make the assumption that being a new German car, the engine performance would be boring and characterless. You would be wrong... There is a small amount of turbo lag, which is to be expected from a 2.0 Turbo making this sort of power. The mid range has fantastic, usable torque, that even makes driving at sensible, legal speeds, an enjoyable experience. You can lock the car into a gear of choice and let it haul its self out of a corner, staying well below 60mph. However, where this engine really comes to life is past 5000 RPM. It has a fantastic kick of power at the top of the rev range. This dynamic lures you into spending as much time as you can (sensibly of course), holding the gears right to the red line. Before you know it, you can be doing really silly speeds that should only be kept for the race track. I cant see power being an issue any time soon, 300 bhp has always been plenty with the Astra VXR track cars, and I cant see this being any different. The one downside with regards to the engine / transmission is the car will auto shift-up. This is quite annoying, especially when you are really wanting to hold the gears as long as you can, but its nothing that cant be cured with a TCU map somewhere down the line.
Wheels and tyres
The wheels that came on our GTI Clubsport were... not exactly the nicest wheels VW have ever made. Being honest, they were nasty! This was never a concern however, as we knew these would get swapped out in no time at all. It just so happened that we had recently had the BBS CH's on the Leon FR refurbished in gloss black. I thought it would be rude to not run these on the Clubsport, for a while at least. It was also an excuse to get some premium rubber on the car. For this application, we wanted a tyre that would be very at home on the road, but would also hold up with no issues on a track day. I was told about Goodyears new Eagle F1 Supersport tyres, that were a direct competition to Michelins Cup 2. As they were significantly cheaper than the Cup 2s, I gave them a go, and ordered a set of 235/40s. It is fair to say, I was not disappointed!
These tyres are fantastic. The dry grip is brilliant. The sharp steering feel of the Clubsport was only enhanced further by the super stiff sidewalls of the Supersports. The wider contact patch from the 235s is noticeable in our right grip. I did my first Launch Control with these wheels and tyres fitted, and experienced next to no wheelspin, very impressive for a FWD hatch with 300bhp on tap. The wet grip is also very impressive. I took the car to a trade show near the South of Wales where the weather was awful pretty much the entire trip, but the tyres held up perfectly. The tyres also look fantastic mounted to the BBS's, which for us is important too. There's no shame in wanting a beefy looking wheel / tyre combination!
As for the wheels themselves, they looked so good on the car. I really enjoyed the stealthy blacked out look. It only added to the aggressive looks of the car. However, the BBS's belonged to the Leon after all, so they unfortunately had to be returned.
This did mean that the Clubsport was once again in need for some new shoes. After spending a good few weeks deciding on a wheel choice and colour, we decided to go with a set of Bright Silver Protrack Ones. Not only will these silver wheels really pop against the black, but the are a proper motorsport wheel. Weighing just 8.5kg each, they are around 6kg lighter than the stock 18" wheels. This equates to a weight saving of around 24kg, which is absolutely massive! I cant wait to see the actual weight difference when they turn up, as well as the difference in driving characteristics.
First modifications
Naturally, we wanted to get stuck right in with modifications on the Clubsport. Prior to collecting the car, we searched through the catalogues of all our suppliers to see what we could get our hands on for the Mk8. Being that the platform was so new, the choices were very limited.
Air filters and Intake Kits
As we work very closely with Ramair, an air filter replacement was one of the first parts on the list. At the time, Ramair didn't actively list an option for the Mk8. We managed to get out hands on a Proram panel filter replacement very early on. This is Ramairs high flow cotton screening that is also used on their market-leading cone filters. The panel filter was very straight forward to replace, taking no more than 10 minutes. We also removed the snow guard while we were there, for a further noise and flow enhancement. The panel filter made a surprising difference in intake noise. Under load, there is now a nice subtle intake sucking noise. In our opinion, a great value for money mod! This is a product we always have in stock too.
Our second mod was our Carbon Fibre mirror caps. We spend a lot of time looking for a supplier of high quality carbon products, so naturally we were very pleased when we received our first batch of mirror covers for the Mk8. The quality of the weave is absolutely spot on. They also fit perfectly as the carbon is skinned over a factory mirror cover. We are confident in saying you'll struggle to find better quality Carbon Mirror Caps for the money. Once fitted, these really enhanced the look of the car. Carbon just goes so well with so many different colours, and black is no exception. This is another product we always have in stock.
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