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Gti vs R is it worth the upgrade?
- Thread starter Jakefogs
- Start date
Corradoluvher
Ready to race!
The mk7 golf r is a beast! From what iv learned from my experience IMO I dont think its worth doing a lot of mods to the car if your paying someone to do it. If you can do the mods or repairs yourself go for it. If not just get something faster like the mk7 golf r and dont go past stage 2. Unless you have a lot of money to pay for repairs and install costs. VWs are not the most reliable cars. They look great are a blast to drive but are maintenance freaks. For example water pumps and timing chain tensioner. If you can do those those installs yourself go for it. If not it will be expensive.
MKJBM05
Passed Driver's Ed
I upgraded from my old MK6 GTI to an MK6 Golf R, 2.5 years no regret. Only downside is the cam follower, and the MPG I get. Also note it was a bit more expensive another $100 added to my monthly payments. Other than that Golf R is a superior vehicle [emoji3][emoji1419]
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thedude4bides
Go Kart Champion
If money isn't an issue go with the R. Otherwise a stage 1 tune and good snow tires will do quite nicely and be a helluva lot cheaper.
this may not be an answer you're looking for, but I am converting my gti to awd. Its more of a project car now than anything. If you aren't looking to spend a ton of time on your car, then just get a golf r. Also, if it makes you feel better, I lived in CT and used snow tires with k04 turbo and had good reliable traction even after blizzards. Clearance is really your biggest issue with snow up there, and a golf r wont give you that. Go with a tiguan lol
jeez
Ready to race!
For me, no. Because a GTI will always be faster with the same mods as an R (awd has huge power losses from crank to the wheels and also makes the car heavier) and if snow traction is your issue, then you need tires, not awd necessarily. Too much more money for an R and not that many pluses. That's my personal opinion, but honestly it depends on your priorities. Is cost an issue? Do you want bang for buck power? Do you care about 0-60 times? Maybe you get confidence by having awd while driving in harsh conditions? Etc. Etc. Don't get me wrong, the R is great, I'd love to have one if the price was less and awd was more efficient. But we gotta keep it realistic. I thought of all that when I was shopping for my GTI. And as someone else said, clearance is king when it comes to heavy snow. FYI, I was passing stuck cops and other cars during the polar vortex that hit the mid atlantic a couple of years ago. FWD and good tires, plus basic logic. Bottom line, figure out what matters to you, then go with the car that checks most boxes on the list. You can't go wrong with either. If I could afford it I would buy a Mk7 R and Stage 2 it and call it a day. But again...priorities.
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MrFancypants
Autocross Champion
I think if I lived where I'd have to deal with snow and ice for 3-4 months a year I'd prefer the R. I've had a couple of AWD cars in the south and AWD certainly has dry weather performance advantages going for it, but I don't value that highly enough to spend whatever the difference in cost is between my GTI and an R.
That isn't to say that FWD doesn't do fine in bad weather with the right tires, but AWD is a lot of fun when the road conditions are bad enough that it's easy to break traction on throttle.
That isn't to say that FWD doesn't do fine in bad weather with the right tires, but AWD is a lot of fun when the road conditions are bad enough that it's easy to break traction on throttle.
Surferboy120
Passed Driver's Ed
At the end of the day it comes down to cost. There isnt anyone that can say the GTI is better than the Golf R. I have had a lot of FWD cars that were boosted in one form or another and made gobs more power than this Golf R. With that said I would take this fat turd Golf R stage 2+ any day over the FWD cars I have had. In the end you need to be able to put the power down. The Golf R does it better than any GTI could.
If you have the money buy the Golf R. You may not have the funds to put way more into it but the Golf R will allow you to do more with less. Nothing like being able to use all of what you have rather than having more power that cant be used. Its more fun to have fun overall rather than a narrow spectrum like roll racing.
Dont learn it the long hard expensive way. If you dont have the funds you will have to settle for less.
If you have the money buy the Golf R. You may not have the funds to put way more into it but the Golf R will allow you to do more with less. Nothing like being able to use all of what you have rather than having more power that cant be used. Its more fun to have fun overall rather than a narrow spectrum like roll racing.
Dont learn it the long hard expensive way. If you dont have the funds you will have to settle for less.
MrFancypants
Autocross Champion
I kind of like having the traction flaw. It makes the car more involving to drive.
I get the appeal of AWD and being able to take off from a standing start like you've got drag radials on is a lot of fun, but the need to be measured in how I apply power adds another thing I need to deal with as a driver.
Not being able to get wheelspin when I felt like spinning the tires up for no good reason was something I found frustrating in my AWD cars.
I'm not saying that the Golf R isn't the better car. I'm just saying that personal preference has a play here as well.
I get the appeal of AWD and being able to take off from a standing start like you've got drag radials on is a lot of fun, but the need to be measured in how I apply power adds another thing I need to deal with as a driver.
Not being able to get wheelspin when I felt like spinning the tires up for no good reason was something I found frustrating in my AWD cars.
I'm not saying that the Golf R isn't the better car. I'm just saying that personal preference has a play here as well.
so rn my gti is stage 1 flased from a cobb ap. what my problem is is that its too slow lol and i dont want to have to dump 4000 into the car to get it as fast as an r when i could just save that money and buy a r at the end of the year. and if i go stage 2 on the gti im gonna have to do the clutch and the catch can and all that good stuff.
plus the exhaust on the mk6r just looks sooo good imo.
plus the exhaust on the mk6r just looks sooo good imo.
jeez
Ready to race!
Cobb tunes are very conservative. It makes sense you feel slow. It sounds like you have limited funds (you said 4k) and like the R better. I also like the looks better. But it also sounds you like a quick car. Save the money, buy the R, but don't get pissed when modded GTIs pass you. If you can live with that, 100% go for the R. I wanted a quick highway car, which is why I went GTI K04.
Its not worth getting the GTI and then wishing you had an R. So go for the R to begin with. It sounds like it's checks the more important boxes for you.
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MKJBM05
Passed Driver's Ed
Don't forget the Exclusivity of the Mark 6 R, I see MK6 and MK7 GTI + an MK7 R more on the streets than an MK6 R.
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