Wheelspin on take off when in wet,TSi, GTI and Golf R

[twotribez]

Hi Guys,

I am currently driving a 2009 TSi Golf and was thinking of upgrading to the GTi. However recently in the wet, the wheels seem to be spinning quite a bit on take off. Tires are still in good shape, just never really noticed it till after the recall computer flash.

Not I realise this is the behaviour of a lot of FWD but it didn't seem that obvious in the past.

With this is mind, can drivers of MK6 GTi's tell me if they do get a lot of wheel spin at take off in the wet? or does the electronic diff help curb this to a minimum? I am not even stepping hard on the throttle but sometimes the TSi is very sensitive. If this is the case, I may opt for an R instead because of the 4WD traction.

Coming from an Evo 8 previously, I do like AWD however was opting for the GTi because of its practical day to day usage and partly also because where my girlfriend parks, the TSi just gets up without scraping the driveway, not sure if the GTi or R will get up.

Thanks for reading.

[Corey_R]

With the Golf GTI, although the XDS has helped a lot, for traction from a stand still in the wet, you still need to "respect the throttle". It doesn't matter how good your tyres and suspension are, you can't get around the laws of physics. Having said that, the GTI is very impressive in this regard compared to most other FWD cars.

But especially if you're already used to AWD grip from a standstill, the GTI is not going to compare to the R.

As for scraping the driveway, there is very little difference in ride height at the front between a GTI and the R. The GTI is 22mm lower than the Trend/Comfortline models, and the R is 25mm. At the rear the GTI is 15mm lower than the Trend/Comfortline models and the R is still 25mm lower.

[hooba]

The lower spoiler on the R requires more care than the GTI. Personal experience - the R I test drove already had a big scratch on the bottom lip of the spoiler, and I managed to scrape it on the dealer's driveway on which I had no problems with on 3 different occasions in a GTI.

For grip in the wet, the GTI is the best FWD car I've ever driven, however you still need to be careful due to the amount of bottom end torque. The tricky diff makes a big difference, however the AWD grip of the R is undoubtedly superior.

[Corey_R]

Actually good point about the front spoiler on the R.
I had the Oettinger bodykit on my MKV GTI. It is similar to the R's front spoiler, except it then has a "carbon fibre splitter" across the "void" under the centre air damn. I didn't even lower the car and you had to be VEEEERY careful entering any driveway (even commerical properties) and going up/down any ramp. But yeah, I could imagine that care will still need to be taken in the R vs the GTI, dispite there only officially being 3mm difference in ride height at the front.

[booya]

I've scraped the bottom front lip once on one of those concrete barriers at the front of the car space, most cars front ends have lots of room over it but the GTI scrapes it and that means the R will too.
I do get small amount of wheel spin in wet speeding out of a roundabout but the XDS kicks in and corrects it almost immediately. I'll see how it goes one of these days and really floor it when nobody else is around and see how that goes, but you gotta respect the power in this car and not get too cocky.

[twotribez]

Hi all,

Thanks for the replies. Yeah the front of the R does pertrube out further. I always reverse park to avoid those parking barriers. Some are just too high. I am used to a low car but my girlfriend is not.... I can imagine her telling me oops i scraped the car hahaha.

As for respecting the power, yep, i definitely will. Even on the TSi the torque is pretty high thus even a slight push on the throttle and the car wheel can spin. In fact when i was at a car park and the car happen to come to rest right next to a rubber speed hump, as it was wet i tapped slightly on the throttle to move, the wheels spun and i got no where haha. Had to wait for the car to roll back slightly.

Also its a hard choice between the gti and R. For 10 K more u get quite a lot more such as xenons parking sensors, AWD standard 18s. Frustrating.... Had my mind set on a gti this morning the saw an R at the traffic lights, it sounded awesome at idle....

Decisions decisions haha

[MkVIGTI]

I always go easy on the throttle at the lights so grip hasn't been a problem for me. The standard Bridgestone Potenzas also have heaps of grip, even in the wet. But then again when I feel the urge to break some traction...

[AdamD]

As for respecting the power, yep, i definitely will. Even on the TSi the torque is pretty high thus even a slight push on the throttle and the car wheel can spin.

If wheelspin/traction is of paramount importance to you, nothing beats a good AWD system. In my experience you need to be fairly abusive to get even a hint of wheelspin in the R (in other words, you need to be trying to unsettle the car); the GTI can break traction in the dry without much provocation at all, and a lapse of concentration when taking off can be enough. I'm not a track driver and am not concerned about a bit of wheelspin here and there, but if your mileage varies in this regard, the R's launch grip can't be beaten.

As for all the other points of difference between the GTI and the R, these are very well documented in several other threads in this forum.

[Prodigy]

As for scraping the driveway, there is very little difference in ride height at the front between a GTI and the R. The GTI is 22mm lower than the Trend/Comfortline models, and the R is 25mm. At the rear the GTI is 15mm lower than the Trend/Comfortline models and the R is still 25mm lower.

Anyone know what the front lip height from the ground is on the R please?

[twotribez]

If wheelspin/traction is of paramount importance to you, nothing beats a good AWD system. In my experience you need to be fairly abusive to get even a hint of wheelspin in the R (in other words, you need to be trying to unsettle the car); the GTI can break traction in the dry without much provocation at all, and a lapse of concentration when taking off can be enough. I'm not a track driver and am not concerned about a bit of wheelspin here and there, but if your mileage varies in this regard, the R's launch grip can't be beaten.


As for all the other points of difference between the GTI and the R, these are very well documented in several other threads in this forum.

haha yeah AWD definitely for sure for ALL PAW GRIP. I think I read somewhere that the Golf R is FWD biased?