1′13.1 — Fastest MK8 GTI at Tianma Circuit

SpeedUP Custom Stage 2 Tune：

1. Power:
No water injection, 1.5 bar, 222 PS / 367 Nm.
On track, peak horsepower is not the most important — heat-resistance, anti-heat-soak and linear boost matter far more.

2. Chassis:
8R knuckles with –2° camber, OEM shocks, and OEM VAQ LSD, which is 99× stronger than the domestic Torsen copies.
The LSD’s corner exit traction is unbelievably strong.

Brakes are SpeedUP’s custom AP 9448 racing kit, but the OEM suspension is truly the weak point.
Under hard braking the weight transfer is too violent, braking distance becomes long (braking starts over 100m away), and the car sways left/right aggressively —
Turn 1 turns left but the car wants to sway right, turn 9 turns right but the car throws left.
It’s genuinely nerve-wracking to drive.

3. No weight reduction.

4. Front brakes work extremely well:
Front AP 9448 + MX72 pads, but the rear only has pad upgrades.
Braking bias is too front-heavy, causing excessive nose-dive — OEM suspension also contributes to this.

5. Cooling:
Only upgraded intercooler.
IAT remains manageable in Shanghai’s weather, but oil temp reaches 123°C, requiring three cooldown laps to drop to 109°C — disrupting rhythm heavily.

6. Tires:
Chinese semi-new Reden R23, 225/40R18 front & rear.

Finally:
Due to GoPro over-exposure, the footage had to be darkened heavily — sorry for the “underworld-looking” video.