Lettuce Build Thread, Fast Cars and Fast Women: Stage 2 and Beyond

[lettuce]

Lettuce Build Thread Index

-Stage 2 Upgrade (This Post)
-Carbon Cleaning
-Frankenturbo F23L Upgrade
-Hotchkis Sway Bar Upgrade
-UR Strut Tower Brace and Sway Bar Review
-Modified Fog Grilles
-Treadstone Intercooler Upgrade
-Treadstone FMIC IAT Logs
-Track Performance - 12.7 @ 106 and more logs
-Yet another track night - 12.6 @ 107
-New 034 Motor Mounts and Transmission Insert
-ECS Catch Can Install (Removed and RMA'd)
-Teaser
-Valve Seal Replacement
-Suspension and Wheel Install Post 1
-Suspension and Wheel Install Post 2
-Methanol Injection
-4-Piston Q5 Brembo BBK Install
-Bespoke Flat Bottom Steering Wheel
-B8.5 2.0T Engine Swap
-Ram-air brake ducting setup with EBC Red Stuff pads
-White letter tire stickers
-F23L Rebuild, PTP Turbo Blanket, and new HFC
-Replacing snapped front axle

Current pics:
(as of 6/16)


(as of 11/19)


Stage 2 Upgrade:

I've had my '09 A4 2.0t for about 3 months now and I have some pretty big plans for it, so figured I'll start one of these now and update it as I go. As it stands right now it's stage 2 and looks bone stock (minus the badge delete). Engine mods are probably done for the near future as I'm pretty happy with how it performs in that department, so now I'll be focusing my attention on handling and braking. More on that later, here are some pictures of the install process from my engine work so far. I also do all my own work, and although when it comes to this car I'm certainly no expert and am still learning, I'd be more than happy to answer any questions anybody has regarding the stuff I've done and have experience with.

3.0 TDI Intercooler:





Bolted right up to the stock mounts and hoses, but the diameter of the hose ports was slightly larger than stock on the new IC, so I had to really coax the old pipes on there. Lubing up the outside of the IC pipes with a tiny bit of grease helped a bit. In my opinion this IC is perfect for the level of power stage 2 provides, and anything larger isn't really necessary until you get into the larger turbos. And at 1/5 - 1/10 the cost of most aftermarket intercoolers, it's a great value.

Go Fast Bits DV+ Diverter Valve:


Got it simply to replace my stock valve as I had a hunch it wouldn't last long with the new tune, and was pleasantly surprised with its performance. Although I didn't buy it for this, it also adds a bit of sound to the turbo, which I've decided I like. I'd recommend this to anyone upgrading to stage 1 and beyond.

Eurocode High Flow Cat with DEI Titanium Heat Wrap and O2 spacer:






Funnily enough I was a little worried about getting a CEL after the HFC install, so I was kicking myself for forgetting to order a spacer. Went to take the old stock cat off and there was already a spacer on there, so I just reused it. Put about 100 miles on the car over the weekend after the install and no CEL yet. Thanks previous owner or dealership trying desperately to hide a CEL. You saved me a few bucks.

The install itself however sucked so many dicks. The turbo bolts were easy enough to get off, but the HFC to DP nuts seemed to have devolved over the years into garbled blobs of rust and contempt. They honestly weren't even nuts at this point. I realized pretty much immediately these were going to have to be cut off, and thankfully they weren't screwed into bolts, but studs which seemed to have welded themselves into the DP flange, so they would have to be drilled out as well. I was then happy to find out that these studs were made out of some kind of Skyforge-hardened steel that required about 20-30 minutes of intense drilling each to get them out. After that was all done and the studs were made into a pile of steel dust and replaced with nice new bolts and nuts, the reinstall went pretty smoothly. Another highly recommended mod for the masochistic do-it-yourselfer.

In case anyone was wondering what the difference was between the stock cat and high flow version in terms of construction, here's a side-by-side view inside both. It's pretty apparent where the performance increases come from.


Eurodyne Maestro Stage 2 ECU Tune:


Highly recommend the Maestro Suite if you're technologically-literate, have a lot of patience, and plan to tune your car more than once. If not, I highly recommend something else. Customer service is non-existent, emails are replied to within 5 minutes when inquiring about purchasing the product, and then I'm almost positive the Paypal submit button has some code linked to it that automatically adds your email address to his spam list. I've even submitted semi-detailed bug reports and got nothing. I've also found dozens of dead links all over the internet pointing to what apparently once was a thriving forum community on his website which discussed and detailed all the workings of his software for intrepid users such as myself. For whatever reason this was deleted, and there is zero official documentation on how to use any of his software.

I don't personally have anything to compare them to, but the stage 1 and stage 2 base files I've flashed so far seem to be pretty good, but I'm also under the assumption that they are not as finely-tuned as the files from a company like APR, GIAC or Revo. So if you're not fine-tuning them then it's possible you might be leaving a bit of performance on the table, although honestly probably not very much. [Edit two years later:] Disregard this, everything I've heard from people who have switched from some other tuner to Eurodyne has said how much smoother and more powerful Eurodyne is. The man who wrote these base files knew what he was doing.

Overall the software works for me and my needs, but I hesitate to recommend it to anyone even remotely squeamish about being left completely on their own to do something like this. If you're the kind of guy that likes to flash new ROMs on your rooted Android phone then this is the software for you. If you're the type that's too worried about bricking your phone, imagine yourself bricking your $20k car, do a 360 and drive away to your nearest APR dealer.

Beyond this I've done some more boring stuff like a new fuel filter, afe air filter, ECS turbo inlet hose, badge delete in the rear, new NGK Laser Platinum plugs, etc. I also have an A118-C dashcam hardwired into an accessory fuse which I can't recommend highly-enough. Under $100, 1080p and looks stealthy enough to be confused for a stock add-on. Google it, Amazon it, UPS it and install it. You'll wonder how you ever drove without it. The peace of mind it gives you knowing it'll vouch for you if you ever slam into some bozo who just blew a red light and there are zero witnesses to profess your innocence is invaluable.

After all this, it still looks Stock:



All this completely transformed the way the car feels. I did a quick stage 1 flash for a few days before I got around to installing everything, and while that was a pretty big step up, stage 2 just took it to a whole nother level. Stock, the car felt like it wanted to go fast but was holding back. Even stage 1 felt like it was leaving quite a bit on the table. First gear sucked as it took what felt like an eternity for the turbo to spool up, and then after an all-too-quick ride in the K03 turbo spike rocket ship I was left to anguish in high-RPM purgatory where I felt like I was barely accelerating anymore, but knew that upshifting early would leave me right back where I started. Second and third were decent, but still was always left wanting.

Stage 2 with these mods completely changed all that. Not only does the turbo spool up so much faster, but I feel like I actually have some power before it does so. Then second hits and I'm off for the ride, and if I can't manage to muster up the ever-increasing amount of self-restraint this car is requiring of me, third gear will have me up to 100 mph in no time at all. Not to mention the sound difference. The car just sounds so angry now. The added boost from the tune gave it a really mean growl, the HFC gave it a bit of low-end bass, and the GFB diverter valve and high-flow air filter gave it a nice high-pitched turbo whine with a subtle but very satisfying "psssh" when I let off the throttle.

I was planning on a turbo upgrade soon but honestly this will probably hold me over for quite a while. At least till next summer, or until my wastegate finally gives out. If anyone reading this is on the fence, just do it. Stage 2 will completely transform your car and life in general. The first time you mash through the gears you'll feel like a kid again, getting your first blowjob in the back of the 6th grade detention hall. You'll look to your future and think "Man, this is gonna be great."

Weekend after next I'm going to tackle a carbon cleaning. Bought two cans of BG Induction System Cleaner as recommended in this post. Anyone have any tips on cleaning fuel injectors as well? Should I just dump some of this stuff in my gas tank or would it be better to just take them out and clean them manually?

Anyway, in the not too distant future I'm planning on doing some suspension and brake upgrades. I'm leaning towards sway bars to start, and then I want to grab a big brake kit. Trying to decide between the Q5 and RS big brake kits from ECS. Want to do something with the rears too, and not spend much over $3k, so will probably go with the Q5s. Anyone with experience with either of these (or something else in that price range) I'd love to hear your thoughts. Also anyone who has done handling upgrades I'd love to hear what you think are the best bang for your buck upgrades are. I'm not too keen on lowering it with wheels just yet, really trying to keep the stock appearance, but pretty much everything else is on the table.

Lastly, here are some pics I took about a month ago:

[adamazing]

Good thread, with an even better thread title.

[Shimmy]

buy my Alcon bbk.😁

[dennisA4]

I'm here for the womenz.

[Project Quattro]

"Garbled blobs of rust and contempt" has to be one of the best things I've read on this site. Nice write up!

You mentioned wanting to stay away from a drop, but even a mild one (springs or coilovers) will improve the handling drastically.


Sent from my iPhone 6 using Tapatalk

[AUDIMAN33]

I'm here for the womenz.

Me too, where they at doe?

[STA4]

Nice write up. Where did you mount said dashcam?

[lettuce]

buy my Alcon bbk.��

Interesting, I'll give that serious consideration if it's still available in a couple months when I'm looking to buy.

You mentioned wanting to stay away from a drop, but even a mild one (springs or coilovers) will improve the handling drastically.

Yes, eventually I'll upgrade the wheels at which point I'll have to drop it a bit, but for know I'm trying to do what I can while keeping with the stock appearance.

Me too, where they at doe?

The women are coming.

Nice write up. Where did you mount said dashcam?

Right behind the rearview mirror on the passenger side. Here's a shot of it from the outside:


From the driver's seat it's totally invisible. Also I should add that out of the box it comes with a cigarette lighter plug for power, which you'd have to plug and unplug every time you got in and out of the car. For $10 I ordered a hardwire kit along with it and tapped into an accessory fuse in the passenger-side fuse panel in the dash. Now it's all automatic and I forget it's even there most of the time.

[secondchance]

Interesting, I'll give that serious consideration if it's still available in a couple months when I'm looking to buy.



Yes, eventually I'll upgrade the wheels at which point I'll have to drop it a bit, but for know I'm trying to do what I can while keeping with the stock appearance.



The women are coming.



Right behind the rearview mirror on the passenger side. Here's a shot of it from the outside:


From the driver's seat it's totally invisible. Also I should add that out of the box it comes with a cigarette lighter plug for power, which you'd have to plug and unplug every time you got in and out of the car. For $10 I ordered a hardwire kit along with it and tapped into an accessory fuse in the passenger-side fuse panel in the dash. Now it's all automatic and I forget it's even there most of the time.

I guess the logical next question is why you wish to keep it as close to the stock appearance as possible? Maybe its just me, but the stock looking a4, especially the non s-line models, leaves alot to be desired.

[richardm0025]

I guess the logical next question is why you wish to keep it as close to the stock appearance as possible? Maybe its just me, but the stock looking a4, especially the non s-line models, leaves alot to be desired.

I just feel it needs side blades, after that the standard A4 looks great. Oh and maybe exhaust on both sides too.

[lettuce]

I guess the logical next question is why you wish to keep it as close to the stock appearance as possible? Maybe its just me, but the stock looking a4, especially the non s-line models, leaves alot to be desired.

Well, a few reasons. First, I disagree with you in that the stock appearance leaves a lot to be desired. One of the main reasons why I chose the B8 A4 over similar cars, including the much faster 335xi, was that it looked nearly perfect to me as-is. Don't get me wrong, I like the aftermarket look with nice wheels and whatnot, but I'm more than happy with the way it looks now.

Second of all, I'd much rather have a car that's faster than it looks than the other way around. Not that a car like this could ever be considered a 'sleeper', but that's the route I'm going as much as possible. I'm all about being relatively low-key and then blowing away any expectations. When the car performs as well as I'd ultimately like it to then maybe I'll consider giving it a corresponding appearance.

Third, I have a history with the police in my area, so I like to draw as little unneeded attention to myself as possible.

The only thing I'm worried about is fitting a BBK under my stock 17s, so a wheel upgrade may have to happen sooner than I'd like. We'll see how things go.

[ryan_m]

It's really cool to see that much time and thought into the performance over the exterior.

I'm not sure if you were included in my first round of PMs to local guys, but I just started a local group called MassEGA (Enthusiasts of German Autos) with a forum over at www.MassEGA.com -> we're just getting started and only have about 25 members but it'd be great to have you attend our first local event, and to see build thread updates over there too if you feel like posting them again.

[AUDIMAN33]

Well, a few reasons. First, I disagree with you in that the stock appearance leaves a lot to be desired. One of the main reasons why I chose the B8 A4 over similar cars, including the much faster 335xi, was that it looked nearly perfect to me as-is. Don't get me wrong, I like the aftermarket look with nice wheels and whatnot, but I'm more than happy with the way it looks now.

Second of all, I'd much rather have a car that's faster than it looks than the other way around. Not that a car like this could ever be considered a 'sleeper', but that's the route I'm going as much as possible. I'm all about being relatively low-key and then blowing away any expectations. When the car performs as well as I'd ultimately like it to then maybe I'll consider giving it a corresponding appearance.

Third, I have a history with the police in my area, so I like to draw as little unneeded attention to myself as possible.

The only thing I'm worried about is fitting a BBK under my stock 17s, so a wheel upgrade may have to happen sooner than I'd like. We'll see how things go.

If you're talking about the E90 335xi, I would chose the B8 every day. The E90 body style is now either a high school girl or a kid who thinks his car is fast. The e90s are at the point were they are so cheap its nothing special. everyone can afford them

[S-Liner]

If you're talking about the E90 335xi, I would chose the B8 every day. The E90 body style is now either a high school girl or a kid who thinks his car is fast. The e90s are at the point were they are so cheap its nothing special. everyone can afford them

The B8 platform is ALSO at a point where they are SO cheap....it's nothing special

[STA4]

Right behind the rearview mirror on the passenger side. Here's a shot of it from the outside:


From the driver's seat it's totally invisible. Also I should add that out of the box it comes with a cigarette lighter plug for power, which you'd have to plug and unplug every time you got in and out of the car. For $10 I ordered a hardwire kit along with it and tapped into an accessory fuse in the passenger-side fuse panel in the dash. Now it's all automatic and I forget it's even there most of the time.

Thanks. I just ordered one from Gearbest. Did you run the wiring under the headliner and A-pillar?

[AUDIMAN33]

The B8 platform is ALSO at a point where they are SO cheap....it's nothing special

I dont agree, at least not with the B8.5. The E90 are wayyyy cheaper then the B8s.

[adamazing]

I just wanted to add that the perspective on this picture is great. Got it just right - it looks like a never ending corridor.

[b8tamaster]

Subscribed!

[lettuce]

It's really cool to see that much time and thought into the performance over the exterior.

I'm not sure if you were included in my first round of PMs to local guys, but I just started a local group called MassEGA (Enthusiasts of German Autos) with a forum over at www.MassEGA.com -> we're just getting started and only have about 25 members but it'd be great to have you attend our first local event, and to see build thread updates over there too if you feel like posting them again.

Thanks brother. Your forum looks like a nice idea, I'll definitely check it out.

If you're talking about the E90 335xi, I would chose the B8 every day. The E90 body style is now either a high school girl or a kid who thinks his car is fast. The e90s are at the point were they are so cheap its nothing special. everyone can afford them

Yes, the E90s. The fact that they outnumber Audis and Mercs around here by at least a 3:1 ratio made me pretty sick of them to begin with. If I'm already sick of seeing them on the road, I'm sure as hell not going to want to wake up to seeing one every day in my garage too. But beyond that they just look weird, like they're not proportional. The front end of the car reminds me of a shrunken head voodoo doll or something. It makes me feel uneasy looking at it. It's like the front of the car from the base of the windshield forward was made for a car 2/3 the size of the car it's on.

Thanks. I just ordered one from Gearbest. Did you run the wiring under the headliner and A-pillar?

Nice. Yes I did. You can just press the wiring up into the edge of the headliner, but I took the A-pillar off to route it underneath the airbag so as not to obstruct it in case I ever need it. From the A-pillar down into the fuse panel is only another couple of inches and can be easily routed through there with the pillar and fuse panel door taken off. I forget exactly which fuse I wired it into but I can go check if you'd like. It was a 5 amp on the passenger side, I believe in the middle bank.

I just wanted to add that the perspective on this picture is great. Got it just right - it looks like a never ending corridor.

Thanks. It took a while for me to get used to correcting for parallax error on my 645 rangefinder. Using it for years to shoot architecture stuff really helped. You'd be surprised how that 2-3 inch offset can really throw off your compositions.

[034Motorsport]

It's great to see performance upgrades being detailed in build threads! Let me know if you ever need anything from us.

- Laszlo

[MidNight_Blue]

This thread actually makes me want go after performance over exterior first...though as someone with no wrenching experience, it's a daunting task. Excellent descriptive writing!

[A4 Centaur]

Anyway, in the not too distant future I'm planning on doing some suspension and brake upgrades. I'm leaning towards sway bars to start, and then I want to grab a big brake kit. Trying to decide between the Q5 and RS big brake kits from ECS. Want to do something with the rears too, and not spend much over $3k, so will probably go with the Q5s. Anyone with experience with either of these (or something else in that price range) I'd love to hear your thoughts. Also anyone who has done handling upgrades I'd love to hear what you think are the best bang for your buck upgrades are. I'm not too keen on lowering it with wheels just yet, really trying to keep the stock appearance, but pretty much everything else is on the table.


Great start! I would recommend the Q5 Brake upgrade if price is your limiting factor. The Alu-Kreuz is a must do as well as a quality Coil-Over Kit.

Happy Modding!

[lettuce]

This thread actually makes me want go after performance over exterior first...though as someone with no wrenching experience, it's a daunting task. Excellent descriptive writing!

Do it, honestly most of this stuff isn't hard. Learning how to work on your own car is the kind of skill that will pay dividends throughout your entire life. You'll save so much money on maintenance and repair costs, and will be able to afford cars you normally wouldn't be able to because of it. Imagine buying something like a B7 RS4 and having it dealer-serviced? It's probably cheaper to self-maintain one of those than it would be to dealer-maintain a stock A4 out of warranty.

Great start! I would recommend the Q5 Brake upgrade if price is your limiting factor. The Alu-Kreuz is a must do as well as a quality Coil-Over Kit.

Happy Modding!

After doing some research it looks like even the Q5 brakes won't fit under my stock 17s. Even the "Stage 1" brake kit with the S4 caliper carriers makes use of 345mm rotors which apparently need at least 18s for clearance. Kind of disappointing as I really like the stock wheels, but definitely need to do some sort of brake upgrade. Had a little fun on the highway with a CLS550 over the weekend, and after only 2 runs the limitations of the stock brakes became very apparent. Better brake cooling is now #1 on my to do list (as well as a GTX2863R and all forged internals so I can actually keep up with a 400hp twin turbo V8 like the one powering that friggen Merc).

Side note: Does anyone know what our stock rotors and wheels weigh? I'm not going to do any brake/wheel upgrades that increase rotating mass over stock, and the lighter I can go, the better. I'd imagine the two-piece 345mm S4 rotors from ECS weigh less than the stock A4s but I'd like to know by how much. Also if I do get wheels they'd be the VMR 710s, which I believe are slightly heavier than stock, but I'd imagine the tires would be lighter so I'm wondering what the overall weight difference is. I know these are pretty popular wheels on here so maybe somebody weighed them and their stock set to compare the two.

[zokissima]

Love the thread, just installing all the support mods for a stage 2 myself.

I went with a set of coilovers....and drove it for a day on these Montreal roads...then went back to stock. Think I'm done with slammed cars for a little while.

[lettuce]

Got around to doing the carbon cleaning the other day. Went pretty smoothly, honestly was expecting the intake ports/valves to be a lot worse than they were. Overall a pretty fun job but probably not one I'll worry about doing again. The car runs maybe a teeny bit better but could certainly just be placebo.

I followed the step by step guide in this post and have a few addendums to anyone thinking of doing this themselves.

1) I did not replace the intake manifold gasket. It seemed to be in great shape and didn't feel the need.
2) I did the entire job without jacking the car up at all. I was able to access the crank bolt to advance the 4th set of valves from the top. It was a tight squeeze, but honestly went on a lot easier than I expected it to.
3) The bottom bolt on the throttle body strut came out easily with a T50 torx bit, so if you don't have the M9 triple square bit, don't worry. The torx bit fits in snugly and works just fine; you won't strip anything out.
4) I second his notion on getting an extra hose clamp for the slimmer rear vacuum hose you disconnect. The hose crimp on there is really a one-time-use thing, you can reuse it if you're very patient but honestly it's not worth the hassle. Also you can just disconnect it from the T junction instead of the rear of the manifold, it's a lot easier to get at this way.

Not really much to take off, just the manifold, throttle body strut, two hoses and some nuts, bolts and injector spacers.


Before:


After:


You can see in a few of my pics that I find it helps to label all the wiring harness clips I disconnect with blue masking tape. This helps me two-fold. One, I label every one with the connector location so I know where it goes, and two the blue tape is very visible, so I don't have to worry about forgetting to reconnect a clip somewhere. Just look for all the blue tags and plug them in where they tell me to. Easy peasy.

Before:


After:




Like I said, the valves were bad but not as bad as I thought they'd be considering the car has 120k miles and burns oil. I didn't really worry too much about getting every last bit of carbon off the valves, I just made sure to get the bulk of the buildup off while smoothing the rest out. The injector tips were pretty mucked up with hardened carbon as well so I made sure to really clean those off good. I plan on doing a complete bottom-end rebuild either this winter or next, so I'll do a more thorough clean then when I have the head off the car. Might even replace the valves altogether.

I also did my first purely cosmetic upgrade to the car: some official Audi black chrome exhaust tips. I think they're part of some option package my car didn't come with. My old tips were rusted out and looked like garbage, so I figured these would add a nice, understated look and still appear as if they came on the car from the factory. The chrome ones would have been a bit too flashy and aftermarket-looking I think. Probably still would have been nice though, it was a toss up but ended up going with these and I couldn't be happier. If anyone is interested, they're part number 8K0071761A. I believe the chrome ones are the same # but without the "A" at the end. Installation took maybe 2 minutes. They slip right on (with a little help from a rubber mallet which I probably didn't need but helped out for sure) and have metal tabs in them which bend and hook into your existing tips so they'll stay on nice and snug. The fit was absolutely perfect and they were well worth the money.

[AUDIMAN33]

Nice, but I haven't seen any hoes yet and I was promised hoes judging from the title.....

[lettuce]

Very awesome things will be happening this weekend.

[4ringnut]

Very awesome things will be happening this weekend.

Stock looking, turbo charged women?

[lettuce]

Stock looking, turbo charged women?

It's a Frankenturbo. You guys aren't going to let up about the women are you.

[AUDIMAN33]

It's a Frankenturbo. You guys aren't going to let up about the women are you.

I will sue you for false advertising if you don't post some hoes soon....

[4ringnut]

We want franken turbo hoes! With supercharged tits! In Michelin super sport bras!

[blbroo]

I prefer naturally aspirated classy women.

And the correct term is frankenturhoe


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[4ringnut]

Pfft, naturally aspirated women are prudes.

[AUDIMAN33]

I like the Stuck up b*tches....

Dat 1% that no one can get...

[blbroo]

Pfft, naturally aspirated women are prudes.

on the streets....

[TommyK]

How many miles did you have on the car at the time of the carbon clean up?

Also from previous posts about the 335i i would have to agree that the E90 is nothing special at this point. Its starting to look extremely dated. I have had 2 E90's and considered getting another but the B8 I feel is aging better and even though its not as fast its a better and way more reliable daily.

[lettuce]

My car is no longer a car, it is now a monster. The Frankenturbo install went about as smoothly as expected; no major hangups and with the F23L Eurodyne tune it's running better and smoother than it ever has -- not to mention much, much faster.

I was pretty happy with stage 2 so I honestly hadn't planned on doing this upgrade so soon. That is until I kept hearing my damn wastegate chatter (see thread here), which was not only annoying but also a constant reminder of all the boost I was losing. Much to my surprise the previous owner had already done a fix similar to the one brought up in that thread, so the fact that it had gotten this bad again even after being fixed once led me to the decision to just start fresh with a nice new turbo that won't have this issue at all.


Now obviously I'm not going to go through all the trouble of a turbo replacement just to toss in another stock K03, so when I came across user Jerry1847's build thread and saw that he had a Frankenturbo he upgraded to and from for sale, I jumped on it. Long story short I couldn't be happier. The car is so fast now, and with the launch control and quattro the thing just plants you in the seat and takes off with nearly zero turbo lag. Can't wait for the cool nights to creep in so I can take this thing up to the track to see what it can do. Judging from what I've seen with other K04s on here and cars I've driven/owned in the past it's gotta be somewhere in the mid to high 12s, which would put me right around stock B8 S4 speeds (if not a hair faster) at roughly half the cost. That's just a hunch though, I'll reserve bragging rights until I have an actual slip in my hand. Regardless it's freaking fast.

Here's everything I installed. Namely the Frankenturbo F23L, R8 coil packs and NGK Iridium plugs:


Stock turbo with the airbox out:


Stock turbo removed:


New turbo installed:


Stock K03 - Frankenturbo F23L comparison:



(Frankenturbo on the right in that last one)

After the install I immediately loaded up the new Eurodyne tune for the F23L. I wasn't sure if the F23L file that came with it was a full file or essentially just a patch file for a full "Stage x" base file, so just to be sure I flashed it with the Stage 3 file first and then the F23L file. I probably didn't have to do this but just wanted to err on the side of caution. The thing started right up, idles great, runs as smooth as butter and hasn't hesitated, misfired or popped a CEL yet. Really impressed with how the car feels now, it's leagues better than the Stage 2 tune with the busted-ass wastegate I was running. That setup was great when under either zero or full boost, but at partial throttle and higher RPMs it wasn't exactly what I'd describe as smooth. I assume it was a combination of boost leaking and an unrefined tune, but now the car is back to feeling completely refined. Overall I'm loving the tune on this setup so far.

My only complaint is the transmission doesn't shift firmly very consistently, but this isn't new to the turbo and tune upgrade, just exasperated by it. Sometimes it's punches right into gear, sometimes it's slushy and just sort of meanders into gear. Even in sport mode after a launch control start, I've had slushy 1-2 shifts. I guess a tranny fluid and filter change might be on the horizon, but from what I've read regarding lifetime fluids, doing more harm than good and confusion over which fluid to use I've been a little reluctant. We'll see how it plays out.

Also noticed that the PCV breather inlet and turbo outlet pipe were practically soaked in oil.



I've been mulling over the idea of getting a catch can, and seeing what's coming out of the PCV almost has me convinced. The only thing holding me back is the fact that it gets below freezing here for a good 4-5 months out of the year, and I've heard some horror stories about the can lines freezing up causing main seals and actual crankcases to blow out when pressure builds up. I'd just get the updated PCV valve, but I've heard that needs a software update and I'm not sure if that'd be able to coexist with my Eurodyne software. Kinda stuck between a rock and a hard place with this one it seems.

The oil dripping out of the outlet pipe looks bad as well. It's more than likely wishful thinking, but I've been hoping lately that maybe my oil consumption issue has been mainly due to faulty turbo seals, so I topped off the motor this weekend and I'll be monitoring the consumption over the next few weeks. Here's to hoping it's better with the new turbo (not holding my breath).

Oh and a few notes for anyone considering doing this themselves:

1) Tighten down those banjo fittings like it's the last thing you'll ever do. I nearly had a heart attack when I started the car up and was pissing coolant, only to realize I hadn't properly crushed the crush washers on the outer coolant line to the turbo. If it had been the line on the inside of the turbo I would have been absolutely screwed, as it's impossible to get a wrench on there with the turbo on the car. If that happened I'd probably still be in the garage now getting it back together. Went out for a long drive last night and the coolant levels are still steady at max though so I really dodged a bullet there.

2) Hose clamps, hose clamps, hose clamps. I keep forgetting to stock up on these things and had to make another emergency run to the store to buy some. I grabbed about a dozen this time though, all different sizes.

3) Watch out for those little clips on the outer side of the coil pack harness. Fucking snapped one of mine in half at some point and had to rig it back up with some spare wire, solder and epoxy. I'm gonna try to pick one up at some point in the near future and just splice it into the harness in its place, but my fix seems to be working well enough for now. Also I don't know if you can just buy a single one of these clips, I imagine they're just part of a much larger, much more expensive harness. Does anyone know what they're actually called or where I could find them, save for a junkyard?


4) Don't leave any of your newly-purchased triple-square bits in the engine bay when you take your car out for a test drive. It'll fall through and clunk around the first time you floor it before it falls out the back and you'll spend hours wondering what the hell that sound was before you realize what happened.

Everything installed and back together:

[Smellie]

Nice! Are you hitting the dyno any time soon?

[lettuce]

Nice! Are you hitting the dyno any time soon?

Thanks, probably not. I'm more concerned with hitting the track. Those are the numbers that really matter to me.

How many miles did you have on the car at the time of the carbon clean up?

Right around 120k miles.

[The Infiltrator]

Very nice! Can't wait to see what your car does on a dyno.