K04 Maintenance Free

[rlopez]

I tried a trial chip...not enough gusto. I think a K04 kit injectors, turbo, DV, ECU upgrade etc might satisfy my thirst for more speed, but will it last or provide maintenance free drivability?

I have 50K miles and expect to keep the B7 Quattro 6sp for at least another 4 years or 50K miles.

Anyone with K04 that have had it for at least a couple of years or several thousand miles have any feedback?

[Tusin]

You know. If you keep up on the oil changes, check the cam follower every 10k (a very good idea when running a HPFP), I think a K04 or even a APR STG 3 setup would be very reliable.

[Quattro]

^^x2.

not many people have done k04 upgrade or have posted this.

might as well go with gt28 for the price you already paying.

[Nico]

I've had the KO4 for 3 yrs now. After about 20000km i needed to replace my gear box due to a chipped tooth on 1st gear, after about 30000km I blew my engine. I have now done 40000km on the new engine and gearbox - my gearbox is stuffed again 1st gear but my engine is fine. Other than this i've only had to replace my DV and PCV valve. My gearbox failure could be due to driving style but another guy here has the KO4 kit on his car and he also broke his gearbox. Engine may have been faulty to begin with since my car has been fine now since 40000km.

[psiaddict85]

wow... that's a lot of repair $$$

[Charles]

I had a K04 on my Passat for about 100K miles. No issues.

[vdubjetta02]

k04 is NOT worth the money, i can not believe how many people are willing to dump $4,000 on 20-30 WHP.... a water/meth injection kit on a stage 2 car will be just as fast...

-only reason my VW had a k04 was because it was a direct bolt on and only $700 when i got it

20 WHP for $700 -> worth it

20 WHP for $4,000 -> you are dumb

[jimrobbington]

k04 is NOT worth the money, i can not believe how many people are willing to dump $4,000 on 20-30 WHP.... a water/meth injection kit on a stage 2 car will be just as fast...

-only reason my VW had a k04 was because it was a direct bolt on and only $700 when i got it

20 WHP for $700 -> worth it

20 WHP for $4,000 -> you are dumb

My thoughts exactly. What is the MAX the APR K04 kit puts out? 300 crank? I am at 260 ish crank, stage 2. If I added the AWE FMIC, APR HPFP, meth kit, I will be pushing close to that already. Throw in the extra 1-2k and go big turbo. Then you can be pushing 400 crank, with no ceiling once our fueling issues are fixed. I heard with proper fueling we could reach up to 600 crank on BT.

[Tusin]

I've had the KO4 for 3 yrs now. After about 20000km i needed to replace my gear box due to a chipped tooth on 1st gear, after about 30000km I blew my engine. I have now done 40000km on the new engine and gearbox - my gearbox is stuffed again 1st gear but my engine is fine. Other than this i've only had to replace my DV and PCV valve. My gearbox failure could be due to driving style but another guy here has the KO4 kit on his car and he also broke his gearbox. Engine may have been faulty to begin with since my car has been fine now since 40000km.

Sorry to thread jack, but how did you blow your engine?

[eastwick897]

Go with the ASP GT3071r. Its the same price as the APR KO4 and makes just as much if not more then their Stg. 3. Due to the high compression of these motors the turbo spools up very quickly as well.

[Hyphy]

You'll be set w/ the GT28 series. APR stage 3

[swoardrider]

k04 is NOT worth the money, i can not believe how many people are willing to dump $4,000 on 20-30 WHP.... a water/meth injection kit on a stage 2 car will be just as fast...

-only reason my VW had a k04 was because it was a direct bolt on and only $700 when i got it

20 WHP for $700 -> worth it

20 WHP for $4,000 -> you are dumb

I don't believe for a second that a K04 is only 20whp increase over any stage K03. Nor do I believe a stage 2 K03 with meth is gonna keep up with K04. You guys keep comparing everyone's dyno runs, which is useless, because these dynos all read differently.

A bone stock K03 A4 on the Stasis mustang dyno is putting out 165-170 whp. Which is very much in line with Audi's stated 200 crank hp numbers. So based on this, I'm gonna conclude that Stasis' mustang dyno is pretty accurate.
A chipped k03 puts out about 190-200whp on 91oct. on the same dyno. The 100oct file on a K03 adds about 5-10whp.
A chipped K03 on meth is very much similar to a K03 on 100oct (assuming you have the software to support the meth)
If we throw a HPFP into the mix, you will get about 10lbs of torque more, but it doesn't change the hp much on the K03 or K04, and eliminates fuel cut.

Look at the dyno sheet at the end of this paragragh. The K04 on 91oct puts out 252whp. A K03 on 100oct or meth is gonna put out around 210whp. That's a 40whp difference, not 20. Percentage wise, 40whp is pretty darn good.
Now if you really want to be fair and compare apples to apples, you need to use the same 100oct fuel. Now the K03 is putting out that 210whp and the K04 is putting out 300whp. That's a 90whp difference. That's a serious percentage gain!

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2719/4382216871_f291c5bc03_o.jpg

[vdubjetta02]

Average stage 2 2.0t **> roughly 210 WHP

Average k04 2.0t **-> 240 WHP

- GO STAGE 2
- get a LIGHTWEIGHT FLYWHEEL & clutch package
- get a test pipe with a full exhaust

if you do a pull against a k04, the k04 would MAYBE pull 1 car length.... so tell me why you spend $4,000?

PS - you said you had "TRIAL" software, The trial will never feel like the real thing because your ECU needs time to adapt to the new software... fully bolt on k03 -> would hang with a k04 car....a k04 is NOT A BIG TURBO, my stock subaru turbo was bigger.....all in all, if the k04 was only $1200 or so, yes it would be worth it...but APR over prices their k04 kits

[swoardrider]

Average stage 2 2.0t **> roughly 210 WHP

Average k04 2.0t **-> 240 WHP

- GO STAGE 2
- get a LIGHTWEIGHT FLYWHEEL & clutch package
- get a test pipe with a full exhaust

if you do a pull against a k04, the k04 would MAYBE pull 1 car length.... so tell me why you spend $4,000?

PS - you said you had "TRIAL" software, The trial will never feel like the real thing because your ECU needs time to adapt to the new software... fully bolt on k03 -> would hang with a k04 car....a k04 is NOT A BIG TURBO, my stock subaru turbo was bigger.....all in all, if the k04 was only $1200 or so, yes it would be worth it...but APR over prices their k04 kits

I agree that in the tuner world, it's hard to pay $5k for a kit and yet for almost the same money get a different kit that produces higher numbers on paper. But, you have to remember that the R&D and hardware costs between a k04 and a BT are not that different. Also;
A. You and others keep missing the whole point of this thread. The OP wants a reliable daily driver kit, he doesn't want to have to dick with. People on here are recommending things like 3071's. That is the exact opposite of what the OP wants/needs. With the torque of the K04 coming in at a street usable level, and no engine rebuild required, it is clearly the right choice.
B. Your making statements about a meth'd K03 vs. A K04, but where's your proof to back them up? I think you need to go back and read about the K04 on the track from people like Bauer or Darren from Streetworks. Their experience tells of a K04 being much much better than any K03. And those guys have plenty of seat time experience with various K03 set ups.

[rlopez]

Interesting points, and perceptions of the various alternatives. The goal is to get more HP (via hardware vs software) but don't want to be tooling with it every weekend with mechanical issues; other than standard maintenance e.g. oil changes, filter changes, plugs, etc. $4K is a significant amount to invest and supporting documentation e.g. dynos helps validate some arguments.

Any more valid comments/feedback is appreciated.

[MCT9891]

might as well go with gt28 for the price you already paying.

I've always agreed with that, but it really depends on where you live.
In NYC i rather the torquier K04 than a high end monster gt28

[swoardrider]

Interesting points, and perceptions of the various alternatives. The goal is to get more HP (via hardware vs software) but don't want to be tooling with it every weekend with mechanical issues; other than standard maintenance e.g. oil changes, filter changes, plugs, etc. $4K is a significant amount to invest and supporting documentation e.g. dynos helps validate some arguments.

Any more valid comments/feedback is appreciated.

Right now I think the best thing to do is wait and see what comes out. Companies like RAI and 034 claim they are coming out with cheaper K04 kits than what's currently offered. Plus there is the fugly ATP K04 upgrade that may or may not get the kinks worked out of. Also, the Vast kit is just making it's grand entrance with lots of custom goodies available including the K04's nemesis, the 2860r as an option. All this means lots of competition and perhaps some price drops in the near future??

[Nico]

Sorry to thread jack, but how did you blow your engine?

I broke a rod. no reason for it.

[Nico]

Talk is cheap! I can show you a dyno of a KO4 B7 that has 275 WHP - really? yep! but dyno's can't be compared so whats the point.

If I had the choice I would get the Gt kit not the KO4 but at the time it was all that was available. But be assured the KO4 kit makes way more power than stage 2. If you want to keep deluding yourself that your stage 2 car is just as powerful ignore my post.

[RedS-line]

K04 is great for a daily driver. it doesnt lose steam at 4000 rpm like the k03 and you dont have to wait for the turbo to spool like in a gt30. If you do most of youre driving below 3500 rpm then a k04 is perfect. a lot of people laugh at the k04 but to me ill take near-instant throttle response over lag anyday.

[rlopez]

K04 is great for a daily driver. it doesnt lose steam at 4000 rpm like the k03 and you dont have to wait for the turbo to spool like in a gt30. If you do most of youre driving below 3500 rpm then a k04 is perfect. a lot of people laugh at the k04 but to me ill take near-instant throttle response over lag anyday.

That's pretty much is what I would like, quick spool, 80 percent of my driving is in the 2500-3500 rpm range and hassle free maintenance

[Nico]

That's pretty much is what I would like, quick spool, 80 percent of my driving is in the 2500-3500 rpm range and hassle free maintenance

This is what the KO4 will give you. Most likely my issues are specific to my car not the 2.0T in general. Since there are many 2.0T VW with more mods that are fine. That being said since there are very few B7 with upgraded turbos it is hard to know for sure.

You will also have way more power than a stage 2 car. No matter what everyone claims.

[B7 Projectile]

I am installing the original APR ko4 next Friday... I am stage II+ right now.. I would post up a before and after dyno, however my car is only boosting at 19 psi right now which is definitely below its potential. My main selling point for the Ko4 was for Washington, DC city driving. I believe that I will be very happy with the pep of the Ko4 without it running out of breath at 4500 on the highway. I'll post up some videos of the 3rd gear pull as a before & after reference next weekend.

[rlopez]

I am installing the original APR ko4 next Friday... I am stage II+ right now.. I would post up a before and after dyno, however my car is only boosting at 19 psi right now which is definitely below its potential. My main selling point for the Ko4 was for Washington, DC city driving. I believe that I will be very happy with the pep of the Ko4 without it running out of breath at 4500 on the highway. I'll post up some videos of the 3rd gear pull as a before & after reference next weekend.

Look forward to hearing about the results.

thanks,

[wootwoot]

Can you simply swap out a K04 from another car? If not I have a hard time justifying the APR K04 kit based on the price/performance ratio.

[peta8368]

the b7 turbo and manifold is one piece, so the apr k04 "kit" is not just the turbo, it includes the manifold, which is why it's so costly. For that reason, you can't just swap it out to use on a vw with the 2.0t engine.

However, I do agree that it's an insane amount of money for the kit right now, that's why a lot of people are looking forward to the R.A.I. k04 or some other company's k04 that works by replacing the internal (I think R.A.I modifies the housing as well).


Peter

[rlopez]

the b7 turbo and manifold is one piece, so the apr k04 "kit" is not just the turbo, it includes the manifold, which is why it's so costly. For that reason, you can't just swap it out to use on a vw with the 2.0t engine.

However, I do agree that it's an insane amount of money for the kit right now, that's why a lot of people are looking forward to the R.A.I. k04 or some other company's k04 that works by replacing the internal (I think R.A.I modifies the housing as well).


Peter

The Stassis low RPM grunt with its K04 kit includes injectors, ECU upgrade, gaskets, DV, Turbo, etc and provides 320 Hp with existing exhaust and no intercooler upgrade required. Cost $5000.00. Not cheap, but you get what you pay.

[Nico]

I am installing the original APR ko4 next Friday... I am stage II+ right now.. I would post up a before and after dyno, however my car is only boosting at 19 psi right now which is definitely below its potential. My main selling point for the Ko4 was for Washington, DC city driving. I believe that I will be very happy with the pep of the Ko4 without it running out of breath at 4500 on the highway. I'll post up some videos of the 3rd gear pull as a before & after reference next weekend.

How much boost are you expecting? 19-20 spike is normal for a KO3. On the KO4 kit with fuel pump you will hit 22. The KO4 has alot more power - leaves stage 2 for dead

[B7 Projectile]

How much boost are you expecting? 19-20 spike is normal for a KO3. On the KO4 kit with fuel pump you will hit 22. The KO4 has alot more power - leaves stage 2 for dead

I would assume it would be in the 22 range. It should put down some great numbers once I get it back, also looking forward to the suspension and a full brake package in addition to the turbo. I was hitting 22 on a really good day with my current setup, but then it dies in the higher rpm lol..

I saw that your sig doesn't have any intercooler listed yet.. Makes a significant improvement on my butt dyno..