Turbo ?

[//EsFour]

So I've been researching a lot on audiworld and here on audizine, and it looks to me like the majority of people look to K04's as a turbo upgrade. Why?

Garrett GT turbos seem insurmountably better than "stock" upgrades. Is this a fitment issue? A space issue? IMO, I would never upgrade to K04's if I could find a better turbo to use.

Can anyone enlighten me?

[phillys4951]

$$$
ko4's bolt right up to stock everything except for inlets
thats why everyone uses them

[Jung]

k04's are the standard stage III. GT turbos require a lot lot lot lot of bank. special manifolds, inlet pipes, hardware, tuning, the list goes on. look up everything on ASP's website, its like 15 grand for a properly tuned setup on there (although custom can probably be cheaper), GenerationJDM is doing his own i believe, and so is GURUMAN.
Hey if we could do it we would, but most of us are content with k04s.
the middle ground are the RS6 turbos (another "stock" upgrade), but they are proven to put out big numbers, although i believe these require new manifolds also.
k04s while theyare a "stock" upgrade, are miles upon miles more reliable than our stock k03s.

[//EsFour]

k04's are the standard stage III. GT turbos require a lot lot lot lot of bank. special manifolds, inlet pipes, hardware, tuning, the list goes on. look up everything on ASP's website, its like 15 grand for a properly tuned setup on there (although custom can probably be cheaper), GenerationJDM is doing his own i believe, and so is GURUMAN.
Hey if we could do it we would, but most of us are content with k04s.
the middle ground are the RS6 turbos (another "stock" upgrade), but they are proven to put out big numbers, although i believe these require new manifolds also.
k04s while theyare a "stock" upgrade, are miles upon miles more reliable than our stock k03s.

Seems like I've got a lot more to learn. Thanks for the info :)

[Jung]

just pm those two, they have all the GT knowledge you'll ever need

[ss4]

k04's are the standard stage III. GT turbos require a lot lot lot lot of bank. special manifolds, inlet pipes, hardware, tuning, the list goes on. look up everything on ASP's website, its like 15 grand for a properly tuned setup on there (although custom can probably be cheaper), GenerationJDM is doing his own i believe, and so is GURUMAN.
Hey if we could do it we would, but most of us are content with k04s.
the middle ground are the RS6 turbos (another "stock" upgrade), but they are proven to put out big numbers, although i believe these require new manifolds also.
k04s while theyare a "stock" upgrade, are miles upon miles more reliable than our stock k03s.

The RS6 turbos use the factory S4 manifolds and the oil/water lines; the downpipe flanges do need to be modified.

[//EsFour]

The RS6 turbos use the factory S4 manifolds and the oil/water lines; the downpipe flanges do need to be modified.

So what does everybody do for downpipes/manifolds around here? Let's say I would keep things fairly straightforward and decide to go with RS6 turbo's. Research shows that JHM has started or is in the process of making a bolt on kit, but what about manifolds? Downpipes?

The exhaust I would most likely have fabricated almost to a T like this, but replace the 2.5 inch piping with a full 3" design all the way through:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqEqXckkBKA