high mileage BT questions??

[jojoampt]

I was hoping to get a little advice from some of the more knowledgeable members on this subject. I have an 02' Avant with 121000 miles on the clock. All major services have been performed and i have every receipt down to every oil change since the cars birth. It has been well cared for.

My absolute goal is to go with a GTRS setup on THIS car. This is the exact car i want and on top of that the first car ive ever had completely payed off. (needless to say im very attached) so i dont want to just invest the money into a different car with less miles. I plan on having this car forever.

So basically im wondering what my options are. Is it safe to put this setup on a car with such high miles? I know ill eventually have to do a rebuild; but would you recommend a rebuild first?

Concerning an engine build. Im basically a complete newb and would be comfortable doing little to none of the work myself. i can afford a build when the time is necessary but would like to avoid that as long as possible. Is a build project something I should take on without knowing much about it? I mean i can pay someone but i feel i need to know quite a bit to even pay a place. Plus i live like 4-5 hrs away from any decent size city that would have a reputable shop. open to all advice/ suggestions...

CLIFFS NOTES:
wanna go BT but have high miles, is this safe?
wanna do an engine build but im a newb (however can pay someone) is this a bad idea?
can you recommend a good shop for an engine build in the Bay Area?

As always thanks in advance!

[Maverick]

120K is the time you need to freshen up the engine a little bit unless you feel your engine is very strong. I recommend you do a compression test before you put on a big turbo kit if you dont want to do any engine work.
there is a thread in the sticky forum that will steer you on the right track with what you need.

[dougyfresh]

I recommend you do a compression test before you put on a big turbo kit if you dont want to do any engine work.

+1! I highly recommend gaging the mechanical health of your engine before you go doing anything. Compression test and Leak-Down test are a necessity.

[jojoampt]

hmm.. by your tones it sounds like i should probably do a build before/at the same time as the turbo setup. so that leaves me with the question of who to do the build. does anyone have a reputable place they can recommend for an engine build in the Bay area?

[dougyfresh]

I wouldn't automatically jump to "needing a build"

Do those tests first to figure see what the health is of your engine. Then you can further determine your course of action.

[dougyfresh]

My suggestions are such because I think my engine was somewhat 'hurt' prior to installing the 28RS kit. We never ran any compression and leak-down tests (recommended) with the engine bone stock. As we were tuning it with the 28RS kit we ran into some snags. Ran the mechanical checks and the compression came out within normal limits (actually really good) but the leak-down showed leakage through both the rings and valves on two cylinders. Looking back the bone stock dyno numbers were low too (further emphasising a possible problem). The valves are most likely carbon deposit and the rings, well....

I already had a spare engine sitting in my garage and wanted to eventually build a 2.0L. I decided to take that engine, strip it and build it up now instead of next year.


Do I notice the 'hurt' of my AMB motor when driving? Nope. Does it affect trying to optimize the tune for maximum power? Yes.

I beat the piss out of my engine right now even though its 'hurt'. I do that because I know I'm building a new motor and if I break the AMB motor... so what. I've got another car to drive and I've got a new motor on its way.

[Carbon]

My suggestions are such because I think my engine was somewhat 'hurt' prior to installing the 28RS kit. We never ran any compression and leak-down tests (recommended) with the engine bone stock. As we were tuning it with the 28RS kit we ran into some snags. Ran the mechanical checks and the compression came out within normal limits (actually really good) but the leak-down showed leakage through both the rings and valves on two cylinders. Looking back the bone stock dyno numbers were low too (further emphasising a possible problem). The valves are most likely carbon deposit and the rings, well....

I already had a spare engine sitting in my garage and wanted to eventually build a 2.0L. I decided to take that engine, strip it and build it up now instead of next year.


Do I notice the 'hurt' of my AMB motor when driving? Nope. Does it affect trying to optimize the tune for maximum power? Yes.

I beat the piss out of my engine right now even though its 'hurt'. I do that because I know I'm building a new motor and if I break the AMB motor... so what. I've got another car to drive and I've got a new motor on its way.

how many miles have you put on your 28rs?

[dougyfresh]

how many miles have you put on your 28rs?

Almost 7,000 miles

It was installed December 31, 2007

[Carbon]

i have 85,000 miles on my car as of now and i've pieced together everything needed for a gtrs eliminator. i just need uncle sam to send my rebate check so i can get it installed. it looks like a compression and leak-down test is in line for me

[dougyfresh]

Another reason why we backed off on tuning was my car is/was a test-bed for ASP's tune. I don't think you (or any other customer) wants a base file developed with a car that is now 100% sound.

Now I'm going beyond a stock 1.8T so ASP will have a 2.0L 2871R file in the future

As a result, they are looking for more volunteers to help them finish the base 1.8T software.

[Carbon]

where is asp located?

[dougyfresh]

South New Jersey

[ThirdStrike]

I wouldn't automatically jump to "needing a build"

Do those tests first to figure see what the health is of your engine. Then you can further determine your course of action.

i agree with not needing a rebuild.. it aint broke dont fix it unless youre going really big (30 series)
but why pressure test before installing? do your leak downs and boost leak tests after you get the BT installed. i think it would make more sense after the install.....
btw op; high mileage on a 1.8t is nothing to worry about.
i upgraded turbos on my 2.7 with 130k on the clock. 150k @400+whp and im not worried at all about my internals.
*edit* you guys are right. test before and after.

[dougyfresh]

Even if you test and things are okay you should not be afraid to continue to move forward with a BT.

There are quite a few B5 guys running BT kits with well over 100,000miles on their engines. They are doing just fine.

[jojoampt]

good, thats what i was hoping.. id like to get the kit and be able to run it for as long as possible without any engine work. i also wonder just how "plug and play" these kits are. there are virtually no shops near me that cater to performance needs of people with audis. so this is another concern i have. i mean i know what i want but i also know that theres not many options for tuning where im at.

i guess my first move is to get compression and leak down tests and go from there. if all is a ok than you dont see any reason not to push forward with the kit? thats a relief. thanks for your help.

I wouldn't automatically jump to "needing a build"

Do those tests first to figure see what the health is of your engine. Then you can further determine your course of action.

[dougyfresh]

i guess my first move is to get compression and leak down tests and go from there. if all is a ok than you dont see any reason not to push forward with the kit? thats a relief. thanks for your help.

That is my recommendation.


The Eurocode/REVO GTRS or GT2871R Eliminator kits run very well with stock internals. I have not personally installed one but have heard stories ranging from "its easy" to "its somewhat complicated". There are quite a few people on this forum that can provide information on that topic (and 'search' works well too).

[jojoampt]

i hear ya.. and ive searched til my eyes water [O_O] .. i had to get something in black and white. i definitely appreciate the help.

[ThirdStrike]

ive installed the atp elim (gt28rs) kit before. its really not that hard. in all honesty the hardest part is removing the stock exhaust manifold. other than that a bt install is pretty easy especially on the longitudinal 1.8t
dive into it on your own. take your time, dont lose bolts and pay attention to detail with your crush washers on the turbo feed lines. you will be fine

[dougyfresh]

i hear ya.. and ive searched til my eyes water [O_O] .. i had to get something in black and white. i definitely appreciate the help.

Talk to Daniel (b6lovin) or David (a4 tchuss) or Greg (400hpa4) or Shawn (a4ringedone8t) or Jordan (co avant). They have done it before and are very knowledgeable with any intricacies of the kit. Daniel will be doing the install within the next few short weeks.

[9744RR]

I installed the GTRS elim kit based only on the threads and info here on AZ. Overall, it's not as hard as it seems. Just get evrything you need prepared in advance, instructions, tools, etc... and take you time.