another blown up k04......GT's here i come

[ubermidget]

driving back from hartford yesterday an old a2 gti comes up next to me wanting to play....i kinda brush it off till i hear something spooling and as the revs climb the external gate opens up...at this point i downshift and take off, look behind me and theres a cloud of smoke.....throw the car up in the air and see oil around the passenger side turbo. i was itching to do GT's but couldnt really justify it. now i "have" to.

hopefully start pulling the car apart soon, just need some extra hands if anyone wants to make some extra money.

PM if anyones searching for turbos, inlets, ASP 3" dp's....etc


depending of funds might just buy ASP's rs6 kit since its cheaper than the GT's and Vast/JHM's rs6's

[Audi_S4]

damn man they all blow lately...

[JDM EJ1 95]

How many miles.. and what kind of abuse.. and PSI levels were they goin through?

[generationjdm]

RS6ss are the same turbo made at the same place what makes you think there fool proof right now?

[ubermidget]

about 7k miles on them only 3k miles at 21 psi.......

my exact point to steering away from the kkk turbos...

probally just gonna get some lower comp HG and some head studs w/ gt2560's

come on local CT guys, lets rip this bitch apart.....

[AMC]

about 7k miles on them only 3k miles at 21 psi.......

my exact point to steering away from the kkk turbos...

probally just gonna get some lower comp HG and some head studs w/ gt2560's

come on local CT guys, lets rip this bitch apart.....

hmmm

[lowered97a4]

im local i want some k04s lol i dont mind helping let me know when ud wanna rip it apart

[theboogieman1]

now I'm getting scared. I'm getting K04s put in right now....what's going on. All I use to hear was how reliable these are, now everyones are blowing up. Is build quality going down or are they not being taken care of properly?

[cjk]

driving back from hartford yesterday an old a2 gti comes up next to me wanting to play....i kinda brush it off till i hear something spooling and as the revs climb the external gate opens up...at this point i downshift and take off, look behind me and theres a cloud of smoke.....throw the car up in the air and see oil around the passenger side turbo. i was itching to do GT's but couldnt really justify it. now i "have" to.

hopefully start pulling the car apart soon, just need some extra hands if anyone wants to make some extra money.

PM if anyones searching for turbos, inlets, ASP 3" dp's....etc


depending of funds might just buy ASP's rs6 kit since its cheaper than the GT's and Vast/JHM's rs6's

Let me know if you may be interested in some ASP mani's, if you're doin RS6's :) Have some used...

[revhards4]

damn that sux! Kinda funny the new k03 is now the k04, lol...borg warner small and mid frame turbo's suck anyway

[lrg8683]

now I'm getting scared. I'm getting K04s put in right now....what's going on. All I use to hear was how reliable these are, now everyones are blowing up. Is build quality going down or are they not being taken care of properly?

i think you have to take into consideration who did the installs of all these. *shrug*

[generationjdm]

what about the last 5-6 in the past 2 days including the guy in europe?

[theboogieman1]

i think you have to take into consideration who did the installs of all these. *shrug*

It seems like there are a lot of factors that work into each story but I have full faith in the hands working on mine.

[2001S4NY]

you also have to look at what intercoolers people are using, how much boost they are running, how often they change the oil, Also what tune they are running and what EGT's they have. Install wont make a turbo fail 7k miles down the road, if it was install it would of failed almost instantly.

[Das General]

I am gonna go out on a limb and blame my constant intercooler pipe coming off, that it had something to do with the debris like aftermath of my turbo destruction.

[generationjdm]

Bottom line the turbos aren't designed to be stomped on

[2001S4NY]

there are a lot of K04 turbos that blow up, or start leaking, turbo is designed for a OEM Application not meant to go into such high boost levels and out of its efficiency.

[generationjdm]

check your email greg

[purchasers4]

I had done drag racing for years and never even really heard about turbos blowing until I got a S4. I stayed away from anything KKK and went straight to a GT setup.

[as4driver]

Let me know what you are selling. Im currently rebuilding my KO4s. The mootor is coming out tomarrow. If you need help pm me. Im no pro but im trying.

[S4-ORCE]

This is total BS, this is like the 10th or 15th K04 blow out this year I've heard of and yet BW will still not accept that there was a bad batch. I still believe this is the case regardless of what people say. As you people know, my initial passenger K04 blew right after start up and now my driver side is making noise so who knows how long that will last, and in the last month there was atleast 1 blown K04 issue every week.

I dunno what the deal is. But it sucks.

[S4-ORCE]

It seems like there are a lot of factors that work into each story but I have full faith in the hands working on mine.

Its not about faith man, I'm convinced its a bad batch. The guy that did my install has dozens of K04 installs and is a tech for 11+ years and yet my turbos shit the bed as well as others. And the excuse of "they were not primed" is getting old. That is just my opinion..

[BlueturboS4]

That sucks, two cars from nm blew k04's in less then six months apart! hmm sounds like kkk is making junk lately!

[lil' is 300]

Borg Warner has always made junk... this isn't the first time lots of K04's have blown and won't be the last. Lots of power (beyond efficiency) on small journal bearing turbos driven every day is asking for trouble. As for turbo destruction upon start-up... usually always installer error ... or a BW turbo...

The fact that the dollar is so weak now and K04's are beginning to cost $2300+ a set just adds insult to injury.

[theboogieman1]

Its not about faith man, I'm convinced its a bad batch. The guy that did my install has dozens of K04 installs and is a tech for 11+ years and yet my turbos shit the bed as well as others. And the excuse of "they were not primed" is getting old. That is just my opinion..

Well then I guess all I can do is hope I got a good set that will last me a while. Of course, I finally go for the upgrade and the prices jump and turbos could be going bad. Oh well.

[Sniper512]

I may have to save a little more for some GT25s. I really wanted the RS6 turbos but I am not going to lie BW and their KKKs have started to loose me.

[AudiA4_20T]

Borg Warner has always made junk... this isn't the first time lots of K04's have blown and won't be the last. Lots of power (beyond efficiency) on small journal bearing turbos driven every day is asking for trouble. As for turbo destruction upon start-up... usually always installer error ... or a BW turbo...

The fact that the dollar is so weak now and K04's are beginning to cost $2300+ a set just adds insult to injury.

they dont make junk, your just pushing the hell out of the small ass turbos...

If you got larger better suited BorgWarners that would compete against the Garretts youd be fine, and theyre cheaper/better warranteed

[BlueturboS4]

My first set of k04's blew at 30k out of the blue. the were bought the end mid to end of 2006.

[Audi_S4]

30k is reasonable for me but 5k,10k pfoe man I would just freak out!

[AudiSportB5S4]

you also have to look at what intercoolers people are using, how much boost they are running, how often they change the oil, Also what tune they are running and what EGT's they have. Install wont make a turbo fail 7k miles down the road, if it was install it would of failed almost instantly.

i hear K04s that greg installs never fail

[AudiSportB5S4]

what i dont understand is people are all against these turbos now, yet JHM has put over 45K of abuse on his doing lots of tracking, constant beating, and you dont hear about any of that from him about "they suck".... dont you think it also has to do with the tune thats blowing the turbos? i mean a lot of people take their OTS kit and say EF that! I want more! let me become a tuner and lemmi it until my little guys are constantly breaking a sweat. i would be interested to see how many of these turbos have been blowing on nothing but what is given to them from the tuners.

[S4 in_lowplaces]

there's plenty of home brews still running strong. i bets it's install error.

[MiniRS4]

i hear K04s that greg installs never fail

funny you mention that... mine and Derricks failed... same turbo, same installer... but i dont think it was Greg (maybe Carlos, LOL)... i attribute it to the intercooler pipes blowing off too often.

[b5rs4]

i think it has to do with the tunning and the abuse my k04 are running as strong as when I got the car (it was done by vast) same philosophy as JHM + i do get on it some times but never track it. so I don't know but it could also be a batch like people are saying.

[Das General]

Way to spell my name wrong Geno.

And yeah, intercooler pipe pwnage.

[Dr.Duct]

This threads a joke.. Im not even going to read the whole thing.. Ko4's are blowing because setup's are done half ass, Tune's are done wrong, or Install isnt done properly..(not directed towards any 1 person.)

dont fool yourself.. Ko4's are ran on RS4's all day long, and have been ran on plenty of sgtII s4's without incident.. The real question is precentage.. What is the ratio of blown ko4's to the ratio of non blown..

Also dont fool yourself that if you max out ANY turbo its going to go.. Wanna know why those GT's are going?? Because no ones ringing them out in an S4..

borg Warner is not junk. Thier are plenty of people out there that are running the properly with NO problem.

IMO OTS software and tuning is junk as well.. If you want your shit to last.. Buy all of the correct parts that are needed, Get a nice custom conservative tune, and A race tune if you yurn for something at the track.

As far as RS6's.. Do you have any proof of them being un reliable? Facts vs. fiction or specualation.. A dependable resource showing that the RS6 turbo's are prone to failure??? probably not, so dont post up bs.

Bullseye, and borg warner Turbos are just as reliable as Garret's when run at the design spec's.

[BITRBO]

^^^some good points. But can you pleeease get your damn avitar working, or at least zoom out a tish? ; )

[sCeRaXn]

Bullseye turbos arent ots BW turbos, so they shouldnt have even been mentioned. I do agree that all BW turbos arent bad, as ive done a few Hondas with their turbos that ran really strong and lasted forever...but you cant ignore the high percentage or turbos that have been blowing lately. I think writing it off as install error is a cop-out way to go. Its not like everybody who installs K04's just happened to become retarded at the exact same time. Im sure most(if not all) of these guys have installed plenty of them without an issue. Something else has to be the problem.

I really dont see how the tune could cause a turbo to blow prematurely. Maybe if the car was still running off the n75 and the tune made it spike to astronomical boost levels...but id attribute that more to boost levels than the "tune". The afr's and timing should have nothing to do with it. My 57trim CRX used to have a crazy anti-lag system setup through Neptune. It was basically causing detonation inside the collector of the manifold so that the rapid heat expansion would cause the turbo to spool faster. If Garretts journal bearing turbos could handle massive detonation then im sure BW's can as well, so that couldnt be the problem.

What about these "half ass" setups would cause k04's to blow? Are people just now starting to do "half ass" setups or something?

I cant say why theyve been blowing alot recently...but it sounds like youre trying to justify it for some reason. I dont know anything about you, but this seems more like BW nutswinging than anything.

[Dr.Duct]

^^^some good points. But can you pleeease get your damn avitar working, or at least zoom out a tish? ; )

dude it moves on my computer but not when I upload it??

[Dr.Duct]

Lately I will agree that their has been an unusual amount of turbos blowing, but we hardly have any info on them.. where they were done, Who did the install, what other mods were on it, what actions were takin? Was their any boost leaks before hand?? etc.

I in no way shape or form swing from any nutts. Period. I form and develop an opinion on information that is given. I just hate when people start talking like their is no other result of turbo failure other than "the turbo is junk and anything from them are junk"

The setup and tune play a large roll on it.. People like to run crappy exhaust (ss) with gaps at the dp flange, cheap intercooler setups that blow hoses, or leak, crank their boost way up and think that a ko4 will be just fine running at 25psi, dont have proper install (result of people trying to DIY with no know how.)

The fact is, that if you take it to someone that knows what their doing. Get the right setup with the right crap, dont by pos parts youll be fine.

Know what you want, Know what setup's target what you want.. Make an educated by then we wouldnt be having so many people crying about not having what they want (with the exception of frimmel, lol)

Bullseye turbos arent ots BW turbos, so they shouldnt have even been mentioned. I do agree that all BW turbos arent bad, as ive done a few Hondas with their turbos that ran really strong and lasted forever...but you cant ignore the high percentage or turbos that have been blowing lately. I think writing it off as install error is a cop-out way to go. Its not like everybody who installs K04's just happened to become retarded at the exact same time. Im sure most(if not all) of these guys have installed plenty of them without an issue. Something else has to be the problem.

I really dont see how the tune could cause a turbo to blow prematurely. Maybe if the car was still running off the n75 and the tune made it spike to astronomical boost levels...but id attribute that more to boost levels than the "tune". The afr's and timing should have nothing to do with it. My 57trim CRX used to have a crazy anti-lag system setup through Neptune. It was basically causing detonation inside the collector of the manifold so that the rapid heat expansion would cause the turbo to spool faster. If Garretts journal bearing turbos could handle massive detonation then im sure BW's can as well, so that couldnt be the problem.

What about these "half ass" setups would cause k04's to blow? Are people just now starting to do "half ass" setups or something?

I cant say why theyve been blowing alot recently...but it sounds like youre trying to justify it for some reason. I dont know anything about you, but this seems more like BW nutswinging than anything.