Picked up a K03s -pics

[akielb]

I just purchased a used K03s - Doesn't look too damn bad. They said it has no shaft play, and spins freely. But they didn't know the mileage so they said "rebuildable core"

See what you think

[arorem]

damn, good find man

[maxspeed]

unless your turbo is dead, that was a waste of money.

[akielb]

Well since the K03s is supposed to be 5-10hp under a K04 and it's going to cost me $500 less, I would say its not a waste of money. Plus my original Turbo has 150k on it so lets call this preventative maintenance

[Nebone]

That's a hell of a SAT. Reliable little guy.

[akielb]

I'm Tip - so no BAT threads in my furture

[Poopie]

without the tuning, that turbo won't really give you much. great replacement if yours is effed but don't be disappointed when you don't feel any gains.

[20vpower]

looks to be a fat crack on the exhaust inlet of pic 5. or is it just the angle?

[bass_lover1]

Well since the K03s is supposed to be 5-10hp under a K04 and it's going to cost me $500 less, I would say its not a waste of money. Plus my original Turbo has 150k on it so lets call this preventative maintenance

You know that the reason the newer A4s have 170 HP isn't because of the turbo right? It's because they run higher boost from the factory and have larger fuel injectors. Preventative maintenance is a good idea, just don't expect any gains, because you probably wont see any.

[Seerlah]

That does not happen to be the one on ebay is it? Yeah, I hawk that place looking for good deals (brand name in good standing condition) and I saw that on there maybe 2 days ago. But if Bass Lover is correct (which I am sure he is), you should be able to simply upgrade your injectors. Then see if a ECU Upgrage company can grant you a proper tune. Don't know if the FPR (AFPR) will have to be tweeked a bit though.

*no expert, just seems logically correct

[Vreihenmotor6]

would it be appropriate to run a ko3s on a k04 file?

[maxspeed]

would it be appropriate to run a ko3s on a k04 file?

absolutley not. the a/f would be all sorts of fucked, not to mention the timing curve, would you run a tune for a gt30 on a gt28rs? of course not, why would you essentially do the same here?

you could of course, run k03 software on a k04, but it wont be optimized and more than likely will run a bit lean

[maxspeed]

But if Bass Lover is correct (which I am sure he is), you should be able to simply upgrade your injectors. Then see if a ECU Upgrage company can grant you a proper tune. Don't know if the FPR (AFPR) will have to be tweeked a bit though.

*no expert, just seems logically correct

he dosent need a flash or larger injectors, because the turbo is going to perform practically identical to the k03. the k04 moves more air because it has a different turbine arrangement in a larger housing. the k03s moves air differently and more efficiently than a k03, its does NOT move MORE air.

[akielb]

looks to be a fat crack on the exhaust inlet of pic 5. or is it just the angle?

No, thats just the casting. I already asked

You know that the reason the newer A4s have 170 HP isn't because of the turbo right? It's because they run higher boost from the factory and have larger fuel injectors. Preventative maintenance is a good idea, just don't expect any gains, because you probably wont see any.

You know the reason people say that it's pointless for a 2000+ A4 to upgrade to a K04 is because this turbo is almost the same thing right?


I already have an aggressive tune that required a 5-bar FPR. If I do go through with everything I would upgrade the tune and possibly the injectors(but most likely not)

[Russell2686]

lol

at first i thought you were just upgrading for preventative maintenance and because you got a good deal on it. But with all this stuff your saying about performance i have to laugh. its a k03s not a gt35. Listen to what maxspeed said and get over it.

[bass_lover1]

No, thats just the casting. I already asked




You know the reason people say that it's pointless for a 2000+ A4 to upgrade to a K04 is because this turbo is almost the same thing right?


I already have an aggressive tune that required a 5-bar FPR. If I do go through with everything I would upgrade the tune and possibly the injectors(but most likely not)

Then it would be pointless for the AEBs to upgrade too, because they have the same PN for the stock K03...

[maxspeed]

if you need some more convincing (mind you this was done on a fwd GTI in europe)

blue line is k03, red line is k03s

[akielb]

Those are interesting graphs - especially since right below them the owner of the car says.......

Since these graphs were taken, it has been realized that the N75J valve was incorrectly fitted. I am obviously hoping that this will allow better peak boost, and for it to hold longer through the range as the k03s is capable of. This should, I would hope, release a few extra BHP (maybe a further 25???). You can see a fuel spike at around 2300 rpm, which has caused the vehicle to fail the fast idle emissions test for its MOT. These problems should be fixed in the coming week with any luck. Work on the car has stopped due to work trip, but as soon as I return I will be back on the case.

I'm not saying I'm going to get anything big here, but with the proper tuning and even k04 tuning I will be closer to a k04 than a K03

I asked for a expert to tell the difference between each and this is what I got

The turbines are the same, the compressor wheels are also the same size, but the wheels are different. The s has a 8 blade design that is more efficient than the older 11blade design. BW has the s rated at 10hp more than the old ko3 and the ko4 only 5hp more than the ko3s. The ko4 has the same 8 blade compressor, but has a 1-2mm larger turbine wheel. Also the ko3s has a slightly larger turbo inlet (id, not od) than the ko3 and 4

[djwimbo]

I went from a K03 to a K03s w/o any tuning upgrade. I'm happy with the results.

The car took a beating all weekend at the drag strip and road course today. Hits 18psi and hold 16 pretty well. It still tapers down to 10psi @ redline, but it's still a tiny turbo.

As far as a power gain from the stock to the "S", it really only holds boost better IMHO.

[MultiAudis]

k03s = k03 with slightly stronger shaft... thats it... no performance gain, just slightly more reliable...

this thread is filled with misinformation

[audiness]

i went from a K03s to a K04... and there is no comparison. the K04 is a completely different animal

[t1demont1]

The only thing ive herd different frmo a k03 to k03s is that the k03s will hold boost for a bit longer... but probably not even noticable since the turbo is so damn small still

[ModifiedA4]

You know the reason people say that it's pointless for a 2000+ A4 to upgrade to a K04 is because this turbo is almost the same thing right?

i think you mean 2001+

a k04 on a 2000 is a really good upgrade. only on 2001 is it questionable because of the X-chip.