diode mod review

[texasboy21]

About a month and a half ago i did the infamous diode mod on my other wise stock 03 and its had is benefits and downfalls. Ill start off with the down falls; to this day the car will sometimes feel weak and kinda sputter at 3k to 4k rpms, then take off fast to 5500 rpms. I also was receiving a code about a pressure drop between turbo and manifold that i was just clearing with vag com. it has gone away and not been back for a couple of weeks now. on the other side of things the car is much quicker. stock i was 8-9psi (most say thats too low for a b6) and now im right at 16-17psi. i can actually hear and feel the turbo which is an added bonus. To date i have made no tweaks using lemmiwinks but plan to do so to increase the boost to 20psi. im currently in the process of getting a hold of vag com to check out the air/fuel and timing pull, but im still learning what to look for.

on a side note using my buddies iphone dyno whatchamajig said i got a 6.0 and 6.1 to 60. could that be somewhat accurate for a 2003 1.8tq 5 speed at 17psi w a k and n drop in 100* heat..??

any input, questions, advice or knowledge is appreciated.

barrett

[onceover]

that 0-60 seems too fast.

even k04'd cars dont make it to 60 in 6 seconds.

Whats this diode mod you speak of though?

[widgget]

your K03 isn't going to last long pushing it like that. Maybe cheap in the short run but overall your going to be replacing the turbo and hoping you didn't take anything else out with it. good luck.

[texasboy21]

how will it not last long if i may ask?? can you tell me whats happening thatll put it on its way out faster?? im monitoring and "tweaking" as of today. I have gotten no codes about anything thats detrimental to the life of the engine..

barrett

[widgget]

your stressing that little turbo. sure it is capable of being turned up that high but you are running it at it's limits, it might not die next week, but you are severely shortening the life of that turbo. Intake temps are going to be very high running a K03 with that kinda boost, a FMIC woudl be a must.

[koolade9]

your stressing that little turbo. sure it is capable of being turned up that high but you are running it at it's limits, it might not die next week, but you are severely shortening the life of that turbo.

+1

over-boosting the turbo will drastically shorten it's life...

rather then try to explain it...go forth and read:

http://www.turbobygarrett.com/turbob...ch_center.html

Then turn your boost down. You're just blowing "hot air", which your engine isn't happy about. An FMIC won't keep an over-boosted turbo from breaking.

I told dirtybird I'd map out his turbo a few months ago... I should probably get on that...

[orttauq]

+1

over-boosting the turbo will drastically shorten it's life...

rather then try to explain it...go forth and read:

http://www.turbobygarrett.com/turbob...ch_center.html

Then turn your boost down. At this point, you're also just blowing hot air, which your engine isn't happy about. But an FMIC won't fix an over-boosted turbo.

I told dirtybird I'd map out his turbo a few months ago... I should probably get on that...

At pretty much any point of boost pressure a turbo is blowing hot air. With a proper intercooler it's no problem. THe only time a turbo becomes ineffective is when the engine can induce more air than the turbo can compress. Other than that with a good intercooler (doesn't have to be a FMIC btw), you're accomplishing something.

[koolade9]

At pretty much any point of boost pressure a turbo is blowing hot air. With a proper intercooler it's no problem. THe only time a turbo becomes ineffective is when the engine can induce more air than the turbo can compress. Other than that with a good intercooler (doesn't have to be a FMIC btw), you're accomplishing something.

I fixed my post... and I'm not trivializing the effectiveness of an intercooler...

The point I was trying to make is if he's overboosting his turbo, slapping on some larger IC isn't going to solve the fact he's killing his turbo... it'll only help keep him from destroying the rest of the engine.

[Killerteve]

I'm not familiar with "the diode mod", but it sounds like you are increasing your boost in a nonchipped way. You are causing your car to run lean since it sounds like you are not increasing fuel to match the increased boost.

[orttauq]

I fixed my post... and I'm not trivializing the effectiveness of an intercooler...

The point I was trying to make is if he's overboosting his turbo, slapping on some larger IC isn't going to solve the fact he's killing his turbo... it'll only help keep him from destroying the rest of the engine.

If the turbo isn't being starved of oil or doesn't suck in a foreign substance, 20 psi will not be a significant factor in the turbo's life.

[widgget]

If the turbo isn't being starved of oil or doesn't suck in a foreign substance, 20 psi will not be a significant factor in the turbo's life.

that is a very generic statement........ running a K03 at 20psi is indeed running it at the top of it's potential which will shorten the life of the turbo. there is no way you can say running your engine at 8k rpm for lengths at a time isn't going to shorten it's life as long as it has oil and doesn't suck anything in, running a turbo like that is no different.

[orttauq]

that is a very generic statement........ running a K03 at 20psi is indeed running it at the top of it's potential which will shorten the life of the turbo. there is no way you can say running your engine at 8k rpm for lengths at a time isn't going to shorten it's life as long as it has oil and doesn't suck anything in, running a turbo like that is no different.

Bad comparison. A turbo has very simple operation, especially as compared to an engine. Regardless..

You can safely run a K03 to 20 psi for the life of the car.

[texasboy21]

i have plans for 19psi cause thats the diode sweet spot, so i read. theres no lean issuses, blah blah blah, its not going to blow up, it can be done. if you dont think so read this, or the hundred of threads on vwvortex.com.

http://audiforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=63234

I removed my n249 valve and connected the dv to the manifold and that improved my drive-ablility by a million. i plan on doing the full check valve removal the weekend. :)
man i love not having class on friday, lets get some drinks!

barrett

[DenverNoob]

I'm not familiar with "the diode mod", but it sounds like you are increasing your boost in a nonchipped way. You are causing your car to run lean since it sounds like you are not increasing fuel to match the increased boost.

hard to tell without logging. The stock wideband should easilly compensate for that factor...especially since the OP is still on the stock turbo. I say this knowing how the ECU works, but knowing nothing about the "diode," where its placed and what it affects as far as ECU interpretation goes. More info needed....especially logs.

as for boost pressure...I ran on GIAC 1+ spiking that and holding 15ish to no detriment to the turbo. My k03 was squeaky clean and in good shape when removed after 55+k of chipped/1+ tunes. proper warmup and cool-down are far more inportant than the turbos boost. It will only hold what it can as long as it can...with the WG slammed shut it can only still do so much, and not much is going to change its limits (which theoretically are already exceeded with just a chip). Fact of the matter is the k03 as small and relatively weak as it is...is a pretty robust turbo if treated properly as mentioned above.

[B6Lovin]

You can safely run a K03 to 20 psi for the life of the car.

while i would agree with a statement saying that this is no worse than running a chipped car... it is still going to shorten the life of the turbo - thats just how these kind of things work.

what you've said above isn't true - but this whole argument seems a bit silly when you consider how many people have chipped cars on this board...

[orttauq]

while i would agree with a statement saying that this is no worse than running a chipped car... it is still going to shorten the life of the turbo - thats just how these kind of things work.

what you've said above isn't true - but this whole argument seems a bit silly when you consider how many people have chipped cars on this board...

100% agreed that the turbo will not last as long being worked at that level of pressure, but what I'm saying is that would be of little to no significance during the normal lifespan of the vehicle it's in. I've ran k03/k03 sports over 130K chipped with no adverse affect on the turbo's productivity. The only turbo I've damaged was the k03 sport on my 01 GTi that a friend left a small hose clamp inside the intake hose that the turbo demolished. Other than that, I've seen these turbos regularly go into the lower to mid 100K range and not show any signs of failing..

[B6Lovin]

it all depends on how hard you beat the car.. and every car is different.

my turbo was showing signs of wear NOT chipped after a mere 40k.
i beat the living hell out of my car -- relentlessly

lol

[05A$SE]

anyone wanna explain what this diode mod is

[texasboy21]

http://audiforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=63234

try it, its great just like the first time you have sex or get high!

barrett

[widgget]

http://audiforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=63234

try it, its great just like the first time you have sex or get high!

barrett

maybe going stage 3 is "like sex or the first time you get high" but i don't know if i would say that about anything with a K0x. my APR stage 2 with a K04 was kind fun but i would not call it impressive by a long shot..

[texasboy21]

from going from stock to 17 lbs it was impressive. the actual performance of the car is not impressive.

barrett

[mdzaudi]

http://audiforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=63234

try it, its great just like the first time you have sex or get high!

barrett

God Audiforums suck. Took over a minute to load that page. What was the final cost of the diode mod, boost gauge included?

[rxrep]

http://audiforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=63234

try it, its great just like the first time you have sex or get high!

barrett

You must've fugged a dead fish and smoked bad weed. Nothing with a K03 would ever remind me of that. Maybe first jerk-off and a beer at best.

[absolutegtr]

I seriously might give this a try. I have been stock for almost 2yrs, and this should hold me over until I go bigger.

Too bad theres no pics.....

texasboy21, where do you buy this diode?

[04QuattroTurbo]

You must've fugged a dead fish and smoked bad weed. Nothing with a K03 would ever remind me of that. Maybe first jerk-off and a beer at best.

Have you guys actually smoked some weed? The first time is the worst experience I've ever had, it was if I smoked nothing, got cotton mouth and some munchies, but that's it. It took at least the fifth or sixth time before I really felt what being high was about.

As for sex, the first time sucks for most of us, since we were still inexperienced and so are our girls. I guess it depends on how old you are when your first time happened. But if it is like my friends and I, Junior High, it was not at all the good, they just want to lie there...just good enough to want some from the other girls.

[texasboy21]

I got the diode form a person on the forums so i cant help there, but i do know they sell them at radio shack. as far as the costs;

diode (6 of them but you only need 1) - $1
podi scratch and dent sale - $dont remember but a deal!
mbc - $turboxshp boost controller $120
total less than $300 way better than a chip

as fas as the sputtering goes that was from the DV, so i need a new one but i havent got a new one yet so i cant count that yet.. : )

as far as the bud goes i get all my shit from houston so that shits never bad

barrett

[absolutegtr]

I got the diode form a person on the forums so i cant help there, but i do know they sell them at radio shack. as far as the costs;

diode (6 of them but you only need 1) - $1
podi scratch and dent sale - $dont remember but a deal!
mbc - $turboxshp boost controller $120
total less than $300 way better than a chip

as fas as the sputtering goes that was from the DV, so i need a new one but i havent got a new one yet so i cant count that yet.. : )

as far as the bud goes i get all my shit from houston so that shits never bad

barrett

What kind of diode though?

[04QuattroTurbo]

What kind of diode though?

4.3v 1w zener diode.

[Molotov]

a4.3v 1w zener diode (from the audiforums post)

[zims666]

write up with pics

[absolutegtr]

thanks for the link...but that just made it more confusing.

Im guessing what that guy did was make a whole new harness, correct? So you wouldnt have to hack into the factory harness, correct? (That is what I want to do)

If so, is he using the stock connectors/plugs?

[04QuattroTurbo]

thanks for the link...but that just made it more confusing.

Im guessing what that guy did was make a whole new harness, correct? So you wouldnt have to hack into the factory harness, correct? (That is what I want to do)

If so, is he using the stock connectors/plugs?

Yup, fabricate another harness to connect it. But why don't you just chip your car?

[texasboy21]

write up with pics

whoa, thats way more complicated than what i did. all i did was cut back the MAP sensor wire cover, strip back the 2 appropriate wires twist the diode around and then drop a bead of solder on both sides. i installed the diode and wired up my boost gauge in ten minutes.

barrett

[absolutegtr]

Yup, fabricate another harness to connect it. But why don't you just chip your car?

I didnt see there was a part 2,3,4

Reason i dont/cant chip my car is because I plan on going alot bigger than this is the near future....this is just to hold me over.

Plus there are no tuners locally (APR, GIAC, REVO), so I would have to ship my ECU out, and I cant have my car disabled Plus theres no point in paying an extra $500

[04QuattroTurbo]

whoa, thats way more complicated than what i did. all i did was cut back the MAP sensor wire cover, strip back the 2 appropriate wires twist the diode around and then drop a bead of solder on both sides. i installed the diode and wired up my boost gauge in ten minutes.

barrett

I think he made the harness so that he doesn't have to cut the stock wiring, which is expensive to replace.

[absolutegtr]

whoa, thats way more complicated than what i did. all i did was cut back the MAP sensor wire cover, strip back the 2 appropriate wires twist the diode around and then drop a bead of solder on both sides. i installed the diode and wired up my boost gauge in ten minutes.

barrett

So are you wiring up the diode acroos one wire? or two?

Can you draw a quick sketch? Electrical work has never been my specialty

[04QuattroTurbo]

I didnt see there was a part 2,3,4

Reason i dont/cant chip my car is because I plan on going alot bigger than this is the near future....this is just to hold me over.

Plus there are no tuners locally (APR, GIAC, REVO), so I would have to ship my ECU out, and I cant have my car disabled Plus theres no point in paying an extra $500

But from briefly reading the write up, it looks like this is for people who want to manually control the boost with some electronic or otherwise boost controller and want to prevent their calls going to limp mode. So are you getting a boost controller as well? I hear you about the chip and no local tuners, that sucks, I was lucky to find at least 3 places around me.

[absolutegtr]

But from briefly reading the write up, it looks like this is for people who want to manually control the boost with some electronic or otherwise boost controller and want to prevent their calls going to limp mode. So are you getting a boost controller as well? I hear you about the chip and no local tuners, that sucks, I was lucky to find at least 3 places around me.

Yea, I would get a MBC for now....EBC to come later on down the road with a bigger setup. I ran an $20 ebay MBC on my 1g talon for the longest time with no problem....so I will probably try that out.

I was never planning on chipping the car, and just waiting to got bigger, but if I can do this for a few $$$ than no bigger (not counting the cost of a boost gauge...which I had and dropped and broke )

[bhvrdr]

It would be neat to see datalogs. I'd like to see how the wastegate and afr is behaving. I thought there was only about a 25% allowable fuel correction? Would be interesting to see timing pull as well. Maybe it'll all look great, maybe terrible...interesting to see. Have you logged?

cheers! mike

[Killerteve]

I didnt see there was a part 2,3,4
Plus there are no tuners locally (APR, GIAC, REVO), so I would have to ship my ECU out, and I cant have my car disabled Plus theres no point in paying an extra $500

Well unless you mean WAAAYYY bigger as in custom tune, going with REVO isn't a bad idea. I originally went with REVO because if you shipped ur ecu to Eurocode they gave you a free Forge 007. From there it was only $50 to upgrade to Stage 2, and once you go BT Stage 3 is only another $50. So really it's not that bad.