Intro and Modding plan for a high-mileage B6?

[kevlarcupid]

Hey, all. I picked up a 2002 5-speed last month, as my new DD. I came over from a 2006 WRX with a handful of mods (Flash, exhaust, springs, etc. Nothing extravagant) that was my DD and an autocross car. This is my first German car, and it's excellent. I seriously love it.

The B6 has 102,xxx miles on it. It's been well cared for, and has been highway driven. I live and work in the city, and am making my plan for the next several years, as I intend to keep this car for a while.

It doesn't seem worthwhile for me to put much money into flash/injectors or anything until my stock turbo goes. Currently at 102,000 mi, I'm betting that I'll have another 20k on it, at most. The city driving will likely decrease that. At that point, I think that K04 would be the way to go. Not crazy, but it'll put a little more pep in the car's step. Obviously, injectors and a flash would go with that. Maybe a GHL exhaust, and a high-flow cat (Speaking of which, the Millitek is really expensive. Any other recommendations?)

Given the mileage of the car, do you think that a K04 would be safe? What else should I be thinking about? Always like to hear the input from others!

[AudiA4Turbo22]

first make sure all services are done especially timing belt and water pump if not do it. And a K04 is a waste in terms of stress on the car and the amount of lean issues people have with software a Stage 1+ chip is just about the same as a K04 it costs less and all u loose is maybe 10hp and 300RPM's of more power. get whatever exhaust is cheapest like a magnaflow as they tend to sound the best and are the most affordable. Start doing basic checks like boost leak test, air filter, fuel filter, oil/filter change, 02 sensor, etc.

[Audi Skate Snow]

i have 136k on my car.... doing a full build on it.

[AudiA4Turbo22]

^^did u sell the avant?

[EBG 18T]

get a compression check done, check for oil sludge, replace the fuel filter (unless you know it has been done) and make sure the timing belt has been changed. other than that it may be time for control arms, tie rod ends and the normal front end parts.

If every thing checks out a K04 would be fine with all the regular supporting mods.

[B6480Avant]

some may argue that the k04's low end torque spike is more damaging that a late spooling bt, but if you read all the helpful info on this site you will know exactly what to do with your car when it comes time to do it. it all depends how much power you want to make and so on . . gl

[kevlarcupid]

Great info, guys. I got the responses I was expecting, which makes me think I'm on the right track. Audi_Skate_Snow's response makes me feel pretty confident. The TB and water pump have been done. I figure oil sludge would be a good thing to check on ahead of time, but replacing piping isn't a big deal when you're doing a turbo swap anyhow. I appreciate it all!

[transdamn]

I have 108,000 on mine. keep up on the maint. and you should be good.

[dougyfresh]

I had 120k on my old motor and went with a GT28RS at 115k. No problems except I ran into poor leak-down results. Upon tearing my motor apart I figured out the poor leak-down results were due to carbon build-up on the valves not letting the valves close 100%. This is common for a high-mileage motor. SeaFoam will take care of it and the motor should be solid. If the compression and leak-down results are favorable then there should be no worry to continue moding.

I know of a few good (used) K04 kits available right now if you really want to go the K04 route.

[lookaught]

HFC options that I can think of are:

Milltek - $800
034 3" - $305
LaBree 2.5" - $250

The Milltek is expensive because:
1 - It's got a Milltek branding, which is expensive
2 - It uses an HJS racing cat. This part alone is 340 Euros shipped (~$480) but excluding import duties (if applicable) from Europe. They are not available through a US distributor (at least not the master distributor). I know this because I polished up my german writing skills and emailed HJS directly just this past week. Also it's a 4 week timetable to get the cat.

I think I'm going to have to bite the bullet and just buy a new one from Stratmosphere. Dammit.


As for modding, like the others Im at 91,000 and have a GTRS kit en route. I did a compression/leakdown and oil analysis and everything came back perfect. Definitely get these tests done before you increase the boost. If worst comes to worst you can rebuild the bottom end with the stock crank, upgraded rods, and a slight overbore to a 1.9L for not much money. The parts are for sale in the classifieds right now.