Dentist visit... Always at the perfect time!

[agentsmith988]

For the past few weeks, I've been chasing the ghosts of owners past. Finding neglected boost leaks, replacing an axle, replacing brakes with more hot spots than the surface of the sun, and finally trying to identify my Frankentune (which I still have been unsuccessful with).

When almost as if on cue, the dentist drill symphony begins as I drive home from work last night. First thoughts, "why do I own this car again?", "how long do I think I can drive on my dying friends?", followed by a long line of explicits...

Of course, it's at the worst time ever. Just started a new job and school is nuts. Great. Oh well, c'est la vie... Might as well get some other stuff done while I'm in there.

I'm not familiar with the lifespan of whining turbos, but I'm looking into prices right now and wanted some advice.

I'm looking at:
RPK04's w/install kit (ECS) for $1529.00 OR BW K03's from who knows where for who knows how much ??
RS4 clutch (ECS) for $449.95 OR Stage 2 Clutch Kit (AWE Tuning) for $649.00
TB Ultimate Plus Kit (ECS) for $279.95 (I have the cam lock tool already)
Autobahn88 eBay Hose Kit for $110.00

My main question is, should I just stick with BW K03's? I have plans down the road and it would be nice to get a jump with K04's, but I can't do too much with supporting mods until after winter...

[DRA4]

My have been whining forever, i only get on the boost when i need to. Go with K04s.

[dla79]

Look up Frankenturbos. Actually looks like a good product. Talk to DXC he is testing them out.

[sherbet]

Just get BW KO4's now and do the supporting mods later when you have the money. I sort of feel like if your gonna pull the motor, you should make it worth your while. You can do a clutch later as you don't need to pull the motor for a clutch...although it is easier once it's out. That's my plan for when I have to do turbos. Being a poor college kid means I'm expecting to not have any extra money for when the stickers blow.

[Quattro_2.7tt]

My turbos are whining under full load but I know theres a vacuum leak at the fpr line. Hopefully these turbos last a bit longer. Im at 144k with originals.

[fdation]

save your cash while you drive it they can whine and last a long time.when they do go if they do at all anytime soon go with ko4s or tial whatever you want and can afford.

[RolledMySTi]

RS4 clutch is a waste of money and so is new K03's.

[agentsmith988]

RS4 clutch is a waste of money and so is new K03's.

I haven't even checked prices for K03's, it just seems like a retarded idea to replace with the same thing once you're in there. Unless it's some gigantic/magical reduction in price. Just had to keep it an option.

As far as the clutch goes, what's the next best thing to the RS4? From looking around there doesn't seem to be too much in the same price bracket that is comparable... The car has 82k and I'm going to eventually need more holding power, but nothing insane.

[99ebpsi24]

RS4 clutch is a waste of money and so is new K03's.

x2...start saving for k04's or bigger. You can add fueling and stuff later, it just doesn't make sense to pull the motor to put the same turbos back in. If you keep it out of boost now you should be alright for a while.

[KNaudi]

RS4 clutch is a waste of money and so is new K03's.

huge 2nd. its just an S4 disc with a different pressure plate. look at the clutch options from VAST, they seems pretty reasonable on price.

[agentsmith988]

Thanks for all the advice so far. I've got one last question, I've noticed over the past few days that the turbos are the loudest right in the morning on cold startup. As the day goes on, the car gets to oper temp, etc. the turbos quiet down substantially. It's almost to the point of not hearing any drill noise at all...

Could this be a sign of a crapped up feed line? Or is it just the fact that once the turbos heat up, they're bound to quiet down...

[fdation]

dont think so my turbo would be alot louder on startup too.once they warm up they quiet down.just drive it until its a problem thats my advice.

[CELison]

spend the extra cash for bw k04s and just run a stage 3- set up. Im a broke college student too and thats the route I took. It's nice not worrying about your turbos blowing or leaking like some RPs do

[Bruck]

Don't do K03s. They're just going to blow again.

[phila_dot]

I hope you haven't limited your search to ECS

[agentsmith988]

I hope you haven't limited your search to ECS

I haven't, just haven't had the time to really dive into prices from other distributors. Any words of wisdom that could potentially reduce that search time would be be greatly appreciated though!

Right now it's looking like either BW K04's or the frankenturbo stuff (still waiting on some feedback along with everyone else on AZ for the FT's though...)