Big Sky Euro

Roadhog wrote:Really? You want a reliable car, then put it back to stock.

?? A properly modified car is perfectly reliable. I have close to every mod except internals and a new turbo and my car is fine. I have another friend who's running a K04 now and at 220K on his car. The K04's been in since about 90K. I have many, many friends with reliable modified cars.

If you take care of your shit, the car will run fine. If you abuse it well, you're gonna have issues.

Grant, it sounds like your budget limits you to a K03 with change to do any routine maint. as well. However, you do have the mods for a K04 with a modest tune. You'd get a discount through Revo for an upgraded flash too.

I vote go with another K03 (you can get them used all over the place too) and spend the rest of the money taking care of other little things

I do not think i would be comfortable doing the labor myself. I don't have a shop or any tools. =( I wish.

Spencer, I realize that the absolute reliability is stock. But I also know that there are configurations on these cars to maintain stock reliability with a little bit more oomph

Dubber wrote:I do not think i would be comfortable doing the labor myself. I don't have a shop or any tools. =( I wish.

Spencer, I realize that the absolute reliability is stock. But I also know that there are configurations on these cars to maintain stock reliability with a little bit more oomph

You should get some tools, a bentley manual, and go to town. You will save a lot of money!


Sure you can have a modified car that is reliable as stock. But if you want to put 200whp through a stock VW differential, it won't last long. They explode with stock power...

K03,TT down pipe, install your front mount and save for a new clutch, it's coming up.

So umm.. got some things =)







Now to find a shop to install it all. I am also putting in my FMIC at the same time..


and just some photos from my recent trip

What about software bro? Revo doesn't make a specific K04 flash IIRC....

MikeWire wrote:What about software bro? Revo doesn't make a specific K04 flash IIRC....

Yeah the do. I'd recommend talking to Randy or Todd at autobahnpremierservice.com down in Denver about getting some GIAC love. Tell 'em I sent ya

BUT Revo DOES offer a K04 program that you can get at a discount since you're already a REVO customer. Aeron would probably be able to get you the score on that.

Personally, I'm going to run GIAC when I upgrade.

GIAC...yes, REVO...no specific file for the K04. It's the K03 Stage2 file, which I think is $50 to upgrade. Grant, you should really think about getting a down pipe too, that will open things up, and whoever is installing it will be down there anyway. Too bad you are in the dorms, or you could DIY and save some $$.

So, Yes revo stg 2 runs the K04-001 very well. It was not engineered for the K04, but it works very well.
I am not upgrading the chip or any of the software at this point. I have talked to countless people about the possibilities of this, all have said it will be fine.
At this point the K04 is not going to make my car faster.
I am going to leave the stage 1 revo chip in, so it will call for the same amount of boost that it would have were the K03 to be there, thus it will not boost more than my system can handle. When i finish school or when i decide to go ahead and take advantage of the k04 for its speed i will put a new downpipe and full exhaust and get a chip that is tuned for it to utilize the power that the k04 can offer, which really is not much more in any case.
So at this point, i am just going to put the FMIC, the TIP, the Manifold, and the turbo on, and leave it well enough alone for a while. there was some concern about whether the car would need bigger injectors because of the more air that is being pushed through, but i have gotten to the source of that. The turbo is going to be bigger, thus it CAN push more air. IT being larger does not mean it WILL push more air. In other words. unless i tell the chip(ecu) to ask for more boost, it will not do so, It will only ask for the same levels i have been running at this point. Thus, i don't need to modify anything.
I will be hopefully borrowing mikes vag com, switching in colder plugs and making sure it does not run too lean, but thats kind of the setup as it looks.
And Mike, I really don't want to mess with a DIY kind of thing. I have the money for this, i cant afford within a certain limit me messing something up or anyone for that matter, because they have only done this once or read about it or not at all. So, while saving the money would be great, its important to me to have a reputable shop who i know will stand behind their work and take all precautions during the procedure and who knows exactly what it is they are doing =)

Sounds like you have done your research, but I still would be wary about a bigger turbo without supporting software. The diameter on the compressor wheel is only 5mm bigger, so you are right I'm sure it will work. But it will push more volume down the TB at the same RPM as the K03, and it will mess with your A/F ratios. As far as a shop that is tuner friendly that will "do it right" I hope you can find one in town here. I'm not loaning my laptop to a shop - they should have the right equipment for the job. Keep us updated on the status!