I do not want to plug the company that i am associated with, that is not my intent.
so i will try to keep my response 'generic'. but it has been sometime that i have been telling people, at least two years, that the K04 will not run reliably without certain modifications. And sure enough, with time, my words held true. The problems with K04's are held down to 2 particular tuner kits. I know that not one single MTM kit has a problem at a track ( i also know this first hand as i did 5 consecutive 1/4 mile blasts in 95 degree weather without seeing a change in temp/or speed which would indicate heat build). I am not aware of AMS/ABT having any problems either, and TAP uses a modified K03 which under similar circumstances would fail but they dont. The reason? look at the parts list. A K04 requires a properly designed chip, exhaust manifold, downpipe and full 70mm exhaust, including catalytic convertor, plus MTM uses a fuel pressure regulator and different spark plugs. (another note, the F2CS are not the correct plugs!) You see the other mods bring the car up to about 220hp, with the k04 only providing an additinal 20hp over the K03. not 35-40 like the problematic kits do. The reason being that to achieve that much of a boost requires too lean of an air/fuel ratio. This is what is destroying the turbos, high EGT's, and that is because the kits do not utilize the previous parts i mentioned to make HP reliably.

Ned

I completely agree with Ned. I have no stake in any aftermarket company. Full boost in a k04 takes a lot more than some chip remapping and a new turbo. Audi has even gone with a second intercooler for the kkk03!

What you are really talking about are new injectors, intercooler, exhaust manifold, bigger oil-water heat exchanger, etc. for a reliable car. You can make it work with less, but you are making some very real compromises. Doing this will also yield more torque as well as reliability. With a high static compression engine like ours I would invest in a real exhaust gas temperature system regardless of who you go with.

My feelings exactly. I think the K03 and K04 work well in their intended application, low boost for minimal lag. The problem becomes the small impeller shaft, which is the same in both KKK turbos. Under high boost applications, it warps and causes the impeller the score the housing. The Garrett turbos use a much beefier shaft and bearings in most applications. Take a look at the high hp turbo applications in Turbo magazine etc. and almost always you will see Garretts. Not to knock KKK, but I wouldn't replace my K03 with a K04 or even a K24, I would get a Garrett. Garrett is also working on a bolt on turbo for the 1.8T that uses the stock manifold. In addition to Porsche, VW (and Audi) use Garrett Turbos for their TDI's and VW will use Garrett turbos in their Twin-Turbo RSi line. They recently showed a Lupo RSi with a twin turbo 200hp VR4. The twin-turbo VR6 in the NB RSi had Garrett turbos as well.

I own a 99.5 A4 1.8T. It is less thatn a month old. I noticed, while I was waxing the hood, little spots where the paint was starting to chip!!

Anyone else with this paint problem??

my laser red '99 1.8Tqms has a few at 6K miles. I think it's quite common. I can't recall any other cars I've owned that seemed to chip so easily. I don't know if Audi paint is "soft" or what, but I must say I'm a little disappointed in this development. Otherwise, I love my car. There is some product called "Stoneguard" or something you can put on, try consulting the archives when they are up and running.

BDW