i'm selling my Buick Regal GS soon and i am trying to decide what would be best to put the money towards (~$4000). honestly i wish i could keep the GS because it's a nice VERY dependable car that's somewhat quick, but Audi's are well....expensive to maintain much less mod if you know what i mean. besides i still have my Spirit R/T as a backup car and daily driver.

my car is 100% bone stock with 95k miles. it has been VERY well taken care of but i know the stock K03s are notorious for going south around 100k miles. so i was thinking about putting the money towards a pair of K04s + inlet pipes and a new clutch. at the very least i would get an OEM RS4 clutch, but knowing how i like to launch farily hard once in awhile i think i might just go with a stage-II or a stage-III instead (not sure which one or from which vendor yet). i don't think i'm going to go with a lightened flywheel though as i want to keep as much low end torque as i can, not to mention they are just plain expensive.

should i consider something else with the $$$$? perhaps i should start with DVs, TBB and a Samco hose kit instead? eventually ALL of this stuff (and more!) will be replaced, but the clutch and turbos are what have me worried the most (however, there is nothing wrong with them at the moment - the car drives excellent).

FWIW this car is not going to see the track, so perhaps the stage-III clutch is overkill and i'm not looking to make killer power anyway. i'd like to get an APR chip right away but i don't want to risk killing the K03s even sooner. i'm also planning on downpipes and AWE intercoolers and VAG-COM of course. hell maybe the VAG-COM should be the first thing i should get?

i wish i could spend the money on some appearance mods, like Bilsteins/lowering springs, 18" Stern ST8s, tinted tails, and Ottenger (sp?) grille/spoiler but that is going to have to wait. i need to concentrate on mechanical aspects right now and keep the car dependable. soo keeping it dependable is the priority, go-fast mods are next, then appearance.

what would you do?

thanks for any advice/insight!!

 

First thing first... was the timing belt replaced? If not then it should be your firsdt priority, and do the water pump and thermostat while you are in there.
Then definitely the TBB and DVs (I see you've done your reading!).
The turbos can last a lot longer than 100k miles if you let them warm up before riding hard, and if you let them cool down before stopping the engine after a hard run. Also a good syn oil replaced regularly along with the filter will help. I totally believe in preventive maintenance.

The GIAC chip is nice and easy to install. Best bang for your bucks!!
VAST Piggies would be nice and keep the turbos cooler.
Have fun with your project!

 

the timing belt, waterpumps and tensioners have been replaced twice now actually; once at 37k and again at 67k (i have ALL the service records). i have no records indicating the clutch was replaced at any point so i'm pretty sure it's original. i always let the car warm up before just taking off, and 99% of the time i baby it. i never "get on it" unless it is fully warmed up and after the occasional hard run i will let it idle for awhile before just shutting it off. i always use Mobil-1 in all of my cars and am religious about maintaining all of them, always use premium of course (all of my cars are boosted). also, the guy i bought this car from was in his 70s. it has probably been babied it's whole life.

as for the GIAC chip i'm a little worried about using that one since i've "heard" the timing is very aggressive and boost is even higher than that of the APR? also, the highest pump gas available here is 91 octane (due to my high elevation). i just don't want to kill these K03s shortly after putting a chip in it. that's why i wanted to do the K04s first. maybe i'm being paranoid lol. i would love to get a chip for it right away of course. sounds like that is by far the best bang for the buck for these cars. right now my Spirit R/T will walk it no problem and i need to turn the tables!

thanks for the reply!