Have not been around a while on the forums but thought i'd run some updates and recent history.

After some time wanting a turbo upgrade for my b5 it was finally gong to happen. Finding a private tuner here in Aus with a full package for the car including f21 turbo, tuning, injectors, TIP, DV and larger maf housing, it was perfect, bolt on and drive away. Yes they may be some minor adjustments needed with the tune as it was designed for a b5 but not specifically for my b5 which has all supporting mods.

Ill talk about the recent history on the car before the turbo upgrade. I had bought an ultimate timing belt kit with light weight pulley, all engine mounts. diff and transmission mounts, powerflex bushings from ecs. The car was getting a lot changed. The car had also had an oil leak since i started driving it from the valves so I figured I want that fixed and with the head open rebuild the top end. I should also mention that the car was to be re sprayed to matte black. This was the biggest single change I have yet invested into the car, obviously I was very excited for it all.

After getting my car back it felt better then ever, new paint, bushings, mounts and top end rebuilt. This is where it gets interesting and where I come across the tuner with the turbo kit. I have always wanted to upgrade the car to at least stage 3 and it was to be very soon after finding a tuner who can do just that. I have read great reviews about him and all customers were happy with their experience. The tuner also provides a flex tune to run 98/e85 in any ratio. I didn't know this was possible with the standard ecu tuned but he claimed the o2 sensor will handle all of that. Skipping ahead.

I bought the kit and right away the next day left it at the mechanics to have it all installed. Been excited to drive it later that day I got a call from the mechanics who installed it and said it was done however the car has serious hesitation under acceleration. Later that day I had finally gotten a chance to drive it myself. Yes... it did have hesitation and did not feel that good what so ever, something was clearly wrong. I then tried running the car without the maf plugged in and surprise surprise it felt much better, still not where it should be but was much better. Continuing to drive it sensibly I thought ill empty out the tank driving it and then fill up e85. I was told by the tuner that itll need 5mins for the ecu to adjust to the fuel. Full tank of e85 in and I drive away, plugged maf back in to see what it will do with e85. With the maf in it felt no different than the standard fuel with the maf in. Now time to unplug it. Car was over boosting to about 25psi then cutting hard so e85 and no maf is a no go.

Contacting the tuner to tell him wtf is going on here, he couldn't tell me much as well as him been away the next two weeks. Over the next two weeks i drove sensibly and eventually drained the e85 tank and re filled with all 98 (thats what its called here in Aus) The car in the next two weeks was very weird, it had better days and worse days however still never right. I used my friends s3 chipped as a comparison of where my car should be roughly. Some days my car was better and others much worse, the car has changed from hesitation under acceleration to very bad cuts under acceleration. The boost didnt seem to cut according to the gauge but the car hits a wall then goes then wall then goes etc. The tune was suppose to be at 18psi but my car never went past 15 other then when maf is unplugged. The car did however hold the 15psi all way to redline but it didn't feel fast at all and something was wrong.

Waiting for the tuner to come back so I can bring the car in for a scan, I drove sensibly, I give it here and there and some pulls even with cutting feel really good. The night before I was suppose to take it to the tuner, disaster...
I give it a little and around 4-4.5k I hear a pop in the engine, the call stalls. I turn it back on to here a loud ticking which appears to be right in the engine.
The more throttle the faster the tick. At the same time my clutch pedal was heavily vibrating and I had no idea what to think. Driving it slowly back and to the mechanics house at night he suspected a clutch as there was loud vibration coming from clutch area and giving that he just drove it around and seemed fine. The clutch still engaged just fine besides the vibration at idle.

The next day was a big day. Early in the morn the car at the mechanics, time to start tripping gearbox and check the clutch. Gearbox apart, clutch out. The clutch looked good and didnt show signs of wear or heavy damage as the clutch is a fairly new s4 clutch with lightweight flywheel. here is a photo

This explains the clutch vibration however not the ticking. The mechanic also had difficulty spinning the flywheel of the gearbox and suspected there was a resistance in the engine. Time to strip the engine.




and here is the problem


No clue how this can happen but the conclusion was that its on the tuner as the car was perfect before and now this. Contacting him right away obviously the tuner does not want to claim responsibility and I was left with a huge $ to fix the car and get it running. The tuner attempted to prove that his ecu was not the cause by placing it in a stock k03 with 520cc injectors LOL. For some reason it worked, his car my ecu and injectors... im like why would that even work and in no way is that even a legit test lol
I am left there asking why did this work, a f21 tune with 520c injectors on your k03??? he is like the ecu is adjusting lol. In short you cant argue with him as he is determined he isn't the cause, he cannot even tell me what the tune on the ecu is. That fact that it worked on his car led me to believe that the tune is actually for a k03 98/e85 and that the injectors are to match a k03 but he gave that to me.

I would like some professional advice to, what would happen to a car with a k03 tune running a f21, is this possibly?

Skipping ahead I demanded a refund of all things minus the turbo and manifold as I intend on keeping it later. No chance am I to get my money back on the repairs from this guy. This is where i am at now. The engine been apart, bottom end rebuild. 2.0L forged stroker kit has been ordered as well as a RS4 clutch and awaiting arrival, the flywheel will be re-machined. Will keep you posted on any updates and progress.

 

Sounds like an unfortunate situation, but I can't help but wonder why you would push the car when it's clearly not operating correctly? I understand your tuner was out for a couple weeks.

A tune doesn't necessarily care which turbo is being used. For example I used to run a 630cc tune by United Motorsport that is advertised to work with a K03 up to a GT28, and I ran it with a FrankenTurbo.

There must have been something up with your car, such as a boost leak. Was the engine/intake ever tested for boost/air leaks? This could explain why it ran better with the MAF unplugged.

 

Yeah the car was tested prior and didn't have any boost leaks. Without the maf the car felt smoother and less hesitant until higher rpm were it will still cut at some point. During the two weeks I didn't push the car believe me as you couldn't even if you tried. I don't think I boost leak would cause this. Several months prior I had just fixed a boost leak which I had been running and dealing with for over a year. The car was hesitant under partial throttle, it ended up been the hose clamp to the Intercooler, was leaking air here. Nothing ever happened to the car with this boost leak for over a year.

 

This is very, very wrong. I would not go back to that tuner. Just because the octane may be the same or similar DOES NOT mean you can flex between fuels. It is not a stock Chevy.

Fueling requirements for gas and alcohol vary greatly. What you did was run very lean, which is incredibly dangerous.

And I'll tell you why unplugging the MAF helped. It's because with that unplugged, the ECU dumps a ton of extra fuel as a safe guard against potential lean conditions. Instead of being safe, it was running closer to normal.

 

Something went wrong indeed. I would also assume it ran lean but however was throwing rich codes when I scanned it. Friends also drove behind me and In the time when the car cuts power hard a cloud of black smoke from behind occurs from time to time. Really weird.

PS: I dont indeed intend on seeing the tuner again for anything.

 

With the gearbox and all out, thought i'd give the gearbox a quick clean.








Also just dropped of the flywheel for machining.

 

Machining of flywheel done

 

Clutch kit has just arrived

 

After some thinking and research I have decided to build the head a little as well. It has been rebuilt/refurbished however still same springs, valves etc.

I have decided to go with supertech, have ordered
Exhaust valve set, +1mm Oversized Inconel Single Groove (IE)
Intake valve set, +1mm Oversized Single Groove (IE)
Springs, retainers and valve seats (ECS)

I figured I will future proof the engine a little better as I deff intend on running a much bigger turbo within a year of sorting all this out now, those extra few revs will help.
Bigger cams will also go in once they become available;e, all back ordered.

At this stage im still waiting on the rods, pistons and crank to arrive which will be in a few weeks, the valvetrain stuff will arrive within a week so when the stroker kit arrives, the whole engine can be built and put together at once.

 

I'm not sure where you're ordering from, but hit up Ringer Racing and talk to Mike Hood. He's a member here, a really nice guy, knows his stuff like no one's business, and offers (last I knew) a 5% discount to AudiForums members.