So I have a 2001 A4 1.8t. and I am wondering which chip would be the best for my car. I have looked into Apr and speedtuning and have the sense that apr is overpriced. but which would be better if i decide to get a ko4?
Thanks

 

Speedtuning is your best bang-for-buck, I've heard only good things about them and the price is right. Talked with Oliver, he's a really good guy. Only problem there is they don't do BT, so you'd have to get a new tune if you went K04 or larger.

That said, don't bother with a K04. If you're going to spend the time and money upgrading your turbo, go with an elim setup from Garrett or something similar.

APR isn't cheap but its legit. If you wait until they do a group buy or have a sale you can get a great tune at a decent price. That would also allow you to upgrade to a tune that will work with a bigger turbo, though I don't know if they do K04 tunes either.

Unitronic does tunes for the K03 and bigger turbos, but I've been hearing a lot of mixed results about them lately, especially if you don't have access to a dyno to fine tune things.

Check out the newbie guide at the top of the B5 forum for some more info about upgrading your snail.

 

GIAC for the win.

 

Agreed, GIAC. It might help that they are less than 10mins from where I live and work (just for the peace of mind).

I got GIAC's K03 flash summer 2010. In June 2011 I installed a FrankenTurbo kit. In August 2011 I got my ECU reflashed to GIAC's PC-16 file, and installed the necessary components to fulfill the requirements for the tune. GIAC doesn't charge ANY money for this reflash. I paid a shop $100 for labor to perform this flash (ripoff I know, but GIAC doesn't deal directly with the public AT ALL).

If you went K04 you wouldn't get the PC-16 tune because that is only for '96-'99.0, but I believe GIAC makes an equivalent tune for your engine.

 

for some more info about upgrading your snail.[/QUOTE]

Yeah. im trying to tear everything out and build from the ground up before i leave for basic.

SO you wouldn't suggest an ko4. my question is why? Is it just not enough bang for buck?

GIAC? you seem to know your ****. unlike my i just left the mustang family fo;r the Audi and i don't think ill ever go back.

 

I think you want to avoid the K04 because relatively speaking, its not much more turbo than the K03. You're gonna go through the whole hassle of changing your turbo out, and then be bored with it when your K04 only makes 50 more HP than a chipped K03 would. I dunno what the actual max practical output for a K04 is, but it ain't much.

I would go with some kind of elim kit. Garrett makes a GTRS elim kit that you can run on stock internals with a stock exhaust mani and push like 250hp easily. Way more than that if you upgrade your manifold, intercooler, etc.

 

So get an elim kit and high flow manifold and intercooler. got it.

but which chip would be the best for that setup or what would you suggest?
Thanks,

 

Would depend on which exact turbo you decide to get and from where. Where are you located? There are a couple guys on here who sell turbos and tunes, but personally i would go with somebody local in case you have issues.

 

I live in colorado. and everyone i know that does tunes doesn't know **** about turbos and everyone i know that does know turbo's is all about diesels.

But Are you taking about GT2860RS?
TurboByGarrett.com - Catalog

Or am I a complete idiot?
Probably the latter.

 

While CCA4 touts straying from a K04 due to minimal gains, I will agree with him. However, it has been proven that you can do a K04 hybrid build with minimal cost. At the heart of the FrankenTurbo kit is somewhat of a K04 hybrid, but with upgraded components and a larger ported wastegate. This kit also comes with a high flow exhaust manifold and turbo inlet pipe. For around $1100 depending on the add-ons you choose it offers great performance for the price. Some people have thrown around the notion that this turbo could flow nearly as much as a lower-end GTRS or something like that, but I have no proof to offer.

It is common to use K04 tuning for FrankenTurbo so that would potentially make tuning options simpler. OR there are companies out there (Malone Tuning, C2 Motorsports, etc.) who will work with you on fine-tuning the tune for a FrankenTurbo.

Other than cost the low-ish cost of the kit I chose FrankenTurbo for a few more reasons: excellent customer service, more stock-like driveability (not a whole lot of turbo lag, certainly less than BT setups), and it more or less looks stock, which is an important factor when it comes to emissions testing and the visual inspection.