Hey guys,

So here is the story.. I bought a 02 1.8T Avant for $3700. It had 130k miles, but running like a champ. The car looked real nice, and of the bat, I noticed that it had a full cat-back exhaust and cross drilled rotors. I asked the guy about the upgrades, and his responce was that the previous owner had installed them, and that he needed to sell the car for what he owed the bank since he lost his job. So I take the car home and the first thing I do is go out and buy a K&N filter. Surprise!! the car already had one.. kinda dirty, but still in great shape. So I returned the new filter. About a month ago I decided that I wanted to start doing some upgrades, so I went and bought a Forge DV. So I start the install and guess what... the car already has a Forge DV.. (I still have the one I bought for sale if someone is interested). Ok... so now I start thinking to myself, what else has been done to this car. It really does feel quick for what I thought was a stock car. So my 2 next things to check were the turbo and the ECU... I looked at the turbo and it is still a K03 Once I started taking the ECU apart, I noticed that the bolts that hold down the ECU have been tampered... oh boy, oh boy... Once I cracked the ECU open, WHAT A SURPRISE!!! I have a GIAC chip ... So my questions here are:

1. What else could I be missing that may be upgrades that I have not noticed?

2. Is there a way to see if the injectors are also upgraded?

3. What tuning or reprogramming options do I have with the GIAC, or do I not have to worry about that.

I have a boost gauge and I am at 15psi. I'm not sure what's the stock boost pressure, but I do not see any type of boost controller hooked up to the car. Could I have an aftermarket wastegate since its at 15psi?

 

oh yes i forgot to add in the other message get a fmic.

 

What the ****.... how is the price so cheap?

 

He was hard up, and could not make the payment.. all he wanted to do is get the car paid off... I snatched it up minutes after he posted the clssified on craigslist.. Luck on my part, I guess

 

i paid 5k for my 01 with 90k on the clock, it had pretty good records on it. Even though i thought it was on the high side i went for it.

Great condition toO!

 

Just bought this intercooler kit:

eBay - New & used electronics, cars, apparel, collectibles, sporting goods & more at low prices

Good price for intercooler and pipes. Also bought this testpipe, for offroad use only

eBay - New & used electronics, cars, apparel, collectibles, sporting goods & more at low prices

And lastly, my turbo inlet hose:

eBay - New & used electronics, cars, apparel, collectibles, sporting goods & more at low prices

Is anyone iterested in a writeup for these things? They should arrive next week.

 

I am sooooooo aggravated!!! I took my car apart last night (thursday) since my FMIC and testpipe were arriving today (friday). I looked at the UPS website and the trailer that these things were arriving in was involved in an accident (overturned). UPS states that they are not removing any packages from the trailer due to "insurance issues". They stated that they would have an update on Monday. The whole front of my car is in pieces and I do not want to piece it back together to take apart again once the parts arrive. Taking the cat off was a real pain, but who knows how long this will take for my parts to arrive.

 

Alrigh so here is an update.. I installed the intercooler, testpipe, and inlet turbo hose. OMG what a difference!!! I purchased the Ebay front mount intercooler kit for ~$400.00.. This is a much better price than the $900 + intercoolers such as ARP. I checked the inlet air temp, and it is between 32 - 44 degrees celcius (regular temp is 42 - 64 celcius). I also do the physical touch on both sides of the IC and you can really tell the difference. So for anyone doubting on purchasing an IC from Ebay.. DO IT!! The only thing that I had to change was the mounting brackets. It looks like the ones that are provided are too short. Went to Home Depot and bought a long piece of Aluminum and made my own.

As for the testpipe, the turbo spools a lot faster and has a more aggresive sound. I ended up purchasing a O2 sensor extender so I wouldn't get the CEL

and lastly, the turbo inlet hose. I actually chose the Forge inlet hose. My DV now sounds a whole lot louder.

 

glad to know all is working out for you. Keep us posted. U should take pics of what u are doing to your car.

 

Do you mind uploading a video while driving the car? I would like to hear the noise of and the spooling.