So my car now has the inevitable turbo "whine" and I think we all know what that means.. I plan on doing the turbo swap myself at my brothers shop sometime this summer which has a lift and all the necessary tools. That I'm not too worried about. What I am torn on is what I should do as far as keeping the stock K03 (cheaper) route, or go the K04 (much more expensive, but very cool) route. I'm not much of a racer and I think my car is pretty damn fast even with a dying turbo, but I'd hate to do all that work knowing that if I'd just spent a few more hundred dollars I could be on the way to a very fast car. I've been reading around and some ppl have swapped to a K04 without a full stage 3 at first - just by simply bolting on the K04's where the stock ones were. I understand that it is recommended to have upgraded fuel delivery, ECU, etc, but can K04's really just be bolted on and be ready to go (at moderate potential)?

What are some good kits to look at? ECS tuning seems to have pretty decent prices, but from their list here, why are the "RP K04 Turbos" cheaper than the K03's? What is "RP"?

Also, what other things should I do with the motor out? Clutch? Should I get a RS4 clutch kit or can I get away with stock? And the oil feed/drain lines - Should I also get an oil feed and an oil drain line for both left and right sides too? They're like $200 a pop. I suppose they should be replaced regardless of the K03 or K04 right?

Thanks for your advice

 

when i first got my k04's i went with just the turbos. they work fine without a tune. a lot of lag and an impressive boost when on the freeway in the top end. when you do get tuned you dont have to get all the fueling. you can go stage 3-. which is none of the fueling and rs4 maf.

DO NOT GET THE RPK04 TURBOS!!!!! they are **** and will **** oil all over the place then blow-up. actuators and seals are absolute crap.

http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...+consolidation

http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...+consolidation

i would for sure call vast, 033 or cts for some deals on k04's or even frankenturbos.

i still run my stock oil feed lines with no trouble. just replace all the fittings, bolts, rings, seals, etc when installing the turbos.
these should have you covered:

https://vastperformance.com/index.ph...-kit-2-7t.html

https://vastperformance.com/index.ph...-kit-2-7t.html

https://vastperformance.com/index.ph...2-7t-2-8l.html

And if you havent done a timing belt kit do that too while you have the engine out. i got the ultimate one from ecs w/cam locking tool. worked great.

As for a clutch i am the wrong person to be asking....i am....sigh...tiptronic. my buddy who has k04's used the stock clutch before he got tuned and said it was fine. i have no personal experience with that however.

you might also want to replace your starter and alternator while the engine is out. the starter is impossible to get to with the engine in and the alternator is a bitch and a half to get to. engine/ tranny mounts too but not necessary.

And lots of band-aids. seriously. Good Luck!

 

Thanks Fonz! Yea I should have done some more searching before asking - those RP turbos sound like total ****. This means I would have to cough up at least $3K if I wanted to go for quality K04's - which is just not fiscally responsible of me right now, though tempting. I guess I'll just have to get the stock K03's... sigh Maybe in the future I can save up for the big guns.

 

try checking audizine classifieds for a set of used k04's or even k03's.

you could always go frankenturbo!!!!
https://vastperformance.com/index.ph...rger-pair.html

these are supposed to be better than k04's and run off the same accessories.