Hey all,

I'm a n00b here, I've had a longtime fascination with the B5 S4 avant. I've been looking to buy a bigger, long-range car. I was leaning towards an E39 M5, but a B5 S4 Avant is probably more practical for me; better for roadtrips that might involve snow, the occasional ski trip, and I want a wagon I think.

Ideally I'd like to pick up an avant in Nogaro or Imola that already had a well-sorted Stage 3 setup, but obviously it'll be a bear finding the right car that was well taken care of and such.

So I was thinking, I should keep my options open and consider getting an unmodified (or relatively unmodified) car, and taking on the stage 3 upgrade as a side/weekend project.

Of course, the cost is a bit steep to do it all at once, so is there a natural breakdown for how I should proceed? For some reason, looking at APR and Achtuning, I don't see much of a middle ground between chip-only, and full-on Stage 3.

Something like, chip, exhaust, K04 turbos, but have a low-boost program until I add the injectors and intercoolers later or something? Or is there no good way to do this in 2 stages without throwing away extra money on parts that won't be needed on a stage 3 car?

Also, once I am running stage 3, what's the main concern of running a car like this for years? I understand the K04s are more robust than the stock turbos, but what is the worst-case expensive repair I'm looking at (assuming no abuse of the car)? Just blown headgaskets? Or complete bottom end failure?

thanks!

 

Reid Conti? I know you!

Imola is the ONLY way to go, you can find a nice sorted STG III for $20k, you can also do a STGIII install on a stock car, for around $8000 installed, you don't need the expensive APR kit.
Ko4' $2500
Inlets $500
Hardware $50
Then a STGII - flash
Or get a "fueling kit" for $1500-2500

So how's the BMW?

 

Good info, Dr. S. I was actually thinking of doing it as a project in garage in my spare time, we'll see. Seems like APR wants to charge an arm and a leg just for their intake manifolds, but even without that extra expense, pretty much every kit includes the RS4 intercoolers. Not needed, or is that part of the "K04" price? Obviously I'd rather let someone else sink the cash and time into it and buy their car; problem is looking for a 6spd stageIII avant in the right color will at *least* be a national search, and even at that it might be hard to find just what I'm looking for.

The BMW is great, loving it. I've got GC coilovers on it, and am having some autocross fun. Plus, my first track day at THill is coming up on the 11th. Not planning on turning it into a track rat or anything; if I get too into tracking I'll just buy someone else's track car. I'm hoping to keep the Coupe for a very long time to come. Only problem is I'm putting about 20k on it a year, and coming up on 100k in a month or two here. I'm hoping to get another car to keep the miles off of it. Not that an SIII S4 is exactly something I was planning on daily driving; maybe split commute miles between the S4 and the Coupe for a little while, then pick up an old S2k or something for a DD that I can beat on? Not sure.

Anyway, I'll drop you an email. I'm in the NW until Jan 5, so I'd be interested in getting together in T-town if you're around.

 

Yes, the APR kit is the most expensive kit out there for K04's. I don't think it includes the RS4 IC either, they are extra.

To install the K04's you got to drop the engine out. Most shops are in the 30 labor hour range to swap out the turbo's! It's a major job! If you are DIY, you can do STG 3- for under $4k. Then do the fueling & other things later. The car will be stupid fast like this, you really got to drive one! Mine is a best with just the little K03's in there!

There a great DD, & you get better MPG & reliability with K04's! It makes the car easier to drive. Of course if you are "on it" it will be much lower. I get about 300-350 miles per tank in mixed driving.

Read up on the FAQ, there is a ton of information in there!

T-hill, oh, I'm jealous! I just picked up a new Helmut yesterday, I'm going back to the track this year!

 

I tend to get poor gas mileage with my stage3...but that is because I go WOT at every place possible.

If you are in the Tri-State area I have a guy that can do the turbo install for cheap.