whats a ko4 gti like to drive with around 340bhp

[Statller-Stevo]

im going off the conversion i had a k03 2+ and went to k04 with all the 2+ hardware

You've had some problems though haven't you?
If its done right It's a great upgrade, the stock K03 motor can't really handle the low down torque that's on tap from a stock K04 blower, we saw quite a few bent rods back in the early days, still got them somewhere.
A tuned Low comp K04 motor is way different in power delivery to a converted K03 car

[edd666999]

yeah they are resolved afaik, everything is as it should be hardware wise. And the apr map is a map that they don't tweak car to car from what i have been told.

Im not saying its not a great upgrade, just the power delivery is certainly different and feels like it comes further on in the rev range than the k03 did.

Maybe you should drive my car  the fear being you tell me somethings not right!

[bacillus]

yeah they are resolved afaik, everything is as it should be hardware wise. And the apr map is a map that they don't tweak car to car from what i have been told.

Im not saying its not a great upgrade, just the power delivery is certainly different and feels like it comes further on in the rev range than the k03 did.

Maybe you should drive my car  the fear being you tell me somethings not right!

Why did you go APR for your k04 and not Revo as you had on your k03?

[edd666999]

yeah they are resolved afaik, everything is as it should be hardware wise. And the apr map is a map that they don't tweak car to car from what i have been told.

Im not saying its not a great upgrade, just the power delivery is certainly different and feels like it comes further on in the rev range than the k03 did.

Maybe you should drive my car  the fear being you tell me somethings not right!

Why did you go APR for your k04 and not Revo as you had on your k03?

Well....it was offered pretty much free, didn't involve driving to Sunderland and I some how convinced myself that the company it was with would turn on its heels and i'd get a better service  oh how wrong i was.

Plus i can (for £50 and the garage fee) go back to revo at any time!

[QD MBE]

Save your money, keep the KO3 and put your ££ towards a Diff and brakes. Really exploit the traction. Unless you just want straight line speed.

[gazon69]

I'd be more than happy to let any of you ride shot gun in mine.

[RedRobin]

Save your money, keep the KO3 and put your ££ towards a Diff and brakes. Really exploit the traction. Unless you just want straight line speed.

....I couldn't agree more! 

There's nothing wrong with a K04 conversion but you are pushing the reliability envelope and will benefit more from improved handling. Power is no good without traction.

[GarethB]

There's nothing wrong with a K04 conversion but you are pushing the reliability envelope

You mention reliability Robin - I am not aware of any common wastegate problems with a K04, but there have been various cases with modified K03s. Could it be that too much is being asked of the the smaller turbo???

What do people feel would be safer from a reliability viewpoint; a Stage 2+ K03 or a AXX/BWA converted K04 running stage 3?

[RedRobin]

There's nothing wrong with a K04 conversion but you are pushing the reliability envelope

You mention reliability Robin - I am not aware of any common wastegate problems with a K04, but there have been various cases with modified K03s. Could it be that too much is being asked of the the smaller turbo???

What do people feel would be safer from a reliability viewpoint; a Stage 2+ K03 or a AXX/BWA converted K04 running stage 3?

....I had a wastegate problem with my original K03 and had to replace it, which I did with another newer K03 and not a K04.

I'm not suggesting that the K04 is more or any less reliable but that the more you push/modify the performance engine of any car it potentially increases the risk of unreliability and that my personal advice would be to better spend the money on traction/handling mods such as QD also advocates.

Sorry if my post wasn't clear.
 

[GarethB]

....I had a wastegate problem with my original K03 and had to replace it, which I did with another newer K03 and not a K04.

I'm not suggesting that the K04 is more or any less reliable but that the more you push/modify the performance engine of any car it potentially increases the risk of unreliability and that my personal advice would be to better spend the money on traction/handling mods such as QD also advocates.

Sorry if my post wasn't clear.

Perfectly clear Robin  

I know about your K03 wastegate problem, as I am experiencing the same problem (also diagnosed by JKM) and I spent quite some time reading your posts on the matter. I do not believe that it is an isolated incident, as I have spoken to a couple of other gti owners that have experienced similar issues. A few went down the K04 route as a direct result, rather than swapping the K03.

I also totally agree with the traction & handling mods comments.

My question is a genuine one for the forum - what puts more stress on the engine & components; a highly tuned K03 or an AXX/BWA converted K04 (at say, a Stage 3 level of tune)?

Which would people say is more reliable?

[pd9264]

All depends on how its mapped. I am now on a k04 at 2+ and the car ran 340hp on the dyno, tbh the car is far more manageable now than it was before at 2+ k03 as power at peak was through the midrange and started to die off at around 6k rpm . Now it just flies round to 7.5k rpm. Still an animal in the wet though. I dont even bother when the roads are damp now.

that what im not to keen on with the k03. it all comes in a big lump in the midrange and then dies off by 5500rpm. i would prefer the power to just get stronger the higher the revs are. and use the whole rev range.

[RedRobin]

that what im not to keen on with the k03. it all comes in a big lump in the midrange and then dies off by 5500rpm. i would prefer the power to just get stronger the higher the revs are. and use the whole rev range.

....My K03 Revo 2 starts to kick in solidly at ~1,800 rpm and I'm not wanting to push beyond ~5,500 before shifting gear.

I'm not saying it's better than a K04'd car but only that driveability doesn't suffer on mine and neither do I stress it by using high revs a lot.

Anyway, this has gone a bit off topic.

[heavyd]

yeah they are resolved afaik, everything is as it should be hardware wise. And the apr map is a map that they don't tweak car to car from what i have been told.

Im not saying its not a great upgrade, just the power delivery is certainly different and feels like it comes further on in the rev range than the k03 did.

Maybe you should drive my car  the fear being you tell me somethings not right!

I'm not being funny, but your MAF figures seemed very low for a stage 2+ K04 car mind
maybe thats the reason why you arent impressed?

[martziniuk]

After having a K03 at stage 2+ tune with a proven 280 bhp, I can safely say it's a tad tame and dare I say it boring compared to a K04 with similar tune.
Yes a K04 spins in 4th in the wet but my god it makes you smile with the pull! I just could never see myself go back to a K03 tune.

[heavyd]

heres your logs vs mine when mine wasnt up to full health,  before 3000rpm, your MAF values are a lot less