[A4] K04 report

[Mancubus]

I concur with your results.  I have a 1998.5 GIAC K04'd 1.8T.  The car definitely feels faster than the published numbers.  My direct experience comes from a race I had against the CEO after leaving a company lunch at a local restaurant.  I absolutely destroyed him in that I was over 2 car lengths ahead of him and still pulling STRONG before I let off the throttle at 100km/h and I had a poor start to boot.  

  The K04 definitely transforms this car into one hell of a sleeper.  I see no reason to go further with a big turbo unless you plan on visiting the drag strip on a regular basis.  As for road racing (i.e. closed circuit) I hear that the K04's are actually better on the track due to the fact that they spool much faster than the bigger turbos.

-----Original Message-----
From: a4-bounces at audifans.com [mailto:a4-bounces at audifans.com] On Behalf Of Peter Kirby
Sent: Thursday, September 29, 2005 8:17 AM
To: A4 List
Subject: [A4] K04 report

The following is what my friend has to say about his K04 + chip upgrade.

Peter

Neuspeed normally claims 225hp for their standard K04 chip, but I am told
mine is a special ''house recipe'' they have cooked up for clients who want
max output and are willing to live with the peculiarities of very aggressive
mapping, like a fair amount of part-throttle boost (which I like - makes it
very responsive) and having to be be smooth with throttle application,
ham-footed sudden open/closed movements cause weird, surgy behavior.

Estimated HP: 235 - 240    torque: 260 - 265

This is entirely believable as I ran two-way tests up and down Hwy 30 here
against a good condition dead stock 2002 WRX, starting at 50 km/h in second
gear going up to 200 km/h

Results: At pedal-down, I pull 1-2 car lengths immediately and hold that
right until 200, where the Sube then pulls about even, and above that will
very slowly start to pull away.

Being that the Sube has 227 hp and 217 lbs of torque, and the A4 is almost
exactly 300 lbs heavier, I think the power estimates make sense.
The K04's torque pulls it ahead and keep it there until 200 km/h+, where the
Sube's (I presume) smaller frontal area and nearly same hp give it a slight
edge.

Extrapolating then from the Sube's test numbers, I would think this car now
good for high 5 second 0-60's and a low 14 quarter mile.

The best part of this setup is the mid-range punch, when you mat it at 3500
in second or third gear, it feels like a 5.0L Mustang mill is under there
and the rush never gets old :)

Absence of lag is virtually as good as the K03, fuel economy when driven
gently is amazing, at least 10% better than the K03 with APR chip, possibly
even better than stock.

The only caveat: The stock clutch struggled with the APR chip, and with the
K04 it's at the end of its rope. I will be lucky to get another 10K kms out
of it (I'm currently at 132K kms), it cannot be launched at anything past
2500 rpm without smoking it.
I think it was a little abused by incompetent city driving before I bought
the car, but no matter, I believe you have to factor in a stronger clutch at
some point, especially if you enjoy dusting the occasional stop light
warrior in his Mom's 3.5L Altima (guilty).

Overall I couldn't be happier with it, the combination of economy,
performance, and drivability is exceptional. I am hard pressed to come up
with an example of another motor in this size and power range that works
better at any price.

I was worried I'd regret not going to an APR Stage III or one of the other
even bigger Garrett kits out there, but I almost never have occasion to use
more grunt than this setup offers.
The only justification would be to go after bigger stop-light game, and I
can't justify the double to triple costs of those setups when done right
(not to mention loss of low end response) just to kill the odd unwary M3 or
new Mustang.
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