What should I do next...

[los93sol]

I'm not sure what mods to go after next, I can't quite afford K04's and am looking to stay under $1,000USD. Here is a quick list of what I've got so far:

Performance Mods:
AWE Twin2 Exhaust
AWE vent boost guage
AWE S-flo intake
AWE DTS
Neuspeed rear sway bar
H&R coilovers
APR bipipe
Bailey Motorsport DV's
GIAC ECU remap
VAST Performance lightweight flywheel
VAST Performance "piggie pipes"
VAST Performance poly front motor mount
VAST Performance stage 2 RS4 clutch w/kevlar lining
Stainless steel braided brake lines
ECS tuning slotted 2-piece rotors front/rear

Luxury/Styling Mods:
Retro-fit RNS-E (VIM and SDS hacked)
OEM BT kit
DVD player in glovebox
10" Kicker S10L7 in boot for a little extra bass
30% tint

I'm looking for other cheap mods that will give me some bang for my buck, considering going ahead and slapping a short shifter in there since I somehow haven't done that yet, then possibly going ahead and going to the RS4 intercoolers if I can cop some cheap, but I'm curious to know if I'll also need the RS4's pipes for a quality job or if the stock S4 pipes to the intercoolers will yield the same results. I've seen a lot of talk about going to RS4 injectors and MAF, but mostly w/K04's, what kind of power gains could I expect on my K03's, and would they become unreliable (well even more unreliable than K03's already are) with those mods? I am looking to make the car faster, I don't care for rims, body kits, neon lights, etc....leave it for the ricers Any suggestions for mods I haven't done yet that are under the $1,000 range I'd love to hear. If anyone has a set of K04's sitting around they'd like to sell to me for $1,000 lemme know lol, doubt anyone would ever let go of a good set that cheap but hey you never know! I have a feeling the next mods will be intercoolers and depending on what kinds of info you guys come back with for me injectors/maf. I've also seen the lightweight pulley kits from ECS tuning, does anyone know if there are any real power/performance increases from using them as they aren't under/overdrive pulleys, they are lightweight so I assume less torsional mass means the motor will wrap up faster same concept as lightweight flywheel, but can anyone confirm whether or not the difference is noticable or if it is worth the money?

[mikeyquattro]

NOS?

[fletchie55]

I think your pretty much stuck where you are, keep the money and save some more then go for some K04s, fuel pump and injectors when you have enough. maybe you can go for injectors and pump first, but I think I have read somewhere that it wont help you without bigger turbos as the stock setup is capable of handling max K03 power. very much doubt you will notice any difference from intercoolers, I changed mine and performance wise it doesnt seem to have made much difference, I did only get RS4 ones though.

[tdiquattro]

I agree, you have a good setup now, keep it that way and save for the next big step up, K04s, fueling and ICs.
any small changes now will use up that cash.

[DavidT]

RS4 intercoolers will help. The have a lower pressure drop so your K03's will be doing less work to make the same boost so it should help with reliability a little. It's not a big gain in terms of power & torque though, 5-10 bhp and a 10-20 ft lbs torque at a rough guess (happy to be corrected).

To make more power you have to flow more air and for that, you need bigger turbos. As fletchie has said K04's. Not sure about the NOS

[los93sol]

Lol I had a feeling that would be the general consensus. Sadly the K03's had just went out a little over a month ago and I just couldn't quite afford to jump to K04's so it's on fresh K03's now since I found a set cheap. I like to do the reliability mods before the power mods to protect my investments so I'll probably go ahead and do and AWE intercooler kit and Port/Polish ceramic coated exhaust manifolds. Can anyone tell me if the Samco hose kit would be a good thing to go ahead and do now since my car is right about 100k on the motor. Thanks for the suggestions and advice.

[saf]

Youd be mad to not go K04, even if it meant buying your IC's later.

[DavidT]

Can you do the exhaust manifolds without removing the engine ?

[fletchie55]

I thought manifolds meant engine out, and labour is one of the main costs when changing to K04s.
again, I dont think you will see any gains from using coated manifolds or larger bore manifolds if you are not getting larger turbos. By 'piggie pipes' do you mean you are currently running with no cats at all? if you have all the cats removed you may get slightly faster turbo spool up, worth a look.

[saf]

DavidT, Exhaust manifolds can only be done when the engine is out.

Its hard enough to do the turbo's when the engine is in and the manifolds bolt to the engine which is a lot further inwards. If you could do the manifolds then youd be able to do the turbos no problems with the engine in. Some have done turbo's with engine in and its so much trouble you may as well have taken the engine out.

Main costs are the turbos and the labour. Other things that people deide to do are optional and for power increase.

Larger bore manifolds will sometimes produce more lag depends on how you have things set up, turbo wise.

Cats removed will definitely give you a much greater spool up, especially the precats. But remember removing the MAIN cats is illegal for road use.