Which S4 Turbo Upgrade

Post by **davs4** » Sun Oct 24, 2004 12:26 pm

Hi,Heatshield has gone to the rattle maker

Thinking of upgrading Turbo's at the same time but not sure who does the best upgrade. Any thoughts please share. Thanks

Post by **snbS4** » Mon Oct 25, 2004 3:26 pm

Hi
Are you sure it's one of the heatshields? I managed to remove my heatshields without removing the engine/turbos - only to prove it wasn't the heatshields, it was one of the exhaust manifolds!!
Now has AMD's K04's etc conversion - wish I had done it before!

Rgds
Simon

Post by **Imolavirus** » Mon Oct 25, 2004 3:50 pm

davS4....are you the same one that i replied to on AW?

Post by **davs4** » Mon Oct 25, 2004 5:57 pm

Going on steelers recommendation!!!! They said exhaust manifold heat shield was knacked so thinking about upgrading whole lot with turbos

Just trying to find the right kit! Did AMD replace manifolds with upgraded manifolds to prevent happening again Simon?
Rgds
Dave

Post by **Imolavirus** » Mon Oct 25, 2004 6:25 pm

well, let me know if i can be of help to you, just give me an email

Post by **Dippy** » Wed Oct 27, 2004 2:34 pm

My opinion is that you should restrict your choices to AmD or QST. I believe (but don't know for sure) that AmD have more experience of this work. I would also suggest that your close proximity to AmD should make you favour them.

However this is going to be a lot of expensive work, so I recommend that you get competitive quotes from at least 3 companies (I can't suggest a 3rd, maybe others here can). Find out what they recommend and compare them. Level of service is just as important as cost. This is certainly true of after-sales service: In the unfortunate event that something goes wrong later, you need to be certain that your tuner will look after you.

Personally I find that AmD do great work but sometimes their level of service is not so hot. This is probably due to their success (they don't have to try too hard any more). So you have to tell them up front what you expect from them, and tell them when they don't deliver. I have found that if you help them to help you, the service is good. However I do know some people who have not been satisfied.

I have had no dealings with QST but there are enough good reports (Kim Collins who runs QST is very highly regarded) to suggest they should be a serious contender for your business.

Post by **davs4** » Wed Oct 27, 2004 8:20 pm

Thanks for your advice Dippy, I have priced some kits in US aswell(due to the exchange rate being so good) and this may be the best option. I will certainly get some other quotes though. Cheers

Post by **Mik** » Wed Oct 27, 2004 9:13 pm

I agree with Dippy, although I think QST are ok - they are much more expensive than AmD (I suspect because of the MTM brand value) and IMHO they havent quite got the experience that AmD has. I find if things go wrong AmD are more likely to find the problem quickly. I have found that QST tend to rely heavily on MTM in Germany for expert advise where AmD have highly skilled VAG technicians in their shop. I had my turbo upgrade done by QST and had nothing but problems with it - they gave up in the end and told me I had to wait until MTM could come over and have a look....waited a few months and got fed up - took the car to AmD who sorted it in a few hours and found a tricky air leak. Car has been fine ever since apart from a contaminated MAF...

Have never had any service issues with AmD, but then I tend to be quite a demanding customer (after my experiences elsewhere probably)

You could also consider buying the parts required via VAG parts and just ask a tuner to fit them, which would save you quite a lot.

Cheers

Mik

Post by **snbS4** » Thu Oct 28, 2004 10:23 am

Going on steelers recommendation!!!! They said exhaust manifold heat shield was knacked so thinking about upgrading whole lot with turbos Just trying to find the right kit! Did AMD replace manifolds with upgraded manifolds to prevent happening again Simon?
Rgds
Dave

Sorry for the delay!

The well-documented heatshields and manifold problems can be found from a search on this Forum. They are quite separate - the most expensive element is the labour to remove the engine to change the manifolds (which are c. GBP350 each). To change the heatshields I believe you can do this in situ thereby saving you GBP1,200 instantly!
My car is a '99 and the new manifolds are of a different design so the problem should not reoccur.

My Dealer confirmed it was a noisy wastegate and would guarantee that their price of GBP3,275 to replace the turbos would fix the problem - how very wrong!

For a 2nd opinion, I took it to AMD where I have been going since they were in Oddington Grange - it was a collar on the exhaust manifolds which Adam showed me and I was very lucky not to have terminally damaged the engine! The turbos were as well as could be for 45K miles.

I had been considering the K04 conversion for some months and having decided that I was to keep the car as my daily driver, I was happy to proceed. I discussed the options and made some savings by already having a lot of AMD's kit but negated those by having the cambelt/clutch etc carried out at the same time. Total price GBP£OADS!

I think it depends whether you really want the extra performance or just to fix the problem. I had been quite happy with 326bhp when AMD set it up when the car was only 6 months old - total reliability. FYI, it now has 395.7bhp and is even more fun with 426ft/lb at c.3,200rpm.

The driveability is very strong since the K04's and the delivery is of the same profile as before, just lots more at all revs. It is not the same as a standard RS4 where it feels relatively flat until the revs are up. It also pulls much longer and harder into the rev range whereas before, it would tail off quite noticeably at around 4 - 4,500rpm. Loads of fun!
HTH, Rgds
Simon

K04's, full Milltek, H&R, Tanoga, Forge DV's, APR snub, Samco TBB&F!

Post by **BRETTCOLLINS** » Thu Oct 28, 2004 1:57 pm

Had problems with my S4 after other garages had been fitting parts, the car ended up a AMD where they sorted out all the problems, Can't thank them enough.

.

Post by **davs4** » Fri Oct 29, 2004 6:22 pm

Thanks for feedback,looks like AMD is the way ahead! I will check on heatshields first to cure rattle if possible, then buy parts separately prior to fit.

Post by **K9ng** » Tue Nov 02, 2004 10:08 am

I am in a similar postion where I am looking to change the turbos on mine not cause there is anything wrong just want more!! (As always)

I am looking into a couple of roller ball turbos suppossed to be almost lag free, will let you know the results once Santa buys me the parts....

Paul

Post by **davs4** » Tue Nov 02, 2004 8:33 pm

I would be interested in the outcome of those turbos Paul???
Dave

Post by **AFAP18** » Thu Nov 04, 2004 11:12 pm

Well

It all depends how longer you want to stay with the car, since all the money that you spend on it, will not payoff.
I am currently running K04s with AMD software. Car has 1.6 over and 1.3 with if boost. It is pretty strong, but needs a lot o fuel for the dailly usage. After you up-grade it be aware that you will need to change many other parts

but it will have a lot of fun with it.

best wishes

WOT

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