K04 Conversion - Do you ever regret it? How is it for daily driving?

[ZoliWorks]

Aight, went with the second option. Got a $420 used K04 off of a 2.0 TFSI BWJ that the owner upgraded to a GT35xx, built the engine and is now pushing well over 600hp according to his dyno logs. Turbocharge is by no means new but for a 225k km charger is in a pretty good shape with close to no play in the compressor wheel. In case it does break later on, it's a $300-$400 repair which is still only half of what a brand new oem charger would cost (I've looked at the local prices again, they are higher than I remember). Now all I need is good weather and I can get started on putting this car together as it's currently on stands in my garage.

Will be the first turbocharger I install but luckily I have people to rely on in case I need info on anything.

[OllieVRS]

Nice to see you got a K04 for a good price and reliable seller - do you have the other supporting mods yet? Looking forward to seeing this running.

[ZoliWorks]

Nice to see you got a K04 for a good price and reliable seller - do you have the other supporting mods yet? Looking forward to seeing this running.

So far here's what I've got

- OEM used K04 Turbocharger
- DV Relocation kit (Aliexpress)
- Charge pipe with DV relocation port (Aliexpress)
- K04 Turbo muffler delete with silicone connector hose for EA113 engines (Aliexpress)
- Air intake with sports filter (Ta-Technix)
- Downpipe with 200 cell cat (Ta-Technix)
- Turbo mounting kit (bolts, studs, seals)

The injectors, fuel pressure valve, sensor, map sensor and fuel pump internals will come at a later date. For now, I'll put the car together and chip it for 300-310hp. Later when I fit the VIS motorsport fuel pump internals, OEM cleaned injectors and the rest, I'll chip it for somewhere around 340-350hp but cap the torque under 480nm.

The same guy who sold me the charger is selling the complete OEM turbo piping kit including DV relocation excluding S3 intercooler hoses and the intercooler, for $200. Currently I'm waiting for better weather and more free time before I get started but I'm considering picking up his parts as well.

I figured these parts are not under a lot of stress so I can go Aliexpress. At the end of the day, they are just some silicone hoses, stainless steel tubes and CNC machined housings. However, I do plan on getting a complete ECS tuning boost pie kit later on when I get an OEM S3 intercooler.

[OllieVRS]

All looks good - but you will have to be careful, from what I read online upgrading turbo without injectors can lead to running too lean which is dangerous for the engine. Make sure the tuner is aware you are on stock injectors and you are limited. Perhaps 300hp is too optimistic without the fuel related mods?

Also the video you posted is private so I can't check it out.

[ZoliWorks]

It didn't upload correctly for some reason, fixed.

Tuners here claim they can get 300 to 315hp out of just a turbo upgrade on stock fueling parts. I've already told the guy that I'm not installing any of those parts just yet but we'll see what the actual gains are eventually.

EDIT: Checked again, you are right, I need injectors too. Will speak with my tuner again to see if he can limit it to under 300hp to be on the safe side till I get a hpfp, injectors and other supporting parts.