Our turbo needs work, currently no power anymore (internal wastegate? wastegate actuator? DV? NV75 valve (no idea what this is)? other?). The turbo also makes more of a "shhhhh" noise when you give it gas rather than the normal light whistling sound. The torque increase that formerly kicked in around 1950 RPM is not there. wastegate, vacuum line or valve); stepping off the gas still produces the audible wooosh.

Suggestions to troubleshoot are welcome.

We are also planning to upgrade the turbo (if the current problem is not minor, this is a given).

A) K04 upgrade (gain?)

B) Heard about K03S (how much gain?)

C) Can the cheapo offers on Ebay be 'salvaged' by using a good rebuild kit (Borg Warner for examle)? Do they just not live long, or do they not work at all? (Big $$$ difference for a student budget)

 

sounds like the wastegate isnt closing... its pretty easy to get in there and see whats up... you might want to find a slightly used k04 or a rebuilt one while your at it, they are pretty cheap and a decent lil upgrade from a regular k03.

 

Never buy turbos off of ebay and a K03s would just be a waste of money if your looking for more power imo i'd go with the K04

 

yea actually the plunger on the exhaust side of my turbo is broken and rattles and stays open.. only way around this is a new turbo apparently.. car still boosts "okay" (14-18psi depending on gear/speed) pretty much it boosts hard when it wants to and "blah" when it wants to.. im planning on looking for a real rebuilt or lightly used K04.. will run it on my APR K03 tune with the aid of a MBC to dial it down to the 18psi range to keep from over boosting and prolly add a kinetic manifold.. until i decide to go with GIAC for a retune or ill keep it.. bottom line is if youre looking to use this opportunity to upgrade then go K04.. if not just stick with the K03.. K03s wont give you much if anything as far as i know..

 

Get a K03s if you can find one. I picked up a used one for 100 and the increase over stock k03 is pretty huge. If you don't have emissions in your area you should definitely install a test pipe while you're at it.

 

i had no idea! well then i guess its a 3 way split in the road.. K03 for the same power, K03s for a little bit more.. and K04 if you wanna be able to up the antee

 

yeah its wierd. the K04 has a more agressive cold side but the hot side of the K03s and K04 is the same. Some even say can use K04 software for an s and that an upgrade from an s to a K04 will give you like 0 gain

 

In a straight line with no chip, the K03s will definately get some ground on a normal k03