I bought my car a few months ago and according to the previous owner it has a bigger turbo than what is stock. I assume it would be a K04 turbo, but I can't see the little plate that has the model on it. Is there any easy way to determine what turbo is on my car?

 

is there a boost guage?

 

Boost gauge won't necessarily tell what it is. IE my old K03 with GIAC software boosted 18-19psi, my current FrankenTurbo setup with GIAC PC-16 software (made for a K04) boosts 19-20psi.

There's no real way to tell without taking things apart to get a better look at the label. If you post a picture the best we can do is tell you if it's a stock-frame turbo or not (stock frame, as in K03, K04, etc).

 

True but still worth a shot, who wouldnt have a gauge if they install an k04..

 

some misguided individuals will install an upgraded/bigger turbo thinking that it will help with performance. to get the most out of your boost you need the proper tune (ie: MetalMan with his Frankenturbo and GIAC tune). there is not a lot of external difference between a K03 and K04 turbo, not really enough to be able to just look and say that it is one or the other. to know what you have you are going to have to check the label/stampings

 

There is no boost gauge currently installed but I bought one and haven't gotten around to installing it yet. The previous owner was pretty shady so I'm not sure if I should trust anything he told me. He said he did have a boost gauge on it before and it was running 15-18 PSI. Unfortunately the little plate has too many tubes and hoses infront of it to get a good look at it. I'd assume I'd need to start taking things apart to get a better look at the plate.

The previous owner also said the car wasn't chipped. That would probably be one of the things I'll do as soon as I get the money. I'm trying to find someone that already has a GIAC ECU that they're selling to swap out too.

 

Correct me if im wrong people...

A k04 ( or any turbo ) wouldnt boost past ~9 psi on the stock ECU. So if it was never chipped, he wouldnt be getting 18 psi

 

Um who would spend money on a k04 without doing a chip or anyother upgrade, i guess the best way to see is to get to the turbo. hopefully he didnt lie to you about the k04

 

He could have done the diode mod. Or just lying.

 

you're not wrong

it never ceases to amaze me the dumb stuff some people will do/try. it is not unreasonable to assume that someone tried to do a turbo upgrade without a tune