KO4 Turbo review

[noone]

Great this is fantastic , my mods so far below...so an LSD prior may be my next mod then in preperation...

H&R Springs,
Bilstein shocks,
Whiteline Rear Sway Bar
Front Strut Brace
APR Engine Mount,
APR R1 Diverter Valve,
APR ECU V2,
APR DP and HFC,
ECS High performance clutch with lightened flywheel.
Seat Air intake,
K&N Filter,
Forge TIP,

Think a FMIC should be high on your list...

Honestly, if you are not happy with it as is, you might be better of with a different car... All this work won't get you the results that a Golf GTI or R32 would and would always have the tyre width and FWD traction issues...

[Chipped]

I've had K04 for a year now, never had it dyno'd tho. Either I haven't had time or every time I've rung the dyno place with all my previous runs/data he never has a dyno available(he builds them).

It feels like it has more torque then the K03s. As its getting colder I've been spining both wheels in 2nd gear from 4000rpm. 1st gear is useless if planting it. An LSD helps alot. I wouldn't bother upgrading unless you get an LSD at the same time.

Flaps forgive my lack of mechanical knowledge - I have learnt as I have modded the POlo with each consecutive mod. Can you give me a little info on how the LSD aids in and works with the more pwr and torque that the KO4 generates? Cheers

[Chipped]

Think a FMIC should be high on your list...

Honestly, if you are not happy with it as is, you might be better of with a different car... All this work won't get you the results that a Golf GTI or R32 would and would always have the tyre width and FWD traction issues...

Yeah FMIC is on the list but I'll wait till summer comes around.
KO4 is more off in the long distance but would love some reviews first.
I'm very happy with the way it is but I got the mod bug and as I enjoy the experience of improving the car and as its a 15yr project I wanna play and keep myself intersted.

[Flaps]

The LSD delivers the power through both wheels while under acceleration. It is especially noticeable and fun when getting on the throttle through a corner. Before the LSD the car suffered from spinning the inside or lighter tyre. Now the power is delivered across both the weighted and unweighted tyre there is no wheel spin just grip.

I wouldn't bother with an LSD if you don't drive your car on the track or through twisty roads. If you just drive around town, it's a bit useless.

[mikepologti]

i think what everyone here is talking about is a tbd or a torque bias diferential.
this works in the oposite way to what the polo traction control does. so instead of transfering the power to the wheel of the least traction, a tbd transfers power to the wheel with the most traction.

[Petrina Polo]

I have APR tune, FMIC, Dump pipe and full exhaust, seat intake, BMC, APR DV and thought about the K04.. (still thinking about it)

You always want more power, but for this little car I think ive reached the limit without destroying its drivability..

I think other issues will come with the K04... Broken gearboxes, diff, clutch, pressure on motor.

At the moment, its pretty quick, nice to drive, doesnt do anything crazy, doesnt feel like something is gonna let go. I think leave it that way..

Plus for the $3000+ it will cost for the K04, you might get another 15-20kw atw on top of my car. But get more lag too. Will it be significantly quicker?? Will it be $3000+ quicker?? not sure about that one. Theres nothing worse than handing over $3000+ and you drive away and its not significantly faster. (ive done that before)

[pogo_55]

I have APR tune, FMIC, Dump pipe and full exhaust, seat intake, BMC, APR DV and thought about the K04.. (still thinking about it)

You always want more power, but for this little car I think ive reached the limit without destroying its drivability..

I think other issues will come with the K04... Broken gearboxes, diff, clutch, pressure on motor.

At the moment, its pretty quick, nice to drive, doesnt do anything crazy, doesnt feel like something is gonna let go. I think leave it that way..

Plus for the $3000+ it will cost for the K04, you might get another 15-20kw atw on top of my car. But get more lag too. Will it be significantly quicker?? Will it be $3000+ quicker?? not sure about that one. Theres nothing worse than handing over $3000+ and you drive away and its not significantly faster. (ive done that before)

I have to ask - have you ever driven one?

I doubt it by your comments. I have had mine for about a year now and I love it. It does not have the bang at around 2k you get with the tuned K03s, instead it is builds it's boost more gradually, still starts about 2k but not coming to full boost till nearer 3K and holding it much longer than the K03s. So I think it is nicer to drive and probably kinder/easier on the gearbox, clutch etc than the K03s.

As for bang per buck, an fmic + downpipe will cost close to $3K and how much power does that get you? From what I've seen on dyno day printouts average chipped car 123kw, fmic and downpipe 131kw = 8kw gain. I know there are a few cars with more but I did say average.

Checkout this review of a K04.

http://www.more-bhp.com/project_polo_gti.html

[Petrina Polo]

You forgot to mention that despite the questionable bang for your buck of FMIC and dump pipe, they are pre-requisites for the K04.. So you need them..

So if are out there thinking K04, make sure you add FMIC and dump pipe/full exhaust to the bill as well as clutch and diff.

So that $3000+ I was talking about for me could be $6000 for some with chip only.

Ive modded heaps of cars and when you go to far the car loses drivability. Instead of an 07 model it will feel like driving a 20 year old car. I dont dispute it will go better the car will lose all its refinement.

[pogo_55]

Yes mine has the down pipe but it doesn't have an fmic (yet).

As I said imho it is nicer to drive and actually feels that this is the way it should have come from the factory. I have done 15,000km with the k04, 45k in total and it is still on the original clutch and gearbox. APR say it produces 180kw with just the turbo and downpipe. No mention of needing an fmic. There have been people on this forum saying they couldn't notice much, if any difference with an fmic. I reckon it would certainly help on the track, but not convinced it is really necessary for a street chipped polo with either a k03s or k04.

The gearbox and clutch are not unknown to have problems on the chipped k03s, I really don't think there is a much greater risk with the K04 given its smoother power delivery.

[JCM308]

Petrina I don't understand your logic.

Yes to get the most out of the KO4 you should have FMIC etc but you don't have to have anything except a tune ($2750 from APR inc turbo + tune).

Even with just the turbo and tune the power increase would be significant. no it won't be massive but it leaves you some room to play with.

At the end of the day you're only going up 1 size in turbo. Remember the S3 has this on it's standard setup and that in no way drives like a 20 year old clunker.

At the end of the day if you do the mods right you won't have any problems, if you cheap out then keep your wallet open.