Big Dillemma Please Help!!

[A3_Turbo]

Right well where do i start??

It all stems from when i had my De-cat pipe and Backbox put on my car. Ever since then it made a really loud high pitched squeal at 5k Revs in every Gear MIJ said it was just the turbo pressure and it was fine nothing to worry about.

Well anyway few motnhs later i try and get a remap i went to AMD last weekend and it wasnt good, my car is only putting out 140 bhp and the man at AMD explained why it mainly stems from the Decat overspooled my turbo he says it may have damaged my turbo so ££££.

He wants me to order a full Miltek exhaust system with the race Cats etc to see if it s just that that'll cost me £670 Which i dont mind doing IF it fixes the problem, If it doesnt im looking at a new turbo.

So what do i do Shed out for the £670 Miltek and see what happens or do i leave the car as it is ??

Im Confused so please Help!!


Jason

 

[S3tony]

sorry to here that mate that sounds like bad news. what about finding a standard exhaust and cat from a scrappy or ebay putting that on then u should know if your turbos ****** without spending £670,

cheers tony

 

[pablo]

Id be getting a std zorst on asap before shelling out £700,

 

[A3_Turbo]

Yeah thing is i need it done sooner not later really as its making it worse rive it decatted about, i mean if the exhasut sorted it out then i wouldnt mind as mine is really too loud anyway.

Should have really gone for a miltek from the beginning and maybe would never of had this problem im stuck with now.

Just if i shed out the 700 for a Full miltek and need a new turbo on top of it is it really worth all that money ?

I mean ive had the cambelt service and a new clutch so its all adding up now!

Descions Descions! Amd Obviously know what they're on about so should i just go with what they said?


Jason

 

[pablo]

cant be hard to find a 2nd hand exhaust mate. even the cats would do.

tbh tho I cant see an exhaust causing the problem sounds like the damage is done already.

Im sure you could find a cheap 2nd hand turbo handy enough, coupled with a 2nd hand cat(s) Im sure it would come in WELL under the price of the milltek.

 

[A3_Turbo]

Hmmm well i was going to at some point get a miltek any-way. I would just get rid of it but ive spent alot on it now so its not really worth it.

Think i'll just get the miltek on there as i should have got a De-Cat in the first place and if it still makes that horrible nise i'll be on the hunt for a K03S or maybe a K04.

Jason

 

[KEF A3 20V T]

pete69zx is selling a cat back milltek second hand!! maybes get that n a new sport cat or even a standard cat!! may save you a few ££££££

 

[A3_Turbo]

Thanks for the advice guys after the cash ive spent may as well keep the car for a while so i'll order up the miltek rather have it new if im keeping it for a while.

If it is turbo which has gone, Bloke said they're are 2 sets of blades in it the front blades looked fine but obviously cant see the other set without taking it apart so fingers crossed! Anyway if the turbo has gone is it possible to get a K04 on there what work is needed to do that??

Cheers

 

[Corey]

Different downpipe, exhaust manifold, different oil and water lines.
Easiest option is a K03S, should've asked while you where here last, we have a couple of each on the shelf (k03S and K04)

 

[Tallpaul]

If you're turbo has gone forget about a K04, it'll cost a lot to get all the parts you'd need. I'd be tempted to perhaps go for a K03s if you can pick up a cheap second hand one. If the turbo has gone, obviously get it replaced before the remap.

Bare in mind that a remap and your new exhaust should see pretty much 200bhp. If you went for K03s you'd really need a FMIC to get more than another 15 - 20bhp, even then you'd probably only make 230bhp. People ditch K03 turbo's all the time so getting a decent used one should only cost £150. Going K03s would mean:

K03s - £250
TIP - £125
FMIC - £250 - £750
Labour to fit the above - £300 - £500
Remap - £500 (and it'd have to be remapped, you couldn't just bolt it on)

Guess it's down to how much money you have? It's only a car though not worth getting in to loads of credit card debt or whatever for.

 

[Tallpaul]

Different downpipe, exhaust manifold, different oil and water lines.
Easiest option is a K03S, should've asked while you where here last, we have a couple of each on the shelf (k03S and K04)

Are the K03s used? How much do you sell them for?

 

[A3_Turbo]

No thats true miltek are having trouble getting the exhaust for me parts availability etc

I dont mind spending out the cash If it sworth it in the end, Could do the FMIC gradually etc.

Think i'll get the exhast on and see what happens if it does end upto be the turbo i'll be on the hunt for a KO3S!

Jason

 

[mazzy]

No thats true miltek are having trouble getting the exhaust for me parts availability etc

I dont mind spending out the cash If it sworth it in the end, Could do the FMIC gradually etc.

Think i'll get the exhast on and see what happens if it does end upto be the turbo i'll be on the hunt for a KO3S!

Jason

What has happened, i dont believe the exhaust is the cause. The squeel is pressure through the straight through setup. Once the turbo spools up it releases more gases etc.... you know the usual story. Hence the more flow and sound.

Anyway were AmD rollers accurate & is your MAF etc. playing up??
I dont know what else can cause the down on power. Check boost pipes etc.

BTW - you did want a loud exhaust matey, lol. Now Now be Honest!!

As for the turbo, if it damaged pick a K03/K03s of ebay etc.

Let me know how you get on.

 

[A3_Turbo]

Hehe Yeah maybe! Well the squeel has got louder recently i mean you can hear it for miles that loud! Ie my mates know when im on my way home from work!

Amd Reckon the Decat is letting alot more air in and overspooling the turbo that squeel noise is apprantly from the turbo.

Not MIJ'S fault Mazzy mine for getting the De-cat i guess!

Jason

 

[mazzy]

Hehe Yeah maybe! Well the squeel has got louder recently i mean you can hear it for miles that loud! Ie my mates know when im on my way home from work!

Amd Reckon the Decat is letting alot more air in and overspooling the turbo that squeel noise is apprantly from the turbo.

Not MIJ'S fault Mazzy mine for getting the De-cat i guess!

Jason

Its not the De-Cat mate, i can guarantee that!!!

It just dont make sense... how many turbo cars have had de-cats in the world including mine... No Problem with them!

Im not slagging you off matey just trying to assure you that dont blame the de-cat pipe. As it is just a pipe with no baffle/restriction as oppossed to the standard cat. That cant cause damage to the turbo unless ofcourse it has cement in it! lol.

Call me on 01922 645 646 if needed.

 

[A3_Turbo]

Alright then well now i am totally confused! Just going on wha AMD said it RR'd at 140 BHP which isnt very good at all and the squeal is apparntly the source of the problem.

I am well and truly confused now!


Jason

 

[Tallpaul]

Big squeel = stuffed turbo. No doubt about that. Whether the loss of back pressure from a de-cat exhaust would cause it is speculation.

It's a little cynical of AMD to suggest spending £700 on an exhaust when the turbo may have failed irrespective of the de-cat. But the plus side is you're getting an exhaust that'll pass the MOT and while it's being fitted the turbo can be properly inspected.

Personally i'd just have had the turbo inspected first-off then seen how out of pocket i'd be before worrying about the exhaust.

 

[A3_Turbo]

Yeah alright then makes a bit more sense, im going to need the exhasut really anyway i guess so i'll just see what happens

Thanks every-one for the great help !


Jason

 

[Timbo]

Have you still got your original exhaust system? Why not put that back on? The Audi cats aren't that restrictive. Why not flog decat system on eBay and try to minimise your losses!

I have heard of aftermarket exhausts damaging turbos - if the exhaust design is sufficiently different to the original you can get too large a pressure differential between the inlet & exhaust sides which forces the oil past the bearings into the exhaust. However I don't know if this is possible with a K03 so who knows if that's what's happened here.

It's also possible the K03 wastegate may rely on a bit of backpressure to help keep it closed.

I agree with Paul - get the car working normally (and MOT-able!) before spending any extra cash on mods.

 

[Tallpaul]

The Audi cats aren't that restrictive

The downpipe is, it's tiny.

All a question of money though. Full Milltek and a remap should be 200bhp/230lb_ft

 

[Timbo]

The downpipe is, it's tiny.

Didn't know that. How much power is a bigger downpipe worth? I'm guessing in terms of bhp-per-£ it's not the best value for money.

Does the K03s have the same downpipe?

 

[Tallpaul]

Didn't know that. How much power is a bigger downpipe worth? I'm guessing in terms of bhp-per-£ it's not the best value for money.

Does the K03s have the same downpipe?

Well it ain't as cost effective as a remap, but then what is?

It is the same downpipe for the KO3s, but i'm talking fwd not sure about the quattro as the DP is configured differantly be it KO3 or KO3s.

My belief is that the Downpipe is the major restriction and therefore just going for the Milltek Downpipe/Race CATs and joining to the OE CAT-back would give as much de-restriction as the K03x can take advantage of. That'd cost you £400 as opposed to the £650 for the full system (you can get Milltek exhausts way cheaper than AMD quote).

I used to have a Leon Cupra (180bhp with KO3s), i had the full turbo-back Milltek (same system as the fwd A3) and the DP opened up another 500rpm at the top end. Expensive, but genuine gains to be had. Like i said it's all down to how much money you have.

 

[Timbo]

I'm really wondering whether the DP would be a more worthwhile mod than a FMIC, or a K03s on the standard DP for that matter. Not that I'm planning on doing any of these things myself!

How much extra power was there in the extra 500rpm? On mine the graph shows not a lot of extra power over 5000rpm, so I presume on yours power climbed to 5500?

 

[Tallpaul]

I'm really wondering whether the DP would be a more worthwhile mod than a FMIC, or a K03s on the standard DP for that matter. Not that I'm planning on doing any of these things myself!

How much extra power was there in the extra 500rpm? On mine the graph shows not a lot of extra power over 5000rpm, so I presume on yours power climbed to 5500?

I'd do the above mods in this order:

1) DP
2) FMIC
3) K03s

BUT, bare in mind i'm seeing 192bhp from a £400 remap. With ALL of the above i'd expect at best 230bhp but this could cost another £1500 - £2000 to do. I personallly can't see the point, but that's not to say that this time next year i won't have all the above fitted

I wouldn't expect the DP to 'add' more BHP, maybe a few. But the peak power will hold for longer so it'll feel faster on the road as you won't need to change gear as soon.