Seeking confirmation for a United Motorsport K04 tune...

[ROH ECHT]

I am considering a switch from my GIAC High Output K04 tune to a UM K04 tune. Mine is a MK5 GTI w/K04 and last dyno'd an average of 292 whp and 363 lb*ft.

Their site, for the 2.0t FSI EA113 w/K04, has figures of 324 WHP and 380 lb*ft posted for 100 octane....and so as you would, I am asking for any confirmation on the race fuel comparison or even for some pump fuel numbers with the UM K04 tune. Not looking for E85 or water/meth injection tunes...just straight pump fuel numbers will do.

There is one of their dealers nearby...but I will not switch until I see any real similarities to their statement. Because I will not only be doing the UM K04 tune, but would require the DSG switch-over. So yeah...would prefer to see some real proof before coughing up $1500 for a swap. If it were going to be its initial K04 tune...then no problem. But I already went from GIAC to Driver Motorsport and back to GIAC.

 

[butthead123]

I don't have any info on the UM k04 tune but I was curious what your experience was with your Driver motorsport tune?
I have a k04 Giac 93octane file and it runs plenty strong for me on the butt dyno

 

[ROH ECHT]

No problem...no one on a few forums has replied they even have a EA113 UM K04 tune.

Back when DM(Driver Motorsport) first appeared, people were posting dyno charts showing more power with DM. But they also had less torque than 363 lb*ft I had with my GIAC tune. I never took it to a dyno with the DM tune. I was going to if it was faster doing the 1/4 mile. But it never beat my usual GIAC 1/4 mile of 12.8s @ 112 mph. It did however pull quicker once it was over 100 mph. It was strange seeing in my vids the DM tune was quicker from 0 to 120 mph but it never did do a faster 1/4 et. Also...it boosted more and required a 3 bar MAP and some tweaks to get right. Because initially it was boosting to 30+ psi because of a previous addition of WG preload for the GIAC tune. Finally I got it to about 24 to 26 psi. Before two years went by the car started smoking. At 120k miles I took it apart to rebuild the head (replace the guides and seals mostly) and saw the #3 and #4 combustion chambers were soaked in oil. So we pulled the pistons to find rings pinched in the piston grooves. So I swapped those pistons and returned to the original GIAC High Output K04 tune. DM (Bronson) quit I believe...I never heard from him since 2016. In 2015 or 2016 I was emailed a tune which was to convert my open-loop tune to a closed loop tune (supposed to be better) and it didn't work well. So I contacted him and nothing. I paid for the DM tune and tune loader, the 3 bar MAP, two sessions at Techtonics for reverting back to stock and for reloading my GIAC tune after DM shut-down, and the extra $100 for extra lifetime tuning if needed...and he just shut down in under two years. I believe if United motorsport were around when I first did the K04 I might have selected them...but knowing it is another $1500+ just to try their tune makes me weary after going through the trial of the DM tune.

 

[TimS]

I don't know about your specific setup, but UM customer dynos typically line up pretty accurately with what they advertise, if not a little better.

There's this guy: https://www.golfmkv.com/forums/index.php?threads/united-motorsport-k04-tune-dyno.177201/

Power is a little higher than what you report with GIAC, but torque is quite a bit lower. However, the delivery curve is really nice and he says he's only running 22psi - running 26-28 should get you to what UM is advertising.

 

[ROH ECHT]

I have nothing out of the ordinary for a K04.
P-flo intake_custom turbo outlet (pic below)_AWE turbo muffler delete_AWE DV & DV relocate_S3 fmic & Forge fm(twin)c_Neuspeed throttle body pipe_Golf R (S3) injectors_Forge WGActuator (yellow spring currently).

I have seen that thread and I wasn't impressed with the power given it has WMI. And the explanation of torque being low due to 22-23 psi boost and for the DSG. It seems odd to me because I too have the DSG and GIAC DSG file. All of my dyno pulls (at just 21 psi boost) did between 278 to 298 with VP MS109 fuel. With an average of them all being 290 whp but with much more torque. And still UM has posted on their site a 324 whp and 380 lb*ft K04 tune dyno sheet.

 

[TimS]

I know it's off-topic, but does your current tune account for the Forge wastegate actuator? I need to rebuild my turbo soon and would like to use all new boost control hardware while it's out, and I'm wondering how difficult it is to set up the Forge WGA. Ideally I'd like to be able to just set it to stock length and run it without any dialing in.

 

[GIACUser]

Just a reminder that comparing peak output from one tune vs another when they are run on two different cars on two different dynos under two different sets of environmental conditions just makes any direct comparison of those numbers less than an accurate comparison.

To really see the differences between tunes you would need to minimize the variables and use only one car, one dyno on the same day doing runs at same engine and turbo temp etc.

The same might be said of chasing a best 1/4 mi time where the track was sticky, your timing was at your best, weather was perfect etc with a number of things coming together to get your best time. Lot of variables beyond peak power.

 

[ROH ECHT]

I know it's off-topic, but does your current tune account for the Forge wastegate actuator? I need to rebuild my turbo soon and would like to use all new boost control hardware while it's out, and I'm wondering how difficult it is to set up the Forge WGA. Ideally I'd like to be able to just set it to stock length and run it without any dialing in.

I switched WGAs for when I tried the Driver Motorsport K04+ tune. The OE WGA wasn't staying closed as the DM tune was boosting a bit over 28 psi. Once it was mounted...setting preload wasn't difficult. I set it with 3 turns (3mm) of preload and then adjusted it a bit less from there...to about 2-1/4 turns. I have a vid on youtube.

 

[ROH ECHT]

Just a reminder that comparing peak output from one tune vs another when they are run on two different cars on two different dynos under two different sets of environmental conditions just makes any direct comparison of those numbers less than an accurate comparison.

To really see the differences between tunes you would need to minimize the variables and use only one car, one dyno on the same day doing runs at same engine and turbo temp etc.

The same might be said of chasing a best 1/4 mi time where the track was sticky, your timing was at your best, weather was perfect etc with a number of things coming together to get your best time. Lot of variables beyond peak power.

Yes...all this I am aware of. Just was hoping to see if any out there are running the UM tune and if their results are anywhere close to the posted power. As well as comparison if they were once K04 tuned by another tuner.