WalkerT
Go Kart Champion
My review
Product: Shuenk K04+ for TSI Mk5 & Mk6
Price: $949
Part number: SKU K04+(EA888)
Reason:
Recently a friend wanted my K03+ and this made me think about jumping to the K04+. I knew that this would be just a small amount of difference but why not help a friend and upgrade your turbo at the same time. So the K03+ came out and the K04+ went in.
Of course if you are still running the stock IHI then this is a big difference! Check my k03+ review for the OEM turbo compression.
Benefits:
The K04+ has larger billet compressor and larger turbine wheel thus better flow than what I was getting out of the K03+. Whereas the K03+ turbo is designed to be a bolt on replacement for your IHI turbo, the K04+ is designed to be a K04 with some added benefits. Of course the largest benefit is jumping to the K04+ is the added horsepower/torque and testing out Integrated Engineering’s K04 software on a hybrid turbo.
Includes:
K04+ turbocharger
Silicone adapter
Optional:
Boost pipe
Requirements:
K04 tune
Comparison:
As I do with all my mods I do a side by side comparison. The K04+ vs the K03+ has little differences on the outside because both use the same compressor housing and turbine manifold. There was a small differences in the way they are cast but none of those looked like performance changes. I did get the turbine housing on the K04+ ceramic coated so it has a black finish.
Install:
These are basically the same install notes from my K03+ review because the turbo install is the same.
The install is a moderate/high level install. Simple tools, and like most, I have done all my installs but this was one of the bigger. As most know the turbo is in a crap location and can have some difficult bolt locations. Just like all installs make sure you spray everything down with penetrant lube prior to removal. There is a great write up by Gamble on golfmk6 that will give you all the basic step by steps for the install as the K04 and K03+ and K04+ are the same body turbos. For this install I spread out over a weekend and 7 hrs. a day give or take some breaks. Taking my time of course. The turbo the compressor did need to be clocked because I did not like where the compressor outlet sat in relation to the block. This required loosening the five bolts on the compressor side and slowly moving the housing the give me better clearance. There is a limit to adjust-ability and you do not want to move it so much that the wastegate arm changes its preload. With that done it was just a bolt everything back together.
Dyno:
As with all my reviews I need proof. As I have said before a dyno is a great tool to see if your car has gained or lost power. If you just strap your car down and do one run and nothing else then you really are not using a dyno for its purpose. This dyno is different than my past because I was having too much wheel spin on the dyno in third gear so we had to do the runs in fourth. All my previous dyno’s where in third so I did not over lay those on this review because of the variables. My previous stage two number on this dyno were 269whp 291wtq.
AWD mustang dyno with correction factor, it was a 70 degrees so the correction factor on this day was minimal
IE intake, IE intake manifold, CTS boost pipes, D088 Intercooler, CTS DP, SPM Exhaust, IE K04 IM tune, now with the K04+ (May 7, 2020 10am 70 degrees – graph best of the four runs)
345whp 349wtq
Datalog:
Also I datalog all my dyno runs so I can review each run to make sure there were no weird issues during the runs. The hybrid did a spot on job of hitting the request boost from the tune and all the logs looked really good.
Daily Driving:
I really love the shift in the power band from the low end torque of a stg2 to the progressive power delivery of the K04+. When my car was stg 2 all the TQ hit from 3-4k now I feel the pull much higher in the RPM band from 4k to almost redline. Now the car has that NA car feel where the power continues to build to redline.
Conclusion:
I love the power delivery of the K04+ for me and for track days it was worth the upgrade. Now would I have gone through all this had I not been asked for the K03+ probably not BUT if I had my stock turbo and wanted to buy a K04+ then hell yes I would recommend that. The K04+ and a K04 tune really fits this car and this platform. As you have read other say, this is the turbo this car should have come with from VW. No this is not a BIG turbo and no you are not going to be a 500hp internet star but if you want solid gains and a turbo that has multiple tuning options and is very reliable then yes do the upgrade.
Website:
Where to buy them
https://shuenk.com/
Contact sales@shuenk.com
Product: Shuenk K04+ for TSI Mk5 & Mk6
Price: $949
Part number: SKU K04+(EA888)
Reason:
Recently a friend wanted my K03+ and this made me think about jumping to the K04+. I knew that this would be just a small amount of difference but why not help a friend and upgrade your turbo at the same time. So the K03+ came out and the K04+ went in.
Of course if you are still running the stock IHI then this is a big difference! Check my k03+ review for the OEM turbo compression.
Benefits:
The K04+ has larger billet compressor and larger turbine wheel thus better flow than what I was getting out of the K03+. Whereas the K03+ turbo is designed to be a bolt on replacement for your IHI turbo, the K04+ is designed to be a K04 with some added benefits. Of course the largest benefit is jumping to the K04+ is the added horsepower/torque and testing out Integrated Engineering’s K04 software on a hybrid turbo.
Includes:
K04+ turbocharger
Silicone adapter
Optional:
Boost pipe
Requirements:
K04 tune
Comparison:
As I do with all my mods I do a side by side comparison. The K04+ vs the K03+ has little differences on the outside because both use the same compressor housing and turbine manifold. There was a small differences in the way they are cast but none of those looked like performance changes. I did get the turbine housing on the K04+ ceramic coated so it has a black finish.
Install:
These are basically the same install notes from my K03+ review because the turbo install is the same.
The install is a moderate/high level install. Simple tools, and like most, I have done all my installs but this was one of the bigger. As most know the turbo is in a crap location and can have some difficult bolt locations. Just like all installs make sure you spray everything down with penetrant lube prior to removal. There is a great write up by Gamble on golfmk6 that will give you all the basic step by steps for the install as the K04 and K03+ and K04+ are the same body turbos. For this install I spread out over a weekend and 7 hrs. a day give or take some breaks. Taking my time of course. The turbo the compressor did need to be clocked because I did not like where the compressor outlet sat in relation to the block. This required loosening the five bolts on the compressor side and slowly moving the housing the give me better clearance. There is a limit to adjust-ability and you do not want to move it so much that the wastegate arm changes its preload. With that done it was just a bolt everything back together.
Dyno:
As with all my reviews I need proof. As I have said before a dyno is a great tool to see if your car has gained or lost power. If you just strap your car down and do one run and nothing else then you really are not using a dyno for its purpose. This dyno is different than my past because I was having too much wheel spin on the dyno in third gear so we had to do the runs in fourth. All my previous dyno’s where in third so I did not over lay those on this review because of the variables. My previous stage two number on this dyno were 269whp 291wtq.
AWD mustang dyno with correction factor, it was a 70 degrees so the correction factor on this day was minimal
IE intake, IE intake manifold, CTS boost pipes, D088 Intercooler, CTS DP, SPM Exhaust, IE K04 IM tune, now with the K04+ (May 7, 2020 10am 70 degrees – graph best of the four runs)
345whp 349wtq
Datalog:
Also I datalog all my dyno runs so I can review each run to make sure there were no weird issues during the runs. The hybrid did a spot on job of hitting the request boost from the tune and all the logs looked really good.
Daily Driving:
I really love the shift in the power band from the low end torque of a stg2 to the progressive power delivery of the K04+. When my car was stg 2 all the TQ hit from 3-4k now I feel the pull much higher in the RPM band from 4k to almost redline. Now the car has that NA car feel where the power continues to build to redline.
Conclusion:
I love the power delivery of the K04+ for me and for track days it was worth the upgrade. Now would I have gone through all this had I not been asked for the K03+ probably not BUT if I had my stock turbo and wanted to buy a K04+ then hell yes I would recommend that. The K04+ and a K04 tune really fits this car and this platform. As you have read other say, this is the turbo this car should have come with from VW. No this is not a BIG turbo and no you are not going to be a 500hp internet star but if you want solid gains and a turbo that has multiple tuning options and is very reliable then yes do the upgrade.
Website:
Where to buy them
https://shuenk.com/
Contact sales@shuenk.com
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