Stock to APR k04

Okay so I know that this stuff has been covered in different threads but I've been reading up everything I can on this for months now and I still have questions before I pull the trigger, and sorry upfront for the book but hopefully I can get most of my questions answered.

So initially when I was going to get my gti I was going to go stage one and then be finished, I liked the sound of the Borla cbe and I never heard a turbo back or even downpipe that I liked the sound of so I wasn't going to go past stage one. I finally found a tbe that I love and so I decided I'd save up and go straight to stage 2 so I could get everything installed at once and save on labor costs a bit. (Disclaimer I had a mkiv jetta that I did all the work on myself. I noticed though that the more stuff I would mess with something related would break in the future. I know I could save money buy installing this stuff myself but honestly I don't have the time now and if something breaks I want to take it back up to the shop and have them fix it for me without having to mess with it.)

After I had decided on Stage 2 I knew in the future that I will want to go with the apr k04 and couldn't stand the thought of spending $600 on stage 2 then buying the k04 kit down the road that comes with it. So I came to the conclusion that I would wait a bit longer and buy the k04 kit and everything else that I was going to buy and then get it all installed at once so I can save the most on installation costs.

List of things I'm going to be getting

APR Carbino stage 1+2
APR k04 kit
Turboback exhaust
Southbend Stage 2 Daily
Intercooler (see below)

For the intercooler I'm not quite sure what I wanted to go with. I've seen people like the s3 even on the k04's but I live in DFW area and last summer we had 45 days straight with temperatures over 100 and I'm scared that it's just going to be too hot for the s3. I think that the APR would be my best bet but the cost is more and I want to know what everyone recommends.

The other thing I would like to know is the reliability of going to k04 from stock on my only car. I drive a lot, like 3500 miles a month a lot, and I want to make sure that this isn't going to be killing me in the future breaking down all the time. I'm never going to be tracking this car or driving it like it's supposed to be driven with the k04, I just like having the power there when I need it. (My first two cars were a 79 Camaro with a 427 and 95 Camaro z28, so I'm not a stranger to having a car with a lot of power)

I'm looking to buy all of the APR stuff when it goes on sale then get other things as I can then get it all installed. I need everyone’s opinion if this is a bad idea or other things that I need to consider before doing this. I've read a ton of post but I feel like not many people have gone k04 and there is not as much information as I would like. Again sorry for writing a book but thanks to everyone who made it to the end.

From a guy who hasn't done this, and most likely won't on my current car, I wouldn't be worried about the reliability. There seem to be a lot of people on the forums running them, and other than clutches, you don't really hear much for issues.

Also, considering your location, I think I'd definitely go for the APR intercooler.

Well I went from stock to k04, because it was a cheaper route, as you mentioned. I didn't buy any software until I was k04, but I did bolt on things as I went. I got the APR carbonio first and installed, then I bought the APR intercooler and AWE Turbo Outlet Pipe and had them installed. Next I bought the APR k04 and ultimate racing downpipe and had them installed at the same time. You can save a decent amount of money if you do it right, and I guess the only mistake I made was I should have had the intercooler and turbo outlet pipe installed with the k04 and downpipe, as they have to take off the bumper anyway.

I didn't get a cat back because, like you, i drive a lot and didn't want to deal with the noise especially if there are no performance gains to the catback, plus you can save some serious coin on not getting a catback. For the downpipe, I got the ultimate racing catted and resonated, and it's very quiet, pretty much equivalent to stock, which again, I love for daily driving.

As for your intercooler question, I went with APR. I actually was going to buy the s3 intercooler and backed off that because I don't want to spend a decent amount of money on upgrading my car and then keep thinking in the back of my head "I wonder if i should have gotten the APR." Again, I drive a lot of miles, and therefore they are longer trips, so I didn't want to worry about heatsoak, especially being in Florida.

As for reliability, I have had zero issues. I've only put about 2k on the car, but it is a ton of fun to drive. It's very fast when you want it to be, yet calm and reserved when you need it to be. It's very smooth. I trust in the reliability of it, and wouldn't be a concern for me, unless it is installed improperly.

My only 100% recommendation is get a clutch. I only have 4,500 miles on my car, and I was hoping to make the stock clutch last for 10,000 miles with the k04, and my clutch literally started slipping within 50 miles of install. It's still driveable, but I can feel it slip pretty significantly throughout 3-6th gear. So that's a bit frustrating, as you can't put all the power down.
As long as you have the cash, i'd recommend it to anyone. I wouldn't recommend it to someone who's financing the whole project, but I wouldn't recommend financing a slice of pizza either.

Yeah I don't finance, everything I do will be when I have the cash to buy it. I was thinking I was going to do the k04, apr intercooler, and apr carbino when they have the next sale because 10% is pretty significant when you're spending that much. Then I was going to get the turboback and the clutch after that and then get everything installed together. I've seen too many people having problems with their clutches right after k04. I made sure that that's going to be done at the same time.

I was going to go with the Southbend Stage 2 Daily just because they had said it has the same feel as stock. Is this clutch okay for the k04 or is it going to start slipping after a while? I just want a one then done type of thing and I want to keep the feel like the stock clutch since I drive a bunch.

i would get the apr intercooler especially for the summers you get. i upgraded to an apr from a s3 intercooler with my k04

I'm not sure on the clutch. The stage 2 daily is rated to 400 lb of torque and the apr dyno shows 388, so there's not much room there. However, a lot of guys go with the stage 2 daily, but i think it's too early to know if they will start slipping. I was thinking about doing the stage 2 endurance just to be safe, but i'm still not sure

Hey guys, I just pulled the trigger on the APR K04 kit since NGP is doing free installs with the purchase of the kit and wanted to know 2 things.

A. If I drive the car relatively easy, is there still clutch issues? I have heard about people running their stock clutch for 10-15k miles with no problems and others like you guys saying get it now. I have been APR stage 2 for about 30k miles now without any clutch issues. NGP said of the 3 installs they did this week, only 1 upgraded the clutch along with the kit.

B. What is the cost/time for an install and have you heard any horror stories about the stage 2 daily prematurely failing?

Out of curiosity - how much $$$ does a swap like this cost, parts and labor (if you are not doing it yourself)?

ssjneko1 said:

Hey guys, I just pulled the trigger on the APR K04 kit since NGP is doing free installs with the purchase of the kit and wanted to know 2 things.

A. If I drive the car relatively easy, is there still clutch issues? I have heard about people running their stock clutch for 10-15k miles with no problems and others like you guys saying get it now. I have been APR stage 2 for about 30k miles now without any clutch issues. NGP said of the 3 installs they did this week, only 1 upgraded the clutch along with the kit.

B. What is the cost/time for an install and have you heard any horror stories about the stage 2 daily prematurely failing?

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The stock clutch slips when you get on the car hard, in other words, when the torque is kicking in. I am not a 16 year old kid who drives 100% throttle all the time, but with just 4,500 miles on my car, I'm having clutch slip. This is even true if I'm on the highway and if passing someone in 6th gear, it will slip a bit. Yes, it is driveable, and no it doesn't slip if you're not hard on the throttle, but it is frustrating to spend $5k plus on your car and not be able to use it. It is a must have with the k04, so you need to plan accordingly...

McFuzz said:

Out of curiosity - how much $$$ does a swap like this cost, parts and labor (if you are not doing it yourself)?

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I'll give you the price that I was quoted here at a local shop.

Parts-
APR k04 kit - $2649
APR Intercooler - $1049
Southbend Stage 2 Daily - $950 with flywheel $550 without
APR Carbino Stage 1 - $299
Stage 2 - $175 (if you shop around)
Turboback exhaust - very subjective mine is around $1400

Labor -
Clutch - 5 hours
k04/intercooler/carbino/turboback - 3 hours
8 hours total x $79/hr = $632

Total cost out the door $7154

McFuzz said:

Out of curiosity - how much $$$ does a swap like this cost, parts and labor (if you are not doing it yourself)?

Click to expand...

Here are my expenses including labor, taxes, shipping. More info in my thread below.


Pricing: I bought most everything during the APR winter sale.
Ko4- $2,400 shipped
Ultimate Racing DP catted, resonated-$499 shipped
APR Carbonio- $180 shipped (used on ebay!)
APR FMIC and AWE TOP- $1,082 shipped (USP had an extra 10% discount for items under $1k)
Install-k04- $840
Install- FMIC and AWE TOP- $500
***SouthBend Endurance Clutch- $1,200 ($1,050+shipping+taxes)*** Updated 1/18
Clutch install- $800
TOTAL: $7,501

http://golfmk6.com/forums/showthread.php?t=30530

gregprep29 said:

The stock clutch slips when you get on the car hard, in other words, when the torque is kicking in. I am not a 16 year old kid who drives 100% throttle all the time, but with just 4,500 miles on my car, I'm having clutch slip. This is even true if I'm on the highway and if passing someone in 6th gear, it will slip a bit. Yes, it is driveable, and no it doesn't slip if you're not hard on the throttle, but it is frustrating to spend $5k plus on your car and not be able to use it. It is a must have with the k04, so you need to plan accordingly...

Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply, so you're still using the stock clutch after 2k miles. That sounds good to me. I was planning on using my tax returns to lower my car, but I might hold off on that until later on in the summer and do coils and clutch at the same time. Looks like it will run me about $1,600-1,800 after install.

yes, the SB silent clutch runs about $1200, plus taxes and shipping, plus install. I was quoted about $800 for install, which I know is on the high side, but it's a good reputable shop, so i'm willing to pay. Other supporting mods I am looking into to help support more grip for the car include: lowering the car (still on stock suspension), Whiteline Anti Lift Kit, and eventually some Conti DW's, but I'll probably wait until i burn through the stockers. Also, will be picking up some stainless steel brake lines, and some upgraded pads. The car is quick, and upgrading the brakes a little bit will help.

I have the APRK04 and this is my opinion on what is needed and what is nice to have.

Intercooler. The S3 is needed. The best option though is a bigger unit like the APR. Being in Texas I would rec.d going bigger for the intercooler
Tires: Highly rec.d is summer tires like Yoko Advans, or Super Sports, etc... Actually I would say this is a requirement.
Exhaust: Technically not required. But it is a requirement. The downpipe is needed. The Catback is optional. It will be a bigger upgrade with the K04 then with the stock IHI turbo. I am not sure what your local emission laws are but if you get the APR kit you can always get reflashed to the stock exhaust mode for free put the stock dp back on and go get the test.

Clutch: Reqd. Is the Stg 2 Daily I have it. I love it. Even better is the Stg2 endurance. The Daily is better in hilly downtowns though. The Neuspeed short shift is also very good.
Differential: Not req.d but rec.d Wavetrac as I love mine. Quaife and Peloquin also make units but I have not used them and can not rate them
Brakes: Minimum is pads, discs, lines. I recommend though a brake upgrade such as the Brembo or Stoptech 328mm kit, and upgraded discs and pads in the rear. There are numerous threads for this.
Suspension: Nothing is req.d but alot is rec.d there is a whole other forum for this
Intake. Not needed but a high flow unit is of course highly rec.d
Engine Mounts: Absolutely, positively req.d I went with the VF Engineering and they are great. There are other brands too and a few threads discussing the issue. I rec.d upgrading all 3.

Side Items
Replace plugs: Follow Grambles DIY for part #s and specs
I would also do a seafoam followed by a BG right before. Back to back it will blow a fair amount of C into the turbo. Who cares though you are replacing it with a bigger better unit.
Well that is my opinion. I hope that helps.

Can you tell me where you plan to get this done? I am still deciding on a tuner in DFW..seems to be between eurosport and dub squared. Eurosport is a LOT closer to me.