Kerma Hot swap program

Hi all,
I have been looking at the kerma hotswap option and have a few questions. i was thinking Bosio pp520's. for now this is my only power mod and i would really like to get a Malone stage 2 tune eventually but don't want to have to replace the clutch yet. So this should be a good set up in case i do or don't get the tune eventually right?
1. for those of you who have done this did you like it?
2. They have a couple different internal settings like 1-6 and idk what that means. what are those numbers for? when i read it i took it to mean you can have a setting in the injector on how much fuel is delivered to an extent.
3. what internal setting should i get?
4. are these rebuilt injectors good quality or using oem internals?....i just don't want them to go out because i know the original ones i have will last forever....kinda.
all my mods i have now and proposed mods are in my user stats thingy.
Thanks,
GlowBugTDI

oh and i have searched the forums just haven't found quite the info i am looking for.
thanks

If you could wait, making a plan and saving until you can afford it would be the least painful.



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I tried the hotswap option they offered, and eventually ran into several issues with the quality of injector bodies and nozzles provided. But I'm not here to bad mouth Kerma, simply want to bring up your quality will vary. I've heard from several people who have mounted their own Wuzetem nozzles they've had zero issues with needing them balanced or pop tested.

I will say however that bosio pp520s are a .214 nozzle, and you will experience a fuel economy dip, along with more smoke. You'd be better off doing a nozzle of similar size, and a tune at the same time.

Kerma hot swap is awesome. I did it, will do it again.
Many arguments on pop test or no, diy or let the pros do it.
Long story short. Kerma hot swap with tuned poptesting is great and imo the way to go.

Kerma uses DBW for their injectors so really can’t blame them for any fault. I’d get in contact with drive by wire and see what he has to say of what you are looking to achieve and get the best combo.

WildChild80 said:

If you could wait, making a plan and saving until you can afford it would be the least painful.



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id really like to, but im kind of doing a fix and make better as it goes out/dies... at 236k i think she's ready for some new nozzles
I want to buy everything and get it done now, but going to college full time and having four years left tells me to save my money until im done and am set on a good path making a reasonable amount. i'm not planning on selling the car, my plan is to drive till its time to get something newer then make this my tinker toy once i don't have college to worry about.

Nero Morg said:

I tried the hotswap option they offered, and eventually ran into several issues with the quality of injector bodies and nozzles provided. But I'm not here to bad mouth Kerma, simply want to bring up your quality will vary. I've heard from several people who have mounted their own Wuzetem nozzles they've had zero issues with needing them balanced or pop tested.

I will say however that bosio pp520s are a .214 nozzle, and you will experience a fuel economy dip, along with more smoke. You'd be better off doing a nozzle of similar size, and a tune at the same time.

Click to expand...

good to know. i have only heard good things about pp520's so far, and i find it interesting you think i will lose mpg. from what i have read i thought it would actually go up a couple mpg provided im driving nice. i can see it going down from driving like i stole it, but i thought with larger injectors im using slightly more fuel but the car gets up to speed easier so it doesn't have to try as hard. or was that just tunes?.....

oh and i thought i had read somewhere if you adjust the IQ the smoke will go away.... do i know what IQ is? no, but...

Mongler98 said:

Kerma hot swap is awesome. I did it, will do it again.
Many arguments on pop test or no, diy or let the pros do it.
Long story short. Kerma hot swap with tuned poptesting is great and imo the way to go.

Click to expand...

Awesome!, thanks i think i may try it. i just wanted to make sure i don't have any issues with injector body's... do you know what injector setting i should get? if you understand what im talking about....

if i decide not to do hotswap i will just put nozzles on the oem ones i have. it's just more expensive, and i will have down time when they are being pop tested unless i can make sure i can do them myself (not pop tested) and do a good job, but from what i have read that's a bit sketchy.

Hi

I did a kerma dlc 520 hot swap ( i am not sure if pp 520 is a non dlc 520 nozzle) but the hot swap went well and i do get better fuel economy (orig injectirs had about 315k on them and per guru 1 injector was starting to leak abd was wet).

I am happy i did the change ( although for what it's worth I did go with an 11 mm pump at the same time .... the injection pump is what the car was originally in for so I decided after 315k might as well go for nozzles and injectors also).

Hope this helps
Andrew

GlowBugTDI said:

good to know. i have only heard good things about pp520's so far, and i find it interesting you think i will lose mpg. from what i have read i thought it would actually go up a couple mpg provided im driving nice. i can see it going down from driving like i stole it, but i thought with larger injectors im using slightly more fuel but the car gets up to speed easier so it doesn't have to try as hard. or was that just tunes?.....

oh and i thought i had read somewhere if you adjust the IQ the smoke will go away.... do i know what IQ is? no, but...

Click to expand...

True if you keep your foot out of it, fuel economy won't be impacted much, adjusting the IQ will help clear the smoke, but a tune will really improve the fuel economy and smoking.

Nero Morg said:

True if you keep your foot out of it, fuel economy won't be impacted much, adjusting the IQ will help clear the smoke, but a tune will really improve the fuel economy and smoking.

Click to expand...

ok, i will keep that in mind. I really want to do a tune Malone stage 2 or 3, but i don't want to get a southbend stage2 clutch and flywheel yet unless i can get a used one because there expensive. and i would need to do it myself which will take a few days.

GlowBugTDI said:

ok, i will keep that in mind. I really want to do a tune Malone stage 2 or 3, but i don't want to get a southbend stage2 clutch and flywheel yet unless i can get a used one because there expensive. and i would need to do it myself which will take a few days.

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There are other options for clutches...I've got a South Bend S2E and it's marvelous but it's not the only show in town...I'm hoping a S2D will hold my mods because that's what it's gonna get, I bought it with the idea of tuning a second car and then I retired and work has been crap...I feel you budget wise. Glad I bought what I did when I did...

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WildChild80 said:

There are other options for clutches...I've got a South Bend S2E and it's marvelous but it's not the only show in town...I'm hoping a S2D will hold my mods because that's what it's gonna get, I bought it with the idea of tuning a second car and then I retired and work has been crap...I feel you budget wise. Glad I bought what I did when I did...

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curious, why are you taking out the S2E? and putting in the daily, or is it just for easier clutching and everyday use...

GlowBugTDI said:

curious, why are you taking out the S2E? and putting in the daily, or is it just for easier clutching and everyday use...

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Long story, the tail of 2 cars... swapping parts and I don't want to have 2 cars down at the same time. I bought the daily for a milder build but this is the plan for now. Nothing bad about the clutch...the only downside is the price. Super light pedal feel...so light that when I got it together I thought something was wrong. Holds every bit of power. Had a slight issue when it was new, emailed South bend because it was slipping...they said to drive it harder and if it keeps slipping they'd comp me every dollar I spent towards a stage 3...it stuck after I drove it harder, they're just an amazing company with great products

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GlowBug,

In my not so humble opinion, get a VCDS cable FIRST! Spend that money,
genuine Ross-Tech cables come up on the For Sale forum on a regular basis.
Be warned, they don't last long. You can make a lot of adaptations yourself.
Learn how to use it, lots of help here on the forums.

Then find a set of injectors and start looking locally for a diesel shop. If you're planning on keeping the car you won't regret having a spare set.
DBW has quality control issues. The various "settings" are done by deviating from stock spring pressures, not something my tuner, Jeff of Rocketchip, approves of.

Knowledge is power, get some.

Rrusse11 said:

GlowBug,

In my not so humble opinion, get a VCDS cable FIRST! Spend that money,
genuine Ross-Tech cables come up on the For Sale forum on a regular basis.
Be warned, they don't last long. You can make a lot of adaptations yourself.
Learn how to use it, lots of help here on the forums.

Then find a set of injectors and start looking locally for a diesel shop. If you're planning on keeping the car you won't regret having a spare set.
DBW has quality control issues. The various "settings" are done by deviating from stock spring pressures, not something my tuner, Jeff of Rocketchip, approves of.

Knowledge is power, get some.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. i have thought about vcds but honesty i have no idea what im looking at when i see it. i have watched videos of people doing stuff with them but idk what it all means. not a bad idea just trying to find an extra set of injectors. i actually wanted to buy a whole motor and maybe trans, just to have on hand for parts and backup, but i haven't found one yet...
i am curious tho what do you mean by saying the cables don't last long? on the forums or structural integrity?
thank you!

GlowBugTDI said:

Thanks for the info. i have thought about vcds but honesty i have no idea what im looking at when i see it. i have watched videos of people doing stuff with them but idk what it all means. not a bad idea just trying to find an extra set of injectors. i actually wanted to buy a whole motor and maybe trans, just to have on hand for parts and backup, but i haven't found one yet...
i am curious tho what do you mean by saying the cables don't last long? on the forums or structural integrity?
thank you!

Click to expand...

Sorry about the reference, it wasn't clear. The cables won't last long on the "For Sale" forum. They're very durable. If you read closely enough
to catch the paradox, you'll be able to use VCDS. The basics are ez.

You can adjust fueling (IQ), check timing, idle speed, track boost, adjust
your fuel gauge,diagnose problems, the list goes on and on. Daunting at first, but guessing here you're computer literate, and able to read carefully.


I fully understand your confusion, it takes a while to get a handle on
the plethora of options. It's a powerful program. The cable costs, the
software is free. A cheap laptop is all you need to run it.

If you know what's going on, even if you can't do the mechanical work yourself, you'll know what to ask for from someone who does. A good
mechanic will appreciate that, and will incidentally save you lots of money. Plenty of ripoff artists around who will, eg., replace a turbo when all you need is a couple dollars worth of vacuum line, or an adjustment.

BTW (by the way), the acronyms thrown around here take some getting used to. You will have to work at it all, but you will understand a lot more about what makes the TDI tick. That knowledge will enable you to keep your car on the road a lot longer, and cheaper.


And remember the only dumb question is the one you don't ask. Plenty of help here.

ok, thanks. ill think about getting vcds it may be a good idea. may have helped when i was in limp mode earlier this summer. I guess it's back to the drawing board to think about it a bit more. just to be sure tho the pp520's are same as what was on stock euro models right? so technically i shouldn't NEED to get a tune unless i want one right?
thanks

"so technically i shouldn't NEED to get a tune"

Things are never completely the same. Manufacturing tolerances mean
that parts are rarely identical. Putting another set of similar nozzles
will change fuelling. With VCDS you can tweak that to suit your injection pump, which is wearing over the years. No two cars are identical, exacerbated by years of wear and tear, how you drive it, how the previous
owner(s) drove and maintained it.

With VCDS you can tweak the tune you have to suit your needs and goals.

Changing the nozzles yourself is very easy on an ALH. you do not need a tune, you just need to change the injection quantity on your vcds. If you can keep your foot out of it the clutch will hold up. For me I found no difference in fuel economy. I'm sure there is some value to refreshing the injectors, but at 430km my injectors worked just fine. I'd save the money.

There are DIYs on how to change the nozzles out. Now if you had a PD engine, that's a different story. Make sure you have a drill and an easy out on hand.

Rrusse11 said:

"so technically i shouldn't NEED to get a tune"

Things are never completely the same. Manufacturing tolerances mean
that parts are rarely identical. Putting another set of similar nozzles
will change fuelling. With VCDS you can tweak that to suit your injection pump, which is wearing over the years. No two cars are identical, exacerbated by years of wear and tear, how you drive it, how the previous
owner(s) drove and maintained it.

With VCDS you can tweak the tune you have to suit your needs and goals.

Click to expand...

ok, makes sense. well maybe ill look at getting vcds soon and injectors in the spring...
or i could see if greengeeker (tdi mechanic in a near by town) would set it up after the nozzles. idk if he has vcds tho so i'd have to ask.
all i would like to get is a bit more power and lil faster 0-60 without going in an arm and a leg. so i thought nozzles, maybe clutch and tune. If i get a tune ill need to figure out the clutch first(which one i wanna buy).

if i were to just get oem size nozzles which ones should i get? i'd like to upgrade but i really should't put a bunch of money into the car. ill have to think on it a bit more.

What are you really looking to achieve??

WrEkkED said:

Changing the nozzles yourself is very easy on an ALH. you do not need a tune, you just need to change the injection quantity on your vcds. If you can keep your foot out of it the clutch will hold up. For me I found no difference in fuel economy. I'm sure there is some value to refreshing the injectors, but at 430km my injectors worked just fine. I'd save the money.

There are DIYs on how to change the nozzles out. Now if you had a PD engine, that's a different story. Make sure you have a drill and an easy out on hand.

Click to expand...

Thanks that is what i have heard, so id like to do it but at the same time i don't wanna drop 5mpg. i don't ride the clutch so that shouldn't be a problem unless your saying not to drive it like i stole it because thats a bit harder...lol

i'd like to get some more hp. which to be exact i guess i could say id like to get my 0-60 below 10 seconds. im at 12 right now. If i could get it to 8 that'd be neat, but i can't throw a lot of money into it so i thought id go slow (fix as it breaks or wears) and in like 2-3 years i'd be there. i can't throw a bunch of money at it tho because i need to save, so if i need to get stock nozzles ill just do that. I guess you could say im trying to do a cheap man's power mod.

What’s your budget then?

idk. guess i hadn't thought about it a ton. To start ill go with $800. i know it doesn't get me far, but i was just hoping to get nozzles for now unless i need more. I just wanted a bit more hp, maybe a bit easier to start in the winter, and same or slightly better mpg (if i drive hard i expect that to fail tho)

i was looking at nozzles because i have been told the should be changed every 100-150k unless they seem fine. my car has been giving a little bit of smoke on start up that smells of unburnt diesel and while it doesn't bother me i don't want any issues because of it.

If you are comfortable with doing it change the nozzles yourself. Pick a HP goal/tune then order nozzles that fit that goal. tunemyeuro are great for help when looking at your budget/hp outlook. They won’t steer you wrong and also are a direct Malone dealer.

Looking at what they have on their site a stage 1.5 tune gives you 122hp and 188tq. Only requirement besides tune is nozzles.