I'm taking the PLUNGE!! bought Kerma tune, k03/K04 turbo and DLC injectors... what else??

[Phi1osopher]

Well, after years of wishful thinking, I finally took the plunge and dropped around $1700 for a Kerma Tune, 'Calibrated' Bosio DLC 764 Nozzles, and the K03/K04 Hybrid Turbo Chris suggested, plus a handful of other little things like new turbo oil line, etc.
I have a fairly new Sachs "TDI" clutch (rated at 260ft-lbs) in my 1996 B4V Passat. I hope the investment will be worth it!

I'll be pulling my intake sometime over the next few days to clean it before installing the turbo.
Do you guys have any other suggestions? Chris suggested a 2.5" downpipe, but he was out and I can't find any for sale anywhere.
-Steve

 

[Mongler98]

764s with that turbo...
Imo that's not good.
I ran 764s and had massive temps. You need a bigger turbo. Or smaller nozzles.
The gt2052 was amazing but ofcourse has more lag.
That turbo is basically a pointless upgrade imo.
It's so small and wont make more boost and still has egt issues with anything past stage 1.5

 

[Andyinchville1]

How about a little nitrous ( no extra fueling) to help burn the fuel if the turbo is too small?

Best of Both Worlds that way.... more responsive Turbo and clean / power

Andrew

 

[garciapiano]

The 1019s should be more than enough for that turbo. I have 1019s at a low flow setting and they overpower the stock turbo.

 

[ToddA1]

Mk3 TD & '96-'97 Passat 2.5 1.9 TD Diesel Downpipe [251 209] - $412.50 : Techtonics Tuning, Performance Watercooled VW and Audi Parts

Techtonics Tuning Mk3 TD & '96-'97 Passat 2.5 1.9 TD Diesel Downpipe [251 209] - T-304 Stainless 2.5 Race TD Turbo Diesel for Mk 3 and '96-'97 Passat TD. Later Mk 3 KO3 turbo. (And Mk2 with Mk3 TD engine) Comes with gasket and hardware. No Warranty. 251209

techtonicstuning.com

They list it as TD, but it may be a typo, based on the listed applications. Call and ask.

-Todd

 

[Phi1osopher]

764s with that turbo...
Imo that's not good.
I ran 764s and had massive temps. You need a bigger turbo. Or smaller nozzles.
The gt2052 was amazing but ofcourse has more lag.
That turbo is basically a pointless upgrade imo.
It's so small and wont make more boost and still has egt issues with anything past stage 1.5

Kerma has been doing this a LONG LONG LONG time. There is no doubt that they know what they are doing way way way better than me. I did about 30 hours of internet research and then called them. Chris and I had a nice phone conversation about what would and wouldn't work to best meet my performance goals, and I ended up following his suggestions 100%. I told him I wanted the most power my 260 ft-lb clutch can handle, with maximum fuel efficiency, while blowing little to no smoke. And by going with them I am choosing their system, along with their promise of after-the-sale support.

At some point I just need to roll with it. There's a possibility this set up is just really good, not actually the very the best possible one, and it's possible some other combination might do somethings better. Diesel tuning always involves some level of compromise... It's likely if I had a high level of expertise in tuning I could have put together a similar bit of kit and saved a little money. But at this time I trust Chris to get me in the right direction and very close to my performance goals.

And I'm super excited!

 

[Andyinchville1]

Kerma has been doing this a LONG LONG LONG time. There is no doubt that they know what they are doing way way way better than me. I did about 30 hours of internet research and then called them. Chris and I had a nice phone conversation about what would and wouldn't work to best meet my performance goals, and I ended up following his suggestions 100%. I told him I wanted the most power my 260 ft-lb clutch can handle, with maximum fuel efficiency, while blowing little to no smoke. And by going with them I am choosing their system, along with their promise of after-the-sale support.

At some point I just need to roll with it. There's a possibility this set up is just really good, not actually the very the best possible one, and it's possible some other combination might do somethings better. Diesel tuning always involves some level of compromise... It's likely if I had a high level of expertise in tuning I could have put together a similar bit of kit and saved a little money. But at this time I trust Chris to get me in the right direction and very close to my performance goals.

And I'm super excited!

Sounds like good times ahead ! .... Please keep us posted on how it turns out.

Andrew

 

[Almost1]

I just sold my Techtonics downpipe 3 days ago! It's a direct fit for the B4 TDI, and made very well. It is tricky to install because one of the nuts is near impossible to get to with the support they welded across the back. Still worth the money in my opinion.

 

[Phi1osopher]

Decided to get the DarkSide downpipe. It looks like every one selling these needs to fabricate one for sale, and I like this one best, plus even with the exchange rate it was the best price.

 

[tdidieselbobny]

Did you check eBay? Also make sure it's for wagon and not sedan, I think they might be different. Probably Abacus would know, he's had both B4 wagon and sedans...

 

[Abacus]

The wagons and sedans use the same head pipe.

 

[Phi1osopher]

Did you check eBay? Also make sure it's for wagon and not sedan, I think they might be different. Probably Abacus would know, he's had both B4 wagon and sedans...

Thank you for the good thought. There are lots of downpipes for the next generation for sale on eBay and everywhere, but no MK3/ B4 downpipes on eBay; in fact there are very few to be found anywhere... Imagine that! And, yes, I verified with DarkSide that this is the correct downpipe for my Passat wagon. <3
Thank you Abacus for chiming in too. You're the best!

 

[ToddA1]

Looks like the dp is made for the Jetta, with the additional hangers. Since they make it to order, you may want to tell them to omit them.

You may also want to keep them, and figure out how to utilize them…

-Todd

 

[Phi1osopher]

Looks like the dp is made for the Jetta, with the additional hangers. Since they make it to order, you may want to tell them to omit them.
You may also want to keep them, and figure out how to utilize them…
-Todd

Todd, It turns out DarkSide has the downpipe in stock and has already shipped it, so I will just see what I get and modify it if necessary once it arrives.

Making great progress. The turbo and tuning chips arrived and are installed. Waiting on the injectors.
Discovered that my Turbo inlet pipe is cracked at the turbo end. Fortunately I have gotten pretty good at plastic welding and was able to repair it. Good thing for SKILLZ because #1 the plastic is a bit brittle and hard to weld, and #2 the part appears to no longer exist on the planet to purchase!

Also, I am experimenting with the on-site image hosting for the first time, so lets see how these thumb-nail pics post...

The KermaTDI chips installed.



The damaged intake hose and my soldering/ plastic welder. I actually did the welding at 420 degrees. The arrow is pointing to where I shaved off some extra material to use as filler when welding the repair.



Close up of the damage. It was like this in several places where it attaches to the turbo flange:



Plastic welding is sometimes ugly, especially on small repairs like this.



But it seems strong enough. Definitely better than before! I put a fresh O-ring in there before installing.





Air Inlet Hose #4 - Volkswagen (1H0-129-654-R)

 

[ToddA1]

That TIP is a poor design, to start with. If your repair fails, I’d look to replicate at least a portion of it, in silicone couplers and clamps.

Funny how the exchange rate and shipping can work to your benefit. I’ve ordered from VW Heritage, because of this. More VW Classic parts, for less money than US suppliers can offer. US suppliers also didn’t have parts in stock.

Shipping from the UK, is surprising fast. I’ve had parts shipped from the UK arrive faster than parts shipped from nearby states. What was the shipping charge on something that size?

-Todd

 

[tdidieselbobny]

I probably would have used either the regular or epoxy JB weld on that turbo pipe.... I know they are very rare, even when I looked for one for my A3 Jetta well over 10 years ago....

 

[Phi1osopher]

My injectors arrived a day early! (Thanks Kerma!!)
Everything was prepped so it just took a few minutes to install them. I buttoned it all up, went on a test drive, and... It wasn't what I was hoping for. A bit disappointing actually.

Then I saw the gauge said no boost pressure, and I realized I forgot to attach the boost hose to the ECU.
*Face palm
*Plugs it in

Yeah. That's nice! My Passat more power now. Quite a bit more. Even with the 0.658 5th overdrive gear and larger tires it finally pulls nicely in 5th. The tires break traction much more easier in the lower gears.

But it also makes quite a puff of black smoke when I stomp it with my right foot. In fact the smoke is present unless I'm very gentle with my right foot.

On the up side, for now the smoke will serve as a strong visual aid, teaching me to help Tulbirt sip gently and reach those MPG goals.

All in all? Yes! It's very nice. I don't like the smoke. There's still some fine tuning to do. I'll try to check IQ and VAG-COM this weekend.

 

[tbones]

hi Philosopher

Glad to hear about your B4V upgrades!

In my 1996 B4V, I have Bosio PowerPlus 764's with a Malone stage 3 chips, stock turbo and a original clutch with 280K on it, ... it forces me to keep my foot out of it to avoid slippage, thus keeping the temps down, while MUCH improved over stock power output.
Mileage-wise, I just went from Maryland to Indiana and back to visit my son at school. I got 1000 miles out of a tank, (by "overfilling" tank using the vent bypass method) and getting 49.1MPG!

Keep us appraised on your progress!

Regards,
Steve

 

[ToddA1]

and a original clutch with 280K on it, ...

Seriously….?

-Todd

 

[tbones]

yup...
I believe you'll find many here on the A3/B4 forum that have 400K mile on original clutches... we tend to be gentler drivers than folks who buy the GTIs or R32s, etc. since I do my own work usually, I DON'T want to abuse the parts I know are a PITA to replace... clutches are hi on that list!

 

[tbones]

Todd, the only time I really "wear" the clutch is in first gear... 2-5 shifts your don't need to "smear" it at all.

 

[klazzic]

Phi1osopher,
I realize I'm late to the punch... I have a similar set-up as you more or less (pp520s and the kerma dp), to include clutch. I believe based on numbers from Kerma the power output is close to the top end of what that clutch can handle. I have about 35k on my clutch and it handles things well when I decided to "get into it". Gotta keep any soot build-up at bay once the vehicle is warmed up every so often ...right? At altitude, I have a little brief puff when a heavy foot is used. I don't have another upgraded B4 to compare this set-up to but I sure like it. It makes the wagon able to move out of its own way and then some. It also can chug along much better when the fuel tank is topped off and passengers are present. I am a fan of Kerma. One things leads to another... I use their products/ support for 2 vehicles now.

 

[klazzic]

and I guess to elaborate, this is my set-up: metal (I forget the code) euro spec computer w/ kerma tune, balanced/calibrated bosio dlc 520's, ko3/ko4 hybrid turbo, 2.25 kerma dp to 2.5 exhaust. Many folks are in shock that the wagon is A. a diesel and, B. can "move like that" haha...

 

[GTiTDi]

No surprise you have black smoke with that teeny weeny turbo and nozzle combo, heh