Hi Rob,
I was still in the UK I’m sorry to say, some winter sun would have been nice!
You’re close, the Mazda, Ford and Volvos use the 2280 wheel whilst Vauxhall use the 2277. The TTS and S3 use the 2283 wheel. Borg Warners classification system remains elusive to everyone – I’ve met BW employees who don’t understand it fully! Luckily when it comes to compressor wheel long spec number (2283 etc) some logic is applied.
Kind Regards
Matt Waterman
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From: Rob Clarke
Sent: 29 November 2010 15:10
To: Matt Waterman
Subject: Re: MD445 K03 hybrid specs
Hey Matt,
No worries, thanks for getting back to me. Spend it anywhere nice? Hopefully somewhere warmer than the UK.
I spent some time last week researching these new gen of K06 wheels and found a fair amount of information online; though Borg Warner's model numbering system remains elusive to me.
Seems the K06 comes in three flavours (2277, 2280, 2283) and is Borg Warner's (or more specifically, AirWerks) new S generation of comp wheels using "Extended Tip Technology" (
http://www.turbodriven.com/files/pdf/BW_AirWerks_2011_Brochure.pdf), the 2283 being the largest in the range, as used in the new Audi S3 and TTS in the K04-064 (
http://eng.turbo3k.com/catalogue/d-10326/ and
http://www.turbodriven.com/files/pdf/BWTS_2011_Catalog_SMALL.pdf).
I _think_ it's the slightly smaller 2280 K06 wheel that's used on the VXRs, Mazda 3 MPS etc?
So if I went ahead with this work I'd essentially end up with a K03-2283 hybrid I guess.
Cheers,
Rob
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From: Matt Waterman
Sent: Monday, November 29, 2010 2:18 PM
To: Rob Clarke
Subject: RE: MD445 K03 hybrid specs
Hi Rob,
Apologies for the late reply, I was on holiday last week and my email autoforward wasn’t doing what it says on the tin!
Lightening a shaft is simply non critical material removal to reduce the weight of the rotor assembly. It is not a cut-back (although this is material removal such little material is removed it will make no difference – infact a cutback increases lag as it reduces blade area of the turbine wheel).
The compressor wheel is classed as a K06 piece by Borg Warner, no idea why though as the only K06 turbo produced was for an Alfa in the early 90s and the compressor wheel is certainly not from that! A lot of the new generation of Borg Warner compressor wheels are classed as K06 (Focus ST, Astra VXR etc).
Kind Regards
Matt Waterman
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From: Rob Clarke
Sent: 19 November 2010 15:58
To: Matt Waterman
Subject: Re: MD445 K03 hybrid specs
Hi Matt,
Thanks for clarifying, appreciate your
help.
When you say lightened shaft, do you mean a modified centre housing with a standard RS6 turbine wheel?
Both the MD445 and MD421 mention "lightening of turbine wheel for faster ‘spool up’" which is why I questioned whether it had been cut-back? I.e. how do you lighten a wheel without it being cut-back? Perhaps I've misunderstood the terminology here, but just want to clarify.
Also just out of interest, what precisely is meant by a "K06" comp wheel? I had initially assumed this referred to an RS6 comp wheel, but a little searching suggests these appear to be the new generation billet wheels fitted by Borg Warner, which begs the question; which turbos do they come from? I'm intrigued as to what this would make my turbo once complete! K03-K06 hybrid?
Best regards,
Rob
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From: Matt Waterman
Sent: Thursday, November 18, 2010 9:32 AM
To: Rob Clarke
Subject: RE: MD445 K03 hybrid specs
Hi Rob,
Thank you for the information, I can confirm your turbo has a lightened RS6 shaft fitted to it.
To be honest I did suspect the pipe diameter would be different on the K04 turbo but I currently do not have a K03S turbo in stock to check the difference on…we don’t CNC a turbine housing to improve flow, they are sometimes hand ported if requested by the customer but we have found this is mainly just a cosmetic thing and provides little (if any) benefit.
A breakdown of the price quoted is as follows:
Standard overhaul of turbo - £150.00 + vat
New 360 thrust kit - £50.00 + vat
Upgrade of Compressor side to K06 comp wheel including supply and fitment of K04 compressor cover - £250.00 + vat
As you can see this adds up to £450.00 + vat for the work. If we found more work was required to the turbo (oversize rings etc) then this would be more, similarly if the job went well I could maybe shave some cost off bringing it closer to the £400 mark. I’d rather quote you a realistic price and then potentially reduce it rather than quote low and have to phone you up asking for more money as the job progresses.
Kind Regards
Matt Waterman
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From: Rob Clarke
Sent: 17 November 2010 17:41
To: Matt Waterman
Subject: Re: MD445 K03 hybrid specs
Thanks Matt, sounds good.
I believe the serial number is xxxxx, order # xxxxx under A/C No. xxxxx
I've been in touch with Mark at CR Turbos this afternoon to discuss the same sort of thing who seems to think that the K04 compressor outlet is larger than the K03S so it wouldn't be a straight forward weld, though I imagine it ought to be possible to fabricate something suitable if required.
Can you also confirm whether this particular turbo has a CNC modified turbine housing for improved flow over a standard K03 hotside and similarly whether there's any room for any additional flow improvements?
Comparing the turbine housings of a K03 vs a K04 reveals that the K03 wheel is nested much further into the housing than the K04, hindering flow; though perhaps offset against the fact it is isolated away from the wastegate port.
Mark has quoted £250 to upgrade my existing turbo to an equivalent MD421 cold side, using a K06 billet aluminium wheel and modified K04 compressor cover, including an uprated thrust bearing if deemed necessary upon inspection.
I know you advised of an overhaul of my turbo for £400-500 ; can you advise what this would entail above and beyond what Mark has quoted? I've covered 7,000 miles on this turbo from new, including a mix of fast road and track driving with the remap tuned to request 24 PSI peak.
Thanks for your continued
help,
Rob
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From: Matt Waterman
Sent: Wednesday, November 17, 2010 12:04 PM
To: Rob Clarke
Subject: RE: MD445 K03 hybrid specs
Hi Rob,
You are quite correct, we could put the compressor end of an MD421 onto your existing turbo (which should use the same RS6 turbine wheel – if you can give me the serial number from your turbo I can confirm this 100%) effectively giving you an MD421 with a K03S turbine housing.
Kind Regards
Matt Waterman
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From: Rob Clarke
Sent: 16 November 2010 19:02
To: Matt Waterman
Subject: Re: MD445 K03 hybrid specs
Hi Matt,
Thanks for clarifying, that's a great
help. So to confirm with 100% certainty, you could swap my existing cold side assembly for a milled K04 housing (with the option of welding a K03S sleeve for OE fitment, diameter permitting) to specifically accommodate the 2283 spec billet aluminium K06 (RS6) wheel used in the MD421, utilising my existing hot side setup which uses the same RS6 wheel as comes fitted in the MD421, which is not clipped?
Essentially, an MD421 retaining a K03 hotside that utilises the same RS6 turbine wheel.
The only reason I stress these points is that a reputable VAG tuner seems to believe he recently fitted what was claimed by the customer to be an MD421 which had a smaller, clipped turbine wheel that obviously failed to make the same power output as the equivalent MD421 spec from CR Turbos. This description better fits the Stage 3 MD364 which does seem to use a smaller, cut-back turbine wheel.
If this is the case I am very interested in proceeding with this upgrade within the very near future.
Kind regards,
Rob
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Matt Waterman
Sent: Tuesday, November 16, 2010 2:43 PM
To: Rob Clarke
Subject: RE: MD445 K03 hybrid specs
Hi Rob,
Not a
problem. You are correct in saying the MD421 and MD445 share the same turbine wheel. Whilst both housings are of a similar A/R the K04 item found on an MD421 is slightly larger than that found MD445 meaning is would ultimately support slightly more airflow but in all honesty the difference is probably negligible at best!
In theory the outlet from the K03S could be mated to a K04 cover (providing both pieces have the same internal diameter), to do this would require quite a complex jig to ensure correct length and angle. We saw how critical these are when you had your problems with the exhaust manifold so it’s not something that should really be attempted by eye! Luckily these sort of jigs are something we are familiar with through our work on RS4 and RS6s!
Pricewise, including the price of an overhaul of your existing turbocharger including new uprated thrust kit, I’d anticipate the price being around £400-£500 + vat (providing your turbo is ok). This price excludes the modifying of the outlet to suit a K03S, having not done this before there is a small amount of guesswork involved but I anticipate this would take no more than 1 hour charged at £60.00 + vat per hour.
I hope this helps
Kind Regards
Matt Waterman
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From: Rob Clarke
Sent: 16 November 2010 14:08
To: Matt Waterman
Subject: Re: MD445 K03 hybrid specs
Hi Matt,
I'm good thanks. Thanks for the quick reply and useful information.
Is this to say that the RS6 wheel in the MD421 is the exact same spec as already installed in my MD445? If so, is it only the physical difference in the size of the turbine housings themselves that are different?
I understand that I'd need to alter my cold side pipework to suit which isn't an issue - though I'm curious as to whether you could weld the sleeve of a K03S onto the K04 to maintain OE fitment, assuming they are the same internal diameter?
Can you advise how much I'd be looking at to get this work done if I sent you my MD445?
Many thanks,
Rob
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Matt Waterman
Sent: Tuesday, November 16, 2010 1:39 PM
To: Rob Clarke
Subject: RE: MD445 K03 hybrid specs
Hi Rob,
I’m very well thank you, I trust you are the same.
The first thing I should say is that your MD445 already has an RS6 turbine wheel in it (this is what we refer to as the large trim turbine wheel). On neither the MD445 nor the MD421 do we normally cutback the turbine wheel blades (unless you specifically request it) as going up to the large turbine wheel will potentially increase lag as it is without doing cutbacks. If you wish we could perform a cutback though.
Fitting the MD421 compressor cover in itself isn’t a
problem (you would have to modify your pipework to suit the new inlet & outlet though).
The K04 exhaust housings are not available as separate items so it would have to retain the K03S turbine housing but other than that the spec would be identical to that found in the MD421.
I hope this helps…
Kind Regards
Matt Waterman
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From: Rob Clarke
Sent: 16 November 2010 12:45
To: Matt Waterman
Subject: Re: MD445 K03 hybrid specs
Hi Matt,
Hope you're well.
There's been a few threads flying around the SEAT Cupra forum lately regarding the K04 Hybrids that yourselves and CR Turbos are supplying to various customers, with very healthy results.
I am currently still running the MD445 K03 Hybrid but have a request....
Are you able to take a K03 (either my MD445 or another standard unit) and build this to an MD421 spec that is currently offered as a K04 hybrid. In effect, a K04 hybrid in K03 fitment.
By this I mean, replacing the compressor housing with a milled out K04 housing, fitting the K06 billet-aluminium compressor wheel and fitting the standard turbine housing (milled to suit) with a clipped RS6 turbine wheel?
Obviously it wouldn't be the simplest of jobs, but it ought to be possible?
For reference, see
http://seatcupra.net/forums/showthread.php?t=291477&page=3 and
http://seatcupra.net/forums/showthread.php?t=261476
Your input would be appreciated and I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Many thanks,
Rob