Exhaust systems for K04's

[munky18t]

I have a friend running a K04 on his GTI who is considering switching back to the OEM catback to free up a few bucks. I think its a horrible idea because in order to support those power levels, you want to have a nice open exhaust system and i'm also afraid of the effect that higher EGT's will have on his turbo... His argument is that catbacks are only worth about 5whp so it shouldn't have a big impact on overall performance

What are your thoughts on this?

[NS01GTI]

I have a friend running a K04 on his GTI who is considering switching back to the OEM catback to free up a few bucks. I think its a horrible idea because in order to support those power levels, you want to have a nice open exhaust system and i'm also afraid of the effect that higher EGT's will have on his turbo... His argument is that catbacks are only worth about 5whp so it shouldn't have a big impact on overall performance

What are your thoughts on this?

Sub'd.

[NoRegrets78]

I have a friend running a K04 on his GTI who is considering switching back to the OEM catback to free up a few bucks. I think its a horrible idea because in order to support those power levels, you want to have a nice open exhaust system and i'm also afraid of the effect that higher EGT's will have on his turbo... His argument is that catbacks are only worth about 5whp so it shouldn't have a big impact on overall performance

What are your thoughts on this?

Cat back is not required for K04, and no damage will result from using the stock catback with K04 as long as your friend has a downpipe.

[munky18t]

While an APR RSC Performance Exhaust System and APR high flow exhaust software is recommended for maximum power, if you're in a situation where running a high flow exhaust is not permissible APR has developed software specifically for use with your OEM exhaust system. You may switch between high flow exhaust software and OEM exhaust software free of charge at any time.

From the APR website, it sounds as if you need to run a different tune in order to run the OEM exhaust... which leads me to think that you shouldn't be running the normal K04 tune on the OEM exhaust

[MasterNele03]

From the APR website, it sounds as if you need to run a different tune in order to run the OEM exhaust... which leads me to think that you shouldn't be running the normal K04 tune on the OEM exhaust

That is true, but as NoRegrets said if you have a downpipe then your ok. The downpipe is where all the power is freed. Anything from the catback is mainly for sound. This is how mine is setup I have a catless DP with the factory catback. The difference in performance is minimal if any as long as he has a downpipe. However, the purpose of the tune is if your going to be running the OEM downpipe aswell as the catback i.e. the entire OEM exhaust. As long as he has a DP with/without a cat he will be fine, just things are going to be a little quieter.