# Relentless Pro4 Tubular K04-023 manifold upgrade



## wats6281 (Apr 23, 2014)

Fall 2015 update: Manifold is still performing great and its time for more upgrades! This round includes: Integrated Engineering rods, peloquin LSD, AWIC 600 hp kit from silicone intakes/frozen boost, oilcooler, ported AEB head with super tech springs and retainer and autotech cam, obx intake manifold, and some other misc small upgrades. I've orderd just about all the parts and will be doing a battery relocate to the trunk first in order to make some engine space for the an awesome air to water intercooler setup for the guys over at http://www.frozenboost.com/ I decided to go with their 600hp power kit with some upgraded parts. Not only do these guys sell everything you need for any custom charge pipe setup (like my current) to w2a ic, but they're conventionality located just down the road from me. (being able to easily source variouse hose connectors and silicone pieces has saved my bacon several times over. All the bits making up the intercooler setup and the new charge pipe setup is sourced from them. Will updated with pictures when its finished.






Hello all I have a 2003 jetta 1.8T (AWP) with a few bolt-ons, snow meth injection, and a k04-023 turbo conversion running a F23 on OEM TT 225 mani on 26 peak psi via gonzo. For the past few months I have been having issue with an exhaust leak between the f23 turbo and my OEM TT 225 manifold (aprox 120k miles on it). I've trued the manifold twice and still it develops a leak a few days later. Ive decided its time to replace the manifold on account of its high miles and "spider cracks." In doing my research on k04 manifolds I came across the Relentless Pro 4 tubular manifold for audi TT 225, MKIV jetta/golf/gti k04 converted and s3 and cupra r. Probably will fit other VAG 1,8t cars converted to k04-023. The manifold features wider runners and collector for better gas flow and reduced exhaust gas temps which should undoubtedly solve my exhaust leak issue. It also eliminates the 300whp choke point that the OEM manifold has. I ordered my pro 4 from xs-power.com. Their customer service and turn around was incredible; they answered all my questions instantly and shipping was very fast. I received my Pro4 5 days after I ordered it and it had to come from North Carolina to Colorado. I decided to have it ceramic coated for extra protection at 2000 degrees Fahrenheit and mostly for my peace of mind. My fitting kit for the manifold featuring aerospace nuts and Nordlock washers will be arriving later this week! This is the first time I've ever been excited about hardware haha! Now I get to brag and tell everyone I have space ship parts on my MKIV  With this ridiculous hardware there is no way my exhaust leak will show back up!


(few pics of the ole jetter)





























Manifold stock pictures I sourced from the interwebs, also shows an awesome down pipe for TT 225/ k04. (wish I had had the chance to order one, would have saved me about $200 over the cost of having to custom fab my down pipe:banghead:.)







































My Pro 4 when it arrived, pictures cant show how good it feels in your hand, didnt expect it to feel as heavy as it does, seriously good metal :beer::laugh:






































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Pro 4 after being coated eace:





























Arround the weekend ill have my Pro 4 put on and have a juicy update for everyone. Ill get a few dyno pulls in once its on and post my results here for everyone. Im expecting somewhere in the low 300s BHP on account of me living at 6200ft., but my setup at sea level should be good for somewhere in the 400s BHP espically with the high flow pro 4 manifold:beer::beer::beer:



UPDATE! : The fitting kit arrived today and needless to say Im stoked!  I set up an appointment for Wednesday Feb the 4th to have the Pro 4 fitted and have some before and after dyno pulls. 

Fitting kit










Gasket (manifold to turbo)










bolts



















stud










nut










Nordlock washers!:beer:










Front and back











Update!- This morning I had my jetta dropped off at the shop to have the pro 4 fitted and dynoed. The shop is doing a baseline as the car sits now with my leaking OEM manifold then once the pro 4 has been fitted they are going to do a couple more pulls to compare. I'm hoping to have the car back around Friday and will update with the results!!

UPDATE!!!!! Yesterday I got my Jetta back from the shop fully fitted with the pro 4 and fresh off the dyno. The results quite honestly were way beyond what i had expected or hoped. With the old OEM TT 225 mani the car made between 285-287 whp and 326-343 wlbft and with the pro 4 on the car made 302-308whp and 337-362wlbft. I cant believe these numbers I was only hoping for 250-275 whp and max 300 wlbft on account of the altitude where I live, about 6100ft . My setup at sea level stands to be around 350whp and torque through the roof. The car gained almost 20 whp and wlbft peak and picked up quite a bit under the curve all around. The manifold not only has more power but sounds incredible! It coupled with my full 3" exhaust no cat back fires just a bit when revved quickly, its quite cool! It also increased the volume of the turbo at very low spool, I can hear it now start to spool before it builds boost at all. The feel of how the car builds low boost also improved quite a bit, its more linear and controllable. I had a hard time with the OEM manifold keeping the car at a partial boost level like 10 psi. The OEM manifold either wanted to give all the boost or non of it. The pro 4 allows me to control how the turbo builds partial boost alot better. Peak psi is still at the same aprox rmp, i cant notice any real difference in how long it takes to spool over the OEM manifold but the pro 4 is less surge prone and you can feel the power/ flow difference. The feeling is incredible!!! Needless to say im incredibly happy with the Pro 4 and it is better than the OEM manifold in every way!:beer::beer::beer:

Dyno chart one
(runs 1 and 2 are with OEM TT 225 mani, runs 4 and 5 are with the Pro4)
(the torque for run 5 goes slightly off the chart to 362. Chart stops at 350)












Dyno Chart Two
(shows runs 2 and 5 to directly compare OEM to Pro4) 
(again the top of run 5 torque is "chopped" off by the graph, should go to 362)
(scale is in 50whp/wlbft, top of graph is 350)










Ill post a few pics of the pro 4 installed on the car tomorrow, it looks sick!

(Pro 4 installed)


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## bwdz (Jan 21, 2015)

Very nice and well documented install with dyno numbers. Wish all posts were as well written. You sir set a fine example.
Now that the manifold is on it's probably too late to ask but I've read on some reviews that Relentless leaves pieces of other pipe that they use inside to hold the manifold together before welding essentially blocking some of the runners a bit. Your dyno results imply that it was not the case with this one but too late to run a coat hanger through the inner tubes and feel for blockages. Please update, even if two years from now, on how it holds up and whether it starts cracking as most tubular manifolds do in hard street use.


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## iBorg (Aug 20, 2014)

I'd like to second the request to keep us up to date. I'm also curious as to what this does for your MPG. I know I need to start modifying with the intent of increasing both performance and mileage.


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## Letter K (Jan 8, 2011)

woah very nice. this is just straight bolt in? or do you have to use their downpipe also?


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## wats6281 (Apr 23, 2014)

Its bolt on for a 1.8 that is already k04-023 equipped other wise a down pipe would be needed


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## [email protected] (Jul 1, 2009)

bwdz said:


> Very nice and well documented install with dyno numbers. Wish all posts were as well written. You sir set a fine example.


I completely second that. I've been really curious to know if the final v4 manifold could deliver, and your results make me think absolutely yes. I love the look of this piece and the beefy Schedule 40 materials are very impressive. But the best thing about these results are your concrete before/after data. This is the kind of info that makes technical forums so great.

Thank you for going with our product (turbo) and taking the road less traveled with the manifold. Very cool stuff. :thumbup:


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## wats6281 (Apr 23, 2014)

Thank you very much Doug, it means a lot coming from the man him self! Nothing but love for the frankenturbs. F23 plus pro 4 equals enough power to hurt most peoples feelings it's great.


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## bzflag (Apr 27, 2003)

I wish you had done your before dynos with a 100% working setup. I would certainly hope that this piece could outspool and outflow a leaking stock exhaust manifold.:thumbup: for putting this together, but it's not a totally apples to apples comparison.


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## wats6281 (Apr 23, 2014)

The shop got the manifold to hold pressure for the before dyno with the OEM mani, problem is it promptly blew out from the strain


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## 20v master (May 7, 2009)

wats6281 said:


> The shop got the manifold to hold pressure for the before dyno with the OEM mani, problem is it promptly blew out from the strain


Were you/they reusing turbo to manifold bolts? Once the leak develops, the bolts are shot and even though they'll tighten up again, they aren't going to seal long term. You say you had the manifold flange decked twice, but what about the turbo flange? Regardless, if you're happy with the gains, and if it holds up long term, then it's all good. I have my doubts about the new manifold holding up though. Please report back any issues that may arise over time.


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## wats6281 (Apr 23, 2014)

Each time old Mani was decked on both sides, turbo was checked but didn't need decking since its new and new hard ware was used each time as well.


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## [email protected] (Jul 1, 2009)

wats6281 said:


> The shop got the manifold to hold pressure for the before dyno with the OEM mani, problem is it promptly blew out from the strain


were you data logging it during the tuning and experimentation? If so, I'd love to see what you collected.


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## Letter K (Jan 8, 2011)

it doesnt look like the turbo outlet charge pipe on AMU could clear that big hump collecter on that manifold.


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## wats6281 (Apr 23, 2014)

Unfortunately the shop wasn't data logging  , least as far as I am aware . it was just a basic dyno run.


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## wats6281 (Apr 23, 2014)

The amu charge should have no problem clearing the "hump " of the pro4. There's more space there than it looks like


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## Letter K (Jan 8, 2011)

wats6281 said:


> The amu charge should have no problem clearing the "hump " of the pro4. There's more space there than it looks like


awesome good to know!


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