# Review of HPA's K04 in my 2012 2.0 Turbo Beetle



## ridgemanron (Sep 27, 2011)

Residing in N.Y., I was unable to pass the strict emission requirements with APR's
Stage II set-up and was then assured by HPA that were I to install their K04, they
would guaranty me having no such similar problem. 

HPA does not use 02 sensor inserts in the 3" down pipe and by simply taking into
account things like specific gas mixture in my part of the country, as well as having
me remove the overly turbulent Carbonio Intake & Back pipe set-up, they are able
to have my car pass NY emissions without a problem.

My 'best to date' dyno results were 273whp and 322tq, but it should be noted that 
upon reaching 273whp, there was an abrupt drop in the graph that could very well
have something to do with my traction control kicking in.

I'm not a racer and am more than satisfied with the power level I'm at, while not having
to worry about disabling features like 02 sensor inserts. I realize there are people in 
states that don't have strict emission laws but it should be noted that if their cars were
ever sold to someone in a strict emission state, the new owner would not be able to pass
inspection at their local inspection station without having to remove their 3" down pipe
and 'cat'. 

My K04 was installed at HPA's Motorsport Division, located at VW of Linden, N.J., and they
are a great bunch to deal with. I can see why HPA decided to have them become one of
their installation dealerships. They are heavily into modified R32's which impressed me greatly.
The service team at ' Linden ' is Dennis, Ken and Mike, all of whom are always available for
any questions one would have.

With regard to HPA, their president Marcel Horn has always responded to E-mails from me and 
is a wealth of information.


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## jettaglx91 (Jul 27, 2004)

Im confused. You car isnt really make good power for a k04 and sounds like something is def not right by the "abrupt" power drop you describe. Yet you go on and on about how awesome it is?!? 

Have you passed NY inspection yet? Just an FYI the A/F mixture by any decent tune will be spot on but that isnt the emissions related issue. It is cat efficiency and 02 readiness which Im not aware of any aftermarket cat that can make it pass on its own without any ecu tricks.


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## ridgemanron (Sep 27, 2011)

jettaglx91 said:


> Im confused. You car isnt really make good power for a k04 and sounds like something is def not right by the "abrupt" power drop you describe. Yet you go on and on about how awesome it is?!?
> 
> Have you passed NY inspection yet? Just an FYI the A/F mixture by any decent tune will be spot on but that isnt the emissions related issue. It is cat efficiency and 02 readiness which Im not aware of any aftermarket cat that can make it pass on its own without any ecu tricks.


What you're telling me is that I should be more concerned with having 27 more hp to the wheels
and not be able to pass inspection in NY, which was the case with the APR Stage II, than to
have a set up that uses NO 02 sensor inserts and allows me to pass inspection without a problem
while still having a minimum of 273whp ? You're not knowing how to get a car tuned to the 
proficiency level required with regard to ECU tweaking, taking into account the specific fuel blends
in different portions of the country, and proper amount of intake air produced, so as to not bring
forth an emiision related CEL, which is what HPA and no one else can do to my knowledge, is just
a plain fact. I can pass NY inspection with my set-up, while none of the people I know using an
APR set-up can duplicate HPA's 'non disabling codes' set-up. Stay happy with your 300whp - APR
K04, if that's what you have or are thinking about adding, but I wouldn't recommend selling it to
someone in a strict emission state like N.Y. without telling them they will have to go back to an
OEM set up if they want to pass inspection at all random NY State Inspection facilities.

P.S. - Just thought I'd add that HPA will have ready, within a few weeks from now, upgraded
cams, injectors, and intake manifold for the 2012/13 TB's. Will report on those add ons once I
get them installed by Linden VW in N.J..


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## jettaglx91 (Jul 27, 2004)

I dont think you understand. The issue at hand isn't because of the fuel blends around the country or anything related to the tuning itself. Its because of the highflow cat. The issue you are describing with APR is because they wont force readiness(because its technically illegal). My guess is HPA is forcing readiness. I would love to see some scans of your setup to see if that is what they are doing. 

PS: Im not telling you to be more concerned with 27hp versus passing emission Im saying you still didnt address the problem you described. That abrupt drop in power isn't right. Please post the dyno graph.


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## ridgemanron (Sep 27, 2011)

jettaglx91 said:


> I dont think you understand. The issue at hand isn't because of the fuel blends around the country or anything related to the tuning itself. Its because of the highflow cat. The issue you are describing with APR is because they wont force readiness(because its technically illegal). My guess is HPA is forcing readiness. I would love to see some scans of your setup to see if that is what they are doing.
> 
> PS: Im not telling you to be more concerned with 27hp versus passing emission Im saying you still didnt address the problem you described. That abrupt drop in power isn't right. Please post the dyno graph.


The cat is the one that comes with APR's 3" downpipe. Your statement that the fuel blends have
nothing to do with the problem flys in the face of HPA's technical expertise. Further, your comment
that the tuning has nothing to do with assisting the ECU's ability to not throw emission related
codes is another ridiculous statement. Are you also aware that APR disable's their Carbonio Intake?
If they didn't, emission related CEL's would be going off like a fireworks display ! When my dyno
of 273whp and 322tq was posted on The Beetle section of 'vortex', it was believed by examiners
to probably have had something to do with the fact that the 'restrictive' traction control 'kicked in'.
Even when I had an 'on' - 'off' switch installed, it still would 'kick in' after being turned off. It
is probably due to some form of added protection inherent in the system but that being said, I
couldn't care less. My 'whp and 'tq' is so much more than it had been, and the car runs flawlessly
with the HPA set-up. With APR, their disabling of various components cannot compare to HPA's
not having to do them. Whether you accept it or not, IT IS IN THE TUNE! And APR was not able
to match it in my car. The only way my car, when in complete Stage II APR mode, could ever hope
to pass inspection would be by having an APR Tuner do an ECU tweak that non-APR inspection
facilities in N.Y. wouldn't be able to do, resulting in a failed emission test result. Also, this tweak
would cost me an extra $100 this year and who knows how much in the years ahead. I would be
at the total mercy of the APR tuner. Sell the car to someone in a strict emission state that wasn't
able to have access to one of these APR tuners and they would either have you in court or agree
to go back to oem components. You would have knowingly sold them an illegal car that, in its
'sold' state, cannot pass inspection, and that is not allowed by law. Why anyone would want to
wind up possibly involved in something like this, when they could avoid it by going with HPA,
mystifies me? But to each his own......I guess.


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## jettaglx91 (Jul 27, 2004)

You just are not making sense. 

APR disables their Carbonio intake? WTF does that even mean? :screwy:

APR turns off cat readiness so that you do not get a fault for "cat efficiency" that is fact, tuning will not change that. I would be willing to bet HPA is forcing readiness, many companies do this its nothing new, but APR will not do that for legality reasons. 

Post your dyno and vag com readiness scans to prove me wrong. I have been in this game for a long time, Im not trying to be arrogant but I know what I am talking about


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## ridgemanron (Sep 27, 2011)

jettaglx91 said:


> You just are not making sense.
> 
> APR disables their Carbonio intake? WTF does that even mean? :screwy:
> 
> ...


Legality reasons by APR? Don't make me laugh! You see a difference between the words 'disabling and 'turning off'? I don't. APR tuning is technically illegal in states like N.Y. and all their tuners
know it. APR can do 'their thing' in states that don't have to deal with strict emissions but they
better be careful in states that have strict emissions requirements, for they are leaving themselves
open to big problems which you want to ignore. You want me to prove you wrong with what 
really matters? I'll bring my car to a standard N.Y. inspection facility for inspection and it will
pass with no problems. You bring your APR car and will fail. Does the state inspection computer
get involved with anything other than the car meeting the state's emission standards? The answer
is 'no'! In order to get to this level of acceptance, HPA has to spend the necessary time and what
was stored previously in my car's computer is none of your business, as it was none of the APR
tuner's business who set up my original APR Stage II. The final result of where I am, as against
where I was with APR, is what is important. APR can keep their secrets and HPA can keep their's,
as far as I'm concerned. Also, the definition of the words 'forced readiness' can be found in the
dictionary and once you see it is exactly what APR does, you 'hopefully' will come to realize they
are not the purists you seem to think they are.


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## jettaglx91 (Jul 27, 2004)

ridgemanron said:


> Legality reasons by APR? Don't make me laugh! You see a difference between the words 'disabling and 'turning off'? I don't. APR tuning is technically illegal in states like N.Y. and all their tuners
> know it. APR can do 'their thing' in states that don't have to deal with strict emissions but they
> better be careful in states that have strict emissions requirements, for they are leaving themselves
> open to big problems which you want to ignore. You want me to prove you wrong with what
> ...




OMFG you are an idiot, APR DOES NOT force readiness. If they did you would pass emmissions 

Yes APR wont pass inspection by standard means. Yes HPA does pass by forcing readiness. Im not disputing that, just trying to make you understand why. Do you think its just a coincidence the tuner that does is not located in the US? 

Im done arguing with you, I came across your dozen other threads with the same thing, you have no idea what you are talking about, end of story. good bye


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## ridgemanron (Sep 27, 2011)

jettaglx91 said:


> OMFG you are an idiot, APR DOES NOT force readiness. If they did you would pass emmissions
> 
> Yes APR wont pass inspection by standard means. Yes HPA does pass by forcing readiness. Im not disputing that, just trying to make you understand why. Do you think its just a coincidence the tuner that does is not located in the US?
> 
> Im done arguing with you, I came across your dozen other threads with the same thing, you have no idea what you are talking about, end of story. good bye


APR's form of FORCING READINESS is what they do to get cars to trick their way through 
inspections in N.Y.. APR won't pass inspection in N.Y. by standard means and you admit it.
HPA being in Canada has you making delusional statements about why? I guess VW of Linden,
N.J. must be foreign too, according to your idiotic logic. With regard to fuel, you are a horses
A$$ in stating that HPA doesn't take fuel blend into account with regard to different parts of
the U.S., for they do! How HPA gets cars to pass inspection without using APR's techniques is
well beyond your scope of understanding, but know it alls like you want people to think you
know more than HPA's many years of experience. Just the fact that you would rather use a
company that only uses tricks in their arsenal, whereas another company doesn't and allows
the enthusiast to reap the benefits of their knowledge to meet the emission requirements in
states like N.Y. without a worry of any kind, tells me something about your lack of intelligence.


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## jettaglx91 (Jul 27, 2004)

You can't even form logical sentences, stoop to childish name calling of numerous well known members and vendors, and constantly contradict yourself but question my intelligence?!? Lol you are hysterical


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## ridgemanron (Sep 27, 2011)

jettaglx91 said:


> You can't even form logical sentences, stoop to childish name calling of numerous well known members and vendors, and constantly contradict yourself but question my intelligence?!? Lol you are hysterical


I thought you were done, you moron! Can see you're a 'butt boy' for APR and that explains a lot.
I shouldn't question something you don't even possess and need to apologize for that. Do you
have APR's tattoo on your butt? If so, why don't you also get it out front where everyone can see it?
Hey, maybe Arin will send you a 'thumb up'. Just be careful where he places it if he brings it in
person to you.

Getting back to the performance aspects. It was found, well after the dyno results, that a miniscule
amount of air was escaping from a forward placed coupling on my APR 3" downpipe. It hadn't been
easily visible previously but finally revealed itself with an ever so thin line of black carbon appearing
on the downpipe. Had it properly sealed/tightened.


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