newbie69

There will be two occasions in the near future that I might need to disconnect the battery. First one is to work with the connectors of the Haldex controller and the other is when/If I will leave the car parked for 4-6 weeks. For the first case disconnecting is not 100% necessary but rather for eliminating any possibility of fault codes showing up. For the long-term parking I was thinking of it as a way to preserve the battery life as I am 2yrs into ownership already. My question really with this heavily loaded with electrics car is can I just go ahead and disconnect it as usual? or I will have to deal with resetting systems, fault codes and other gremlins upon re-connection?

I happened to found one tuning shop here selling those as independent units instead of front & rear pack so I bought from them. Otherwise your workshop could buy for you I guess depending on how helpful they can be! Awesome GTI sells them as a combo unfortunately: https://www.awesomegti.com/parts/suspension/anti-roll-bars/copy-of-h-r-anti-roll-bar-kit-f-24-r-26mm-superb-3t-4wd/

You don't even need the dyno for that, you could log boost, ignition timing, afr, egt temp on the road (which is actually the most accurate way to monitor these things) by doing a complete 3rd/4th gear pull. Then you could share the values for discussion but unless you've had acquired some solid knowledge or spoke to a real expert you could be hearing all sorts of opinions again. No point in asking a tuner's opinion about another's remap. if you switched, you'd do it because it would be someone whose maps, according to your investigation, can be trusted "blindly" and call it a day, no point in digging deeper, spending your precious time and worrying about it all the time. And since I am getting the feeling that doubt has got in your head about the original tuner, your best course of action would be to get the car back and have it remapped by a better trusted expert (there's currently sales on a few well known ones...) Maybe it's not needed, but you'll be sleeping more peacefully.

Sounds like a plan to me, first things first, then the rest. For now you want to a) have the engine inspected and b) fix the turbo with a known rebuilder and get it back on the car. I agree on the fact being close to them and able to stop by at any point is reassuring. It's not easy to part with the car by sending it some hundred miles away for an unknown period to someone you haven't worked with before. Once that is done, the map will still be on the car and I doubt it could cause a reinforced turbo to fail anyway even if it's not the best map out there. But you can easily switch tuner, certainly not the first to do this even if you don't go for a higher map like stage 2 etc. Worry about that later though once the car is rolling again. For the last bit though it is more complicated than you describe and in the end it you might not get much out of it despite having spent significant amount of your time. I don't think any tuner will just present all the values and parameters in their map to any customer simply for the reason of being evaluated on it. On top of that, modern engine management is much more complicated than say a predefined map of mixtures depending on rpm and load, you'd be amazed at how many parameters come into play. You can certainly educate yourself about the overall concept of AFRs, boost and temp management etc. if you like but don't expect to become an expert and able to read out and evaluate a map just like that. In the end, it is not a task or responsibility you should be taking yourself, this is why you pay specialists to do their job. If the current tuner does not inspire confidence after all this switch to a well known and recommended one even if you have to drive a few hours to them (I've done this every time to get to the best tuner I could get for all of my cars). I know it might not look great right now but I'm sure it will work out in the end, not worth losing any more sleep over it really.

Exactly my thoughts. Simplest (and cheapest) way to get going again (and with a better turbo) is first taking the car to your local specialist and have them do a thorough inspection. Assuming nothing else is damaged take the turbo off and ship to Littco for rebuild, you could turn it into a L380X for just a few hundred (i'd choose the Supercore upgrade option). After all, the VAG specialist that will carry the mechanical work is a different garage to the tuning department so I see no issues there. Then get it back and on the car and decide from there if you leave/modify/remove the remap, there is nothing really tying you with the current tuner at that point, and you could just as well go to any other reputable tuner should you choose to.

That sounds much more like a "REVO dealer" reply rather than a "VAG specialist" one, but I can't say I'm shocked. REVO are doing thousand of stage 1 and 2 remaps, they can't possibly claim the OEM turbo is bad, can they? Not doubting REVO's map is a well developped one, but the fact is we've seen IS38s fail even in stock form, hardly VW's thermal and overspool management to blame there... Also, I don't think I would find anyone in the tuning groups saying they'd spend 1000GBP on a stock IS38 instead of an upgraded one from a well-known specialist, and I do mean no-one! Also, forget Littco for a moment and just consider that one of the biggest and most well-known turbo specialists/rebuilders and manufacturers for our cars in Germany, that do thousands of turbo upgrades every year, are accepting your turbo for an upgrade regardless of it working or not as they replace everything inside. If they, with the reputation and knowledge they posses, can accept a blown unit and stand by its reliability and performance after the rebuild then that says it all. I am currently awaiting more information about turbo specialists in the UK from some sources so I shall hopefully be able to share more contacts tomorrow.

From what I can read on the website 750 is the Supercore upgrade, meaning re-using your stock housing, and 1150 is for a whole brand new unit including the actuator. Still at 1150 a much better value than any OEM IS38 to be honest. I would expect Littco to examine the housing and advice about its integrity before taking on the upgrade process, you should just ask them directly. In your place this is probably the path i'd be taking if I wanted to keep the cost reasonable, meaning a L380X with either a Supercore or Complete upgrade depending on your housing's condition. Oh and i would definitely expect my original tuner to not charge my extra for re-tuning, aside from the installation cost. Only fair considering all things really.

As much as I like REVO, and I do currently run their map and it's awesome, I'm not sure they would provide an ideal solution for your particular situation. As far as I know they don't provide rebuilds, they've even stopped their Turbocharger exchange program and only use brand new new units now so they would most probably direct you to their complete stage 3 program which means $$$$ (and I reckon you're rather after getting back on the road with a minimum cost and not after 100bhp more?!) It goes without saying that a thorough examination should take place from a a specialist before putting anything back on in order to assess fully the current situation.

As I wrote earlier, first think of your long term plans about the car and the performance you're after and the decisions will come much easier than you think right now. One thing is for sure and you should start from there: You will be paying money for a turbo (either to rebuild or replace) so you want to make the best use of that money. Opting for a brand new IS38, even if just 1 out of 100 of them fail, is NOT the best way to spend £1000 since the same amount of money can get you a reinforced and worry-free IS38 hybrid that could safely run up to 400-420bhp depending on the tune. If your old tuner could provide a warranty in case you went with him and a 380X upgrade then it could be an affordable option, after all he has to be really bad to cause an upgraded turbo to fail, if we assume it was his map that caused it (no way to tell really). However, you might have lost confidence to him all-together which means you should "de-couple" the different steps: Taking off the current turbo, putting the /repaired/replaced one back in, remapping which could be more tricky than it sounds and would take up more time in total. In that case you'd need to find a specialist you can trust (I;m not convinced from the ones you've been talking to) Unfortunately I'm not from/at UK so I don't know personally many specialists to recommend, hopefully you can get some recommendations from locals/nationals. You might want to open a thread in the General Car section of the forum asking for VAG specialists (with a proven track record) that could offer this work as a complete work package or at least the part of installing the turbo and remapping as the rebuilding is a different expertise. At least UK is one of the best countries for such stuff, you would be much more hopeless in other EU countries from my experience...

Ok, I have my serious doubts about that "other tuner" based on all of what they've told you... a) I'm not being personally affiliated to Littco in any way, but since I trust owner's feedback above any tuner's own claims, the experiences from Littco owners in forums don't echo at all the claims about cheap chinese items or worse, a bad performance/reliability. b) Every log of stage 1 on the gen3 I've seen is hitting peak boost at around 1.6bar (1.55-1.65), that includes the big, proven tuners like REVO, Unitronic, APR among others, 1.4bar is simply a joke. I'm sorry but on that claim alone I would say forget about them and find someone who really knows this platform. c) There is ABSOLUTELY no reason to be drawn to a stage 3 setup and a cost 3-4K for a blown turbo if YOU don't want that power. Plenty of turbo rebuilders available to provide you with an upgraded IS38 making similar power to the OEM unit (or a bit more) but a much greater reliability. To me, apart from their unsubstantiated claims about other turbos and remaps, these guys seem like they're trying to up-sell you to a solution you were not interested in the first place just because it will mean more revenue for them, I would honestly look elsewhere.

Traditionally companies name their turbos based on the minimum hp they can safely get out of them but usually it's a bit above that. The L380 should make at least the same hp as the OEM IS38 but given that your tuner did not really max out the OEM previously he could maybe extract something more. The L380X is said to make 410+ up to 430 with full stage 2 peripherals. The X has apparently a couple of additional changes so I would ask Littco if the differences between them are focused solely on extracting more hp or they have to to with reliability enhancements, I am guessing it's the former so if you're not interested in maxing out a stage 2 then the simple 380 could do just fine. However this is the time to consider your long term plans performance wise. Upgrading to the lowest hybrid and then deciding you'd like to scratch that itch further would mean a complete waste of the cost of the current upgrade. If you don't think you'll ever go down the full stage 3 path (and associated cost) maybe opting for a maxed stage 2 at 410+ bhp (380X) is the better option, otherwise if you just want to get going as if you had an OEM (but more reliable) IS38 then L380 should be your choice.

I lost you a bit on how the original tuner relates to the L380X, he suggested replacing the blown one with the L380X or...? If that's the case, I don't see an issue apart from how much you can trust him and his map for the future. I've spoken with two people running Littco turbos on FB groups, albeit the larger L450 and L500 and have been very happy with them. The fact he suggested them doesn't mean that if he's bad all his suggestions of other aftermarket items are of equal quality But of-course there are other turbo specialists offering similar services. No idea why the other possible tuner doesn't want to put a Littco turbo on but it could be that they have tuned a particular brand/model and so they are more familiar with it and have ready settings, instead of having to investigate new ones for a different unit. Reason I suggested Littco is that with their lower models you could keep it at stage 2 levels and at a very reasonable cost. No need to be pushed to a larger more expensive turbo capable of 450+ bhp just because a tuner suggests so. Above stage 2 you need other upgrades as well... No you won't know for sure if his map caused it but any hybrid with upgraded shaft and bearings will be able to take some beating even from a non-optimal map, but I understand you might have just lost confidence on that guy and follow another tuner's suggestions completely. Just repeating my last point that OEM turbo does not make sense since you are already (and want to remain) tuned.

Ok so first, I'm sorry to hear about this but really don't go crazy please, you're definitely not the first to have a IS38 blown sure and plenty of options down the road that will get you up n running with a much greater reliability long term. Now, I have said it before, thing with these engines is everybody is supposedly able to tune them, and maybe they all run similar peak boost but the way the power is made and how all supporting parameters are adjusted is what makes all the difference both in end performance and reliability. Research, research, research. If you can't swear by a particular smaller tuner you're thinking about or don't know first hand the owners of the cars they mapped and how the have fared over time don't take your chances and go with a big name that at least in this platform and engine are all proven with thousands of cars around the world, especially at such off-the-shelf tuning levels of stage 1 and 2. Don't cheap out on remaps, you are at worst talking about a mere couple hundred more for something which could have an impact of a multiple times higher cost. That been said, yes the IS38 turbocharger is known for its shaft weakness, although as the revisions came along (there's been a few since 2014) cases were diminishing and the majority of cars post 2016 have been fine. Myself I've had two IS38 cars both mapped to 370-390bhp from two different tuners and both have been fine, plenty of others I know that are stage 2 and still fine, then I've read about stocks cars blown, it was really a lottery with chances dropping the younger the cars are... Due to this history, It's very hard / impossible to be able to categorically blame the tuner or the turbo unit, or partly both so it does not really make any sense to chase the causes of this any further as it won't get you anywhere (apart from making you mad probably). I remember in an earlier post of yours stating the tuner had trouble keeping the intake temps down which is rather unusual for a stage 1 map, more important though you also say you've had issues with him in the past which really begs the question why you took your chances with them. It's a rhetorical question, no need to answer it. Where do you go from here: Are you happy with the car otherwise? Do you plan to keep it for some time? If (and only if) the answer is no then head back to your original tuner, ask them to replace the turbo with a used IS38 from the used parts market (cost around 500-700EUR) and ask them to revert the software to the stock map (every decent tuner should be able to provide this for free, especially after such an incident) and move on. However I don't think this is what you had in mind. If you've answered yes then the good news are that instead of a costly replacement you can upgrade your own turbo to a much greater standard (uprated shaft, bearings, balancing etc.) and decide what power you want to run, you could simply leave it at stage 2 levels of 400bhp or go for more. For example, I've heard really good stuff about Dan (i think is his name) from Littco: https://www.littco.co.uk/hybrid-turbos-1-c.asp They offer lots of very affordable upgrade options depending on what you want to do and the fact you will be sending them your own turbo to serve as the base is keeping the cost down. FYI the housing itself has no issues and can run over 500bhp, it's the core/shaft that is prone to fail so it's an easy fix for a company that knows what they're doing. For example the L380 MQB option with "Supercore" upgrade is just 660 GBP and you've got nothing to worry after that. I'd suggest calling them and explaining your situation and they should be able to advice you accordingly. Then after the turbo is sorted choose your next tuner wisely (a whole different discussion). Yes it's not for free but much lower than other more serious failures and you will have removed a known weakness of the stock engine/turbo. In any case I think it's clear you should not even consider an OEM turbo at full retail price (there is no cost covered by the warranty obviously as you said), as even if running stock power you could end up right in the same position after a while. Plus there is no reason to do that really. The gen3 EA888 engine is one of the most solid that have come out from VAG in terms of reliability and tuning potential with the IS38 turbo being the only real possibility for failure which at least is easily addressed. Let us know how you decide to proceed and remember **** happens all the time, as long as it's not something terminal don't beat yourself up too much. I don't know how power hungry you are but personally I'd have seen it as the perfect excuse to proceed with my hybrid turbo plans...

I'm writing a long message, take a breath for now, it's going to be ok!

It's working fine on Android (was using it a few days ago and I just tried it again) so I guess it's the iOS app in particular having the issue.

No worries, preferences on looks and aesthetics are quite subjective anyway! I just thought that on yours, being black would look like a nice continuation of the body, and I think it's has a more round shape than the one on the E46 but ok, point taken!

Fair enough! I have to confess I love mine so maybe I am not too subjective I like these dynamic but discreet touches of the SportLine very much. A pity they didn't add a similar clever front spoiler too to go with the rear one, the aftermarket ones from Maxton and Rieger are too fussy for my like.

Love your brakes but that's worryingly close! I'd be scared what happens if little stones get trapped in between the caliper and the barrel... hoping you'll be fine! PS, You NEED to add the Sportline's boot spoiler!! (200 EUR at Superskoda) It will look amazing!

Good, now that you have axle weights maybe some suspension specialist could help you with mix n matching springs as you'd like. Isn't the fuel tank 66L?

I always admire when someone is able to photoshop with more skills than I do (meaning a mere copy/paste and layer selection ) Is it hard to give an angle to the layer (like you've done for the font wheel)? It looks very well done

So it wasn't coded by the previous owner of the OP's car but it is the stock message, wow!

It would be an upgrade but not for the reasons you're suggesting! My stage 1 is actually neck and neck with a stock M340i in the 0-100km/h and 1/4 mile runs clocking between 4.1"- 4.2" and 12.1"-12.4" respectively. For the M340i to be an upgrade on a straight line compared to my current car I'd need to have it mapped as soon as I got it otherwise I'd feel pretty annoyed having spent nearly twice as much as the Superb to only match the Superb's performance But honestly it's not power or engine performance at all that I'm missing with this car or that drives me into considering one of the cars I mentioned. Being already as fast as it is without even touching the exhaust and with plenty more to be unlocked should I want to go down that road, it's the least of issues really. What I would like is a firmer handling with a better body control and some extra playfulness and adjustability when pushing on. Upgrading to Bisltein B6 seems like the minimum next modification, maybe even coilovers although the fact that I could retain my factory adaptive and adjustable suspension with the B6's, but with firmer operation across all modes is probably all the adjustability I need, plus I am happy with the height it currently sits since the Eibachs went on. More importantly, I might JUST have come across a solution regarding the behavior and the playfulness of the car but I don't want to speculate too much before I know or try it out so it could be that the tables are turning towards sticking with it and making it much better and closer to what I am after, we'll see.

Yes they are the OEM mufflers. Roscio only really messed with the exhaust due to his big turbo requirements not for getting extra noise But he did end up with a little bit more sound as a bonus, as a result of the upgraded downpipe and the upgraded mid resonator, nothing annoying though he has reported.

Yes if I had to pick just one "sensible" car to upgrade to if money was not an issue the M340i would be my choice (Ok an RS6 sure but it's not "sensible" by any means). However with it being so young, prices are still stupid high for a well equipped one to make sense financially to me. Maybe in two-three years time. Also, theoretical talk for the moment, but are you sure about its engine? To me it's not a top priority but you've said you'd like to have a V6 and the M340i's I6 is not something particularly special. The performance is great but sound and character don't seem like something to remember from the reviews and feed-back I've read. I spent some time today looking into the Haldex controller options and I have discovered some interesting stuff. I am awaiting contact from a particular manufacturer but at the moment I'm quite excited as it seems I might have found something that could provide what I am after. I'll report back.

Just one of many examples, and I am mainly referring to systems that come on the cars from factory and have the full certification to be used on road cars like the "Sport Exhaust" option on Audi's, BMW's and Mercs. What the OP is about has literally nothing to do with that sort of exhaust noise/level.