WOW..very nice work John!

With the tight fit, its a good thing you coated them i think!
Sure hope you measured a few times

 

Lookin good there John, can't wait! I'm thinking that if you have good luck with the coating, it will be a good option for my project.

 

Looks nice! Swain is right down the road from me.

 

Gorgeous!

 

Measure 4X, cut once...uh maybe twice. Yes, it was all test fitted.....many, many times. Andy gave me assistance making the downpipes. Those took several hours just to fit up. I have to say I'm very pleased with these downpipes, specifically where the wastegate dumps pop back into the main line...it is just about optimal. Surprisingly easy to bolt it all up in there. The trick is loosening up the motor mounts and jacking up the engine about 1.5" on either side....they slide right in. I'm not sure if I'll use this design on the S4 or not. I have ideas for a more modern turbo and quasi-log/header system. I'm stuck on deciding between an old school T3/T4 and the newer GT line for the S4...both have advantages and disadvantages. I'm inclined to go with the new GT line...but this means more design and fab work. The wheels in the GT line are much nicer and you can make more power with the same size turbo, but the larger old school turbos still work really well.

True to form, the units in the photos are the K-26. Interestingly, the hot sides are smaller (just exducer bore, K-62 major on turbine is bigger) than my old IHIs, but the compressors are much larger. It should be a better match for having more available power. With the large IHI hot sides, the car would not pull full tilt until the higher gears. The best part is I'll actually be able to take right hand sweepers without the old Callaway manifolds binding up with the steering shaft! That was most annoying and quite dangerous. Interestingly my Brother's Callaway doesn't have this issue...perhaps a design "enhancement" was made?

I really just have a few small parts to finish up and then I can bolt her all together. The car has not run in like 6+ weeks...it is sitting anxiously waiting to show me what the new camshafts and turbos will do.

Thanks to Jim for putting the photos up for me.

 

Hey, any of you who want the ex-wife can be my guest. My life is blissfully stress free at the moment and I intend to keep it that way!

Now, let's let the games begin!

 

"I keep cutting this damn pipe and it's still too short!!"

Looks awesome! I'm curious to see where (how) you run the intake side, not much room in these buggers. Keep up the good work!

 

This car will be 3/4 Kuhn and 1/4 Callaway. Truth be told all the remains of the old Callaway system is a few intake pipes, the boost gauge, Microfueler and the high flow exhaust. The rest of it is collecting in a box I placed in the garage....like old retired generals that have seen their better days.

I just got done hanging the driver's side turbo tonight...that is the tougher of the two. I have to say I had the manifold and turbo hung in about 1 hour. It is a really easy install the stuff contrary to what people think.

The intake piping is interesting, but not all that complex really. If you set your mind to it, you can snake the pipes through very tight places. If you take a look at the Goldmember K-24 install from 1.5 years ago you can see the air intake routing.

Tomorrow...passenger's side turbo install...the easy one (minus the funky broken exhaust stud I had to drill out and replace!)

 

You know John, you could probably make a lot of money hiring some of the local Hooters girls to pose next to that engine....so you could produce a calander....

N!

 

What do we call that? Hooters for Herr-Kuhn? Myself, I'm more of a posterior kinda guy.

Normy, I'm glad to hear that you are not peeing gold any longer.

 

Very nice John!! How much boost are ya planning?

 

She will run somewhere between 12 and 14 psig max. These units can be turned up to probably 16-17 psig if need be, but I need to be realistic with how much fuel capacity I have.

The intent here was to make a more reliable setup that is more enjoyable to drive. I'm not chasing max HP with this car as it is a car I intend to keep forever. After driving this car with twin IHIs and my other setup with K-24 I have an pretty good idea of how this should run. I'm expecting this car to be super strong in the 3,500+ range. Time will tell, and of course there will always be room for improvement in the future.