The honesty of evaluating my car's goals wasn't easy.  I mean, reading those build post on the forum had my mouth watering for BT and BAT (Big Azz Turbo).  But The key to keeping my inline was the simple fact that this was my daily driver and no matter how justification I put to it I still needed to go to/from work.  This, thankfully, kept me grounded and prevented me from setting lofty goals.  So what is the final destination for this car you ask?  Unfortunately it doesn't appear to be with the same tuner (APR) that I started with.

The path ahead if decide to stay with APR involves either a K04-15 Borg-Wagner turbo that is essentially the big brother to my stock K03.  This will net me about +17HP/11TQ gains over my current Stage 1+ setup (including my exhaust, FMIC, K&N, Forge SPLTR).  Is this worth dropping about $500-700 for the turbo and another $200 for a better TIP?  I honestly don't think so, unless my turbo went in the near future, I can't see this being an option for me.  Plus I honestly would like to see the 300HP barrier broken on my car (not much over just a little).  Problem is I didn't know all of this when I decided to get my FMIC, I was thinking only K04 because APR next step up was a Stage 3+ kit consisting of a Garrett 2860R (w/modified compressor wheel), APR exhaust manifold, injectors, TIP, larger MAF and fuel pump.  And the net effect of 340HP/332TQ is just plain sick, but for $5.5k it's just a bit steep for most individuals these days.

In the end my lack of proper outlook and planning led me to purchase a eBay FMIC which was close to the kit many forum members were pleased with.  However, the single difference is currently robbing me of great performance numbers.  It turns out that the throttle body hose was not the right design and had to be stretched to fit.  This led to the hose being elongated to the point I believe it is restricting adequate airflow and this shows on a VAG-COM logged 3rd gear pull where the A/F reaches mid/upper 10s.  Yeah, a little to rich for my taste and everyone else's.

Now the fix and their options.  Obviously the first choice to fix this would be to man up and buy a Race-Tec FMIC while there's a group buy ongoing on the forum bringing the price down some.  However, this is honestly not in my budget and would led to delays for other parts like boost gauge, snub mount and pretty much negate the coilovers I just purchased and am awaiting delivery on.  So i start investigating a fabrication mod to improve the fit.  But no matter how I thought it up is still seem to have some type of flaw.  Next best choice is a custom fab'd and tig welding IC piping section.  My first call was to Phantasm Motorsports here in Raleigh and Cheeto said they could do it.  This was exciting news and I plan to go out there sometime this week to get someone to look at the options.  Well be back for the conclusion to this crazy drama.