Blown Turbos

[sturs6]

While at my dealer the other day for a little OnStar repair the service manager told me of an RS6 in Atlanta that blew both of its turbos:vsad: . He blammed it on the fact that the car was chipped. Anyone on here hear about this explosion of turbos?

[Erik]

I heard of an explosion in the UK, but I don't think it was turbo related.

Never heard of a (dirdct) turbo related exlposion. In fact, the one in the UK is the only "official" as far as I'm aware.

[sturs6]

Erik,
This guy may have been blowing smoke. I say that because I was looking at a fellow RS6 owners car and the service manager was telling me the guy was going to install a chip in the car then I asked him his opinion about it and that is the story that he told me. So who really knows.

[JAXRS6]

Since many dealers -- ESPECIALLY service departments -- are adamantly against anything aftermarket, I would be wary of such info. On the other hand it may have happened. If I was told such info I would ask for verification in writing, or to talk to the service manager responsible for the conclusion that a chip caused the problem. Even then, tho, I would be wary unless I could also talk with the owner, since I went thru an experience in which the dealer tried to blame my chip for a minor problem & was proved wrong by an independent VAG COM printout.

"Blown turbos" was a pretty common topic for a while when I was scouring the S4 forum at audiworld for a couple of years. There were a lot of opinions which boiled down to a few categories:

1. Yes, chips may occasionally lead to blown turbos. That's why it's important to know as much as you can about any chip being contemplated.

2. Turbos also fail on cars without chips.

3. Driving style counts a lot. In other words, if the driving is mostly sedate with occasional bursts of speed, as when passing, the strain on the engine & turbos is less than if the car is driven hard. Driving hard increases chances of failure.

4. No. 3 is probably a factor whether chipped or not.

5. Most S4s did not have blown turbos, whether chipped or not.

Somewhere on AW there's a chart showing turbo failures with various brands of chips, but I can't speak for its veracity.

[Klint]

Interesting!

The chip "would" increase the boost, for more horsepower but the pipework would blow before the turboes do, so I don't think it's entirely chip related.

It's common for turboes to blow up that haven't had any chance to stop spinning when the engine has stopped. When the engine stops the turboes don't recieve any oil, and if they're still spinning...well, you can work it out. This increases the internal wear of the turboes incredibly. It is even worse on ball bearing turboes. (Not sure what turboes the RS6 uses?)

Remember after hard engine/turbo use, leave the car standing on tick over for 20-30 seconds before switching it off.

:cheers:

[jgun81]

As far as I remember, Abt chip is part of option
and can covered by warranty in UK. correct me if i am wrong.
If after market chip can cause blown turbos,
then it shouldn't be an option.
I guess it pretty much depends on the driver.

[jimmy94507]

Some interesting coments posted above.

At Laguna Seca in September, I asked Randy Pobst and Michael Galatti about their Champion Racing RS6's and any engine issues? They stated they have had "zero" engine problems. Their engine performance has been excellent. The official published spec is 500 hp, but they said that "unoffically", they are getting quite a bit more. These comments gave me a lot of confidence that if we take care of our cars we should experience very good reliablilty. Also, chips producing around 500hp should not significanty degrade longivity.

Regards, Jim

[TheBrit]

Yes, chipped cars can be more likely to blow turbos, but it's far from commonplace as JaxRS6 says. The 2.7T turbo failure surveys can be found here (http://audiport.com/survey/turbo/turbo-main.htm). Just go search the Audiworld forums for "turbo lady" for more.

If I remember rightly, one of the common causes of turbo failure is overspeeding, where the vanes on the impeller can fragment, break off and end up travelling down the air path in the direction of the engine, which isn't generally good news...

I'm trying to remember what exactly causes overspeeding, but I think it's to do with boost regulation. I know the US stock RS 6 dials back boost at higher altitudes (I think to prevent overspeeding in the thinner air), so any US tuners should really be implementing the same protection I guess.

[Erik]

Originally posted by jimmy94507
These comments gave me a lot of confidence that if we take care of our cars we should experience very good reliablilty.

Did you have a look at their engine mods?

I searched but couldn't find the link with pics, someone else with more luck?

They don't use the silicon gaskets anymore I can tell you...

[Benman]

Originally posted by jimmy94507
Some interesting coments posted above.

At Laguna Seca in September, I asked Randy Pobst and Michael Galatti about their Champion Racing RS6's and any engine issues? They stated they have had "zero" engine problems. Their engine performance has been excellent. These comments gave me a lot of confidence that if we take care of our cars we should experience very good reliablilty. Also, chips producing around 500hp should not significanty degrade longivity.

Regards, Jim
I also asked the very same question and got the same answer (and keep in mind these guys are RACING this motor NOT grandma driving!) As for the mods, the internals are all stock. Most of the increased power comes from a thoroughly reprogrammed ECU (sound familiar?), better intake manifold and exhaust. But a ECU from MTM or Abt will get you close and if these guys have reliable motors that are RACED then i don't think we'll be "blowing turbos" any time soon:cheers:
Ben:addict:

[Bauer]

Remember...... Cosworth has built these motors and they appear to be ready to race out of the box. The S4 and A6 2.7T are audi powerplants not really desinged and built to race. Just my 2 cents:cheers: