A close look at APR's Golf R Garrett GTX2867R turbo upgrade

The turbocharger the MKVI Golf R comes with stock is the well known K04 turbo. This turbo accounts for a good portion of the torque and horsepower gains the Golf R gets over the GTI and is capable of over 300 horsepower. For those wanting more however enter APR with the Garrett GTX2867R turbo. APR wanted to add more than the K04 was capable of but they did not want to make a big sacrifice in response and spool. The goal was a streetable turbo upgrade.

This newer turbo from Garrett offer a lightweight billet compressor wheel. It provides quick spool with great top end air flow thanks to its advanced design. It is capable of great response and large air flow even over 7000 RPM hence why APR uses it in this application.

Beyond the power spool and power capability the anti-surge compressor housing was also an important factor. This basically allows APR to spool the turbo quickly running high boost at low RPM without the danger of compressor surge. Off the line power is there and it is safe.

To make the upgrade seamless as if it should be from the factory an internally gated wastegate setup is used. The factory ECU is therefore capable of controlling boost making this package work as if it were OEM. Clean, simple, safe, and sophisticated.

The turbo does require a new manifold, new oil lines, new coolant lines, new turbo outlet, new vacuum lines, as well as brackets and associated components to mount. Clearly APR puts a lot of thought into their Golf R turbo upgrade and we can not find any reason to disagree with their choice and approach.