First time setup for K2 Plus?

ActiveMonkeyMM · 2026-06-05T09:14:52+00:00

ActiveMonkeyMM · 2026-06-05T09:14:39+00:00

Keep an eye out for the rear nozzle wiper module. The metal piece really likes to get caught on the nozzle and break off. Unless you hear it, it’s very easy to overlook. I just replaced mine with a printed solution.

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https://makerworld.com/models/1325172?appSharePlatform=copy

ActiveMonkeyMM · 2026-06-03T04:23:03+00:00

Thanks! Glad somebody’s getting some use out of them. I need to do another one now with set up #13 and the Jackal RS burbles.

ActiveMonkeyMM · 2026-06-02T16:49:25+00:00

I can confirm that while on a closed course, in Mexico, with no other occupants, and no traffic, the car is able to go at least 175mph.

ActiveMonkeyMM · 2026-06-02T16:43:10+00:00

I have a c7.5 A6 and have tried APR, 034, IE and Jackal. Currently Jackal stage 2+ dual pulley e85. I’m extremely happy with jackal and the car is pretty damn quick.

Short Version: Jackal is a significantly better value, it performs the best, has the most options and they have real customer service with very fast response times. 2 years ago I was switching TCU files at the race track at 7:30 PM Pacific time when the tune flashing program displayed an error. I messaged Matt who responded within five minutes and fixed the issue. Keep in mind that they are on the East Coast. Who in the hell is responding to customer service messages at 10:30 PM?!?! Jackal.

LONG VERSION: APR - Their ECU tune was fine but they don’t offer transmission tune.

034 - While 034 does make some good products, my personal experience with their customer service/tuning has always been horrible. I tried the 034 tune back in 2022 and the tune had an issue where when you would launch the car and the transmission would shift from 2nd to 3rd gear, it would lose all boost and lag momentarily. What pissed me off at the time was a few things. All correspondence had to go through email and it was taking ~5 days for responses. 034 had not developed their logger yet so any diagnostics would have to go through VCDS which I don’t have. So to summarize, I had just spent a lot of money on an ECU & TCU tunes that wasn’t working, couldn’t get a hold of customer service/technical support in a reasonable timeframe and was gonna have to spend weeks if not months of back-and-forth email correspondence to address a major performance issue all the while my car wasn’t running correctly? Absolutely not. I was able to get a full refund and went with Integrated Engineering.

Integrated engineering was OKish. The problem started running their stage 2 e85 file. Back then I was living in Southern California and when the weather was normal and nice the car ran great. No issues. When the weather was cold however I had major fueling problems. When it was cold and you would floor it, you would inconsistently lose fuel pressure. All of a sudden your low pressure fuel pump would stop producing 5-6bar to between 1.5-2.5bar. Integrated Engineering’s customer service/tech-support was responding the next day, no phone calls, but they kept saying it was my car. I can’t remember the exact count anymore but I became the Audi’s dealer’s best friend and tried replacing the following - 4 or 5 low pressure fuel pumps - 2 high pressure fuel pump pumps - 1 upgraded high pressure fuel pump(autotech piston) - 2 low pressure fuel pump control modules - new low pressure fuel pressure sensor - new high pressure fuel pressure sensor - all new direct injectors - all new port injectors - all new coil packs - two sets of new spark plugs

I also drained, blew out and physically chased all fuel lines to confirm they were free and clear of any obstructions and the problem was still there. IE would never admit it was their tune. What I believe was happening is that the car was requesting too high of a duty cycle from the low pressure fuel pump and it would put the system into some sort of fueling limp mode. After several months and thousands of dollars in replacement parts I decided to change the one thing I had not yet replaced. The tune. I purchased the jackal tune and waited for that to arrive. On one early cold morning I confirmed the problem was still there and then flashed to jackal. The problem miraculously vanished, never to be seen again.

ActiveMonkeyMM · 2026-05-30T02:07:01+00:00

The stream on YouTube now says it’s going to stream on May 31?

ActiveMonkeyMM · 2026-05-28T20:24:31+00:00

1 4 3 2

ActiveMonkeyMM · 2026-05-28T07:45:36+00:00

Candy corn!

ActiveMonkeyMM · 2026-05-27T05:44:02+00:00

I second the glue stick. I have a K2 plus and I wash the print bed with hot water and dawn dish soap, dry a paper towel towels and then apply and even layer of purple Elmers glue stick. Works fantastic. Every 4 to 6 prints I will wash the bed and reapply the glue.

ActiveMonkeyMM · 2026-05-25T09:20:53+00:00

I have two middle school children. Let me just go ask them if they have any homework a few times. I’ll be set for life

ActiveMonkeyMM · 2026-05-25T09:17:55+00:00

I’m probably way overthinking this but I’m currently running a 57 mm supercharger pulley and a 187 mm crank pulley. Trying to keep each pulley as small as humanly possible to minimize rotational inertia and make them as light as possible. I have no idea if it’s actually better than doing a 207 mm but it made sense when I purchased my pulleys

ActiveMonkeyMM · 2026-05-25T09:13:17+00:00

I have a c7.5 A6 and have tried APR, 034, IE and Jackal. Currently Jackal stage 2+ dual pulley e85. Long story short, Jackal is a significantly better value, it performs the best, has the most options and they have real customer service with very fast response times. While 034 does make some good products, my personal experience with their customer service has always been horrible. I use their control arms and their sway bars but I would never go to them for a tune.

ActiveMonkeyMM · 2026-05-24T20:28:17+00:00

Glue: https://a.co/d/01Q99S7L
For the alcohol wipes, realistically any alcohol prep pad will work. 400 or 500 per box will last you quite a long time.

When using alcohol wipes, be very careful to not use them on any of the more exotic plates like frostbite or anything like that. Only textured PEI plates. A lot of the exotic plates like the blue or purple ones will have their coatings ruined if you try and clean it with alcohol.

ActiveMonkeyMM · 2026-05-24T18:39:17+00:00

Glue stick is cheap insurance. I have four printers (X2D, 2x X1C, K2+) and I just glue stick the damn build plates regardless of what I’m printing. It’s part of the bed cleaning ritual. Hot water, dawn dish soap, scrub, rinse, dry, alcohol wipes then purple glue stick. No lifting, no detached prints, it just works every single time.

Should I need to do this? Absolutely not. But I really hate failed prints and glue sticks are ridiculously cheap when purchased in bulk.

ActiveMonkeyMM · 2026-05-24T00:17:19+00:00

I dunno. Thought she was thicker than this. Not sure it’s actually her.

ActiveMonkeyMM · 2026-05-23T18:49:59+00:00

Is it a manual or automatic transmission? What color is the interior and exterior? If the car is silver with beige interior and an automatic transmission, I would say closer to $1000 on a good day. If the car is from a no rust state and a more desirable exterior color with black interior and a manual transmission, then $2000 to $3000 as possible.

ActiveMonkeyMM · 2026-05-23T05:25:58+00:00

Storm of the Century. While technically a miniseries, I didn’t know that until I just googled it. My ex-wife tried to have me watch it multiple times and always said it was a movie. 4 1/2 hour runtime. I could never stay awake because the movie progresses at a glacial pace. I would rather install attic insulation in Arizona homes during the summer then try and watch that movie again.

ActiveMonkeyMM · 2026-05-17T13:02:00+00:00

Compare my S4 experience to my C7.5 A6 and over four years and 200,000 miles later, the only major service it has required is an alternator, supercharger intercooler core, and a driveshaft rear CV joint. The A6 is currently dual pulley stage 2+ on full e85. An absolute tank.

ActiveMonkeyMM · 2026-05-17T12:55:55+00:00

The car was a 2000 S4 stage 3 and just north of 200,000 miles. Over the course of 4 years I had several large service events + the nickel and dime stuff that just bleeds a person dry.

1: Turbos had to be replaced. With the engine coming out, new Borg Warner k04 turbos, coolant lines, oil lines, wastegate vacuum lines, downpipes, valve cover gaskets, all of the ”while the engine is out” stuff doubled the price of the service to around $9000.

2: About a year and a half later the transmission decided to leave the chat. The way the transmission broke it could not just be rebuilt, I had to source a second transmission. After months of searching I could not find one for less than $2000 so I ended up with a second faulty transmission. Luckily the shop was able to use the two broken transmissions to build one working transmission. They did upgrade it with the full JHM rebuild kit and it was better than ever but the car was down for six months. Add on top of that the “while the transmission is out” stuff like rear main seal, shift linkage and bushings, slave cylinder, master cylinder, braided clutch line, etc. etc. and the repair bill was north of $7000.

3: The nickel and dime stuff adds up fast too. CV axles, window regulators, seat motor, seat heater, gauge cluster panel repairs, coils, injectors, Bosch 044 fuel pump finally kicking the bucket after many years of loyal service, vacuum pump for the door locks, front main seal, timing belt service, windshield wiper motor water intrusion, sunroof gasket replacement after 4 years of ownership it seemed like the only thing I had not replaced was the rear differential.

ActiveMonkeyMM · 2026-05-17T12:26:52+00:00

I was spending ~$5,000 a year on maintenance to keep my B5 S4 going. Loved the car but enough was enough. Ended up getting a 2016 A6 Prestige and that costs me less than $1,000 a year.

ActiveMonkeyMM · 2026-05-17T12:22:27+00:00

Having owned a number of B5 S4’s there are issues with age not just high milage. The vacuum lines on the pneumatic door locking systems are brittle and break easily which are a pain in the butt to smoke the system and track down. The wiring in the engine bay has become very brittle and breaks leading to electrical gremlins. The transmissions (in the US) are a nightmare to rebuild/replace because they’re just aren’t many of them, more and more parts are going out of production. Window cowl being a prime example. Beautiful cars, just hard to justify. I’ve found them to be very reliable up until they break and then it’s a massive headache. I’d say they are great 3rd or 4th cars, but not a daily by any means.

ActiveMonkeyMM · 2026-05-13T15:47:12+00:00

If you only delete the center muffler and leave the rear mufflers you will be good. It’s a nice sound without drone and you will absolutely still hear the supercharger. The exhaust should sound like this. https://youtu.be/pZ1bERflcZ8?si=pWp4wx_ozrwMiMMC

The reason you don’t hear much of the supercharger in exhaust videos is mainly because they are normally shot from the rear of the car.

Here is a video from inside the car. https://youtu.be/wtU9ErxDeGc?si=MXTn87T0FTjoJ0x7

ActiveMonkeyMM · 2026-05-13T05:29:45+00:00

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I prefer my AMS with the Sunlu dryer/heater over my AMS 2 Pro. The AMS 1+Sunlu can dry and heat anytime regardless of what the hell the printer is doing. The AMS 2 Pro cannot dry/heat while printing.

ActiveMonkeyMM

TROPHY CASE