hmmmm, well this is what I’ve seen. All failure rate in a span of 10,000KM
10 Garrett turbos used - 4 Failed for various different reasons
10 China turbos used - 2 Failed for various different reasons
They were all GT28RS turbos.
I can’t really use these as a valid comparison though because these were all in completely different vehicles, they all have different drivers and they are all treated different ways, but usually if you see a turbo live past 10,000KM, it’ll usually live fine till a 100,000KM and beyond.
Reason you see more China Turbo failures is because people usually look out just for the China Turbo reliability issues whereas, the Garrett ones are usually assumed to be good. Secondly, China turbo owners are vocal about it because they try to return it for warranty and they get pissed off, so they spread the word on the net. Garrett has better warranty. I’ve spoken to a few guys before buying these that say they love their China turbos, only because they followed the proper break in procedure and made sure the installation was proper.
One thing that definately is a mixed bag though, is the Warranty associated with most China Turbo vendors. Horrible mixed emotions where the Garretts are usually just replaced in a quick manner in their warranty term.