My turbo options.

Ok so I’ve diced my turbo. (Compressor and turbine fins are damaged) Here are my options. Tell me which you think is best and why.

  1. New Journal Bearing T31/T04e for 600$ (After 100$ reimbursement for my busted Innovative Turbo)
  1. Rebuild my old Innovative T3/T4 Street Heat 57 with ball bearing instead of the journal bearing. -900$

http://www.innovativeturbo.com/pages/cart_itemDetails.asp?sku=SH57

  1. Brand New Ball Bearing Garrett GT2871r 1250$

Is ball bearing only better for a faster spool? Cuz if that’s the case I’ll probably stick with the journal bearing turbo as my Innovative spooled up damn quick as it was.

OPtion 3 ftw.

I dunno… If there’s nothing better about ball bearing than just quicker spool I’m probably gonna go with option 1.

agreed

Both of you truly believe that ball bearings are worth it for double the price?? Cuz I’m not convinced just because you guys so say. (with absolutely no reasons to why you think it’s better.) As I said my journal bearing turbo spooled very quickly and it didn’t die because of the journal bearing it died because I put a spark plug through my exhaust.

well i am sayin that turbo cuz i love the turbo on my car. it made the world of a difference for me. how quick it spools and doesn’t spike. just a great turbo for my setup and wut i’m lookin for.

Ballbearing turbos are more efficient so they create less heat, allowing you to get some more power at the same boost pressures. And if you liked the spool time on your journal bearing turbo, youl love the powerband on a ballbearing turbo. Plus it isnt just about spool time, but response from the turbo when gettin on an off of the gas in higher rpm. If it wasnt worth the extra money, nobody would buy them.

I just find it very very hard to justify paying double for what seems like minor gains…

then why u askin? seems to me u know wut u want to do

Cuz I’m a flake and I really want someone to convince me that the GT is worth the extra price tag. From what I’ve found out after researching and asking tons of questions and crap it’s not just the ball bearings in the GTs that are what make em so wicked… It’s the whole design and shit. Another plus to the journal bearing turbos tho is that if the bearing goes. It can be rebuilt for 150$. All the internals and everything as well if need can be ordered from Garrett. The GTs are very hard to rebuild as it’s very very hard to get parts… The guy I’ve been talking to says 1000$ + to rebuild the GTs.

Option 3… My ball bearing turbo was the best hting I ever did… If your going to build the engine this is a better route.

Well… I’m pretty well 100% gonna buy the T31. I figure since it’s all still a learning process for me and this car is my DD as well, that the T31 will be alil more friendly if I do dice something.

I run the GT2871R. I’ve run it now for over 50k kms. I boost now daily @ 11psi. (use to boost 8psi daily and 11 at the track only) My turbo has zero shaft play and runs like a top. It’s been in the car now for 3 years. I drive it all year, from 30 below to 30 above.

That is all.

It all comes down to getting what you pay for really. Here is my weak illustration. Sure a VHS does the trick if you wanna watch a movie, but they are outdated, and a DVD will look much better. You can pay 50 cents at a garage sale get a VHS player and get some pleasure out of it. Or you can go to walmart and get a DVD player for $40 and watch the same movie on DVD and get some more pleasure out of it. Was it really worth the extra $39.50 to watch the same movie but just with better quality? Well that answer is up to you. I choose to spend the extra money on the BB turbo because i feel it is worth it, but i know people who dont. Nobody cant prove to you that it is worth it, it comes down to you deciding if the amount you gain is worth the money.

nice grippy

no, it’d be more like comparing HD-DVD to regular DVD; not many people notice the difference anyway.

too many people harp about GT BB turbos being better because it’s the only thing they’ve tried. well i have an HKS GT2530R, and yes, it spools early and responds smoothly, but you’ll be kicking yourself when you can’t rebuild it, and the guy next to you with the T3/T4 57 trim spools only 150 rpm later than you, but has 450- hp capability.

when you talk efficiency, you’re talking 77% to 76% comparison. not to mention most T3/T4’s aren’t water cooled, so it’s less work to install. My GT2530 burns a bit of coolant at full boost now. i’m afraid it’s time to replace the seals after two year of ownership, and only about 19,000 km’s. it’s had it’s fair share of beatings, and i winter drove one year, but next time i’m going T3 hybrid all the way next time.

no, it’d be more like comparing HD-DVD to regular DVD; not many people notice the difference anyway.

too many people harp about GT BB turbos being better because it’s the only thing they’ve tried. well i have an HKS GT2530R, and yes, it spools early and responds smoothly, but you’ll be kicking yourself when you can’t rebuild it, and the guy next to you with the T3/T4 57 trim spools only 150 rpm later than you, but has 450- hp capability.

when you talk efficiency, you’re talking 77% to 76% comparison. not to mention most T3/T4’s aren’t water cooled, so it’s less work to install. My GT2530 burns a bit of coolant at full boost now. i’m afraid it’s time to replace the seals after two year of ownership, and only about 19,000 km’s. it’s had it’s fair share of beatings, and i winter drove one year, but next time i’m going T3 hybrid all the way next time.[/quote]

comparing your post to mine just goes to show that everyone can have different experiences and opinions. You just really need to do your research and then combine that with what your gut tells you.

To the thread starter:

HOWEVER, that said, if you know nothing about turbos and aren’t really wanting to get into it from a maintenance perspective and your looking for an after-market system that’s virtually maintenance free, well that’s going to be hard to get.

Mine has been pretty good to me and I’ve still had the whole thing stripped down 3 times in as many years even for just little things. You have to get your hands dirty if you want to play this game unless you have endless cash to pay someone else to do it while you remain oblivious to what’s going on and how you can fix it when it does break. It’s a learning process man.

Why do you do it? Because it’s like an adrenaline boost every time that bitch spools up and surprises the fuck out of some knuckle head who thought they had something.

I understand that there are going to be issues… But why not minimize the setbacks if there are issues in a daily driver. I drive my car all year round so for me the benefits of the journal bearing (cheaper, easier to rebuild if shit hits the fan) outweighed the performance gains of the GT turbo. I go to the track once every couple weeks. I drive my car to and from work every single day.

I’m not afraid to do stuff on my car man. The only things I’ve paid people to do is swap my tires, install my clutch (woulda done myself if I had the time), rebuild my head, and minor exhaust work since I can’t weld. Everything else I have done in my own garage.

Then it sounds like journal bearing is for you. And to mikesil, the comment about comparing BB to journal bearing, saying you’re talking 77% to 76% comparison is absolutely incorrect. The gains are much more than that, and certainly more than a 150 rpm increase in spool, so please stop spreading incorrect information on this site.

a quote from AMZ tech

“Turbo Response – When driving a vehicle with the cartridge ball bearing turbocharger, you will find exceptionally crisp and strong throttle response. Garrett Ball Bearing turbochargers spool up 15% faster than traditional journal bearings. This produces an improved response that can be converted to quicker 0-60 mph speed. In fact, some professional drivers of Garrett ball-bearing turbocharged engines report that they feel like they are driving a big, normally aspirated engine.”

So it is a 15% difference, not 1% as you mentioned.

I love this guy couldnt have said it better myself. If your not on a shoe string budget get the BB power delivery is so quick and smooth its 1940s technology compared to 1990s technology that has fianally become affordable for the average guy.