Aftermarket turbo options for the under funded

[ttsupra2503]

POST POSITIVE COMMENTS or CONSTRUCTIVE COMMENTS only please. I dont think anyone cares if you think its a waste of money to not buy a 2000 dollar turbo.

I have been doing a small rebuild and ran into a snag on my mk3 supra. I am running out of money and cant afford a great turbo package right now. I would love to put out 1600-2000 bucks on just a turbo right now but I just cant afford it.

So.... my solution is to use a temp turbo till the good one comes in on a t4 aftermarket manifold.

I know cheap turbo's "aren't worth it" and people repeatedly state "just save up the money for the right one"

Meanwhile my car sits there collecting rust/snow/dust and god knows what other vermin from lack of use. I dont see the harm in using a smaller turbo and keeping the boost lower.

One company doesn't seem to have a bad reputation in the import world (as far as I can find) is CxRacing. A few of their turbo's seem to fit the lower budget builds and could probably be used as a spare/backup for someone needing to get their car moved.
A great example is this handy turbo upgrade
http://www.cxracing.com/mm5/merchan...e=CXR&Product_Code=TRB-T61&Category_Code=TOCH

or if you want to run the different flanges then the stock manifold they have this one for the up and coming tuner. Notice that it comes with a v-band adapter and is originally a 4bolt
http://www.cxracing.com/mm5/merchan...XR&Product_Code=TRB-GT35-2&Category_Code=TOCH

There are a couple others but no where near the pricing I found at cxracing. Everyone else is at least 2 times the price for something still questionable.

Next closest option is from Driftmotion. This is the one I cant afford right now and I know its only 1300 more for the kit or 400 more for the turbo alone... but I am going to school to get a better job as a welder (ps. might be making stuff to sell for other canadians once I am done my course)

http://store.driftmotion.com/static/i-57trimct26turbo.php

http://store.driftmotion.com/static/i-7mgte57trimturbokit.php


So... what this thread is about and I dont really like it when people say to SEARCH for the info. I am looking for up-to-date information on what people have used and maybe links to other sites that sell good cheaper turbo's. Have you used a cxracing turbo? Have you used a driftmotion 57 trim ct26? Did you find a eBay dealer that sells fairly good stuff? This is the type of information that you just cant search for... the stuff that needs to be current or your getting someones bad taste from 5 years ago. That could have been a bad shipment or a bad employee for all we know and 5 years nowadays can change a lot of stuff. As I stated before... POST POSITIVE COMMENTS or CONSTRUCTIVE COMMENTS only please

I will be looking forward to seeing what supramania has to say on the matter for the budget build supra

 

[lithium14]

If a driftmotion 57 trim is an option for you, I would highly suggest an Albert upgraded turbo. He offers more options and I personally have one of his 57 trims just haven't used it yet as my build is still underway.

http://www.supramania.com/forums/showthread.php?146063-Custom-CT26-CT12a-and-CT20-Upgrades

hope that helps

 

[hvyman]

Stock turbo is the cheapest.

If you have a t4 manifold already can use a holset. Can find them used on eBay all the time and rebuilding is cheap.

 

[ttsupra2503]

Well I would definitely choose Alberts upgraded turbo's before choosing something else. I think the main reason for using driftmotions kit was a reference for what a complete manifold to downpipe kit might cost. It is one of the most complete kits that i have seen from a vendor for under 2 thousand dollars that actually seems like it might hold up to the average supra owner

Funny enough, with the mention of spending 1000 bucks on a turbo being "cheap" and no one suggested garrett or turbonetics yet. The ONLY reason I am trying to find temp turbo's and what ones are the actual ones to stay away from and not just calling it all cheap china crap is that at some point you have to draw the line at how much you spend on a part to make a car run. I am not racing this on a track and I am not going to be pushing this turbo to 20 psi. I am looking for something that will get my beloved supra running till I can spend the right amount of money on a full ball bearing turbo from a reputable company. The reason I started this column is for the many others that have the same want or wishes. Finding a cheap replacement to get by till something better comes around.


From some searching in google, I have found that 3 of 4 responses on cxracings gt35 series turbo's have had no issues running under 15psi. However, the 4th person called it cheap china crap that blew seals or blew apart withing 2000 miles. That alone would tell me that they didn't break in the turbo or engine before taking it to the max and blame the turbo for not being able to handle the stupidity ... OR ..... there was a 25% chance of getting a bad turbo that is going to be replaced under warranty.

Any thoughts guys?

Good question for the day

What Garrett or Turbonetics turbo would you pick if you had to keep a budget on a fairly stock motor with MHG and ARP studs?

 

[Grandavi]

I just bought the Driftmotion 57 Trim. I think with turbo elbow, 57 Trim, and a 3" exhaust and downpipe all told is about 1800-1900 in parts. Its not rocket science to install although I am paying to have it done for me (no time and dont trust myself enough to do a quick job). Throw in injectors later with a Lexus AFM, wideband and upgraded fuel pump (and AFPR for some control) and your set. But that is a stage II thing. You should do the exhaust first.. its the biggest bang for the buck upgrade I think.

 

[IndigoMKII]

Well in order for someone to really pick you a turbo they need to know your goals. Are you shooting for 400 rwhp(Upgraded CT) or are you shooting for 600-700 HP(PT6768)?

Just remember, when you buy a cheap part, expect to get what you pay for. Would you cheap out on a set of injectors and run 87 octane?

IIRC Pituala off of celicasupra forums was running a chinese turbo identical to a pt6262, when he did change out to his pt6262 without changing ANYTHING he picked up another 40 rwhp, not even changing his PSI.

This is a bit extreme but still possible. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Za0DieZHMKc

 

[Grandavi]

I don't equate a 2000.00 budget to 400 rwhp unless your good at doing all the work yourself. To me 400 rwhp AND reliability takes a bit more

 

[T3rril79]

I don't equate a 2000.00 budget to 400 rwhp unless your good at doing all the work yourself. To me 400 rwhp AND reliability takes a bit more

^this
It may make horsepower cheaply but not for long guaranteed. Personally I would stick with a ct-26 if possibe and maybe upgrade it until I am ready to move up to a really good t4 unit.

 

[ttsupra2503]

Due to the nature of this thread I want to make it clear I am not arguing any of the posts. Calm discussions are held and talked out so that information can be found from the people that have more experience with this specific car and maybe even experience with a specific part.

I just bought the Driftmotion 57 Trim. I think with turbo elbow, 57 Trim, and a 3" exhaust and downpipe all told is about 1800-1900 in parts. Its not rocket science to install although I am paying to have it done for me (no time and dont trust myself enough to do a quick job). Throw in injectors later with a Lexus AFM, wideband and upgraded fuel pump (and AFPR for some control) and your set. But that is a stage II thing. You should do the exhaust first.. its the biggest bang for the buck upgrade I think.

I have a 3 inch exhaust on the car already, the lexus afm but will be switching to an air temp sensor and map sensor when I change to an AEM standalone. I have stock injectors but I will be buying 550-650 injectors and I will be putting the aem wideband in as well. I have a starter build thread going where I explain what my plans are. I am putting my radiator in the back of the car. Ironically its like what they did to the LFA but I didn't know that till after I had ordered the parts. I will be changing the location of the gas tank in the car as well to make room for the radiator setup. I dont pay people to work on my car at all. Doing stuff myself makes me feel better knowing someone else didn't mess up the easy job. These ugprades will be done within the year but school is in session right now and I just want my motor running.

So.. . with that being said, the topic of this post was where to get a cheap turbo as a temp replacement. There is no goal here other then to get the car running with something that will be comparable to a stock turbo.

To answer if I would cheap out on a set of injectors, I dont know how you would do that and compare an octane level in this equation. Running 87 octane alone isn't as bad as you think if you compensate for the ignition point change and the heat with a chemical intercooler (ie. snow kits) and running "cheap" injectors is just another part on the engine. If your trying to make the car run... sure... if your trying for high horsepower, no way. This is why I started this thread, to show people what they could get for a temporary replacement incase they dont make enough to fix their supra and live their everyday lives within a decent amount of time. I would rather put a cheap part in my car and still be able to drive then have my car sit for a year waiting to afford the "better" part.

I did look up the turbo's that indigo mentioned. I like the pt6768 for sure. What AR. ratio would you pick and I expect that you would suggest a full rebuild on the motor with high performance parts to hit the 600-700 hp mark. That is definitely interesting about pituala getting 40 rwhp without changing his PSI. It will be a topic of discussion between me and a buddy of mine to see if there is a difference in his car as well.

I do agree with going for a ct26 or even a ct26 57 trim to keep cost down. I just like sharing the knowledge of what else they have as an option when they are doing that build incase you live in an area like I do where supra parts and ct26 turbo's are Extremely pricey.

Question - What trim and AR. ratio would you pick in a rebuild or new turbo to make good stock motor HP

I personally like around a 57 trim with a .6 or so AR ratio

 

[IndigoMKII]

I would go with the 6768 and a ported s cover in either .81 or .96 a/r. It's not cheap but it's not the most expensive on the market.

As far as building the block to support it, yes, I would strongly suggest it. Just remember, building a block doesn't make it bullet proof, just more stout to hold up a little longer to a bad tune.

 

[Grandavi]

You said you are putting the radiator in the rear of the car? Did you mean battery? I'm having trouble picturing this on a MK3...

 

[1986.5supra_kid]

there are OEM turbos on cars in the salvage yards. usually can be cheaply rebuilt. but the holset is a cheap reliable option. $40 to rebuild if the blades are still intact.

 

[ttsupra2503]

You said you are putting the radiator in the rear of the car? Did you mean battery? I'm having trouble picturing this on a MK3...

Nope.... I meant the radiator. not the factory one but a radiator none-the-less. I will be removing the spare tire holder and moving the gas tank to allow the space I need to put a radiator in the back with proper wind deflection to cool it down. This will allow for more fluid and less under hood heat. I will also have the space to put in a different intercooler and piping.

Where I live... the civic idiots take all the turbo's from the wrecking yards. The last 4g63 turbo I saw vanished in 3 hours from the time it got out into a yard.

 

[te72]

Nope.... I meant the radiator. not the factory one but a radiator none-the-less. I will be removing the spare tire holder and moving the gas tank to allow the space I need to put a radiator in the back with proper wind deflection to cool it down. This will allow for more fluid and less under hood heat. I will also have the space to put in a different intercooler and piping.

Where I live... the civic idiots take all the turbo's from the wrecking yards. The last 4g63 turbo I saw vanished in 3 hours from the time it got out into a yard.

Were you the one who had the rally cross Mk3 with the radiator in the back, that ended up blowing a hose or something like that?

I like the idea of moving weight off the nose to balance out the handling a little, but I'm having a difficult time seeing how efficient it could be. How do you intend to route fresh air to it? I don't mean to drag the thread off topic (seems like you have a plan though, right?), but you're going to need to mount it fairly vertical if I am picturing it right. Cool idea for a toy car, no pun intended.

 

[ttsupra2503]

No worries, I will be using a block type radiator instead of the original radiator and each block is 4"deep x 4 inches high x 8 inches wide they are 6 pass coolers and you can link them together. The air flow nder the car is what I would be using to cool it. I could also vent from the size windows if I chose to. Running a scoop down under the car. My friend found the coolers for me, he is a mechanical engineer and I will try and find a listing for them as soon as we make it work. We are also doing his turbo civic. He is running 350 hp right now on his 1.6L at 26 lbs boost.

Efficiency wont be an issue, I know the air flow wont be forced like the front of the car but the coolers will have fans across the back of them to make sure that they pull air. We are going to try and run an air simulation to see what type of flow we will get with what is back there incase the fans fail. I also want to try running inline coolers like the ones on my snowmobile under the car. They take a lot of abuse so I am not worried about the but will be adding some basic protective bars just incase. It seems like a lot of work when you write it out but it looks to be around 2 days to convert if we take our time. That would be with fixing any minor issues or re-plumbing the rear if needed.

On the original turbo subject. I have decided that if I need to buy a temp turbo I am going to buy the following one to try out.

http://www.cxracing.com/mm5/merchan...XR&Product_Code=TRB-GT35-2&Category_Code=TOCH

at that price, even if I have to replace the seals or the whole turbo in a half year. I dont really care. It will only be for temp use as a backup.

 

[te72]

Well I wish you luck in your endeavors, it does sound kinda cool, and would make it VERY easy to run intercooler piping. Hmm... actually this gives me an idea on the v-mount idea I was thinking about. I take it you're mounting the radiators where the stock fuel tank would have been?

As far as fresh air goes, I'm not sure how difficult it would be, but you could look into how cars like the NSX, Corvette, and MkIV Supra run air to the rear brakes/engine through air inlets on the side of the body.

Anyway, good luck with el-cheapo turbo, if it lasts, awesome, if not, you have a cool paperweight.