Opinions on my options

[johnny_boy83]

Ok for starters the car currently sports a freshly built (12000 miles) jdm, stock bore longblock with original factory internals and a modified CT-26 running a 62-1 compressor wheel. My engine mod list is as follows:

LIPP LEXAFM body
LIPP turbo elbow
custom 3inch exhaust
rps blue plate special with street disk for smoothness in a clutch
Precision turbo 560cc injectors
walbro fuel pump
aeromotive adjustable fpr
greddy type RS BOV
steel ic pipes with a spearco cored ic
Greddy prof B spec II
CFS aluminum racing radiator
PCV system moved to catch can

Now comes the hard part, since I put the AFM in I still havent gotten beyond 15psi, I got a new black box and that brought me to 16psi, I even tied my old BOV port and the PCV port on the accordian hose together with a filter for shits an giggles and it still hit fuel cut at 17psi. At this point I have had this setup on the car for 3 years so if I had a boost leak than you'd think I'd have noticed it between 2 rebuilds and a few pressure tests of the IC system. It may be a bad ECU incorrectly interpreting the black box signal but now I'm into speculation because I have no evidence. If I have the boost controller stabilize below FCO then it will hold at that pressure and not cut before the redline even if its a 4th gear pull from 60-125mph.

In addition I have been slowly accumulating a smoking exhaust on deceleration and idle that smells vaguely like castrol syntec :3d_frown: If I do not let the turbo pass from vacuum to boost when I'm driving the smoke is little or non existant. It does NOT smoke upon acceleration. It smokes if I allow the car to engine brake at all or if I downshift approaching a stop. If I put the car in neutral it will often have whisps of smoke trailing the car if I am coming off the interstate. I can rev the car while I'm coasting in neutral on the offramp and smoke pours from the exhaust for a few seconds then stops. I have disconnected the powersteering and the pcv in search of possible fluid induction areas. The car is as bad as ever so I'm leaning to turbo charger (thank the lord the JDM had a turbo on it). After I test the JDM turbo on it I will know for certain but I think that's what it is. And when the boost controller is off the boost creeps up to 0.9 bar so the actuator for the JDM is goin on too. I don't really give a crap about RWHP. My goal is a street car that runs with most of the new staged srt-4s, gto's and ideally the newer vettes with the 440 bhp ls2. Basically mid to low 12's. Here's what I'm thinkin. Since I want to boost around 18psi at maximum....probably 15psi in reality:

New modded CT-26
BOSS turbo
935 gt30r
greddy upgrade turbo
sound performance bolt on 61 mm GT

I think I may be happier with the BOSS 550 that 935 has, but I kinda wonder if the modded CT-26 would do all I needed. I want quick spool with a reasonably competitive amount of power. The thing I'm wondering is....I've had this turbo for 4 years. It has about 40000 miles on it and for the frist 20000 it never saw more than maybe 10-12psi. Now that it may be failing I wonder what life I can get from another modded CT. I'm thinkin a smaller T04E may suit my purposes and leave enough overhead as to not overstress the turbo too much.

So in summary- do I need a new turbo and ECU and if so what would be the optimum turbo choice really for my goal? Personal experience with similar problems would be a help but feel free to chime in with any constructive criticism or ideas. However, I am on a budget and I am not looking to build the new ride for the Slow and the Stoopid so I respectfully request suggestions be reasonable and able to be tested.
Thanks in advance- John

 

[oscolivar1]

ive done sum studying and ive been looking at the JT56 lightning turbo, PM jtamulis. way better then the upgraded ct i think.
or just go for the boss series, i heard its a great turbo.
heres the page for the JT turbo
http://notrice.com/shop/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=2&products_id=32
it uses a bullydog wastegate, 3 in. inlet 2 in outlet, uses stock mani,u can use a bic dp et.

with your mods etc looks like your going to looking at around 400+, so i dunno its up to you and your wallet

 

[johnny_boy83]

I actually looked at that one too, I just forgot to list it :icon_bigg I was looking hard at that one. I already PMed Jon at MDC about what he knew bout my ill fated turbo. He says it is likely to be oil seals which seconds my thoughts. Even though I can pick up the modded CT for ~$700 i think that 1400 well spent on a turbo likely to last longer and flow better wouldn't be that bad compared to $700 every 20000 miles or so. i do like the idea of the lightning for the same reasons i was looking at the smallest BOSS series. But 935 is advertising the BOSS 550 in flavor 54 for 1195 and it says all included. "The quoted price here is for 54 Trim standard, 360 degree bearing, bolt on, no elbow included, stage 4 turbine wheel, with all needed lines and fittings."
https://935motorsports.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=79_14_64_236&products_id=1098
First things first I need to go test to make sure the turbo is the problem.

 

[oscolivar1]

does it come with the wastegate...
i dont really know when that thing starts to spool do u know? (54 trim)
i dunno i think i still want the JT lgihtning, but i always change my setup so i dunno.
Can the Boss fit a BIC DP, i dunno if the patterns are the same at the back.

 

[djordan97]

pulled this off that web page bud.
"The quoted price here is for 54 Trim standard, 360 degree bearing, bolt on, no elbow included, stage 4 turbine wheel, with all needed lines and fittings."
I've been dealing with jtamulis for probably the last 3 weeks with some problems I been having and the way he has treated me and helped me I won't even consider going anyplace else without talking to him first. he's VERY professional and courteous.

 

[oscolivar1]

yes he is...
i pmed him one time and he never pmed me back but he always rechecks his pm incase he missed ppl. So he Pmed me ASAP and called me earlier that day to talk about turbo's and he convinced me the JT is a way better choice then the CT.
so yea he is a great guy. Rob @ 935 is also trying to pull up his customer service. he's had problems with a couple of ppl with returns/waiting and such (always get resolved tho), but he's treated me very well. i will be doing biusness with both guys.

 

[johnny_boy83]

The 54 is the smallest model BOSS turbo and there by also (I assume) the fastest spooling. It is however a 500hp turbo not a 400+ so since it is not ball bearing then it would tend to spool slower than the Lightning. I am strongly considering the lightning and i have talked to Jon before. I also have had good dealings with 935 as well. The two turbos share the LIPP housing so they are direct fit on the exhaust manifold and my hi flow elbow. I am unsure that 935 really means the $1195 on the BOSS since that is usually the base price minus the installation kit. They also mention at the bottom of the page that the stainless line kit is $200. I was under the impression that a complete BOSS kit came with all stainless lines already so i wonder what they mean by that. Regardless the two are approximately the same price range and beyond that my concern is which turbo suits my needs best. It would suck to run out of boost when i wanted to keep cranking it because the turbo was small :icon_bigg So my decision if the turbo is bad is actually more about which serves better my purpose and my engine's ability. I'm divided now :icon_conf

and i quoted 935 already in my post about their listing :biglaugh:

 

[oscolivar1]

which ever spools the fastest is FTW

 

[johnny_boy83]

Ok little update. Just to make sure all the possibilities were taken care of I drained the oil and put in 3 quarts of 5-30 and 1 quart Dextron 3 ATF. I ran it for 15 minutes...much to my neighbors displeasure....it looked like an exxon refinery. I revved the engine good a few times and after the smoking stopped at idle i took a quick spin. The smoking has reduced but it still smokes.:3d_frown: Markedly if i rev the engine to 2000 rpm from idle with it parked it will NOT smoke. When i let off the throttle after a few seconds a big white puff of smoke rolls out. After that puff clears if anything comes out at all its whisps so light you have to stare at the exhaust tip to see them. I think it's my exhaust side turbocharger oil seal but I'm not sure. Any advice on testing before I try and rip my turbo off and put the JDM on?

BTW I meant that the 54 is the fastest spooling BOSS turbo earlier...being the smallest they offer. Sorry for not being clear about my thoughts.

 

[djordan97]

the problem with a situation like that with your turbo is it only get's worse it doesn't get any better. I would check for shaft play in the turbo it may not necisarrily have side to side shaft play but it may just be forward and back. that was what was with my last turbo. if you have any shaft play and with what you have already described then your turbo is definately on it's way out the door.

 

[johnny_boy83]

Just to address the final verdict......TSRM specification for axial shaft play is something like 0.00051 inch......my axial shaft play 0.1250 inches........Turbo 62-1 is dead as a doornail. At its funeral the eulogy will be given by its succesor once chosen. It will likely be a BOSS 550 54 trim for 450 bhp given my mods and goals. I think it will make an excellent street turbo and if anyone has any experience with one I'd love to hear about it........and Malloy doesn't count.....a 67 is way outta my league 468 whp at 18 psi first try............:aigo:
I think it'd make a nice streetable match for modded srt's and most vettes. Ideally I'd like to take a Z06 but the new ones run 11.8 and I dont think I can afford that much modification.

62-1 CT26 R.I.P.- 40000 miles and many races won ( a few lost too)