The opinion thread Garrett or Turbonetics

[SPD TRP]

Well, I did the searches, went to the Turbo section here, googled, now I want those with 1j'd singles to chime in and have your opinions voiced.

I want opinions on a/r's, footprints, warranties, customer service, workmanship, rebuidability, and overall satisfaction or dis-satisfaction; whatever the case may be.

I have narrowed it down to one of these makers-- the Garrett 35r or Turbonetics comparable model.

As my twins slowly start to die (sounds like some death whine), I need to make a descision on which way to go. I have already started to compile parts for the transformation.

What I do know is, i would like an antisurge housing, 4" in 2.5" out, dual BB, 44mm wastegate, all v-band, and about 450 daily driven hp. I want something fun from stoplight to stoplight sort of speaking meaning I don't want to wait all day to build boost.

I have read about Garrett T3 and T4 footprints yeilding different results in relation to hp but still within the same a/r's or very close to the same.

I just need some guidance from the powers that be, and any help, opinions, or personal preference would be greatly appreciated.

Wayne

 

[viperkillertt]

One other good option that a lot of guys are choosing is the Holset turbos that are from the Dodge Rams. They are bullet proof and handle a ton of power. Also they are very economical, some people get a good one for around 300 bucks.

 

[SPD TRP]

Man, the more I read, the more confused I get.

How does the holeset spool? What is the footprint?

For a long time it was the garrett gt35r when the twins went out. Well the end for them is at the beginning, so I have been taking up my research once again.

I thought I had narrowed it down to two choices 35r or one of the gtk series from turbonetics.

Well there is another player-- the FP HTA 35r and the masterturbo generic 35r.

I was just hoping to hear some real life experiences and opinions about any of the "35r" series turbos.

Thanks for your reply

Wayne

 

[Supra-Man18]

Holsets are nice... But pertaining to the thread question Id go with Garrett.. Long lasting, good power.. Overall happiness

 

[viperkillertt]

Yes, many people are very happy with their 35r's.

 

[xsjado]

My build should be done soon, getting a custom made Turbonetics GT-K 550(T4, .81a/r, 3" vband). Have an almost identical setup to what you are chasing, antisurge housing, 4" in 2.5" out, single BB, water cooled, 44mm wastegate and should be good for around 600RWHP. Reason I went with a custom made one is because I have a T4 manifold and the T3 version comes with a 4 bolt exit instead of vband. Problem was the production time, over 1 month! Should be around another month till it is all up and running so if you wait that long I should have some videos up .

 

[SPD TRP]

My build should be done soon, getting a custom made Turbonetics GT-K 550(T4, .81a/r, 3" vband). Have an almost identical setup to what you are chasing, antisurge housing, 4" in 2.5" out, single BB, water cooled, 44mm wastegate and should be good for around 600RWHP. Reason I went with a custom made one is because I have a T4 manifold and the T3 version comes with a 4 bolt exit instead of vband. Problem was the production time, over 1 month! Should be around another month till it is all up and running so if you wait that long I should have some videos up .

Went to your build thread, really nice and thought out build.

How did you decide on the GTK550 as opposed to the gt35?


Wayne

 

[foreverpsycotic]

How does the holeset spool? What is the footprint?

Spools quick (should see full boost at 3500-4000 with a 12cm^2 housing.) and violently (full vac to full boost in 1krpm or less). It is a t3 footprint with everything from a 9cm^2 to a 16cm^2.

One other good option that a lot of guys are choosing is the Holset turbos that are from the Dodge Rams. They are bullet proof and handle a ton of power. Also they are very economical, some people get a good one for around 300 bucks.

Try $40

 

[86_sports_1jz]

have you tried looking at precision turbos?

 

[xsjado]

Went to your build thread, really nice and thought out build.

How did you decide on the GTK550 as opposed to the gt35?


Wayne

I said to myself every man and his dog is running a GT35. As far as I know my 1JZ will be the only one in Aus running a GTK 550 so I figured why not.

 

[Evilempire1.3JZ-GTE]

I would go with GT35R/40R garret is good been out a long time and rebuildable by most places I would say T4 with split port for quicker spool. With DBB you get way faster spool but i hear its harder to rebuild bearing driven turbos. 73ar cool side 70-80s ar hotside.

I dont think the GT35Rs are prone to surging like other turbos so you should be fine with out the surg supression fins which been reported to cause a little lag. But thats nothing a little machine shop riffiling on the intake couldnt fix if you have slight surging.

 

[p5150]

Seems to be some basic misunderstanding about turbos in this thread so I will make an attempt to clear it up. Here is a copy of a post I put up in another thread.

Not trying to start a war or argue with anybody specifically but I think this is kind of misleading by saying that Precision "makes" the GT .... or that ITS "makes" whatever turbo they have; it gives some people unfamiliar with the whole thing a false sense of who really manufactures their equipment. On the fact that its a PT67 compressor - precision doesnt make compressors. Its a Garrett compressor that they have branded as their own.

Most of the turbo companies in the US do that - not that its a bad thing. Some of the turbos have very effective matches/mis matches for the motor they are being mounted on. Custom housings also give each turbo manufacturer a claim to their unique product, but when it comes down to it most turbos have garrett internals. They also have extensive race experience and customer feedback, something I wish that Garrett/Honeywell would spend a little more time on.

Personally, I prefer to stick with a turbine/compressor housing that was designed by the same company/engineers that designed the turbine wheel. Thats why I purchased the turbo I wanted for my application from a garrett distributor and didnt go crazy with an "anti-surge" delete or radical change custom housing.

Another thing I wanted to talk about is the whole T66 vs GT40 vs SPblahblahblah vs ITSblah vs PTblahGT vs blah blah blah. What really matters most is the efficiency of the WHEEL and TURBINE. Yes, housing is important, but if each wheel of equal size (GT series vs. T Series) is put in the appropriate size housing to maximize efficiency the GT will always win. Why? Just like a stock MKIV will kill a stock MKIII. Its a newer, more advanced and efficient design that was created to take the place of its predecessor.

It really cracks me up to see people comparing a T whatever to another turbo with a GT wheel and going on and on about how it is so much better because its an SP63 and its so much better than a GT40 or some other stupid shit. If price isnt the justification for preference of a T-series over a GT equipped turbo then they are WRONG. Yes, it might spool faster or flow more in the top end but it certainly wont do BOTH. Sorry - take it how you want but thats the way it is.

/rant
_____

And here is another section from a different post

Clipped is referring to trimming the turbine wheel to allow more exhaust gas to escape. Because the exhaust housing is so small on the CT26, some people do the clip as a band aid of sorts - it keeps the turbo from choking off the motor on the top end by taking some of it away and opening up the exhaust more. Its ok to get around the problem on the CT26; not the preferred method but it works. Increasing the clipping will eventually reach the point of diminishing returns - it will not spool the turbine as effectively and eventually you will run out of air....

Thats why it is important to have a properly matched exhaust housing (A/R) and turbine for your motor. Properly sized turbos do not have clipped wheels which produces maximum efficiency.

60-1 to4e is the name of a compressor wheel version manufactured by Garrett. They also make the "GT" series wheels which have been designed to take the place of the old "T" series wheels that have been around for years. If somebody tells you that their T series turbo is more efficient than a GT series then you need to kick them in the balls because they are retarded.

Many turbo companies (Precision, turbonetics, Sound Performance, etc) use some type of t3 or t4 wheel in a custom housing combination and name it their own. Some of the few companies that make wheels are Garrett, Borg Warner, Master Power and Ching Chang Chow Inc.

Compressor inducer is the small part that sucks the air in and the exducer is the big part that spits it out into the charge pipe. Dividing the inducer by the exducer gives you the trim of the wheel.

Oftentimes you may see people argue: "The PTxx is sooo much better than the Turbonetics xx-xx, but the SPxx is the best" Well, the informed turbo buyer may see by comparing all of those turbos specifications that they are the same fucking thing! They may all have the same wheels made by Garrett with just some minor changes in exhaust AR or compressor inlet shape.

Get to the meat of the problem and look at what WHEEL is in the turbo. If you do not know what wheel it is then you are wasting your time.


Hopefully that helps a bit because I am done now....

 

[SPD TRP]

Seems to be some basic misunderstanding about turbos in this thread so I will make an attempt to clear it up. Here is a copy of a post I put up in another thread.



And here is another section from a different post

Thanks for the reply.

So it's sounds like; in a nutshell; you would stay with Garrett since most wheels are made by Garrett with the exception of a few, and Garrett housings may be more "matched" for their wheels.

The reason for this thread was I was told by this shop here in Houston that the Turbonetics' version of the Garrett GT35 is actually better than Garrett's, and their warranty (no hassle replacement 12 month 12K miles) is superior to Garrett's.


Wayne

 

[viperkillertt]

Seems to be some basic misunderstanding about turbos in this thread so I will make an attempt to clear it up. Here is a copy of a post I put up in another thread.



And here is another section from a different post

Great insight!

 

[p5150]

Thanks for the reply.

So it's sounds like; in a nutshell; you would stay with Garrett since most wheels are made by Garrett with the exception of a few, and Garrett housings may be more "matched" for their wheels.

The reason for this thread was I was told by this shop here in Houston that the Turbonetics' version of the Garrett GT35 is actually better than Garrett's, and their warranty (no hassle replacement 12 month 12K miles) is superior to Garrett's.


Wayne

Basically, yes.

But I want to be clear that Im not saying that all of the other turbos are bad - some guys are getting satisfactory results with their China turbos or Brazilian made Master Power......

For a shop to tell you that the turbonetics "version" of the GT35 is actually better is kind of a crock unless the Tnetics turbo is actually packing a GT series wheel. My guess is that the turbo they are selling is rated for a higher horsepower but is less efficient, and is packing a wheel other than the GT wheel; probably a T-series garrett like most turbos (which is what was replaced by the GT series!)

So look at the wheel. Thats what im getting at.

If you want a good deal on a turbo, contact a turbo distributor directly. There are only six distributors of garrett turbos in the US and they are all listed on the garrett website with their contact info. I got mine from TurbosDirect in AZ. Chances are that they may not take a credit card so you may have to send a money order but you can save a substantial amount of money.

I dont think you will get a good deal going through turbonetics. If you really want a T-series turbo then just order one off of ebay.

 

[xsjado]

Don't know if it is fact or not, but I believe the GTK series from Turbonetics run a GT series wheel. Was told by Turbonetics that the GTK 550 is comparable to a GT35R but with slightly slower spool(single vs dbb) , and the 650 is around the same size as a T66. What I have been told though is that the GTK's are easily rebuilt if something does go wrong. If you don't mind me asking, how much is this local shop selling them for? I got my GTK 550 off www.turbokits.com for $1595 and they are a recommended Turbonetics distributor.

 

[Evilempire1.3JZ-GTE]

I bought my GT series garret from ATP Turbos.
They seem to be a direct distributer had what I want for a cheap price also.
Paid around ~1300 for my turbo.

 

[SPD TRP]

Don't know if it is fact or not, but I believe the GTK series from Turbonetics run a GT series wheel. Was told by Turbonetics that the GTK 550 is comparable to a GT35R but with slightly slower spool(single vs dbb) , and the 650 is around the same size as a T66. What I have been told though is that the GTK's are easily rebuilt if something does go wrong. If you don't mind me asking, how much is this local shop selling them for? I got my GTK 550 off www.turbokits.com for $1595 and they are a recommended Turbonetics distributor.

I was told by someone else that the GTK uses the GT wheel and when compared to the Garrett, apples to apples, the GTK spools a little quicker.
Was also told that the way they know this is they dynoed the same car only swapping turbos and the GTK came on a few hundred rpms sooner.

Wanted to run this stuff by you guys as a barometer for validity as people will, and often do, tell you anything.

Wayne

 

[drewgo]

Don't know if it is fact or not, but I believe the GTK series from Turbonetics run a GT series wheel. Was told by Turbonetics that the GTK 550 is comparable to a GT35R but with slightly slower spool(single vs dbb) , and the 650 is around the same size as a T66. What I have been told though is that the GTK's are easily rebuilt if something does go wrong. If you don't mind me asking, how much is this local shop selling them for? I got my GTK 550 off www.turbokits.com for $1595 and they are a recommended Turbonetics distributor.

GTK series turbos are Borg Warner turbos. GT is Garrett.

 

[SPD TRP]

GTK series turbos are Borg Warner turbos. GT is Garrett.

So the GTK isn't sportin a GT wheel from Garrett?