cheap ebay copy turbot

[Matt82]

ive had a plan, i want some new toys to play with.

part of the plan has uncovered a manifold and turbo, GT35/40 copy (ie massive) for £250. brand new never used.

its watercooled with GT35 0.70 compressor.housing and kkk 0.63 turbine housing

it basically has the capacity for hundreds of HP, im only really aiming for 300ish.

whose had a cheapo knock off ebay turbo before and what was your experience? part of me is thinking that running this thing at about 50% of its capacity might actually make it live a long time.

 

[GravyMonster]

The words 'cheapo' 'knock off' and 'ebay' BY THEMSELVES would have me worrying.

 

[Firestar_3x]

That seems a little too cheap, i got my KO4 through ebay, it's not a KKK or Garrett but some other make, was £370 so not mega cheap for an ebay turbo, touch wood has been fine for the past 40k.

 

[MeEsH BaKkA]

I have no doubt it will work but I doubt it will last very long, chances are the sleeve bearings will wear very quick then the oil seals will go. But, you may get lucky

Possibly better to get a turbo off of a scrap/broken car for cheap and get/make a mani to suit. What are you strapping it to may I ask?

 

[ubersonic]

Possibly better to get a turbo off of a scrap/broken car for cheap and get/make a mani to suit.

This, would be better to look for a cheap used Holset or BW or something than one of those cheap Chinese knock off turbos, they get slated to hell all over the internet. Just Google "chinese turbos any good" or something and the will be many forums for many cars deriding them.

Cheaper things are usually cheaper for a reason, in this case because its made out of scrap metal in a shed by Liu Kang, its an okay recipe for a cheap manifold but not for something spinning at tens of thousands of rpm at full whack.

 

[SeatIbiza]

How easy is it to get the turbo off?

If it's easy then risk it - if it's an engine out jobby then don't bother!

 

[Firestar_3x]

One of the problems is if the turbos unbalanced and disintegrates it can chuck stuff all the way up into the intake causing huge issues.

How much are http://www.atpturbo.com/ asking for the power level you want Matt?

 

[paradigm]

I'd certainly entertain the idea of a cheap used item and then a rebuild from somewhere reputable.

It's what I did with my spare K04 (came on my replacement engine, I've had it rebuilt by Turbo Developments in London).

 

[Matt82]

there was a part of me hoping someone may have, once, momentarily, heard good news about one of these haha

its looking to go on a VR6, the manifold alone is worth the cost tbh.

with lowered compression, the right injectors and suitable management, you can be c.400bhp easily, which it pretty pointless, but should be a laugh if it can be done on the cheap

 

[Matt82]

How easy is it to get the turbo off?

If it's easy then risk it - if it's an engine out jobby then don't bother!

my thinking too. its on a transverse vr6, so its tucked down by the bulkhead, nothing like on an S4-RS4 etc

even if it just gets me running, i can upgrade later

finally, with a cooler, even if it falls apart, ill just pray the cooler catches the bit of compressor

failing that, a whole vr6 engine is only £250

 

[s0ck]

my thinking too. its on a transverse vr6, so its tucked down by the bulkhead

Sounds like a nightmare

 

[Matt82]

no, its definately not the worst. there ought to be sufficient space between the sump and the subframe, the blower will be big, but shouldnt be that big

worst case, rig it so its top mounted

 

[Gaijin]

I wouldn't buy a cheap turbo at all.

Given that turbo failure could totally trash your engine, why cheap out on it?

 

[Matt82]

the whole thing is cheap plus the turbo itself will be in a very "unstressed" application, i think it will be an interesting test as i wont even be remotely stressing the blower

 

[HummuH1]

I'd also check your cooling set-ups before you take the plunge as well.

On my Turbo'd Corrado, the headlights had to be ditched to get sufficient cooling and an intercooler in there. That was on a G60 so much more space in the engine bay than the VR6.

Sounds like a fun project though

 

[ScoobyDoo69]

A GT35 is huge and would take ages to spool! And no I would never buy a cheapo eBay turbo either..

 

[Alex*TLR]

Nearly all the people slating the cheap turbos have never had one.

Read on some of the drift forums or mx5 turbo forums, they love em. Yes they aren't as super dooper reliable as your fancy brands but they'll last long enough to be worthwhile.

Also with regards to stressing the turbo etc, with the RPM a turbo spins at I don't really believe in the whole under stressing it etc, if it's gonna fail then it's gonna fail whether your running 2 bar or 0.25 bar.

 

[paradigm]

Also with regards to stressing the turbo etc, with the RPM a turbo spins at I don't really believe in the whole under stressing it etc, if it's gonna fail then it's gonna fail whether your running 2 bar or 0.25 bar.

Whilst this is kind of true, all the RPM alone will do, is show up any inbalance in the shafts/impellers. It's the pressure build up that exerts lateral force on the bearings and causes the blades to foul the housing, and therefore break apart.

 

[ScoobyDoo69]

Nearly all the people slating the cheap turbos have never had one.

Read on some of the drift forums or mx5 turbo forums, they love em. Yes they aren't as super dooper reliable as your fancy brands but they'll last long enough to be worthwhile.

Also with regards to stressing the turbo etc, with the RPM a turbo spins at I don't really believe in the whole under stressing it etc, if it's gonna fail then it's gonna fail whether your running 2 bar or 0.25 bar.

Sorry but the amount of failures I have read about is enough to put me off. And sometimes it's not even the failures, but the lack of power that they produce!

Buy cheap, buy twice. Or even worse, rebuild your engine. Or take your chances, and you might get lucky.

 

[mattyfez]

Is this like the electric superchargers they sell? Lol!