This is not meant to bag on anyone's Turbo kit, or to cause any problems...so don't use this thread to flame anyone or anything.

BUT - I'm researching over the next few months upgrading to a Turbo Kit.

But I've heard alot about people having problems with Turbos, and I'm trying to get a concencus of what problems people are having and how/if they fixed it.

So simply list in the following format:

!) PSI
2) Fuel Mods/Tuning Mods (Boost Controller, Injectors, ECU, etc)
3) Problem you had (anything from a loose clamp to engine blowing - list symptoms)
4) Work-Around/Troubleshooting (If you've fixed it - how did you fix it)
5) Turbo Type (T3/T4 Hybrid, TO4E, etc)

Hopefully this will help us "Turbo newbs" learn a little more about the different kits out there and how they perform, as well as some fixes/troubleshooting processes for issues that arise.

Thanks!
IanS

 

I started @ 4 and went up to 8 PSI

Vortech FMU, played with the disks and a FP gauge until I was happy, Manual boost controller


USED Turbo that Leaks oil ( sold to me by Hal ) Oil return Line in wrong location and too small of an oil return line. 6AN when it should have been 8AN. ( Hal again ) Overheating, due to 1 POS fan..DON't REMOVE stock fans!!!!!!!! ( hal again ) Auto Transmisson can't hold 8 PSI.. about 275 WHP/TQ.. don't know the problem troubleshooting tomorrow.. POS clamps.. use ONLY T-bolt clamps that FIT

FP gauge fixes lots of things, header wrap works great as well

T3/T4

 

Well I think alot of the problems people are having with turbo kits is that it is so customized and each install is different and presents a different problem. I believe it will remain this way until someone comes out with a true bolt on kit ready to go.

But then again the people who have had problems, we knock em out the park by resolving them by ourselves and with the help of all the boosted community to guide us in the right path.

1) Well as far as PSI goes, I can run daily 6psi, when I pushed it to 12psi on the dyno, I blew the MAF sensor cause of it being on the charged air piping, resolved that by moving it over to the intake side.
2)Fuel Mods, so far none to the injectors, just upgraded to a Cartech FMU and have an SAFCII to fine tine out the a/f ratio. No electronic boost controller, got a manual one that works fine for now.
3)Ive had major problems with overheating due to only one fan being installed, then even after that, the Feed pipe is 1/2" from the radiator, issues with welds breaking due to shotty workmanship on the welds... Resolved them all by re-doing the kit myself in the past 4weeks. Basically grinded all the welds down, re-welded them myself, in certain cases, scrapped the entire pipe and redid it. Ive also ceramic coated all my exhaust piping and the headers as well as the turbine and compressor housing for alleviate heat issues in the engine. Also replaced the Oil send lines due to the fact it was installed with a steel brake line which burned some plastic parts that it touched in the engine bay.
4) Workarounds? Hahha, dont ask..... well most of them have been stated above since I gave up on the workarounds and decided to resolve it completely. The workarounds didnt cut it.
5) Turbo is a t3/t4 60trim on the compressor housing and turbine I believe is a .63 ar, hell if I know what I got with the rest of the kit being put together in shambles.

Dixit

 

This isn't my car, it's Jason Sadler's but we all built the turbo together so here I am.

5 psi, there is a 7-9 psi spring in the Tial wastegate but the exhaust is choking it down to 5. 7psi is only seen under heavy loads, ie hills and so on.

Walbro fuel pump, Cartech adjustable FMU, Apexi SAFC. 256 whp at 5 psi. No boost controller, stock injectors, stock ecu.

After the usual startup issues, forgetting to tighten a clamp, forgetting to reconnect wires, no real issues. Had one of the pipes blow at the clamp a couple of times, tightened it down better and it is now holding. This issue will be unique to Jason's car due to the custom placement of some piping.

Had the turbo flange bolts vibrate loose a few times. These are the 4 bolts that hold the turbo to the feed pipe. Fixing it with slightly longer bolts, locking washers, and loctite. I think this problem is because we fabbed a bracket to hold the turbo/feed pipe to the frame of the car and that bracket mounts here. So the vibration of the motor + the vibration from the rest of the car is causing the bolts to work loose. But the loctite and locking washers should take care of this. No other problems. And Jason scrapes a lot, but if anyone's seen how low his car sits, you can see that's a problem with his car and not the turbo set up

New Garrett T3/T04E hybrid. Stage 3 turbine, 60 trim, .63 A/R.


So far, the turbo is working out great. I know he's happy with it, hopefully we can get the same results with the kit we're working on. There haven't been any major problems, power is good, car runs well, no overheating issues (stock fans are retained). I think your post will be very informative to others. The reason jason's car works well is that we researched the problems with all the other turbo setups out there right now and worked around those issues. The pipe routing is slightly different, MAF placement is different. And we worked on the little details like the feedpipe and downpipe as well as the turbo housing is ceramic coated for better turbo spool and to cut down on underhood problems. We minimized the number of connectors used on the piping and welded everything we could. We even custom cut the MAF adapter plate and welded it to the pipes like the Stillen SC instead of just using a generic adapter, one less coupler to blow. And we never cut the car at all.

 

Wow!

Incredible responses guys!

Someone sticky this!!!

 

What a weird coincidence, all three responses were from Atlanta. Guess it's because Kirk and Dixit had some issues with a certain turbo shop, and Jason and I were fortunate enough to have them help us avoid certain pitfalls. Without those two guys, things would not have worked out nearly as well.

 

I am saving this spot to post once i find out what truly happened to my engine, Supposedly this week

 

cute, if my kit was built by custommaxima i would not mind as much however since the kit was built by a very reputable shop who has had several cover cars in turbo mag and one of the fastest supras in the country, I guess i can say, EAT ME!!!!

 

Ian one thing I would do is figure out what your "goal" is.

For example do you want 1/4 times or Dyno numbers?

That will determine things and Turbo choices. IMHO a T4 is what you should look at..

or something in that size Garret's GT series looks real GOOD

 

Looking for high-end power mostly, as having 10PSI at like 3000RPM is going to do nothing but give me wheel spin.....as much torque as possible without causing traction issues, I suppose.

1/4 mile times in the low 13's-high 12's would make me very satisfied.

Interesting thing - in the "300hp club" in the sticky, there are no Turboed maxes.

I know there's got to be at least a couple.

Anyway - I'm not purchasing for 6-9 months (gotta pay for a wedding and honeymoon between now and then).....plenty of time for me to really decide exactly what I want.

 

Where is the 300 HP club sticky.. I am a little drunk so if it's in my face sorry..

And yep I never made 300 WHP.. I broke my tranny.

There is a turbo maxima here FASTER than jay @10 PSI I am willing to put money he is @ 300 +

Now with all the BS outta the way.. the reason I asked about the goal is, your turbo choice should be well thought out. MINE was not.. I just went with the crowd.

And when I started 300 WHP was my goal.. it's no longer to easy...lol

And I am not going to even try and BS you with my knowledge of turbos. I know a little, very little. But I am doing the legwork to get it right the 2nd time.

And form what I can tell of your research and wanting to make things right, you should do fine.. get a 2nd car BTW

 

Hahahaha.

I'm hoping that I'll do this right and won't need a 2nd car. Considering buying a 2nd engine ahead of time, however.

Hmmm....I can't find that thread now - maybe it wasn't a sticky and I just found it during a search....

If I find it, I'll post a link.

 

that's what I thought and I am buying another car this week... although it may not be needed makes things much easier....


how many times have you had to work on your car till 1am so you can drive it to work?

and ok.. I thought I was going nuts..lol.. I think I remember the thread but I am a PW..lol.. so I may be confusing it with another thread

 

1) 10 to 14psi, depends on what is necessary at the moment
2) Greddy E-01, eManage, FJO WBO2, FMU, AEM FPR
3) Can't seem to keep tread on tires
4) Use 1/3 throttle
5) T3/T04S

 

The good news is I can walk to work.

 

Hey Sx7r. How do you like the e manage. I was thinking of getting it and using it. Not for my max though, for my sentra SER drag project. How hard is the learning curve for programming the fule maps and all that. Ive worked a little with other stand alones, even though the e manage is only a piggyback I dont think it will be to hard to tune. Let me know if you reccomend it or not.

 

Same question.

 

it works fine for me so far. there really isn't a "learning curve" for the different maps. basically, you adjust the airflow or fuel map according to your A/F ratio. best way to do this would be on a dyno with a wideband. adjustment is easy enough - just select what cell you want to change and change it. it's definitely worth getting if you've got a laptop, as you can log anything that the emanage inputs and outputs.

 

What injectors? They've gotta be huge!

 

oh, and what plugs and injectors are you running?

 

FJO = wideband O2 sensor: http://www.fjoracing.com

plugs: NGK BKR6EIX-11

injectors: lookie lookie

 

mardigrasmax said in this post that emange only supports up to 370cc's. How is it working out for you with the 555's and stock ecu?

 

i found out today that the e-manage does do 150%