Ebay Turbo Experiences.

[jonesl]

I know these turbos are cheap, and people HATE them..

I just want to hear PERSONAL experiences.. dont just tell me there shit.. dont botter..

unless youve done it.

[CEF11E]

Sigh...

ok here goes...

I bought a .63 t3/t04E 500hp turbo to put on an RB20 (this was a long time ago.) it needed an external gate so i bought one of them aswell. i modded all my intake piping, manifold, dump, lines ect.

the car came on full boost at 6000 rpm (seller claimed it would come on hard at 3000. it lasted for 3 days before the compressor blades came in contact with the housing. the seller would not take it back wothout an indapendant report. so off it went to GCG.

GCG had a look at it and said it was the worst quality turbo they had ever seen. bearings floated a few mm and the wheels were of bad quality casting and did not look even close to balanced. they wrote a report stating it was a danger to any engine and is not deemed safe for use.

needless to say i got my refund.

was stupid to but a turbo unseen from ebay and will never do it again. this was in 2002.

[The Dan]

I don't understand?

Is there some kind of brand - Ebay Turbo?

You can buy new garrett turbos on Ebay, doesn't mean they are shit. Link to a product would probably be a good idea.

[jonesl]

I don't understand?

Is there some kind of brand - Ebay Turbo?

You can buy new garrett turbos on Ebay, doesn't mean they are shit. Link to a product would probably be a good idea.

sorry i thought most people would just understand what i mean by "ebay turbo" there cheap. made in china. usualy dont have a brand name. Seller just CLAIMS you can make 600hp.. all that stuff.

thanks to the first reply.. thats what i was after. Proof they suck. sorry to hear though.

[The Dan]

sorry i thought most people would just understand what i mean by "ebay turbo" there cheap. made in china. usualy dont have a brand name. Seller just CLAIMS you can make 600hp.. all that stuff.

thanks to the first reply.. thats what i was after. Proof they suck. sorry to hear though.

That was what my comment was aimed at....they aren't shit just because they are from Ebay. Obviously he bought a dud, doesn't mean you will.

[Rocky88]

There also are reconditioned garrett turbos at insanely low prices like that: http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Garrett-T04E-Turbo-...1QQcmdZViewItem

I don't have experiences with them, but there must be catch.

[jonesl]

That was what my comment was aimed at....they aren't shit just because they are from Ebay. Obviously he bought a dud, doesn't mean you will.

i get what you mean. ebay is great. just have to be carful what you buy.... just the price of these chinese turbos make them so attractive.

but from the amount of negative talk. i think ill give it a miss as well.

[Duncan]

well if coming from china automatically means its crap we all better chuck out the computers we are typing on. and our tvs. and our prawns. you get the idea.

I'm about to put one in the stagea. assuming it has a warranty and the seller can honour it (eg a proper shop not an ebay trader) I don't see the problem.

[GTRNUR]

Ive had a whole lot of fun with some of that cheap chinese stuff. You just need to check EVERYTHING, and make sure its installed properly. Manifolds need the flanges re-surfaced so they are flat and not heat distorted, wastegates should be disassembled and checked, turbo's must have the appropriately sized oil restrictor fitted, etc.

One time out street tuning an S13 and about to do the on boost tune. Floored it and on came the boost, but it overshot the wastegate's 12lb rating and went well past 24psi before luckily the intercooler plumbing blew apart before it could damage anything. What a bang too when it popped the hoses off. I was sure i'd killed it. Turned out that 2 of the three grub screws tha thold the wastegate valve to the diaphram inside the wastegate had fallen out, allowing an internal air bleed to leak from the diaphram chamber.

The same car once sorted was amazing though. Cheap T70, tial "style" 38mm wastegate (fixed), cheap manifold, cheap 100mm intercooler, wolf ecu, some 850cc injectors and a 20lb tune. Easily 400hp to the tyres. Would break traction in 3rd gear loose at 100k's. Lag below 4000rpm, full boost at 4500, insanity to 7500. Most fun ive had in a 2wd car.

[dori34]

^ still going strong to this day or has it failed??

[GTRNUR]

^ still going strong to this day or has it failed??

Long since sold but I think its been de-tuned somewhat by the new owner. Ive seen it a few times since. It didnt blow up that i heard of...

One other story...

Same turbo... china special T70, Supra 2jzjte... 460rwhp with room for probably another 50 more hp in just fine tuning the ignition map.

Edited September 16, 2008 by Vspec R33

[The Dan]

If you are worried, when you buy the turbo, have it checked out by the guys at MTQ and they will be able to tell you what condition it is in before you even fit it. They may even be able to balance it for you to remove any possibilities of premature failure.

[JET-25L]

Yeah i agree with 3lit3_32. Even if i bought a brand new garrett i would take it somewhere just to get a quick once over and make sure it was alright. A lot easier to do that when u just pull it out of the box rather than something sus going on when it's on the car.

I know a lot of people that have bought these cheaper turbo's... there's a ta45 model on ausrotary at the moment for the $500 mark brand new. It's a chinese turbo and made by the hundreds im sure but there are cars running consistant 10's on them so they can't all be bad.

I recommend reading that thread that i think paulr33 or r31nismoid wrote on ebay turbo's before you consider one. I'm not saying you shouldn't get one as you might be happy with it.. but in worst case scenario it could also result in needing a new engine as well so be wary:)

[l0WRB]

mate has a t70 ebay turbo on his r32 rb25 and its making near 400rwhp on low boost, when he bought it he sent it to mtq got it re balanced and new seals put in and thats all the guys from mtq said needs doin and they will last just as long as a garrett turbo.

[Guilt-Toy]

i think you guys should disregard the comment above from 2002, things have changed sooo much since then. I have heard many success stories of cheap t70's going hard as, one even claiming 360rwkw out of a rb25.

So yeah i dont use one myself but they are not as bad now as they were in the past.

[GTRNUR]

A long tme ago there was one of these cheap models of turbo getting around that had the compressor housing glued together. And the glue would break resulting in it the compressor wheel and housing making contact. You will probably find pics of this if you search.

Like guilt-toy said, things have improved.

[Rocky88]

i think you guys should disregard the comment above from 2002, things have changed sooo much since then. I have heard many success stories of cheap t70's going hard as, one even claiming 360rwkw out of a rb25.

So yeah i dont use one myself but they are not as bad now as they were in the past.

This topic is one day old

[and3_3]

I talked to a guy once who has a 32 gtr with two of the ebay monsta power turbos.

He has had it on his car for 1 year now and has had no trouble with it what so ever.

Can't remember what power he ran but he sure was happy with the value.

[Guilt-Toy]

read the second post in the thread. then maybe you will see where i got 2002 and from.

This topic is one day old

[FloydWestwood]

about three weeks ago a friend of mine bought an ebay turbo. He isnt planning on using it for a while (he's still building his engine) so i offered to swap his turbo for mine. So i started tearing all my stuff apart to fit his new turbo. The bolt holes didnt even line up. Once again, im not saying dont get one, and there is potential for good turbo's out there on ebay, just be ultra cautious and make sure you check everything out before installing.