Rb20det Minor Performance Upgrades (update Turbo Selection)

[Roy]

Just email them and say that you want the turbo you listed with a std 3" compressor cover (non anti-surge) They were very responsive to my enquiries back in the day.

[sama1500]

so at this stage im going to go for a td05 16g with a std 2.4" or 3" compressor cover, compared to the garrett 2860 this should provide similar response and power except $400 cheaper, or will it be not as god as the garret turbo?

[Roy]

I think it largely depends on how good those Kando Rb T3 housings work. The TD05-16G you describe is effectively a Trust T517z. The Garrett is effectively a HKS 2530. So if you spend a few hours reading SR20DET results using a T517z vs HKS 2530 you will get an idea what you are getting yourself into

EVERYTHING is a compromise! You need to decide for yourself what compromises you will live with based on what your desired objectives are.

[sama1500]

i think i may end up going with the garrett after all, it is slightly larger overall but its ball bearing vs the kinugawa's journal bearing so i'll be getting a similar response overall with more power, i guess thats why its an extra $400 haha, and if the garrett really is essentially a hks 2530 then on every single thread ive read the hks turbo is the best thing for an rb20 so i might just go with that

[Matvei27]

just buy the damn 2530

[sama1500]

maybe i would if they didnt cost 2.4k, unless you're willing to pay for it?

[Roy]

A mate just bought a HKS2535 for a song. Turns out it is in good order. Just buy a blown 2530/2535/2540...grab a 2860 core and away you go... $1500 for a defacto HKS turbo

[sama1500]

ive heard plenty of stories with second hand turbos that have put me off them haha, or just but the garrett for $1400?

[Ben C34]

ive heard plenty of stories with second hand turbos that have put me off them haha, or just but the garrett for $1400?

That's for you to decide isn't it....

Heaps of people have no worries with second hand turbos. Obviously there is a risk though.

[sama1500]

unless hks decide to suddenly have a 50% off sale then at this stage garrett it is, i dont have a problem with second hand parts as long as they arent something major, but with a turbo i just dont want to run the risk since it can have large consequences so i'll be going with a new one

[Matvei27]

maybe i would if they didnt cost 2.4k, unless you're willing to pay for it?

New they are around $1800 US, used you can probably find it a lot cheaper.

Search around.

[sama1500]

the garrett is the exact same as the hks, roy posted a graph with several different turbos on rb20's and the garret and hks had almost identical spool rates and peak boost levels, and its 1400 as opposed to the more expensive hks, i'd prefer not to get a used turbo as there is always the risk of it being shit

[Matvei27]

I don't think they're exactly the same...should be pretty close but the HKS might be tweaked a bit.

The more important aspect is that the HKS comes as a kit with everything you need should you buy it new, hence why it is a good value and worth the money.

I don't know anyone who has bought a HKS 2530 who has said "gee I wish I bought a cheaper turbo!" or anything like that.

[sama1500]

they are almost identical in terms of basically everything, i have not found a hks turbo with the kit for any less than $2200 so i dont know where you got your $1800 figure from, and i've just found the garrett can come with a kit for an extra $200, making it still $200 cheaper than your $1800 value anyway, and you're talking like anything but a hks turbo is garbage, last time i checked garrett is one of the best brands out there, but then again you're a guy willing to spend $250 on a second hand hks dump pipe so by the looks of things you're a hks fanboy who thinks everything else is crap so your advice seems pretty pointless and useless honestly

[GTSBoy]

HKS IS Garrett. Just with some unique-to-HKS (but still made by Garrett) housings and wheels. The quality is exactly the same.

Back when the 2530 came out, Garrett were not allowed to put out a turbo using the same stuff as the HKS turbos had. But that agreement would have expired years ago, hence Garrett have been able to put out things which are not much different from the old HKS products.

[Matvei27]

HKS IS Garrett. Just with some unique-to-HKS (but still made by Garrett) housings and wheels. The quality is exactly the same.

Back when the 2530 came out, Garrett were not allowed to put out a turbo using the same stuff as the HKS turbos had. But that agreement would have expired years ago, hence Garrett have been able to put out things which are not much different from the old HKS products.

There are multiple versions of the 2530, the 2530kai (the current iteration) is a pretty recent product.

they are almost identical in terms of basically everything, i have not found a hks turbo with the kit for any less than $2200 so i dont know where you got your $1800 figure from, and i've just found the garrett can come with a kit for an extra $200, making it still $200 cheaper than your $1800 value anyway, and you're talking like anything but a hks turbo is garbage, last time i checked garrett is one of the best brands out there, but then again you're a guy willing to spend $250 on a second hand hks dump pipe so by the looks of things you're a hks fanboy who thinks everything else is crap so your advice seems pretty pointless and useless honestly

Garrett makes HKS turbos. But the HKS turbos are not exactly the same ones that Garrett sells themselves.

The HKS 2530kai is specifically designed for the RB20 and RB25DET. The Garrett ones are universal.

I am willing to spend $250 on a HKS dump because that's what they're worth, but I found one in Japan. I am using it to test the difference in response between the Tomei one and the HKS one.

If you want the best suited turbo for the job you'll buy the HKS one as it is designed for this engine with a smaller housing for better response. If you want to save a few hundred dollars go ahead but don't come here complaining when it doesn't have the same response as your stock RB20DET turbo or RB25DET turbo.

Amazon Japan sells it new as a kit for $1885.64 USD right now. Go get someone to buy it for you.

Edited April 3, 2015 by Matvei27

[sama1500]

$1885 USD = $2462 AUD and this is an australian forum so it would be a good assumption to make that most people here are from australia, on the graphs roy posted the garrett and hks had the basically exact same spool rate, peak boost, with the garrett having more top end power as well, now both cars could have had different modifications but both were rb20's and you generally cant change the spool time of a turbo unless you increase capacity, it simply makes no sense to spend $800 more on a turbo which will spool up at the same time, make the same power and is of the same quality, unless of course you genuinely like throwing away your money pointlessly

[Matvei27]

Judging by the graph the HKS has slightly more low down power whereas the Garrett has more up top.

Which makes sense as the 2530 was tweaked to improve response on RB engines.

If the difference isn't worth it to you that's one thing but clearly the 2530 is slightly more responsive so at the end of the day it depends if you want low end or top end.

[sama1500]

in the graph the hks has more power off boost until about halfway spooled, and between halfway and when the turbo is spooled up they have almost identical power, keeping in mind the garrett turbo is running less boost as seen in the bottom graph, $800 for about 100-200rpm more responsiveness is simply not worth it, especially considering peak power was 10-20kw's more than the hks with less boost

Edited April 4, 2015 by sama1500

[75coupe]

you dont want to spend the money then dont, others want the benefits the hks unit brings..