viciousclipse

anyone bought one of the cheap turbos off of ebay, the one im looking at is from dynasty auto, i think some people are running their intercoolers. $220 for 57 trim and a boost controller with 1 year warranty. I mean if its junk and brakes then i just get a new one. What do you think?

kung fu jesus

iTrader: (1)

what if it breaks and takes the motor with it?

viciousclipse

good point but how often does that happen? I know a lot of people that have blown turbos but never took out the engine, usually just the seals go out. I know that turbonetics had a problem with seals going out so they did a one year warranty also.

kung fu jesus

iTrader: (1)

after the stories i've read and heard about the turboxs crap, i would be leary of a "new" turbo for $220

F20turbo

just save for a garrett.

ThePass

iTrader: (3)

Obviously the guy is trying to save money - lets be a bit more helpful than telling him to just save up and buy the expensive new one from Garett...

Honestly, if you want something affordable, your best bet is to get something off of eBay / forum classifieds for cheap - something that is used but in good condition - alot of times the best deals will be from somebody selling a perfectly good turbo just because they are upgrading to a better turbo. Then just have it rebuilt. I don't know exact prices for a rebuild, but its going to come out at less $ for the turbo and rebuild than for a brand spanking new one...
I talked to Corky Bell the other day since I plan to get a used Nissan T25/T28 and use it for my DIY setup, and for $130 he's going to clock the turbo for me, cut off the elbow bend on the air outlet side of the compressor and weld in a straight pipe to connect the IC piping too, and also do some sort of trickery with the wastegate to make it all work right with his downpipes. So for maybe... $350 total I've got a good used turbo thats still got plenty of life in it because it was pulled off a stock SR20DET in favor of an upgrade, and it will all bolt right up for my setup...

-Ryan

kung fu jesus

iTrader: (1)

ryan is right. there are enough good garrett units out there that would better. i found my gt2554r, low mileage, off a mazdaspeed protege for $350 shipped. apparently the gt25 is too small for some of the protege owners and they ditch them for something with bigger lungs.

KPate

I'd try the local salvage yard before I get one off e-bay. At least you can look at it physically before you buy it

Loki047

iTrader: (6)

Watch ebay for old saab turbos, Air Research = Garrett. I would save up for something trust worthy, but still cheap enough to pay for a rebuild without being uber $$$

street mod two

FYI, sleeve bearing turbos are much more inexpensive to rebuild than ball bearing turbos. I'll second the old saab turbo suggestion.

viciousclipse

thing is i want a turbo thats going to support 300+ hp, and i dont think any of the factory turbos are going to do that. Im looking at the gt30 series turbos, but saw this and just got curious, that would save me close to $900!

bripab007

Just out of curiosity, have you ridden in a force-inducted Miata? With 300rwhp you'll have serious problems getting the power to the ground, and if you do, you'll have to go easy on the tranny.

If you mean 300 flywheel horsepower (~260rwhp), that could be attained with a factory turbo, I bet. You'd want a T28-sized turbo.

Loki047

iTrader: (6)

I thought you coudlnt rebuild ball bearing turbos?

viciousclipse

no i have never ridden in a boosted miata,actually the miata i just bought was the first miata ive ever been in. My car is going to be used for drag racing 90% of the time, but i still want to drive it to the store if i want to. I think my biggest problem is im coming from a turbo eclipse where a t28 is the bottom of the barrel turbo. Im looking to run low 12s high 11s if not faster, and from my searching im going to need around 300 hp. I have a 9" wheel in the rear now and will have slicks so traction shouldnt be a huge problem. As for trans problems its going to be fix it as it breaks, actually right now i have an automatic, i want to see how much hp it will hold before a swap to a man. Rear will probably be swaped eventully too.

bripab007

With slicks and a good launch, you should be able to break into the low 12s high 11s with 300rwhp. Yes, that is pretty much tapping out a T28; you'd have to have a great intercooler and a nice ECU.

But, off the top of my head, I can't think of an OEM application that would use a larger turbo than that (besides diesel trucks). Maybe an old GNX, thought I'm not sure what kind of turbos they ran. Probably not much bigger than the T28.

I guess you could try one of those cheapie turbos, and if it breaks, just hope none of it gets through the intercooler

So you've already got a 9" Ford rear in the car?

m2cupcar

iTrader: (5)

I think it's a bad idea. If you do get a new one every time but they keep braking you'll probably spend all your time working on the car rather than driving it. Look for a used low mile garrett, turbonetics or precision. I picked up one for $350 after my chinese/garrett hybrid came apart the first time it hit boost.

The auto transmission is weaker than the 5 speed- good luck there. The slicks will be the end of the driveline - transmission first, then the rear (unless it's a 1.6, then the rear will go first). Rx7 Turbo II driveline is pretty much the standard issue upgrade for the big power drag Miatas. Though there are high powered Miatas running 6 speeds that are surviving. The TII driveline is considered bullet proof. I believe 400whp will make a low 11 / high 10 Miata.

viciousclipse

no stock rear right now, just picked the car up about 2 weeks ago. I will go with the tII rear eventually, dont really plan on keeping any driveline parts in it. will go to 1.8 with tII rear and probably 6 speed just because their not that expensive, ive seen them for $750. Im still pulling toward the gt30, but im trying to find info on the gt28 options, i think the disco potato maxes out right at 300 hp, id like to have a turbo i can grown into.

viciousclipse

by the way monster miata built by racing mazda put down like 330hp and ran a 10.98, but ive seen 450 hp miatas that are only running 11.00s its all in the setup

bripab007

I would rather adapt a big, American car tranny and rear-end if you're going for that much power and a drag car. Like a T-56 and 8" or 9" rear.

They'll be even stronger than the TurboII stuff, no more difficult to fit (you have to make an adapter plate and tranny-to-chassis crossmember either way) and easier to find replacements, especially if you want to change the final drive ratio.

F20turbo

Why not save for a nice new turbo when thats really the best option? A brand new product is always better, if you are on a budget then spending 700 for a nice new turbo now will pay off in the long run. My turbo new was 650 and thats not much cinsidering what its capable of and how nice it was.

As for him wanting 300whp, thats a very attainable goal. Dont use a T28 for 300whp, thats not the turbo that you want for that. Get something with a T3 flange, maybe a T3/T04e 50 trim or something along those lines if you want to save some money...or even a GT3271 like I have. I havent dynoed but from my ET I should be right around 300whp. I just recently broke my transmission...after 4 years of this. I have to run 225 wide DR's to get traction, but I get it in all gears and it will really scoot.