Reputable Chinese Turbo Sellers (oxymoron? lol)
#41
Not every one needs a EFR turbo is very correct, so;
My recommended solid and budget setup is:
Kraken manifold/downpipe and oil/water lines: ~$800
Used Garrett s14 t28 (2560r) turbo ~$300-400
Megasquirt 2 or 3: $550-1000
FlowForce 640cc injectors: $300
Ebay intercooler, pipes and BOV: $200
FM or similar clutch: $400
so about $2.5-3K for a good and reliable setup.
Can a setup be hacked together with shitty parts for cheaper? yes, but it wont perform good, nor be reliable.
My recommended solid and budget setup is:
Kraken manifold/downpipe and oil/water lines: ~$800
Used Garrett s14 t28 (2560r) turbo ~$300-400
Megasquirt 2 or 3: $550-1000
FlowForce 640cc injectors: $300
Ebay intercooler, pipes and BOV: $200
FM or similar clutch: $400
so about $2.5-3K for a good and reliable setup.
Can a setup be hacked together with shitty parts for cheaper? yes, but it wont perform good, nor be reliable.
This can be cut down some though with good patience and searching. You can get deals on the MS and turbos by watching the classifieds religiously.
#44
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thats true, td04 is a choice as well. but to my knowledge Kraken is the only one who makes TD04 manifolds and downpipes for it.
T25 is a much more common platform though with a wide range of turbo choices.
#46
Thanks, had no ideal what MHI stands for, i do know of TD04 turbos though. and read that 13t is quite comparable to a sr20 t25 and works rather well.
thats true, td04 is a choice as well. but to my knowledge Kraken is the only one who makes TD04 manifolds and downpipes for it.
T25 is a much more common platform though with a wide range of turbo choices.
thats true, td04 is a choice as well. but to my knowledge Kraken is the only one who makes TD04 manifolds and downpipes for it.
T25 is a much more common platform though with a wide range of turbo choices.
There are turbine housings to use MHI CHRAs with other manifolds, like T25, T3, or T4. Greddy's turbochargers are MHI CHRAs, for example.
Here's a vendor selling turbine housings for MHI turbos to T25 flanges: Kinugawa Turbo Turbine Housing TD04HL T25 Flange / 6cm Internal Gate
#47
Well, hopping back on here this morning I have drawn some conclusions.
Thanks for all the info, everyone!
- Chinese turbos are a gamble and will always under perform. Maybe ISR's specs are more consistent, but there is no evidence to prove this.
- EFR is the the way to go if you have $$$. I say this because even though a new EFR is only $1,300, the compatible manifold and down pipe will really kick the cost up over that of the Garrett.
- GT2560r is still a good option, although old tech. Best bang for the buck is to source a used one from an s14 or an s15.
- MHI turbos are cheap, but would require more work
Thanks for all the info, everyone!
#48
Well, hopping back on here this morning I have drawn some conclusions.
Thanks for all the info, everyone!
- Chinese turbos are a gamble and will always under perform. Maybe ISR's specs are more consistent, but there is no evidence to prove this.
- EFR is the the way to go if you have $$$. I say this because even though a new EFR is only $1,300, the compatible manifold and down pipe will really kick the cost up over that of the Garrett.
- GT2560r is still a good option, although old tech. Best bang for the buck is to source a used one from an s14 or an s15.
- MHI turbos are cheap, but would require more work
Thanks for all the info, everyone!
#49
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Well, hopping back on here this morning I have drawn some conclusions.
Thanks for all the info, everyone!
- Chinese turbos are a gamble and will always under perform. Maybe ISR's specs are more consistent, but there is no evidence to prove this.
- EFR is the the way to go if you have $$$. I say this because even though a new EFR is only $1,300, the compatible manifold and down pipe will really kick the cost up over that of the Garrett.
- GT2560r is still a good option, although old tech. Best bang for the buck is to source a used one from an s14 or an s15.
- MHI turbos are cheap, but would require more work
Thanks for all the info, everyone!
#50
Well, hopping back on here this morning I have drawn some conclusions.
Thanks for all the info, everyone!
- Chinese turbos are a gamble and will always under perform. Maybe ISR's specs are more consistent, but there is no evidence to prove this.
- EFR is the the way to go if you have $$$. I say this because even though a new EFR is only $1,300, the compatible manifold and down pipe will really kick the cost up over that of the Garrett.
- GT2560r is still a good option, although old tech. Best bang for the buck is to source a used one from an s14 or an s15.
- MHI turbos are cheap, but would require more work
Thanks for all the info, everyone!
*edit: and also agreed with borka.
I think you should just take more time and do more research. you're jumping the gun and making conclusions here that aren't exactly on point
#51
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best solid setups on a budget are:
kraken td04 and mhi turbo
used begi/fm mani/dp and t25 or t28 sr20 turbos.
that's I all I got for budget oriented folks, that want quality parts.
Last edited by borka; 06-02-2018 at 02:25 PM.
#52
To whoever reads this thread in the future:
sit down and add up all the costs. Just make 2 lists, and include e-v-e-r-y-thing. what you'll conclude is that no matter which way you go, if you don't cut corners and ghetto rig it, you're into it for a LOT of money. You'll then realize that to get a much better setup, you're only about 25-50% away. If that's a deal breaker for you, proceed with "budget" setup. If you know the difference between expense and investment, you'll know that in the end you'll be out a very similar amount of money.
Make your own decisions from there
And with that, I'm out.
(PS: if at any point the thought "I only paid XXX for this car, I can't justify XXX on a turbo setup, the parts must never exceed the price of car" enters your mind, stop, and don't modify a miata at all. in fact, don't modify any car, ever. Just go buy a prius and move on. these cars are considered consumables, and these turbo setups are not, never forget that)
sit down and add up all the costs. Just make 2 lists, and include e-v-e-r-y-thing. what you'll conclude is that no matter which way you go, if you don't cut corners and ghetto rig it, you're into it for a LOT of money. You'll then realize that to get a much better setup, you're only about 25-50% away. If that's a deal breaker for you, proceed with "budget" setup. If you know the difference between expense and investment, you'll know that in the end you'll be out a very similar amount of money.
Make your own decisions from there
And with that, I'm out.
(PS: if at any point the thought "I only paid XXX for this car, I can't justify XXX on a turbo setup, the parts must never exceed the price of car" enters your mind, stop, and don't modify a miata at all. in fact, don't modify any car, ever. Just go buy a prius and move on. these cars are considered consumables, and these turbo setups are not, never forget that)
#56
The problem is that they are just randomly out of spec in unpredictable ways. They might blow up, spool slowly, blow hot air at high rpm or any combination of the above. The Chinese manufacturers are completely indifferent to quality or whether stuff even works. If your car blows up, you'll just get mad at some shell company that is three steps removed from the ******* who cut corners and made the product bad. The only way to avoid this is to not buy Chinese.
If I was doing my build today instead of 15 years ago, I'd probably just save up for a TSE kit, since the whole stainless equal length cast manifold really appeals to me and EFRs are head and shoulders above everything else in terms of spoolup and power. That being said, I'm way richer today than I was 15 years ago. If I was poor today and trying to build a turbo miata, I would probably not build the engine and for a turbo/mani, I'd probably just go for a log and a junkyard turbo and have someone local fab up an exhaust for me. More than enough for mid-low 200s at the wheel. People **** on logs for being inefficient and not very blingy, but they can make plenty of power and they are extremely reliable and compact.
If I was doing my build today instead of 15 years ago, I'd probably just save up for a TSE kit, since the whole stainless equal length cast manifold really appeals to me and EFRs are head and shoulders above everything else in terms of spoolup and power. That being said, I'm way richer today than I was 15 years ago. If I was poor today and trying to build a turbo miata, I would probably not build the engine and for a turbo/mani, I'd probably just go for a log and a junkyard turbo and have someone local fab up an exhaust for me. More than enough for mid-low 200s at the wheel. People **** on logs for being inefficient and not very blingy, but they can make plenty of power and they are extremely reliable and compact.
Last edited by AlwaysBroken; 06-02-2018 at 09:45 PM.
#57
To whoever reads this thread in the future:
(PS: if at any point the thought "I only paid XXX for this car, I can't justify XXX on a turbo setup, the parts must never exceed the price of car" enters your mind, stop, and don't modify a miata at all. in fact, don't modify any car, ever. Just go buy a prius and move on. these cars are considered consumables, and these turbo setups are not, never forget that)
(PS: if at any point the thought "I only paid XXX for this car, I can't justify XXX on a turbo setup, the parts must never exceed the price of car" enters your mind, stop, and don't modify a miata at all. in fact, don't modify any car, ever. Just go buy a prius and move on. these cars are considered consumables, and these turbo setups are not, never forget that)
It's always interesting how a suspension/turbo build can cost more than the entire car! This hobby is definitely not cheap.
I agree with the TD04 13t/SR20 option. They are not fancy but they are reliable and get the job done. Also keep an eye out locally (craigslist) there are deals out there form the 240SX/WRX guys all the time. I was able to pickup a clean low mileage sr20 turbo for $100 locally from a Facebook ad.
Remember with the sr20 turbo (depending on how it's clocked) you will have to get a bit creative on how the wastegate actuator will be mounted. Not sure if the same is try with the TD04 13t turbos. Good luck with the build.
#58
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They're 'fine' for a low budget option, but you shouldn't really delude yourself into thinking that they're the same thing as an actual garrett turbo or whatnot. The specs are often not as advertised, spool is slower, and dimensions are off relative to the 'real' version of the same turbo. That said, they work and if all you want is something that works, then have at it. Folks would consider a used/rebuilt SR20 turbo or such a more reliable offering. Plenty of folks have had good luck with Lars' MKTURBO kit which uses the churbos but he kinda went through all the work of vetting them.
#60
If you are looking for a good inexpensive turbo that you can build off of I would look at a GT2554R, it comes stock on the Mazdaspeed Protege and can be found quite cheap. Also since the turbine side is the same as the gt2560r and gt2860rs you could upgrade extremely easily later if you want more power. Or you could just spend the money on an EFR.