I want to replace my t3/t4 with a straight t3

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spooled240
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I'm thinking of replacing my ebay t3/t4 with one of these garrett t3's out of a volvo because I am not exactly happy with the spool I'm getting. Plus I want a genuine garrett turbo for the quality 3,000 rpm's is about the sweet spot for spooling 10 psi but my car lags in the low end.

My ebay t3/t4 turbo:.57 trim .50 a/r comp. .63 a/r exhaust

garrett t3 (The turbo I want)"48/42" I'm guessing that's a/r..edit: .42 a/r comp. .48 a/r exhausthttp://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...l1318^ this thing should bolt right up to my current setup also, like an hour or two

I'm only running 10 psi and I'm not planning on pushing it much past that since I'm still on stock internals at 130,000 miles and this is my daily driver. I think this turbo will spool much faster and it will be more oriented towards my goals at the moment. Any suggestions or advice would be appreciated.
Modified by spooled240 at 7:54 PM 6/26/2008


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480sx
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You'd be better off just switching to a .48 ar housing on the turbo that you have now IMO.

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turbo2nr
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hmm if you liked quick spool up maybe the t2 setups are more in your ally.

id say save and get a good turbo do your h.w. and plot the compressor maps of various t3 and see what you like and what suits your driving style.

shoot i wish i started to see any kind of boost around 3k,,, lol

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If it bolts on it's not bad for $139...


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spooled240
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yeah this turbo should spool way quicker being a straight t3 with way smaller a/r ratios right? I'm guessing like 10psi at 2500 rpms?

and i've seen these turbos at way lower prices, like 50 bucks

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WDRacing
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Yeah, I ran my RB20 turbo up to 15 psi...well it wouldn't sustain that much through out the entire rpm band, but until say 5k it did well. You could probably run like 20 psi and just let it peter out on its own at the drag strip. That would fun

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spooled240
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480sx wrote:You'd be better off just switching to a .48 ar housing on the turbo that you have now IMO.
So, changing from a .63 to a .48 a/r housing..ok, that sounds like a pretty simple solution and swapping the exhaust housings looks pretty easy..

Theoretically, this smaller/tighter housing should place the center of the turbine wheel closer to the t3 flange of the manifold correct? <being that the "snail" is smaller...i'm just wondering how this would affect my turbo placement since my brake 'm/c clearance' (sounds like a rapper lol) is virtually non-existent

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480sx
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No, thats not really correct. The smaller .ar number only refers to the inner area ratio of the turbine housing. So you could have a monster housing thats .48 ar and have a really small housing with a .48 ar too.

I had a .48 ar housing and a .63, both stage three, and they were identical on the outside. Just make sure when you get the new housing you get the right stage housing or you will have to machine it if its to small(pita/expensive, lathe work) or, it will be to big and useless.

Swaping the housings is super easy. Unless you do something really stupid with the blades while the housings off, theres no real chance that you can screw anything up.

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spooled240
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i see, man I'm not exactly sure what stage turbine wheel my turbo has..I'm guessing it's the stage 3 knockoff. How much quicker did the .48 a/r housing spool compared to the .63?

I'm looking at this one: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...l1318 But I don't know my stage housing and I don't know the stage housing on the one for sale....sh1t

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480sx
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Its most likely a stage 3 housing, just do some research on how to figure that out. I think you can figure it out with a Mic, but im not sure.

The .48 ar will spool really fast.

That auction looks like a good deal, unless you have a bunch of tools make sure to pay that guy the 15 bucks to get the broken stud removed. Also make sure its a stage three.

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spooled240
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Are all stage 3 wheels the same in diameter?

I can remove that stud no problem, hopefully that will keep the bids down
Modified by spooled240 at 10:26 AM 7/1/2008

nissanfanatic
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The biggest flaw in that turbo is the 57trim compressor wheel. The 50trim is a lot better.

A .63ar 50trim is responsive from about 3000rpm on. Full boost at about 3400rpm for 12psi, 3700 for 20psi.

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480sx
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Its really different per setup, i had a 50 trim .63 ar with a smaller internal volume manifold and i saw 12 psi @ 3000 rpms. Boost threshhold was around 2000-2200 rpms, at about 2500 it started to wake up.

I have heard the same thing about the 57 trim, and read in many different places that the 50 trim comp wheel is going to be the best all around compressor for the t3/t4 hybrid. Something about the 57 trim actually having a smaller peak efficiency window than a 50 trim.

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spooled240
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i did some research on those trim wheels and I basically found out that the 50 trim had a larger window efficiency and the 57 trim had a higher, smaller peak efficiency. The 57 trim is a bit more efficient for higher boost levels than the 50 trim but the 50 trim is definitely best suited for me It's a ***** to change compressor wheels right? They are welded on and balanced.

3000 rpms is when it starts to wake up, I can usually get about 3-4 psi at 2500 but climbs slowly. On low gears of course, the spool is delayed much more like 4000 rpms in 1st and 3200 in 2nd. But on the freeway/highway cruising 3000 rpms is the sweet spot.

edit: cory i just read your sig..30 psi on stock pistons!!! right on man, I bet you proved about half a million ka-t haters I always had faith in the old ka

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Spinn3r
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I would probably stay as it is and build the motor, and than swap the turbo but thats just me.

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spooled240
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I will most likely not touch the turbo or swap a straight t3 in the near future, as all of the used t3's I've seen have shaft play and probably need to be rebuilt. Unless I can find a .48 a/r turbo housing for a stage 3 wheels for cheap

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480sx
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The compressor wheel isnt THAT bad to change out, you just have to get it balanced when you do. Thats going to cost you a good chunk of change.

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spooled240
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yeah that's what I thought, and if it's only going to give me a little quicker spool and efficiency it's not going to be worth the trouble imo. It might just be cheaper to rebuild a used t3 off ebay or the junkyard.

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spooled240 wrote:i did some research on those trim wheels and I basically found out that the 50 trim had a larger window efficiency and the 57 trim had a higher, smaller peak efficiency. The 57 trim is a bit more efficient for higher boost levels than the 50 trim but the 50 trim is definitely best suited for me It's a ***** to change compressor wheels right? They are welded on and balanced.
The only research you need to do is look at the compressor maps themselves. The 50 trim is mapped to higher boost pressures and has better efficiency there. The 50 trim peak efficiency island reaches up to higher boost levels, the second island is huge and boasts a higher efficiency level by 3% over the 57 trim. The 57 trim is no match for the 50 trim at any point. The 50 trim even has a higher peak flow rate.

However, the difference you feel is not going to be THAT significant at the boost levels you are at. As for spool up, keep in mind I had 6.5 psi off a T04B compressor and on-center T4 turbine at 3500 RPM easy. That was with a 0.69 A/R turbine. The kit originally came with a 0.58 A/R which would spool a little sooner. You might check your turbo to make sure the spool issues aren't due to an internal problem. Excessive shaft play is not necessarily the only thing you check. The wheels can have some excess resistance without any detectable shaft play which can affect spool up and even power output.
spooled240 wrote:yeah that's what I thought, and if it's only going to give me a little quicker spool and efficiency it's not going to be worth the trouble imo. It might just be cheaper to rebuild a used t3 off ebay or the junkyard.
I'd say save up and buy a new turbo from a reputable manufacturer. A LOT less headaches in the long run that way. Plus you can order it to your specs and probably get better results.

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With my full TO4E in 57 trim with a .81 AR I saw like 8-9 psi by 3500. It just didn't feel fast cause it builds up to that slowly. Because the "flash" spool didn't occur till after 4500, but then it would pull out your teeth

Going small is for queers and EasyE

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spooled240
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lol my flash spool is pretty fast.."3 psi, 4 psi, 5 psi...10psi ZOMG!!!" (******* gets tight lmao)

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480sx
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I got a buddy who rebuilds turbos for a living, if you want i can hook you up with him. He takes care of me, and im sure i can get him to help you out as well. Dudes a pro. If you wanted to swap out the 57 for a 50, shoot me an email and we can work somethin out.

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spooled240
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thanks man I will definitely hit you up if I decide to go that route

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The increase in flow range efficiency of the 50trim will be an increase in response and relative boost threshold.

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spooled240
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yeah I know that a 50 trim is more efficient for my boost/hp level but I am thinking about how much it would cost vs. how much faster my car will be and how much bang for the buck I will be getting.

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spooled240 wrote:yeah I know that a 50 trim is more efficient for my boost/hp level but I am thinking about how much it would cost vs. how much faster my car will be and how much bang for the buck I will be getting.
http://cheapturbo.stores.yahoo....html

For $630, you will get the best matched turbo for the KA, which can output 430whp, or 256whp at 7psi, 326whp at 12psi, a solid 350whp at 1 bar, or 420whp at 20psi. This turbo also features response, which is very useful in street driving or on a technical course featuring a lot of low speed turns. Quite possibly, the best turbo made for the KA, short of the GT3071R.

Seriously man, **** a T3. Leave that for OEM ****. No modified car deserves a straight T3 from a junkyard.

And I wasn't just regurgitating random n00b **** that everybody knows. Oh T3h efficanzyiez is da bomb yo. I was adding that this is not the efficiency where you simply say "Oh, I guess this is efficient," and don't actually feel it. In swapping, you will feel the added efficiency in response. A good friend of mine just swapped from a 57 trim to a 50trim. He has exactly the same turbine housing, wheel, CHRA and compressor housing. The only thing changed was the compressor wheel. He reported that the 50trim is much quicker on throttle.

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spooled240
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nissanfanatic wrote: A good friend of mine just swapped from a 57 trim to a 50trim. He has exactly the same turbine housing, wheel, CHRA and compressor housing. The only thing changed was the compressor wheel. He reported that the 50trim is much quicker on throttle.
I see, that's what I wanted to know. I wasn't sure if it was more responsive than the 57

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Jookmasta
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if you can afford it, go with the 50 trim. it IS the best turbo for us KA-T peeps. going to a t3 would be like going back to stock IMO. if money really is an issue, then change the exhaust housings.

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spooled240
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what does that mean "stock"? like a stock ka?!

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spooled240
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alright seeing that changing the compressor wheel is going to cost a lot, I've decided that getting a nice 50 trim turbo later down the road will probably be better.

In the mean time, I think changing exhaust housing would be the best thing to do to get the power on sooner in the rpm range. I know I'm going to loose some top end potential but I don't think that will affect me much at my low boost setup anyway.

This looks like something I should look into. It has the 5 bolt flange style but I need to know the diameter of my turbine wheel.http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...ZWDVW


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