The Definitive Ebay/No Name/Chinese/Cheap turbo kit thread

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Nick@SickAudio
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GTR PrYdE wrote:
The kit you pictures is a bottom mount kit so no need to cut anything, and a SR downpipe will work, maybe the guy is referring to ebay top mounts?
He said he replaces the header that comes with it, with an equal length. It gains more power. He promises some very nice numbers.


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WDRacing
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There's no way the guy is building a new equal length mani for that price. He's simply installing that kit and tuning it.

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Nick@SickAudio
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Nick@SickAudio wrote: All he does is order a equal length header and cut the flange off, angle it away from the master cylinder
He doesnt build a custom header. This is just what he quoted me. I imagine like everything that once you get in to do the work, the prices start to go up. Because of little things added on that cost more. I am just repeating what he told me.

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480sx
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krazydriver wrote: Only other ebay parts i have was the IC piping.... and you can't really screw up piping.


Well that really depends on what your doing with the pipe. If your just cutting and using couplers, yea sure you cant go wrong with ebay piping.

However, as i have found through first hand experience, if your trying to tig the cheap stuff up you can run into all kindsa problems. First, the cheap stuff is really thin. This makes it very difficult to control the heat when using a tig torch. You can burn through that stuff in a heartbeat. In addition, some of it will have impurities in the aluminum that will pop when your welding it. It leaves a nasty weld that you either have to grind down and redo or just live with the ugliness.

'Well theres your problem...'

s14tan
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So... lets say I'm going to build a eBay t3 top mount kit to push 7-8 psi, what would you recommend getting from ebay? besides injectors and tunning. Curious cause This is what I might end up doing and I plan to learn from others mistakes.

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spooled240
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I would bite the bullet and NOT buy the ssac mani for the simple reason that it places the turbo too close to the brake m/c. Just having that hot turbine and elbow pipe away from the brake m/c will just give you piece of mind. Other mani's like the treadstone I hear are like 300 bux.I would get from ebay:-fmic-universal piping kit w/ couplers and clamps-tial knockoff wg-exhaust, really up to you if you want a better fitting, better sounding exhaust for more money though.

I don't have experience with the ebay bov's, I just heard they work good but I also heard they sound like crap. I got the greddy type rs for around 200 shipped and it has quality with a great sound.

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GTR PrYdE
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ebay manifolds litterally place the turbine 2 mm away from the brake master

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WDRacing
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Just so everyone understands, the top mount EBay manifolds are the ones that suffer fron alignment problems and place the turbo VERY close to the MBC. The bottom mount T2 mani's seem to be perfectly fine as of late. I haven't heard of any cracking and or failure in well over a year now.

This does limit your turbo selection to something that is to small IMO. Unless you buy a GT spec turbo for $1200. But at that point you really should consider a better flowing T3 mani and T3 or better turbo. Again, thats my opinion.

WD

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spooled240
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s14tan wrote:So... lets say I'm going to build a eBay t3 top mount kit to push 7-8 psi, what would you recommend getting from ebay? besides injectors and tunning. Curious cause This is what I might end up doing and I plan to learn from others mistakes.
dude if you are only gonna boost 7-8 psi, I would just do the t28 turbo. Or even t25. You can get a nice bottom mount manifold with the t25/8 and I heard that the sr20 intercooler piping and the exhaust elbow pipe line up pretty damn close. Something I would've done since my stock internals probably couldn't handle much past the t25's efficiency range of 14 psi. Having a quick-spooling turbo will give you a smooth power curve and some strong low-end torque

I thought I saw someone with a bottom-mount t3/t4 setup on here before.

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Tyler
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my question is, is there any real difference except for price between the bottom mount manis on ebay? cause they range from like 60 to 150 dollars? is there atvantages to the more expensive one?

heres and example:68 dollars plus 31 shippinghttp://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...ZWDVW

159 dollars plus 26 shippinghttp://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...ZWDVW

which one would be best to go with?

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DMan II-40
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if u look at all of them (same goes with exhaust) there are all exactly the same thing. So the cheaper one is the better one. The only thing that I like to look at is the feedback %.

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krayton
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So what about this ebay intercooler piping with setups. Since Im using a top mount on my kat, i know ill have to make the hot pipe.

But searching for an answer on which kit to get. I have an S14, but ebay S14 SRs have the top type intake manifold. So wondering if I should get the s13 SR piping since thatll fit closer to the KA intake.

But then not to sure if the S13 chasis piping is completely off compared to S14 piping

anyone?

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sleepersilvia92
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i have the jgs log manifold and had the same issue with the brake mc lines coming very very close to the exhaust and contacting it while driving made it wear through i solved it with a 90 degree elbow and now it is a full 2 inches away

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GTR PrYdE
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pics?

I have the jgs setup, it's miles away from the mbc lines compared to a SSAC top mount mani

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sleepersilvia92
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it touches my exhaust not the manifold i will post a picture soon

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neverlift
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fairly happy with both egay mani's so far, the first was a used t2 flanged bottom mount, was gonna use for a bottom mount t3 setup... didnt..

current is a t3 top mount, got an awesome trade and it was brand new...

so far its holding up fine, maybe has 50 miles on it, now if my turbo would stop smoking

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x Too Fly x
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well if those ebay turbos arent any good cant we buy tha kit and then get an atcual brand turbo?!?!

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GTR PrYdE
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x Too Fly x wrote:well if those ebay turbos arent any good cant we buy tha kit and then get an atcual brand turbo?!?!
Yes, but not all ebay top mounts fit like they should. Mine was just wayyyy too close for comfort, so I sold them and bought a JGS log mani...


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jazz4890
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What about this kit from ETD Motors they have there own website and everything and they say all of there stuff is made in USA but has anyone ever bought this kit and tried it I was thinking of getting it.


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GTR PrYdE
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jazz4890 wrote:What about this kit from ETD Motors they have there own website and everything and they say all of there stuff is made in USA but has anyone ever bought this kit and tried it I was thinking of getting it.
is chinese... and alot of their stuff is copies of copies

ETD is CXRacing, they're quick, decent, cheap- and cheap

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jazz4890
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lol so would that be a no on there kit? I was maybe thinking of getting there kit and replacing some things like the Mani and the turbo and wastegauge but over time like a short period of time tho would that be a good idea? and you said decent so does that mean there ok?

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neverlift
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dont buy twice just save more. had a couple smoking trade offers not came my way I would be rocking a t25 still, I was fine with it. never any brake overheating or anything...

also small update, t3's eat 2 to 2.5 adapters(rubber) for lunch

manifold still rocking out

master has overheated once during drifting, I think my sheild is working that out, know soon. So I will concure that turbine placement is a lil off, but its an equal length manifold.... what can you do

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aziankingz
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anyone have input on the ebay type rs bov?

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1995240sxSE
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I hated it. leaked and bov sound sounded like compressor surge!

ssac topmount, besides being too close to master cylinder was awesome. I used hockey puck in early 06 and was $$$$$. my manifold was the only ebay part other than bov. stay away from blaast performance . com horrid turbo. brand new. produced no boost. refused to refund. sold the turbo for 1/2 the price to someone that wanted a jacked turbo. I am thinking bout an ebay kit on my new project till i save for swap.

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zerepdivad
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ok well heres somewhat of a review...

I've been running a chinacharger t3 .50 coldside .63 hot side. i believe.

I ran it at 5 psi for about 1000 miles, and it held up great. Then i went to 9 psi which i've been running for about 2000 miles. And it's still holding up just fine. And thats beating on it a lot and went to the track twice.

In my opinion it is well worth the like 130 bucks i payed for it.

obviously i'm also running a restrictor.

I've also been running the top mount ssac t3 tubular manifold and that's held up just as good since day one and i've been running it the whole time i've had my car turbo'd. I put a flex pipe in the exhaust to relieve the stress from the manifold which i know not a lot of people take the time to do.

Now i'm not telling people to go out and buy them or anythign like that. I'm just posting to let people know that so far they're not as bad as people make them out to be. I see some people posting that their turbo lasted like 2 wot runs, and that they're manifolds crack after a week. I'm willing to bet most of the guys that have those problems don't run restrictors and don't put flexpipes in the exhausts either.....

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spooled240
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my same chinacharger (lol) and ssac manifold has been doing great on a daily 10 psi..I took it to the 1/4 mile and ran like 13 times doing consistent high 13's and drove it home, that was a good 4 months ago.

Still no problems so far, my recent smoking problem was due to light weight oil (0w10 )

Like I always said, I'm not guaranteeing success with these parts, I am merely stating my experiences

ghx407
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I've had a Chinanetics turbo (T3/T04E 50 cold, 63 hot, 57 trim) for 1.5 years, boosting 15 psi. It's doing great so far. Shaft play was checked last week and it was very minimal.

I also had a Chinese GT28R that worked great for about 1.5 years. I sold it in excellent conditions for $250 when I upgraded to the bigger turbo. The guy that bought it said it only lasted him one WOT run, so he must have done something wrong when he installed it.

The Ebay intercooler kit and exhaust have held up great for the past 3 years. The Frankensteined bottom-mount T2 manifold I have now for the T3/T04E is the same one I bought from Ebay 3 years ago for the GT28R. It hasn't cracked yet.

[KNOCK ON WOOD.]

My 240SX is not currently a daily driver because of infant car seat issues, but I make sure to beat on it. Just within the past month and a half I've run 4 track events.

z.hunter1
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I am also curious about this kit from ETD Motors, so if anyone has stories it would be much appreciated. Seems like pretty cheap fun and whats the worst that can happen... a motor can always be rebuilt. lol

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GTR PrYdE
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Found this review on ebay
the-chip-tuner wrote:
I thought it about time I wrote a few things here about SSAC and their wares.

I've purchased, sold, tarded, fitted, raced, removed, modified and blown up most of the parts they offer for Ford, Nissan and Honda over the last few years. Some of it has been downright junk, some of it has been OK (for the price), and some of it has been nothing short of superb!

TURBOSFirst and foremost, SSAC et al DO NOT manufacture! they simply buy (in great quantity) from China! This is partly the secret to some of their very variable product lines and quality controls. For instance, I had a T3/T4 turbo from them that started blowing smoke the first time I hit boost. Embarassing, saying as I had installed it for a customer after they had purchased it from SSAC themselves. Nothing a full rebuild seal kit couldn't solve, and it did leave a semi decent product in the end. Likewise, I've had GT28RS knock-offs that have failed in short order; some down to poor installation and maintenance, some down to the product itself. Equally, my daily driver Nissan 200SX with a CA18DET motor is still going strong after 12,000 hard miles.

There seems to be various 'life stages' to the turbos SSAC have supplied. As time has gone on, the products have gotten much better whilst some have remained abject junk. Some turbos have come with XS Power cast into the compressor housings; these should be avoided like the plague. I've never seen a good one of these. Buy it, rebuild it, save a few pennies, and put it down to experiance when it chews itself to pieces after a year. GT28s come in two flavours. Earlier ones seemed to have a rough finished compressor housing and quality was variable. Later ones had a smoother housing and seemed more reliable (I have a later one - see above for my experience). I have NEVER seen a repeat of the 'legendary' internet compressor housing failure due to it being held together with epoxy resin. It's easy to tell a housing that has been welded together; there will be marks around the circumference where the weld has been ground back.

Never heard anything bad about the T70 turbos the Supra boys love either. Only installed one of these myself, but the owner soon discovered mid-corner boost buildup, and the car never saw the road again, sadly.

MANIFOLDS (NASP AND TURBO)Again, more mixed reviews. We've all seen the horror pics of the Honda manifold that has failed at the flange and left the turbo dangling by its oil lines, right? We've all also looked at the pic and noticed that it's been cut up and rewelded at an angle so the massive turbo can clear the block, right? And we *DID* all look at the pic and realise that it was the owners weld that actually failed, right? Thought so.

However, they can and do crack; especially the turbo manifolds. Hang 30lbs of turbo off a piece of cheap stainless and heat it to 700 degrees celsius, and sooner or later it's gonna fail. Again, earlier manifolds were worse, later are better but not great. One thing to bear in mind when you pay $150 for a turbo manifold... Bracing from the block to prevent cracking is not such a good idea. This will mount the turbo almost rigidly and force the manifold to take up all the changes in shape they go through when heated after you beat on it going down the on-ramp. This will exacerbate the problem. Most of the ching chong meow brigade have either braced the turbo flange to the header flange, or fixed the crappy welding. They're still cracking though.

Oh, and by the way. When you've got one, make sure you clean out all the welding deposits that get left inside with a Dremmel, and check the flange isn't too warped. Yes, they're all warped, no, don't bother asking for a replacement unless it's 1/2" out like a Toyota 3S-GTE one I once had. They will virtually all pull flat with a bit of judicious torquing; and maybe some skimming of the flange in bad cases (this is a good time to introduce you to their variable customer services - sometimes mediocre, often dire, sometimes downright litigious. Don't contact them unless you absolutely have to. When you do, it'll often be the stock answer of ship it back to us, and we'll ship you another one).

NASP manifolds (headers if you live in the colonies) can be variable. Mazda MX5/Miatas are dire. I fitted and early one and ended up calling the customer telling them it just wouldn't fit. I even wondered if it was from a different car. Same warped flange problems, but with added hassle of trying to make it fit at two points instead of just one. Some OK, most to be avoided. Very little experiance of them myself; would appreciate feedback from others?

CATBACKSWell, rice-tastic if you like that sort of thing. Hard to make an exhaust badly for a turbo car. Most N/A systems sound horrible. Particularly pleased with quality and fit of Nissan SR20 S13/14 200sx systems, especially with a downpipe and cat eliminator. MR2 systems just loud enough to wake the dead regardless. Very popular with the 'bling bling' crowd.

WASTEGATESJUNK.

Mostly.

The 38mm Tial style ones with the polished housings are ok. The 44mm ones with the finned housings should be melted down for scrap. Funky annodising does nothing to prevent boost spiking and creep. A lot of the problems are down to the crappy wastegate take-off ports ben slagged up and poorly located on the manifolds though.

FPRsAre you kidding? Obviously not. I wouldn't like to comment. I'm not brave/stupid enough to risk one.

BOVsFine if you like that sort of thing, not my scene really. The ricers I install for seem to like them. Mainly available as turboXS knock offs. They all sound awfull, but anything to extend the life of those crappy turbos above.

PIPING KITS AND INTERCOOLERSFor once, not too bad. Those HUUUUUGE FMIC kits are 'bling bling' enough for all buy the most pimped out ricer, but the boost drop accross them can be a problem. Bigger isn't always better; this isn't porno, buy the right size for your application. Charge coolers (stamped XS Power) are actually pretty good. Piping kits are, and will always feel made of thin alloy without bead rolled ends. Do the right thing and have a local shop bead roll them at the very least. The kits are also made up of universal pieces and RARELY fit the intended application without SOME modifications.

SUSPENSION AND CONTROL ARMSSee above; I'm not that brave.

Overall, food for thought. there will always be the crap (Toyota MR2 turbo downpipes - they WILL crack, regardless, and they've ALWAYS fitted badly) and the surprisingly good (Supra manifolds, T70 turbos, later T3/T4 turbos, some intercoolers). Most of it will be clouded and argued about by the 'h8erz' who have no experiance of the products first hand; merely being regurgitated conjecture from Honda-Tech will always detract from what can turn out to be a source of suprisingly usefull parts.

Just remember, low-balling means you don't get to complain about it when your $400 turbo kit craps out on you. Careful maintenance, installation and not being too disappointed when it does crack means tht you can get performance on a budget. Just make sure you invest the money saved on the parts on a good tune instead. The old adage that there's no substitute for dyno time rings true, and anyone complaining that "dis shizzle melted mi pistenz dawg, y0!" needs to be hung up by the hoses of their rising rate fuel pressure regulators.

red_rain
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it all really depends....i bought a t3/t4 top mount mani, and it fitted nice. but when i went to install the elbow, it did not fit. so i ended up jess buying everything from jgs except the turbo. been bout a year and still runnin the t3/t4 turbo at 7psi from ebay. maybe i was jess lucky.....who knows......


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