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Old 11-08-2010 | 12:16 PM
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Default Cheap eBay Turbos!?

Any usefull information please!, i was wondering if anyone has had any recent experiences of the reasonably priced new turbos found on ebay? does anyone use one or know of thier capabilitys and thier longevity? i know in the past these turbos have had bad press but ive been told recently thier quality has improved. your thoughts please. i may add i am on about t3s and t34s, not t28s or the ko3s for VW/nissans.
Old 11-08-2010 | 12:20 PM
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link to the ad?
Old 11-08-2010 | 12:27 PM
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Originally Posted by R4N S S
link to the ad?
im not that clever yet mate, any of the new chinese ones though, they are all the same im sure
Old 11-08-2010 | 12:32 PM
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Originally Posted by chaffe
im not that clever yet mate, any of the new chinese ones though, they are all the same im sure
well you are asking for trouble then.

As you have no idea what type of turbo to buy, what specs you need and on top of that you are lookkng at chinese shit

i personally wouldnt - chinese are shit quality
Old 11-08-2010 | 12:35 PM
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i know of two people who say they are allright, i have one myself that i was given sat that i use as a paperweight in my workshop because i dont dare bolt it onto my cossie because just to look at it appears cheap and nasty. the bolt holes for the exhaust housing dont even line up with exhaust flange and the gaps around where the compressor housing fits on are not even equal all the way round!
things are cheap for a reason imo!
Old 11-08-2010 | 12:35 PM
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i see, im asking generically about the turbos for everyone it may interest. wether it is a t3 .48 exhaust or a t34 .68 or .70, with a .50 compressor housing, its the turbos im interested in not thier size or "spec". do you have any experience of them?
Old 11-08-2010 | 12:41 PM
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Originally Posted by botters
i know of two people who say they are allright, i have one myself that i was given sat that i use as a paperweight in my workshop because i dont dare bolt it onto my cossie because just to look at it appears cheap and nasty. the bolt holes for the exhaust housing dont even line up with exhaust flange and the gaps around where the compressor housing fits on are not even equal all the way round!
things are cheap for a reason imo!
OK, thats true! i understand if you have spent thousands on an engine then they may not be for you, you say your mates have used them with good results though?
Old 11-08-2010 | 12:51 PM
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i wouldnt say they were mates just two people on here have them fitted to cosworths and seem to be doing ok with them, heard a lot of horror stories tho
Old 11-08-2010 | 12:54 PM
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Originally Posted by botters
i wouldnt say they were mates just two people on here have them fitted to cosworths and seem to be doing ok with them, heard a lot of horror stories tho
what like? do you think the horrors may be the reason the car needed a new turbo in the first place?
Old 11-08-2010 | 01:07 PM
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Originally Posted by chaffe
i see, im asking generically about the turbos for everyone it may interest. wether it is a t3 .48 exhaust or a t34 .68 or .70, with a .50 compressor housing, its the turbos im interested in not thier size or "spec". do you have any experience of them?

why?

as already stated build quality is crap and the materials used are shit.
Old 11-08-2010 | 01:16 PM
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Originally Posted by chaffe
what like? do you think the horrors may be the reason the car needed a new turbo in the first place?
horrors like oil pouring past the seals and straight outta the exhausts and shafts and comp wheels splitting in two sending all the broken parts into the engine that kinda thing!
Old 11-08-2010 | 01:37 PM
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Originally Posted by R4N S S
why?

as already stated build quality is crap and the materials used are shit.
so you have no experience of them personaly? thanks
Old 11-08-2010 | 01:41 PM
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Originally Posted by botters
horrors like oil pouring past the seals and straight outta the exhausts and shafts and comp wheels splitting in two sending all the broken parts into the engine that kinda thing!
ive heard the one about the compressor wheels splitting, but never seen it? does sound like a couple of failures though, i wonder if they were running restrictors in the oil supply? ive had a few garrets been a bit oily, cured by a restrictor in the supply, a turbo doesnt need loads of oil to survive. intresting though, thanks.
Old 11-08-2010 | 01:42 PM
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In the VW world the KO3/KO3s Chinese turbos are reknown for shitting themselves at the earliest possibilty opportunity...

Theres a few horror stories out there
Old 11-08-2010 | 01:46 PM
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Originally Posted by chaffe
so you have no experience of them personaly? thanks
not the turbos no - but i have plenty of experience with chinese autmotive products and some of the workmanship i have seen is utterly shocking
Old 11-08-2010 | 01:48 PM
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Originally Posted by smithy20vt
In the VW world the KO3/KO3s Chinese turbos are reknown for shitting themselves at the earliest possibilty opportunity...

Theres a few horror stories out there
yeah mate think the cores are smaller on them and of a different design, more intrested in the t3 derived ones thanks.
Old 11-08-2010 | 01:50 PM
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Originally Posted by R4N S S
not the turbos no - but i have plenty of experience with chinese autmotive products and some of the workmanship i have seen is utterly shocking
i know what your saying, but its obviously the blowers im interested in, some of thiere stuff must be ok? my new i phone is made in china and it works just fine (when i get signal lol)
Old 11-08-2010 | 01:52 PM
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Is it worth mentioning that ALL modern TDI variable nozzle turbos are renowned for being shit, and can sometime last only 40-50k before going belly up.
Old 11-08-2010 | 01:53 PM
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in my experience of them, the quality is rock bottom, they dont last long, you will never stand a hope in hell of getting any form of warranty when they do go wrong, and they often do not perform as they should or have incorrect internals so off the shelf chips may not work.

the best option is to buy from a reputable dealer, who will give you a good quality unit that will work and last, face it you will end up buying one of these in the long term anyway, so it is much cheaper to do it now rather than later
Old 11-08-2010 | 01:54 PM
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yes my new iphone is assembled in China too, but we are talking a major company here with Apple not some small-medium sized company.

A very good friend of mine lost a few hundred thousand on a load of chinese motorbikes which were only fit for the scrapyard. Although the batches he received prior to and after that consignment were relatively trouble free.

Best of luck in your search
Old 11-08-2010 | 01:59 PM
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Originally Posted by James @ M Developments.
in my experience of them, the quality is rock bottom, they dont last long, you will never stand a hope in hell of getting any form of warranty when they do go wrong, and they often do not perform as they should or have incorrect internals so off the shelf chips may not work.

the best option is to buy from a reputable dealer, who will give you a good quality unit that will work and last, face it you will end up buying one of these in the long term anyway, so it is much cheaper to do it now rather than later
Do you sell gen garrets mate? what sort of warranty would i get on a modified car? most moddified products carry no warranty what so ever. thanks.
Old 11-08-2010 | 02:00 PM
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no we dont sell them at all, however most big companies will honor warranty as long as the turbos use is sensible
Old 11-08-2010 | 02:05 PM
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good to know, will bear it in mind thanks, have you experimented with the ebay turbos then? ta
Old 11-08-2010 | 02:09 PM
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ive turned a few away from set ups when they wont make more than 20psi with the wastegate control pipe off them
Old 11-08-2010 | 02:16 PM
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ive never ran more than 20 psi on any of my cars! all of them have been totally home brew creations admitedly, most ran about a bar. my pulsar was running 20 psi though. Did you not think the spring in the actuator was at fault? not the turbo.

Last edited by chaffe; 13-08-2010 at 12:13 PM.
Old 11-08-2010 | 02:20 PM
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we do 32psi on the yb 55lb package
Old 11-08-2010 | 02:27 PM
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cool, i bet that pulls well, a very expensive hobby tuning ybs though, so an expensive turbo is no problem. On budget builds often with near standard engines and relative boost levels i have found chinese turbos more than adequate on several occasions, one of wich has covered over 10k miles and is still going strong. all the bolt holes lined up with my garret elbow, and oil supply and return worked well. the engine and turbo produces no smoke and makes good power, my freind has also used two of these turbos on v6 golfs, both of which have worked well for thousands of miles. thanks for your input though.
Old 11-08-2010 | 02:33 PM
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standard yb , with a t34,63 at 32psi on the 55s will do 380+bhp, its reasonably cheap up to 400bhp
Old 11-08-2010 | 02:36 PM
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Originally Posted by chaffe
cool, i bet that pulls well, a very expensive hobby tuning ybs though, so an expensive turbo is no problem. On budget builds often with near standard engines and relative boost levels i have found chinese turbos more than adequate on several occasions, one of wich has covered over 10k miles and is still going strong. all the bolt holes lined up with my garret elbow, and oil supply and return worked well. the engine and turbo produces no smoke and makes good power, my freind has also used two of these turbos on v6 golfs, both of which have worked well for thousands of miles. thanks for your input though.

why start a thread about these shitty turbos asking about them then say you have experience with them and answer your own question
Old 11-08-2010 | 03:30 PM
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Originally Posted by saph4be
why start a thread about these shitty turbos asking about them then say you have experience with them and answer your own question
lol
Old 11-08-2010 | 03:42 PM
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Not all cheap turbos are made in china. Alot are produced in brazil.
Old 11-08-2010 | 03:48 PM
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Originally Posted by Garage19
Not all cheap turbos are made in china. Alot are produced in brazil.
Is that better or worse? lol
Old 11-08-2010 | 04:01 PM
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It means they could be made by fit women in bikinis?

But seriously you will find Garrett turbos are also made in brazil.
Old 11-08-2010 | 04:09 PM
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Bonus!
Bit random as to if you get a good one then, I'd rather not risk it!
Old 11-08-2010 | 04:16 PM
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The company that I am thinking of that make the budget turbos are ISO certified so their QA procedures should be pretty shit hot.
Old 11-08-2010 | 04:17 PM
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Oh fair play! Who is that then??
Old 11-08-2010 | 05:48 PM
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Originally Posted by bigryrs
lol
lol

Last edited by chaffe; 11-08-2010 at 05:55 PM.
Old 11-08-2010 | 05:50 PM
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Originally Posted by Garage19
It means they could be made by fit women in bikinis?

But seriously you will find Garrett turbos are also made in brazil.
if you strip a budget turbo i think you will find everything is interchangable with a garret they are copies, good ones at that
Old 11-08-2010 | 05:54 PM
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Originally Posted by saph4be
why start a thread about these shitty turbos asking about them then say you have experience with them and answer your own question
because i wanted other peoples experiences not just my own, if i went in guns blazing saying i knew everything do you think anyone would answer. the truth is people who dont know anything are the first people to put thier backs up. its just a discussion about cheap turbos.
Old 11-08-2010 | 05:59 PM
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Originally Posted by Garage19
The company that I am thinking of that make the budget turbos are ISO certified so their QA procedures should be pretty shit hot.
thats cool, turbos are relativly simple and cheap to produce, its just companys like garret like to add "modification" tax onto them, cos they can.



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