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I’m in Japan (Tokyo, Hiroshima) for a couple of weeks and I’m trying to see if I can still find new J-spec turbos here for my FD. Does anyone have suggestions where to look? I can only find rebuilt turbos online…. Do new ones exist anymore?
I’ve read in this forum that rebuilt turbos are not reliable, and I do not want to go aftermarket because I’m keeping my car OEM (aside from reliability mods).
Sorry I don't have any suggestions for you but hopefully a member that lives or has lived in Japan sees this thread and chimes in.
Anyway, I just came in here to reinforce your thinking about not getting rebuilt turbos. You read correctly as they only last a few thousand miles. I should know, back in the day my service contract kept replacing mine with rebuilt ones... Key words 'kept replacing" yeah as in multiple times
Edit: sorry, missed that you’re in Japan. They shipped my parts out of Kyushu so maybe they can still help you domestically. But the parts I ordered included shipping. So you might be better off ordering through them rather than try to bring it back on a plane.
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Thx for the suggestions everyone. I didn’t have any luck here. At least I was able to go to the Mazda museum in Hiroshima. Got to check out the 787B, and they let me sit in a Spirit FD that was out front, so that was pretty cool.
no, the thin one for the larger port size to help even out flow distribution with the larger secondaries (not a street purpose emissions engine)
not that it matters in the end with cnc porting, but it costs less than the FD int plate and also less to port than starting with the smaller FD plate ports.
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If you want to stay OEM, then get the best OEM turbos, which is the KAI. There's 2 different JDM turbos but 3 turbos total.
"1.Original '92-'98 HT12- 265ps(metric HP) rated in JDM's, lower nickel content(greater cracking), 25.5 mm wastegate, 270 degree seal, 41.5 mm compressor wheel, 57 mm turbine wheel, 0.6 kg/cm2 actuators, small shaft, wear out quickly when constantly used at or above 14 psi 2.'99 spec '99-'02 HT123B- 280ps(metric HP) rated in JDM's, high nickel content (less cracking), abraided housings, 25.5 mm wastegate, 270 degree seals, 41.5 mm compressor wheel, 57 mm turbine wheel, small shaft, still wear out quickly when constantly used at or above 14 psi 3. SP '14-current HT12-3KAI- 27mm wastegate (more controlled higher boost, less boost creep), redesigned compressor housing with same AR, 360 degree seals (higher boost capable, no oil starvation like the previous versions), 43.2 mm compressor wheel (12% more air), 57 mm turbine wheel (same), larger shaft (40% greater, capable of higher boost), same 0.6 kg/cm2 actuators (I had custom Forge actuators made that I mounted using modified stock brackets with 1.0 kg/cm2 springs for better higher boost control), these turbos were designed for 14 psi or greater (I will boost to 18-19 psi once fully tuned)- IMO I don't know why anyone who not use these KAI's or BNR's for any rebuild if you want to stay twin and desire greater boost, greater turbo longevity, or simply better turbos- these will last longer and boost higher with no downside other than the slightly higher cost of around $300-$400."
I forgot to add that you can't buy the KAI's new anymore, they were discontinued last year. Will have to buy them used but honestly there's nothing wrong with BNR's; they are similar to the KAI's.
Sometimes you can find good deals if someone screwed up an install. I got new ones with a bent bolt for like... $300.
I recommend just using buyee (https://buyee.jp/?lang=en) since it's in English, and searching by part number. They typically won't want to ship oily, used motor parts, but new stuff is fine (although you may have to speak to a person to get them to approve it). Parts are super cheap now due to the weak yen, so you can get stuff like new OS Giken diffs for around $700-800, Ohlins (new) for $1500, etc.
Try searching first on kakaku for the best prices, then if it's not on yahoo auctions japan, see if you can give a link to a forwarder like buyee (there are many others) and they'll act as a middleman and handle payment & shipping https://search.kakaku.com/OS%E6%8A%8...3%83%E3%83%81/
I have briefly been in touch with RaceOnly and been advised;
"Our twin turbos are roller bearing Garrett units machined into the oem housings.... We don’t do oem upgraded turbos anymore since we had many failures. The bush bearings just don’t hold up to the weight of upgraded wheels
We don’t sell fdmotorsports parts anymore and haven’t for some time now
Our units require good exhaust housings supplied by customer"
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So it looks like these are no longer FD Motorsports turbos and I am thinking that roller bearing upgrades would be a good thing. There are a few obvious follow up questions but I have left it there for the moment as my stock ones are doing OK.
