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Leaking turbo - my options?

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Old 10-01-01, 10:33 PM
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Leaking turbo - my options?

Okay, I seem to have fixed my Buckin' RX problem, but now I have come to find out one of my turbos is leaking (I think the secondary). So, I figure I have two options: replace the bad turbo and keep it twin, or go with a single turbo kit.

my biggest concern is reliability, followed by cost. is a single turbo kit any more or less reliable than the stock set up? i've got a quote on a Greddy single turbo conversion kit for $3800. i'm assuming i can just replace the bad turbo for cheaper, but given that the other turbo could still go relatively soon, what's my best option?

i don't want to go completely overboard on the cost, but I do understand that whatever I do will cost quite a bit out of my pocket (or plastic, as is the case on this one).

so, from those of you who have gone down this road already, what's my best bet?
Old 10-01-01, 11:21 PM
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ok, i've been doing some searching, and the rx7store has these two that i'm interested in:

GReddy T-78 Single Turbo Upgrade (stainless manifold, racing wastegate, downpipe, and all fittings): $3599

Apexi Single Turbo Upgrade (same stuff as GReddy kit): $3350

there's a difference of 25 RWP @ 15 lbs of boost, with the GReddy coming out on top. any thoughts on these? i know GReddy is pretty good stuff, what about apexi? i've heard differing opinions on their products.

will i need to upgrade the ecu or any other components to go single?
Old 10-02-01, 11:14 AM
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Turbo Leak?

Can't give you any info on the turbos, but I'm also looking for a leak iin my Turbo system. What were your symptoms.
Thanks
Old 10-02-01, 12:10 PM
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Mike, it's not as simple as just buying a turbo kit. You need more fuel, a bigger intercooler, lots of gauges, on and on. Going from a stock car like your to single will cost a minimum of $6000. Your best option is to look every day on the classifieds here and thepartstrader for upgraded stock twins. I've seen them a few times for around $1000. Or if you can afford the downtime, send your turbos off to get rebuilt and upgraded. That would cost about the same I believe. But even if you do that, and put a downpipe on, you're going to need more fuel. Best option for more fuel is to buy a Power FC, or a cheaper alternative is something like a Super AFC ... but that's not nearly as good. Then with upgraded turbo's, Power FC, and a downpipe, you'll probably need a bigger intercooler. You see how it goes? Once you start upgrading, there's always a new weakest link.

So unless you have the money to burn, get the turbo's rebuilt and keep the boost around 10psi.
Old 10-02-01, 08:29 PM
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Re: Turbo Leak?

Originally posted by liamn56
Can't give you any info on the turbos, but I'm also looking for a leak iin my Turbo system. What were your symptoms.
Thanks
blue smoke coming out my *** when i get on the throttle at 4000 rpm or higher or, actually,
Old 10-02-01, 08:33 PM
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Originally posted by BOOSTD 7
Mike, it's not as simple as just buying a turbo kit. You need more fuel, a bigger intercooler, lots of gauges, on and on. Going from a stock car like your to single will cost a minimum of $6000. Your best option is to look every day on the classifieds here and thepartstrader for upgraded stock twins. I've seen them a few times for around $1000. Or if you can afford the downtime, send your turbos off to get rebuilt and upgraded. That would cost about the same I believe. But even if you do that, and put a downpipe on, you're going to need more fuel. Best option for more fuel is to buy a Power FC, or a cheaper alternative is something like a Super AFC ... but that's not nearly as good. Then with upgraded turbo's, Power FC, and a downpipe, you'll probably need a bigger intercooler. You see how it goes? Once you start upgrading, there's always a new weakest link.

So unless you have the money to burn, get the turbo's rebuilt and keep the boost around 10psi.
that's exactly what i wanted to know, and pretty much what i figured. here's another stupid question: what if i go single but keep it at 10 lbs of boost? a) would it even be worth it, then, and b) is that even possible? c) if i stay twin but go non-sequential, do i still get into all that other junk?

i like the single turbo idea just because there's so many fewer hoses, etc, but it seems the big picture is a lot more cluster-f*%ked. and a lot more expensive.
Old 10-02-01, 09:06 PM
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With a single, you could keep the boost really low because you would have a big external wastegate ... but you won't. The power would be addictive, and you'd crank up the boost. If you did that without the other necessary pieces, you'd be engine shopping in a hurry.

Either be prepared to spend a LOT of money, or don't go single. That's all there is to it.
Old 10-03-01, 12:52 PM
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The single turbo will also have more turbo lag. I would go with a rebuilt or upgrade twin turbo setup. Or, like BoostD7 said, fork out a few thousand $$ for some major transformation. BTW, the labor to change to single turbo would be pretty expensive too.

Glad to know that the bucking was stopped!
Old 10-03-01, 11:08 PM
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mkay. so, since it looks like i'm staying with the twin setup, what can i expect to get out of an upgraded twin setup you guys are talking about? would it really be worth the additional cost over just a rebuilt? and, as ryan said, once i upgrade that, then i have to go intercooler, etc.

hmmm...think i just convinced myself to stay with the stock configuration at this point. kind of a bummer, although it will be nice not to dump several grand into this.

thanks guys...i think!
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