Im thinking of selling my Greddy kit and going with a garret turbo. Would something like the ball-bearing GT40R be worth all the extra cost over something like say, a T04E? The turbo itself is almost twice as expensive, and the only benifit I know of is the slightly quicker spool time. Its not that Im cheap, I just dont want to waste my money for something not really worth the cost. In case it matters, I want ~400 RWHP (FC), and mods in sig.

 

Thats a huge question, Ive had a GT35R and I liked it. What always worried me was the replacement cost/repair costs.
Sean at A-spec said the cost has come way down on repairing them but from what I have seen there is a guy here on the forum having trouible getting a compressor wheel for his 40R. I blow motors on occasion and it hurts enough to buy new motors let alone having to spend out the butt for turbo's also. I went with a real cheap turbo to replace yet still make big power with decent spool. Although the performance of the Ball bearing do have a slight advantage in some respects.
Ive owned both. I think there is alot of Hype on any new product. Rotor motors blow more frequently and take thier toll on turbos. I push the motor too much to replace expensive turbos as often as motors.

 

Thanks for the response. So you went from a BB GT35R, to a similarly sized non-BB turbo. Could you tell any noticable difference in turbo response?

 

He has, but he hasn't driven both so at this point he's speculating

I have driven Zoomzoom's car with the BB GT35R and I have a non ball bearing GT35 on my car with a slightly smaller AR, but a T4, rather than a T3 footprint. I didn't feel a difference in spool up between the two. However, neither of our cars were properly tuned and I didn't drive them back to back.

 

Thanks for the input, I dont think Im going to worry about it then, non-BB should be fine. While on the subject, here are the specs of the turbo I am looking at, could I get some feedback please?

T04 E , .70 A/R compressor , 1.00 A/R hotside, divided.
Compressor inducer diameter 2", exducer 2.95"

 

Do you have the trim or inducer/exducer size for the compressor wheel?

 

That inducer is a little on the small side. I very much doubt it will get you to ~400rwhp. You could, however, get a larger compressor wheel (T04E 57 or 60-trim, 60-1, etc.) and have the compressor housing machined to fit.

 

Wheel is a P-trim. If this is too small, Im open to suggestions.

 

Just step up to a T04S. Or if you can find one a 62-1. That will get you to where you need to be all day long and they'll both still spool just fine as long as you stay with the 1.00A/R. Just my .02 though.

Zach

 

According to my Tunner..
Ballbearing Turbos aren't worth the extra cost.
From what I understand, BB turbos are more prone
to failure and alot more expensive to rebuild.

 

Sorry if this is a dumb question, but you guys with GT35s, what kind of power were you making, on what boost? What is the difference between the GT35, and the GT35/40? I am also looking at a GT35/40, 1.06 A/R exhaust housing. Any input on this?

 

if your running a big turbo and lag is a problem for your type of driving//racing then yes its worth it... the downside is that the ball bearing turbos usally require more regular rebuilds(smoking) and they cost more....

my street car does not have a b/b turbo, but its only a 60-1 running 10 psi
my race car uses a b/b turbo but the turbo is huge! running 28 psi

hope that helps

 

GT35R and GT3540 is the same turbo. The 1.06 hot side is the one i had. It was fine but you wont notice much more power from your single.
My R85 is much much larger. Like Chris said I havnt driven the car yet with the R85 as its being installed now. But the dyno shows it makes about 60+ HP at the same boost levels as my old GT35R. I went bigger because at first your worried about going to big and lag etc. Then once you own a single turbo you know its such a minor issue and it doesnt really effect driving like you worried it would, you end up going bigger.

 

GT35R is Ball Berring 35. 35/40 is a 35 compressor with a 40 exducer. Like stated above it depends on what you are looking for out of the car. If you are looking for high horsepower numbers and don't want a lot of lag, then bb would be a good choice. If you are looking for something that might be suited more for autocross, or street use then just go with a smaller turbo, and you most likely won't have a problem with spool time. But of course a larger turbo with bb can also be suited for autocross just depends on the turbo/porting/tuning. There are a few people out there running very large turbos that still see pretty good lag time compared with smaller turbos.

- Steiner

 

What was I speculating about exactly?
Like I said The replacement repair costs are significantly different. I opted for a cheap turbo to repair/replace. something that will make the power I want without the worry.
WHile I havnt driven my car yet with the Bigger turbo all that i explained to you is basic truths about ball bearing vs standard thrust bearing turbos.
Like i said I think there is alot of hype with ny new product.
I have yet to really see them make a significant difference in power or spool. But there is an advantage there. And the initial cost is about the same for both kits. Its really the repair or replacement cost of the turbo and internals alone.

 

Ever think of getting a 60-1 or a 62-1? They can come in ball-bearing and a BB 60-1 will run you about 1500 bucks.

 

at what rpm does your 60-1 start to spool and do you know what power it's putting out at 10psi? How about 12 psi? Thanks