choice of turbo for 16V twink
Turbo Mini Forums

now then.

We're at the ' make the right decision' phase of the project.

to turbo, or not.

we recieved with joy a 'univrsal' turbo kit last week, all boxed up and nice, orginally destined for a ZZR 1100 but the owner decided not to use it as it was too complicated.

its a type TO4E with part number T3/T4.

is this a suitable turbo to base a conversion on?

The package he has given us includes pretty much everything we need from the turbo point of view including alloy intercooler and boxes of pipe work, silicon hoses of various sizes, oil lines, dump valve etc etc, so it would be good if we can make it work.

Attachments:

53.54kb

27.62kb

Do yourself a favour and sell that piece of junk turbo. Don't even think about fitting it. Just sell it.

Then, decide if you want 150hp, 200hp, 250hp, 300hp and see which garrett fits the bill for you.

Unfortunately that looks like a "made in china" special turbo, some things the chinese are good at copying, others (including turbochargers) they are not so good.
As Dave says, sell on the turbo you have and then look at what you want to achieve.

OK, thanks guys - so, assuming I bin this one, whats the best turbo to target for 180 - 200BHP?
I can give more info on the engine if you need it.

That is a pretty good target. Do you want OEM style drivability or kick in the balls turbo boost?

Are you aiming for a red-line of 7000rpm, and hence relying on boost to make the bananas, or 8500rpm and hence revs and less boost for the same target hp?

Do you have 800 quid for a ball-bearing turbo or are you thinking a 60 quid ebay special?

My current mini has an R1 up front, and I guess I'm looking for the same level of excitement, but maybe more aggressively. The R1 is good fun, but I'd prefer to feel a bit more grunt.
with this one being a morspeed bottom end I'm not sure 8500 rpm would be a reliable constant figure, so lower revs and higher boost is probably the better route to take.
Cost isnt too much of an issue - I'm not loaded but I do prefer to do things right. 800 quid is around the target price I had in mind to source all the parts including getting a bespoke manifold made by Custom Chrome here in Nuneaton, UK.
I'd anticipated dyno set-ups and rolling road as a seperate cost.
the turbo maybe shite from this package, but all the generic parts certainly look up to scratch including the intercooler, so some some savings might be made there.
I guess I have 600 pounds to spend on the turbo at the moment, but I could go higher if it makes sense to do so.

Nothing I ever built has OEM style drive-ability - otherwise I'd just go buy a porsche or something else dull.

The R1 conversion is fairly well behaved mind you, not too much torque steer. The power is there but its just beginning to feel a bit lame.

think id get a second hand saab aero mitsubishi tdo4 ,and try that ,thatll flow enough for what youll want ,and still give you good response ,and be economical .incidentally ,thers a fiar few chaps on turbo forums that run the cheap chinese turbos ,and love them ,so you could give what you have a try ?

regards robert

Medusa + injection = too much torque for the dyno ..https://youtu.be/qg5o0_tJxYM

It did cross my mind - would it be worth taking this one to my local turbo-tecnics outlet just down the road and get them to spin it up to see if its any good? get some figures off the test rig before we dispell it?

the TD04's look like good value.
another thing I wanted to bear in mind was if this one failed for any reason its pretty cheap to replace ?

that probably would be a bit of a pisser.

I know a couple of people that use these turbos. One is still going strong and another started smoking. He rebuilt it with a garrett rebuild kit and its been fine since. Still a gamble though!

I know a couple of people that use these turbos. One is still going strong and another started smoking. He rebuilt it with a garrett rebuild kit and its been fine since. Still a gamble though!

sorry for going ot slightly, but do you have you any pics of your r1 conversion? be interested to have a gander

was it an off the shelf kit or a custom build?

"Turbo's make torque, and torque makes fun"

"did you know you can toast potato waffles?"

its a pro-motive subframe package, and it works very well. Its in this months mini magazine but if you want any specific photos I have a bunch on Photobucket.

i took the turbo in for inspection and they also advised on fitting a genuine over-haul kit, or one of their upgrade kits which I guess is an overhaul kit with 360 thrust bearing?

they didnt spin it up on the test machine, I have to book it in and pay a small fortune for the priviledge it would appear.

I have also posted on TMF and opinions there seem to suggest using a T2 instead.

another weird quirk today, someone brought along some AE pistons with a 6CC dish to the unit - gonna check out their specification and see if they are any practical use for anything. I dont think they will be on this due to valve clearances on the K ?

ignore tmf. "use a T2" is liek sayign "use a car" to go shopping? a people carrier or an elise? besides show me a T2 based turbo thatll flow efficiently for a genuine 200hp :)

as above have had experience of some china turbo's lasting fine with many hard miles, but have also seen them shatter (compressor wheel, no less) filling the intercooler and engine with shite. im a big believer in bang for your buck, but always take the educated choice, find a good second hand mitsubishi/ihi/garett that suits your needs and buy a rebuild kit for peace of mind.

turbo 16v k-series 11.9@118.9 :)

Denis O'Brien.