Forums/Z31P/z31-basics basic-modifications-basic-questions-aka-the-newbie-forum/The truth about Ebay Turbochargers
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SteveZ: (2007-11-10 23:29:27)
READ IT!
http://www.bblgroup.us/ssautochrome.htm
TearingRaven: (2007-11-11 04:44:48)
Thats just incredible.
300zxt: (2007-11-11 04:54:08)
They're only pissed someone ripped off their turbochargers! lol
OR-Zman: (2007-11-11 09:05:43)
Good info Steve.
Unfortunately many products are being knocked off and made overseas now and its damn tough to know what is what.
I found a similar article about Chinese Walbro pump knock offs a while back. I figured it probably had some validity and ordered from a local shop who orders directly from Walbro. I may have paid a few bucks more than the knock off but I felt better about it. Local and US companies and all that.
91crxsir: (2007-11-12 01:49:07)
ssa isn't a bad company for some parts but I wouldn't reccomend buying a turbo from them. I have heard before about the housing being held together by glue. But I did buy an exhaust system and headers for my old 03 tiburon I had. and for the price they weren't bad the exhaust was a little loud and ricey sounding. I ended up selling it and buying an ark. So my advice is save your money and buy a quality part, because you get what you pay for.
MrwassmanNA2T: (2007-11-13 08:41:33)
I am amazed at how much bad feedback there is and people still buy!
Steve88t: (2007-11-14 05:00:05)
I've noticed a real rash of turbo related items that are obvious "chinese" knock-offs. I saw an electronic boost controller the other day and a wastegate just now.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/UNIVE…QQcmdZViewItem
I know it seems great when a factory in China copies expensive products and suddenly everyone can afford it. But they are doing such bad things to their own economy (and it doesn't help ours) that I wish more people would realize why they shouldn't buy that crap.
I've never really been a "only buy american products" person. I consider the world an open market and believe that economics should dictate the stuff our government tries to regulate. But, as we have seen in the media this summer, so much that comes from these countries is crap and is accepted by stupid consumers and should not be. They just accept that it's crap and don't demand more.
QUIT BUYING THIS SHIT!
MrwassmanNA2T: (2007-11-14 07:21:07)
US and Japanese products are on my top list. No china or taiwan if i can help it, most everything they make seems to be inferior. Shit i am weird enough about it, I found a Japanese made 1G micro SD memory card.
G-E: (2007-11-16 12:18:19)
so wait, you actually listen to the "media", for anything?
Steve88t: (2007-11-16 14:42:29)
The media is not the reason for my buying anything. It was just an example that most people will understand.
Timbo_021: (2007-12-19 08:49:17)
The media is always biased one way,like the government and heaps of other crap..If your stupid enough to buy something without properly researching it first,thats your own problem.
chronic: (2008-04-24 02:21:59)
Yeah, I bought an ebay turbo a few years ago with out thinking… Did some reading, regreted it, took the housings off, really regreted it. Realized I made a mistake, and ended up selling it for what I bought it for [archived image: biggrin.png] Lesson learned, and my motor is still alive and well. First turbo experience was a good one with a used holset.
Race_Bred: (2009-02-09 07:36:29)
my friend that we all call ebay shay bought a turbo off of there instead of getting his TO4H rebuilt for his honda, it was good when he first had it for a day but then wanted to do a hond a fly my and screeeeeeeeeech… bang there went the compressor wheel which took out his motor :P
me being a ex honda lover had a spare motor laying around gave him one, hoping he would learn a lesson but he still buys ebay stuff…
Shady195: (2009-02-27 16:47:26)
I know a few people that have some decent High HP build around here and they use Ebay turbos…
The big problem with them is them not being balanced properly.. Not so much the glued compressor housings anymore.. Theyre made with the same cheap gasket kits people buy for the garetts/turbonetics etcc for rebuild.. and they work fine.. The biggest issue is balancing.. If you look none of them have balancing marks on them anywhere..
A guy I know just got one for his KA-T build.. Its a Ebay T71.. got it balanced and it works flawlessly
nutball: (2009-03-02 14:49:18)
A friend of mine bought a turbo manifold, downpipe, and intercooler/piping from "ss sutochrome" for his civic(he already had a quality turbo) the parts were dirt cheap, but when we went to install it the maifold was completely warped, to the point where it bowed enough on each end to stick a popsicle stick inbetween the head and the manifold. and the down pipe was cracked. the kit was complete trash. needless to say he was forced to quality stuff for 3x the price.
PulseCode: (2009-04-01 23:43:19)
I bought most all my parts off E-Bay for my NA2T conversion. The sellers' feedback tells the whole story. I never buy from someone with less than 99% positive and have worked very hard to keep my 100% perfect feedback over the past ten years. What really impresses me are the sellers who have thousands of transactions and still have perfect feedback.
Shady195: (2009-04-02 20:02:51)
With "big" ebay companys feedback doesnt mean shit. Especialy with "cheap" parts. Most of the people that buy these things hardly know anything and leave feedback upon arrival of the item rather than after testing and using it for over a period of time. Which is why when theres "positive" feedback on a cheap ebay turbo generaly the person slapped it on and it seems to be working fine, time will tell when weather or not the turbo stands true and people dont wait to leave feedback of the actual quality of the item.
Generaly most of the good feedback is also from using bolt on "cool" parts like light and underglow.
Go fast parts don't flood the feedback section as much as "cool" parts do.
Guest: (2009-04-02 20:57:29)
yeah i have spent alot of time reading feedback and most of the time it is for stuff like projector headlights, led kits, shift boots, etc. usually the negative feedback is from shipping issues. so far i have only read a few feedbacks for turbos, i believe all of them were, item as described.
Careless: (2009-06-13 19:40:48)
I find buying a turbo (or anything really heavy) that could potentially fail at the most inopportune time is not something I usually do, unless there is a service center that is relatively close to my house.
imagine having to ship a shitty turbo back to the manufacturer, just to be short-changed for a lot of time, money, and sweat & blood, and probably a couple of hairs.
It's not my idea of a good purchase.
If I can find a turbo locally for a good price and for, say… 50 - 100 bucks more.. it may be worth spending the extra moola on.
onefast87: (2009-07-05 03:17:29)
[http://[video=youtube_share;Za0DieZHMKc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Za0DieZHMKc[/video]] [archived image: yt_logo_rgb_light.png]]
Great video about knock off turbo's, and reasons why you should not buy one.
2.44 it gets good.
Shady195: (2009-08-12 17:30:52)
Old ebay turbos have been known to do stuff of this nature… but ill use CXRAcing turbos now as an example.. Theres a shit ton of really quick cars that have been running for a few years now running these turbos without issue..
Their getting better at making these knockoffs so that people will acctualy buy them
New 2 Z: (2009-08-12 18:18:25)
[quote]Shady195 wrote:
I was afraid of reply in fear of getting flamed but whatever.
I DO use a Ebay turbo. a T3/T4. it spools VERY nicely at 15psi mind you I still don't have a blow off valve yet so is DOES surge. it picks up incredibly fast.
the problem with Ebay turbos is the seals and balancing. when you buy a Ebay turbo SOME may be balanced some may not it's a hit or miss with them just like buying a junkyard turbo hit or miss. If someone does buy one Ebay turbo I STRONGLY recommended getting it rebuilt with a genuine Rebuild kit like greddy, HKS, garrett, turbonetics etc. and it'll be as good as new. for GT turbos your out of luck those have to be sent in and taken apart very few turbo shops can take apart a GT turbo and rebuild properly.
so why spend 3k on a turbo when you can have one rebuilt and balanced for less then $900?
I will admit they do have their down falls when I had a GT45 ebay turbo the compressor fins would break with ease so maybe the bigger turbos suffer from that but maybe not the smaller ones.
Guest: (2009-08-12 19:07:59)
I had bought a cxracing t3/t4 a year or two ago. I never got around to putting it in. It seemed like a quality unit. It spun freely, no shaft play. I ended up selling it, but I am thinking about buying another one just to try it out. I am redoing a maxima block, so once that is done, I will probably throw a cxracing turbo on the engine thats in it now. There are a bunch of videos on youtube about cxracing but they are mostly from two people.
OK85ZX: (2009-08-12 21:47:50)
uhh what? atpturbo sells GT BB turbos for 1k-2k with T series journal bearing turbos being much cheaper. You will never find an ebay special that can compare to these.
sprtcrazy17: (2009-09-01 18:23:24)
Meh, you get what you pay for. If you like taking apart your car go for it. 300cars is a perfect example of that.
Guest: (2009-09-01 19:50:14)
With my new setup I can have the engine out in 30 mins. The only reason I am not driving my car now is the hydraulic long ram for my hoist blew up. I am waiting on a new one. I am willing to bet there are ONE or TWO out of a thousand ebay sellers that sell a decent turbo. That being said I am would not trust an ebay turbo on a built engine.
NIVO: (2009-09-02 20:44:55)
The Brazilian SPA turbos arent bad for the money.
also a number of precision turbos in the SC61 line can be had for under $780 and do 650whp or so.
or for around 75 lb/min air you can have the PT67 line for under $920
bleakdragonmage: (2009-09-03 05:03:04)
Im going to raise the BS flag on this one.
I highly doubt you can pull your motor in 30mins. Especially if you dont wiring and such.
Guest: (2009-09-03 06:57:38)
did u see my build thread? I got the wiring cleaned up and reduced. I can get to the heater core hoses with the new plenum on. I left the trans in the car. 5 mins to unbolt the trans. 1 min undo wiring. 3 mins water lines. 5 min to pull the intercooler. 1 min fuel lines. 5 mins hook up straps. 10 mins inching/ maneuvering the engine out.
yota73: (2009-11-05 17:36:45)
I know a guy whom has gone through two of these ebay t3/t4 units. I told him not to skimp out when it comes to something that can fail soo easily and throw chunks of metal through your engine, but he never listened to me and had to rebuild his current ebay unit. Funny thing is, even after the rebuild it still blows smoke from the seals.
NIVO: (2009-11-05 19:34:24)
are these the cx racing turbos or the other ones?
I have a few friends with the cx-racing T67 and GT35 and they have nothing but good things to say for the price.
yota73: (2009-11-06 00:11:25)
[quote]NIVO wrote:
I know a guy whom has gone through two of these ebay t3/t4 units. I told him not to skimp out when it comes to something that can fail soo easily and throw chunks of metal through your engine, but he never listened to me and had to rebuild his current ebay unit. Funny thing is, even after the rebuild it still blows smoke from the seals.
are these the cx racing turbos or the other ones?
I have a few friends with the cx-racing T67 and GT35 and they have nothing but good things to say for the price.
I honestly don't know. I'll have to ask and find out.
yota73: (2009-11-06 01:50:10)
Great part is, I asked him what brand turbo he bought all of these times. Guess what his response was. I really don't know what brand it is. This is a bright person.
amreboot: (2009-12-13 11:49:16)
I have pulled my motor 8 times now. I have now made it alot faster and quicker to do so.
I am right there in the 30min range to pull my motor.
On a side note…
I spent $1000 plus shipping ($200) to have my turbo modified to take an AiResearch (owned by Garret) T3/T04e 57 trim and .63 A/R.
I was still able to retain my 3" QTP electric cut-out exhaust and keep the water cooling aspects of the original Nissan Garret T3 turbo.
Money well spent IMHO. I have been running 20+ PSI on it (I have other supported mods to make this happen) for almost a year and I haven't had ANY issues what so ever.
Pics…
PM me if you want info of where to send your turbo off to get this done.
Matt89: (2010-02-21 01:53:05)
You have exactly the same turbo as me…for now atleast. :twisted:
Anyone looking for a budget turbo should check out Master Power.
Timbo_021: (2010-02-21 02:27:03)
Onto my 2nd Monsta turbo now, a T70. Upgraded the old T04e which has done about 20,000ks and still clean as a whistle inside after running 15psi daily for about 2 years. The T70, i pulled it apart and cleaned it, whacked it on and boosted it to 18psi with no dramas..
maverickxeo: (2010-03-30 07:17:18)
Just have a stupid question…
Could you technically buy an ebay turbo kit, such as this:
http://cgi.ebay.ca/Jeep-Wagoneer-T3T4-T … 5081wt_939
And then buy a legit rebuild kit from Garret or whoever, and rebuild the turbo?
Not that I would do that. :lol:
Mitchd03: (2010-03-30 18:29:14)
I've got an eBay spec T3/T4 hybrid that I don't plan on using. Bought it second hand locally for cheaper than off eBay, so I don't mind that it's probably garbage. Not going to risk using it, mostly due to laziness, needs an external wastegate.
The plan is to fit the compressor housing onto the stock z31 T3 and buy a Garrett compressor wheel to fit.
SteveZ: (2010-03-30 21:02:06)
No.
Not worth it at all. Spend the money on the right Turbo in the first place and save yourself the hassle.
New 2 Z: (2010-04-23 15:55:45)
after a complete year of beating, going from High psi to low psi lanuches and other stuff as well as engine stalls and other engine failures along the way, my ebay T3/T4 finally devloped in and out shaft play (0.6 and under) it wasn't enough to hit the compressor or turbine housing. I found it after I decided to pull the whole turbo unit to replace the 02 sensor, and desided to check turbo play while I had the turbo out.
Are there a good quailty rebuild kits I can buy for a T3/T4 combo? HKS? garrett? turbonetics? greddy?
BLOZ UP: (2010-04-23 16:21:33)
Read the post above you.
Timbo_021: (2010-04-23 21:49:20)
So how many people on here have actually owned ebay turbos and had them blow up? I've owned two and they have been good.
New 2 Z: (2010-04-23 21:55:40)
I havent "blown" mines up per say but it just needs a rebuild because of the shaftplay, other then that it has been a VERY strong turbo. always stood up to the abuse i put it through.
and thats something i would like to know actually.
BLOZ UP: (2010-04-24 02:19:56)
Ah, you don't have enough money for a decent turbo, so you are putting some cheaper one on that's probably going to cost you more in the long run? Makes sense.
Careless: (2010-04-24 02:59:53)
you can say what you want about the turbo busting into pieces or not. whether you think that is ok is really a question of whether you understand the severity of cheaping out or not.
when the turbo is made to push everything that crosses its path INTO the engine, where do you think those broken pieces are going to end up???
GTP-ZX_Z31: (2010-04-25 10:19:05)
I'm sorry for this disgustingly long rant, but I just have to add my two cents and hopefully stop this craziness about knock-off vs. brand name turbochargers…
-Physical Testing
To prove either point on both turbochargers we must:
1. Find the original designers plans, tolerances, metals used and content of metals in any alloys used. We would likely need to be into corporate espionage or work at a manufacturing plant with sufficient clearance for this.
2. Observe and note the Axial and Radial shaft play in at minimum a few thousand units of each turbocharger. This would require a load of money for the turbochargers, and a couple of average machine shop measuring tools.
3. Inspect the type of metal / quality of the metal used (Is some b.s. soft filler metal used in the process, or higher quality metal that is up to spec.?), we would need a metalurgist and a lot of money to pay him / them.
4. Test in a VSR Balancing machine to check how many G's at how many RPM's at how much Oil Flow each turbocharger pulls. Again, super expensive and time consuming.
5. Temporarily install them in a test jig with a motor capable of providing enough heat and exhaust velocity / pressure to sufficiently test the heat tolerance of the parts of the assembled turbochargers during operation.
There are likely quite a few things I am forgetting, but the above should be adequate proving grounds for turbocharger quality testing when used for a multitude of units since most knock-off producing manufacturers do not use quality assurance standards / systems.
In reality it is highly unlikely that any of us have the money or would spend that kind of money to test turbochargers from various American, Canadian, Japanese, German, and Chinese manufacturers, although it would be a good way of putting a stop to all of the speculation, as well as a good way to eventually knock the bad manufacturers out of business.
On the other hand:
-Common Sense
It is generally agreed upon, and considered logical in many consumer circles that an item with a reputation for performing reliably including a good serviceable warranty can be trusted just as much as an item with a notable amount of failures and no warranty can't be trusted. We follow this way of thinking due to the fact that it simply makes sense and also because the other ways of testing and proving reliability after something has been built (in this case) is just plain impractical for the average person.
You guys are right about the high failure rate of knock-off turbochargers and high reliability rate of name brand turbochargers, but there is always the exception (the few lucky individuals who recieve a perfectly made unit). The exception is very small from what I have heard on other forums from owners of these knock-offs. One must mitigate the risk involved and make a decision… In the end, is it a wise idea to take that kind of risk, even if its a temporary setup? Hell no!!
Logic alone is a back-up to that answer, as almost NO knock-off turbochargers have SERVICEABLE warranties. I have done an ample amount of research and browsing forums as well as dealers and shops to find that result every time, if anyone wishes to refute the previous statements… please remember that the burden of proof would generally be against one who postulates that a unit carrying no warranty is of comparable quality to one with a serviceable warranty in the first place, which would be an ideological fallacy unto itself. In my opinion, only a group of idiots (many Ebay sellers) would believe that a product with no warranty being sold on mass production scales is anywhere near comparable in quality / reliability to a product of the same production scale with a warranty.
But…
Lets do some simple math with some assumed numbers anyway:
Let's say that 90% of name-brand turbochargers are known to be reliable and provide years of fully functional service, and 80% of knock-off turbochargers are known to be unreliable and fail quickly.
To be sure enough that we are fair here, let's say that these percentages apply to a 10,000 unit order.
10,000 Units X 80% (Failure Rate) = 8,000 Units
and
10,000 Units X 10% (Failure Rate) = 1,000 Units
Now lets take the average pricing of a Garrett GT35 Turbocharger: $1,350
And the average pricing of a GT35 knock-off: $275
$1,350 X 1,000 Units = $1,350,000
and
$275 X 8,000 Units = $2,200,000
Basically, someone would have to spend at least the amounts above to get a "good" turbocharger through straight forward hook-up and testing of each brand. Note that the Garrett is still cheaper then the knock-off when comparing apples to apples.
Now I'm no statistician, but I would say that if one chose this route of testing (and was very rich) they would eventually come to the conclusion that no matter what, it is cheaper in the end to just buy the name-brand (quality assurance standards used, with serviceable warranty) turbocharger and call it a day. Not to mention the heavy probability of a compressor wheel rubbing the housing, chipping apart, and blowing your engine.
- Prices are from current Ebay pricing. Knock-off turbos tested would be from the same manufacturing plant. I have owned GT35, Super T70, and k04 knock-offs that have all had various failure points in short time spans. I currently own a Ceramic Ball-Bearing Turbonetics T66 T4 Turbocharger with an Alloy HP Compressor Wheel and an Inconel F1 Turbine Wheel and I beat the crap out of it… No oil restrictor in and a small 3/8" oil drain tube. No leaks and no problems yet.
SteveZ: (2010-04-26 14:59:18)
Thread cleaned up.
Back on Topic.
Timbo_021: (2010-05-01 01:53:44)
Well yeah, if you buy a turbo with no warranty your a bit of a retard… The To4e i used to have got the shit beaten out of it also with no oil restrictor in the feed line and its still a sweet as turbo, 3 years down the track.
I think also, some people are careless and don't make sure that the turbo is clean inside and make sure that nothing ends up in the exhaust before the turbo that could end up going through the blades and destroying the turbo. The more expensive turbos probably have a stronger material that the blades are made from and aren't as prone to exploding as the cheaper brands. I really don't think they are as shit as people say, its all about the care taken when installing it.
GTP-ZX_Z31: (2010-05-01 04:09:27)
insinuates the false assertion of turbocharger reliability depending ONLY upon correct installation. Although I can't speak for the rest of us, I personally would not want to mislead anyone new to turbocharging.
Recommended reading:
Turbo : Real World High-Performance Turbocharger Systems
By Jay K. Miller
and
Maximum Boost
By Corky Bell
The above books have excellent information pertinent to this thread. Jay K. Miller explains precisely why most knock-off turbochargers should be avoided.
New 2 Z: (2010-05-07 22:39:35)
I'm taking your advice and I'm gonna get a garrett center cartridge for $400 the only thing ebay will be the compressor housing and the turbine housing, the blades and everything else internal will be genuine garrett.
Careless: (2010-05-08 01:13:35)
That's not a bad choice at all.
I know someone who has that on a 240z with RB25 and boosts it to 18PSI whenever he drives it.
A kid came in with the china turbo and he took apart the Center Cartridge infront of him and showed him how badly made it was. The kid decided to buy a rebuilt garrett from him at that point.
The compressor and turbine housings were checked for integrity, ported, and then put on a garrett center section and the turbo was pretty much like any other garrett turbo, and the casting was very well done as well for a china turbo.
Been running ever since.
New 2 Z: (2010-05-08 01:25:59)
it's actually cheaper dude.
okay. i pay 200 for a ebay turbo. and i have the center cartridge changed out for a garrett unit thats 400. thats a total of $600 dude!
and you would pay almost 800 - 900 for a brand new T3/T4 from garrett, you just saved your self almost 200-300 dollars.
idk seems reasonable to me. thats how much i got quoted on anyway.
New 2 Z: (2010-05-08 01:28:41)
[quote]Careless wrote:
I'm taking your advice and I'm gonna get a garrett center cartridge for $400 the only thing ebay will be the compressor housing and the turbine housing, the blades and everything else internal will be genuine garrett.
That's not a bad choice at all.
I know someone who has that on a 240z with RB25 and boosts it to 18PSI whenever he drives it.
A kid came in with the china turbo and he took apart the Center Cartridge infront of him and showed him how badly made it was. The kid decided to buy a rebuilt garrett from him at that point.
The compressor and turbine housings were checked for integrity, ported, and then put on a garrett center section and the turbo was pretty much like any other garrett turbo, and the casting was very well done as well for a china turbo.
Been running ever since.
best part is it comes with warranty if something SHOULD happen that is it not my fault like turbo failure of some sort i can get it replaced.
stprasinz: (2010-09-26 15:00:25)
ok, I'm bringing up the old thread.. I've had 3 ebay turbos in the past.... first one many many years ago, ran it for a while after I had my 1st turbonetics failure (mind you after 60 days? of the turbonetics install) ran that for a few weeks, no problems, back to the turblownetics.(for 30 days this time(i think it was like 300 miles) back to the ebay cheeseball still no problems with it, no where near the power, but it was strong… turbonetics failed one more time, this time 24 psi boost, the rings toasted, well the ring landings.. As I put the ebay special back on, and it was smoking, I thought it was the turbo… toar down the turbo, everyhting was all clean, and still good...... and that was about the end of turbo one for me, sold it to a local, who said it was bad ass, but honda's around here are a dime.......
anyway, ebay special #2 was used on my 300zx running 12 psi on higher pressured stock injectors for a while (actually ported head blah blah blah) thern i wanted more boost, so I ran to 10 psi then sprayed lots of methanol to i9t and ran 18 psi… wow that was a beast!! press to pass, in 2nd at 35? and laid right sideways (welded rear diff) ran that set up all last summer(second summer for that turbo) now I just pulled the car back out, I'm running megasquirt now, and my clutch is dead… but still turbo is huffing and pufing ready to rip........
ok ebay special #3 started its life as a simple t3 t4 ebay special, but I swapped on a turbonetics 60-1 hifi compressor on it....turbonetics are balanced seperate, so I figure its close enough.... I ran that on my 280z running 10 psi non intercooled with 300zx engin management.. Ive put about 7-10,000 on it no problems… and as for the compresore housing, I slapped that on a 280zx exhaust and center, and sold it… So I spent 20 for the other exhaust and center, and 100 for the busted turbonetics turbo.......
so all in all Ive ran ebay knock offs WAY more reliably then a turbonetics turbo..... now on a sidenote, my buddy runs a turbonetics and has for several motors. they come stock with lots of shaftplay, and they even will tell you thats normal??? I had it rebuilt and evertime went very quickly! and the last time i didn't run the turbonetics till the warranty ran out.. big mkistake, it was smokeing as soon as installed, and after 500 miles i took it off.... they never returned emails about how I can have it rebuilt I even offered it to them for free just pay shipping to them so the could all look at it and improve on it flaws.. still no responce!!!!! well I finally took it apart, the thrust bearing was busted!!!! for shits and giggles I reassembled it using a good thrust.. there was almost no shaftplay.......... But anyway, sorry about the rant!
long story short every company has a bad apple.. but I have ran the crap out of ebay specials and have had NO problems!!!!
Careless: (2010-09-26 16:50:28)
a tiny bit of play is normal because there is no oil film between the bearing and the shaft. if you can rotate the wheel while pushing it off to the side of the housing and it still spins without contacting the compressor housing inlet- then it's pretty normal.
stprasinz: (2010-09-27 00:52:32)
thats pretty much what turbonetics said also. But seemed to be far more than any Garrett precision atp or ebay special turbo that I ever felt, which all felt very similar.. very small amount of shaft play.. but the turbo netics felt substantial everytime it was rebuilt, and everytime it toar itself apart in no time...... so I think I was one of the unluck people who got1 new, and 3 rebuilds of bad turbos from them… Its a one in a million, or far less shot, but I imagine that it would happens eventually where someone gets totally shit on by a very reputable company, just sucks to be me....
Matt89: (2010-09-27 01:13:19)
BB turbo's have more shaft play because the bearings are "free floating"
87_Z31: (2010-10-25 09:33:14)
Shaft play is also important do to the fact of how much friction is created, think of it has rudimentary as starting a fire with a shaft of wood in a secondary piece of wood with a hole. Or another example, having sex, don't won't a dry whole, thus tearing skin, so the same theory follows is with wet cooled or ball bearing, shaft play allows for excess heat to be distributed so the heat from friction is not transferred to just the shaft and bearing thus causing heat expansion.
Now to take in consideration knock off turbo's, well think of the type of alloy used, and method of oil supply to the turbo, specifically to the shaft and bearings. Most likely if you have a bad oil supply to a oil cooled turbo, it will affect the shaft and bearings in more ways than one, specifically if the bearings aren't being cooled effectively it can cause the shaft to expand and soften causing it to warp, thus increasing shaft play with bearing's expanding, which in turn decreases quality after every use. That's why it is very important after ever use, you check the shaft play to see if it's in tolerance, you don't need any special tool to measure tolerance, just good judgment, moving to see if the compressor isn't rubbing the housing, after many checks it's identified that there is no contact with the compressor and housing from prolong use, there's a general assumption made that you can say that the turbo you're running is great quality. I just outlined the few of the critical aspects of shaft play, feel free to add whatever you want, but most was already mentioned in previous post.
85 300zx: (2010-11-11 00:30:32)
I understand why people are getting mad about ebay turbos, but not are all bad I bought mine from CXR racing and it works very well. I am running a T3T4 50 trim, and I am pushing 18 psi. It is strong and it spools pretty fast. I guess I was just lucky I read the reviews for the company.
Timbo_021: (2010-11-11 07:31:49)
Been running my ebay Monsta T70 now on 15-20 psi for about 6 months and its beautiful [archived image: smile.png]
Mitchd03: (2011-06-11 07:39:26)
Timbo, from what I've heard, Monsta is an Australian distributor of shit Chinese turbos that basically import them and perform quality control. If it's Monsta, it won't be anywhere near as good as a Garrett, but you'll generally get a "good" turbo out of them. Dunno about warranty though, is there any? Their exhaust manifolds, however, are made of too thin metals and warp.
Also, aren't you only getting small power out of the T70 on 15-20 psi? Like, similar power to people with T04E's?
Timbo_021: (2011-06-12 04:10:13)
Yeah, 240rwkw at 14 was when it was last measured… I didnt think it was too bad for a standard tune but?
Jason84NA2T: (2012-10-08 15:29:32)
There's no denying that the Chinese-built 'noname' turbochargers have gotten way better in the 5+ years since this thread was started. I'll probably never buy another one anyway, but many more people are having success stories recently.
Guest: (2012-12-05 22:43:50)
My friend bought a pretty well done rb25 s13. The oem turbo went out and since the PO was selling it, he threw on an ebay turbo.
Wasn't even boosting, just driving down the road.
[archived image: china.jpg]
[archived image: turdbro.jpg]
stprasinz: (2012-12-06 20:07:01)
I run another ebay turbo… Has seen 35 psi more than once (supposed to, not an OH SHEET). Still perfect. Has seen excessive heat at drags (10" fan, and very little cool time = hotter and hotter), to the point where running 15 22 and 28 psi had the same mph, and times.... Still GREAT like new condition… Probably close to 6,000 miles on it, just a guess might be alot less.... In fact probably not even 3,000 miles yet, but there BEATEN miles.
Timbo_021: (2012-12-07 06:14:25)
Ahh, looks like that nut unscrewed itself… Im pretty sure the cheaper ones have the same thread for a normal and a mirrored turbo and yeah, they unscrew themselves if they have the wrong thread on it… [archived image: tongue.png]
slammedfc: (2012-12-24 17:49:15)
Well i did note my turbine shaft threads on mine did not have any thread locker.
Oil starvation can cause that as well. Turbine shaft expands, grabs hold of shit and it's game over.
No, i'm not here making assumptions on what happened inspector gadget style.... Just comparing some observations for discussion purpose.
Timbo_021: (2012-12-26 00:28:47)
go go gadget ebay turbo!
WcKD300zx: (2013-02-18 01:31:21)
I bought a XS power turbo from a guy of Craig's list, good thing i haven't installed it yet! Looks like I'll be selling it and getting a GOOD one. Thanks for the info!
slammedfc: (2013-09-28 00:42:28)
Some of the wheel combos they use in turbines you should take note of when ordering a turbo. CONTACT the seller/mfg before you buy.
Snail fighter store (on ebay) offers 1 year warranty with optional 3 year warranty on all their turbos. Godspeed also has a 1 year warranty. They do honor it. Buy from companies that stand behind their product. You get some as-is b/s and it shits the bed on you, you are left with a paperweight. And as the T25/t28 above with a shredded wheel and probably bent shaft, there's no coming back from some instances...... out the box my snail fighter turbo you could tell wasn't a generic china copy. The balancing methods are different and the serial tag is blank. They are very open to questions and answer truthfully without run around dodgy "buy or leave" tactics. Shaft was tight as a glove out the package!
I have seen 2 damaged cx racing turbos. one had shaft play out of the box i purchased. Another came from someone else who underwent thrust bearing failure. It started smoking really bad, oil all in the downpipe and intercooler. Ate the compressor wheel. Both turbos were pulled before they were past the point of saving. The thrust bearings pooped on both turbos. The one that ate the wheel had cracks on the bronze 270* bearing!
Friend of mine has a godspeed t70 with 63 a/r turbine on his rb25. he beats the hell out of that car around 17-18 psi and hasn't had a single issue. He said it was kinda laggy but when i rode in the car it felt like it pulled really hard. Several of his cars have ran off brand turbos without problems. He doesn't discriminate. Garrett, holset, turbonetics. Doesn't matter. Some people just throw stuff together and run with it.
jaqattack02: (2013-09-30 13:39:58)
That's interesting, I've never heard of snail fighter. May have to look into one of those. Does anyone know if the Nissan T3 uses a standard bolt pattern for the exhaust side? So if I were to buy a T3/T4 would the O2 housing bolt up to it so I can use my CM downpipe, or would I have to get something made?
ajaxism: (2013-09-30 13:56:57)
My ebay turbo came with 2.5" outlet with v-band. Modified my exhaust to work with it.
I couldn't find any housing with the 7 bolt pattern.
jaqattack02: (2013-09-30 14:41:32)
Ok, so our 7 bolt isn't a standard pattern.