zep Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 Yo guys, has anyone had any experience with those Chinese turbos on TradeMe? My turbo is pissing oil out through the seal and it's cheaper to buy a new Chinese replacement than to get it fixed up (each option is a temporary fix until I can afford the turbo I want anyway). Are they really that shit? How do I tell which one is better than the next? And are they steel wheel? Looking at a few options: http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motor ... 862019.htm http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motor ... 024840.htm http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motor ... 332310.htm http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motor ... 223742.htm Not worth it? Horror stories? I'm pissing smoke out all over the show so I need to sort something ASAP. Churrrs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jase Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 turbo shits itself and it it'll lunch the engine? believe diddy had a cheapy as did my old flatty, no horror stories probably quite safe in the short term. maybe ring around for a second hand replacement i know quite a few workshops sometimes end up with them as the customer doesn't pay the bill quite like this PLEASE READ OUR TURBO TERMS AND CONDITIONS BEFORE BIDDING! yet theres nothing there, might pay to ask if they have public liability insurance cover just in case there turbo kills your engine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keltik Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 Ive seen a couple fail but those were on higher HP engines where the turbo probably shouldnt have been used anyways. I think in the short term you shouldnt have any problems. It tends to be the oil seals that let these units down rather than major design flaws. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikuni Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 Are there any places that you can go and have a look at the turbo's, perhaps with someone that knows exactly what to look at? I've heard that some are laughably bad, and you can tell as you as you lay eyes on them, while others are as good a quality as the real deal and that theres not a lot of point in paying through the nose for a proper one for a car such as yours. That geezer on toyspeed that won superlap in the 7agte levin used one and made some kind of crazy power out of it, while still being super reliable. In saying that, I think he ended up changing to another brand but it was a good sales pitch at the time (I think he was selling them too). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spencer Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 Yea Baz was on selling some pretty sweet ones (they did cost extra than the trademe deals though) he moved on to a BB garret. Most I have seen have been sweet, it seems the early ones had some catastrophic failures due to shaft nuts coming off and shit balance jobs. But haven't heard of anything like that in a long time. Just do it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaMpylobacter Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 saw pics on the interwebs one time where the two pieces of the compressor housing were held together with epoxy resin. popped like a pimple when it got some hot boost running Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikuni Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 I think tanks EX was running a chinese turbo is it last couple of outings. I don't think he had any troubles with it, it just wasn't big enough for him If I was building a turbo engine I would definitely run one - I don't know if thats a pro or a con, just saying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R100 Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 They are ok if used on standard or low boost applications. The center shaft is made out of cheese and the impellers are made of balsa wood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zep Posted January 11, 2011 Author Share Posted January 11, 2011 The Scarles place is pretty close to me so I might go have a geeze at one of them. They guy there reckoned he was running one on his car and that it was sweet, but who knows as he is obviously trying to sell them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feathersword Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 No trademe at work, but was is the price difference between one of the Chinese ones and the one you eventually wanna get? Not worth just waiting a couple more weeks and getting a good one? Just seems like if you buy the Chinese one, once you are finished with it the only money you will get back is through scrap metal!! I mean would you buy a 2nd hand chinese turbo?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kpr Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 ^scarles there wastegates are pretty rubbish, plus half the parts were missing. cant expect much considering the price i guess. turbos would have to be the same mates rx7 has chinese "T4" seems to be fine, only running 13psi though. i'd check it over pretty carefully before installing. pull the housings off and check the wheels, check compressor nut is done up properly etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zep Posted January 11, 2011 Author Share Posted January 11, 2011 No trademe at work, but was is the price difference between one of the Chinese ones and the one you eventually wanna get? Not worth just waiting a couple more weeks and getting a good one? Just seems like if you buy the Chinese one, once you are finished with it the only money you will get back is through scrap metal!! I mean would you buy a 2nd hand chinese turbo?? The difference is a lot. Like ~$500 for the Chinese T3/4 or ~$1600 for a GT2871R. ^scarles there wastegates are pretty rubbish, plus half the parts were missing. cant expect much considering the price i guess. turbos would have to be the samemates rx7 has chinese "T4" seems to be fine, only running 13psi though. i'd check it over pretty carefully before installing. pull the housings off and check the wheels, check compressor nut is done up properly etc. If I bought a T3/4, could I use my existing T3 wastegate? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aw11rob Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 what about a masterpower turbo? i've ran a couple, although not for ages, other people have with no problem. thats what bazdas been running since he stopped using chinese ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kpr Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 ah i meant their external waste gates. just for an example of poor quality control. but most t3's and copies use the same 6 bolt design. so could probably swap over the actuator if you wanted Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjrstar Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 what about a masterpower turbo? i've ran a couple, although not for ages, other people have with no problem. thats what bazdas been running since he stopped using chinese ones. Yeah I run one of those masterpower jobbies off Barry, it seems pretty well built and they are based on garrett sizings. They are made in brazil.. which has to be a bit better than China, also support for the product will be better if you do need replacement bits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xsspeed Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 Bazda was running masterpower from memory, fairly certain they were/are not chinese made though. Brazil rings a bell... edit: beaten Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OSM Garage Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 They're ok.... Guy I know runs a chinese TD05 (same turbo I have on my Lancer) on a dirt track car. So far he's been through 3 of them. False economy I know. What seems to happen is the shafts seize. For the limited amount of use that I have had with them they seem fine for a stock engine. But I wished I shelled out for a Garrett Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelvin Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 Tanks EX has been though a few, 3 maybe 4? They went good for a wile but just not made well enuff to last on high boost I gues. I vouch for Masterpower aswell have herd nothing but good things about them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zep Posted January 11, 2011 Author Share Posted January 11, 2011 Hrm, other option is to try rebuild my seals myself... I would have no idea how but could give it a go. It's either: 1. Buy a 2nd hand 300ZX/Skyline T3 from TradeMe and hope it's in good condition: ~$150-300 2. Pro rebuild on current RB25DET T3: ~$800 from what I hear. 3. Chinese T3/4: ~$400-600 4. Garrett GT2871R: ~$1500 (this is what I really want, but I'm poor, read: no job for a few months yet, and it could take a very long time to save for this). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjrstar Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 I would avoid chinese if at all possible.. although the one i had did last ok.. (decent looking fake garrett with tags etc..) These t28's seem to produce some decent results.. plus might be in better nick as it'll be newer alternative to 300z turbo.. http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motor ... 132883.htm but 2nd hand turbos can be pretty hit and miss... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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