tyson Posted March 8, 2007 Share Posted March 8, 2007 I'm in the market for a T3/T4 for my ZXT, and I've been looking on ebay and noticed that these new turbos are dirt cheap. Anyone have any experience on these offbrand turbos? I know the no-name intercoolers had a bad rap before, but now everyone reccomends them as they aren't much worse than the expensive name brands. I'm looking for about 300 wheel horsepower out of my ZX, maybe a tad more. Please don't reply unless you know....I'm not looking for speculation, just the facts...Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mario_82_ZXT Posted March 8, 2007 Share Posted March 8, 2007 Well, unless they have been changed one of the major beefs was glued together housings, and thrust play. Mario Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Cramer Posted March 9, 2007 Share Posted March 9, 2007 An intercooler isn't really a precision machine - as long as it doesn't leak, you can copy an established design and reasonably expect it to work. But for something that spins at a hundred thousand RPM and glows red hot? Turbos are a lot less forgiving when it comes to sloppy tolerances. There are some really over the top horror stories, such as the infamous SS Autochrome glued together turbo. Some of the others just have porous castings, factories that don't know what a compressor map is, and questionable bearings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TeamNissan Posted March 9, 2007 Share Posted March 9, 2007 An intercooler isn't really a precision machine - as long as it doesn't leak, you can copy an established design and reasonably expect it to work. But for something that spins at a hundred thousand RPM and glows red hot? Turbos are a lot less forgiving when it comes to sloppy tolerances. There are some really over the top horror stories, such as the infamous SS Autochrome glued together turbo. Some of the others just have porous castings, factories that don't know what a compressor map is, and questionable bearings. I really dont agree at all with that. Intercoolers really are precision pieces, if you expect them to work that is . There is more to it then welding 2 outlets onto a core........ As for a turbo, the catch is odds are its built like crap and shouldnt be used. There is a whole plethra of problems assosiated with them. Like mario stated. You can well expect that the tolorences will be half that of a good name brand. With turbos and IC's you really do get what you pay for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobythevan Posted March 9, 2007 Share Posted March 9, 2007 Here, definitely want to read the whole thread, it is long, I actually haven't read the whole thing so I don't want to comment any more on it. I'm going to read it over again though, because I thought they had good luck with the super T70 from SS. Looks like in the thread he mentions that it is actually a little smaller than a real T70. http://www.turbomustangs.com/smf/index.php?topic=37404.0 PS: skip down to reply #16, that is where the real account starts from a different guy than started the thread. The pictures of the Turbo are on page 8, reply #159 Reply #343: Almost been 1 year now. XS power T-69 Turbo and engine is still together ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobythevan Posted March 9, 2007 Share Posted March 9, 2007 OK, I scanned the entire thing. The T70 SS/XS turbo definitely worked for this guy, but I get the feeling he only puts like 1000miles on the truck in the course of a year? I could ask him in the thread I guess. Looks like he got atlest 5-7 other people to by this turbo for their projects by him having good luck with it. I am actually trying to get a friend to go this route with his daily driver pickup. That way if the turbo fries out I can say "see I told you those turbos were cheap, but now you can just slap a real one in there since all you setup is done" So what do you guys think, any takers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mario_82_ZXT Posted March 9, 2007 Share Posted March 9, 2007 I really dont agree at all with that. Intercoolers really are precision pieces, if you expect them to work that is . There is more to it then welding 2 outlets onto a core....... The majority of the cores are mass produced by few companies overseas. All they do is slap on endtanks and a logo.... I don't think they're really precision peices... Mario Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TeamNissan Posted March 9, 2007 Share Posted March 9, 2007 Well I mean maybe Precision is the wrong word to use. What I mean is Its not just a piece of metal where one for 100$ off ebay is going to give the the same results as a nice (and maybe bit over priced) name brand unit. I mean There is still things to be considered with a IC like internal pressure loss, flow, total area etc... Just like there are many things to take into consideration with a turbo, which is too many for me to list lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexideways Posted March 9, 2007 Share Posted March 9, 2007 Yeah, but if the cheap company buys it's cores at the same manufacturer as the name brands, copy the end tanks and have at least a 3/4 decent welder, you can expect it to perform similarly. Maybe not as well as the name brand, but close enough to have a very good quality/price ratio, no? I'm just asking/discussing, I'm no expert. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparks280zt Posted March 9, 2007 Share Posted March 9, 2007 Well I mean maybe Precision is the wrong word to use. What I mean is Its not just a piece of metal where one for 100$ off ebay is going to give the the same results as a nice (and maybe bit over priced) name brand unit. I mean There is still things to be considered with a IC like internal pressure loss, flow, total area etc... Just like there are many things to take into consideration with a turbo, which is too many for me to list lol. I would like to see some dyno results and pressure readings to back this idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TeamNissan Posted March 10, 2007 Share Posted March 10, 2007 I would like to see some dyno results and pressure readings to back this idea. Me too actualy lol. Know anyone who has done a formal comparison? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stony Posted March 10, 2007 Share Posted March 10, 2007 I bought a cheap intercooler for my application Just to see. Once I got it I sold the HKS intercooler I had because it was going to take allot of modifying to get it to work. It is a bar and plate design and from what I saw when I was in Japan a few months ago they are identical to the bar and plate name brands the only difference was a bout 8-1000 bux!!! Even the end tanks looked the same. Mine is the same as the kit they sell in Japan for the Silvia. I should have some info on hp/ pressures hopefully in the next couple months. I will also have a copied 60mm wastegate and 50mm blowoff that i will report on how they perform. oh yea and an exhaust manifold that i will be able to report on this weekend on fitment issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrcheeze36 Posted March 10, 2007 Share Posted March 10, 2007 Where did you get the cheap intercooler from Stony? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stony Posted March 10, 2007 Share Posted March 10, 2007 It was off ebay. not ss but looks the same as the 4 inch core one they sell. i will have to look in ebay history to get the seller store. There is a post somewhere in here with pics of it and what it looks like inside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stony Posted March 10, 2007 Share Posted March 10, 2007 here is the link to that intercooler. http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=100078 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrcheeze36 Posted March 10, 2007 Share Posted March 10, 2007 Thanks Stony! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blake culp Posted March 11, 2007 Share Posted March 11, 2007 I like my ebay intercooler, it is the bar and plate design and the welds look very clean. The way i look at it, if the core size and end tank shapes are 99% the same as the high dollar name brand units and they are all made of aluminum, well, its good enough for me. Now i dont have any results comparing my cheap intercooler to a name brand intercooler, but if there is anyone in the OKC area i'll volunteer my intercooler for testing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wigenOut-S30 Posted March 11, 2007 Share Posted March 11, 2007 Well I mean maybe Precision is the wrong word to use. What I mean is Its not just a piece of metal where one for 100$ off ebay is going to give the the same results as a nice (and maybe bit over priced) name brand unit. I mean There is still things to be considered with a IC like internal pressure loss, flow, total area etc... Just like there are many things to take into consideration with a turbo, which is too many for me to list lol. My next door neighbor had no real problems breaking 600rwhp with his Ebay IC. same as Stony's and the rest of them. I ordered one for my Z as well. I should have it all in for SEZ!!. Here is a pic of my next door neighbor's turbo S2K Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavyZ Posted March 11, 2007 Share Posted March 11, 2007 Ask Austin about his FMIC---it was (last one) and is (new one) from ebay and cheap if I remember correctly. I don't think they are an issue really. I think the Treadstone ones are cut up truck ICs with new end tanks welded to them. Funny, but I have not heard too much bad stuff about them. The Spearco stuff is $$$$$. I'll take a $100 chance on havng a mediocre IC if that's what happens, but I think they'll work just fine. My $.02 EDIT: Yes, the whole freakin' thread was about cheap ICs: http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=119377&page=2 Davy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clifton Posted March 11, 2007 Share Posted March 11, 2007 One of the big problems with ebay turbos is you don't really know what you are getting. The SSautochrome "T70" uses a 60.5 mm inducer. Far from the 70mm wheel a real T70 uses. Another crook on there sells the same turbo as a GT35R. Same turbo with the little badge removed. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/garrett-gt35r-ballbearing-spec-turbo-gt35_W0QQitemZ130087304012QQcategoryZ33742QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem I can't comment on there reliablitly, only the deception. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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