Turbo options?

[Petro135]

I've replaced everything and am still not hitting boost and am getting 30ff after a long(boring) pull in 4th gear. Did a vacuum check today and it still is at 11. Which it was at before all new vacuum lines ,new chargepipe, Bov, boost solenoids and ic. All connections triple checked.
Car is great and has plenty of power in 2nd and 3rd gear but nothing up top. My boost barely hit 14psi on an mhd 2+ tune. So after putting so much money into this car in the last couple months the only way I can afford to get new turbos is to do the install myself. I just read several install guides and I pretty much know everything that needs to be done.
I'm researching turbos now.
Problem is, I want to do inlets, outlets and have to buy an install kit so I can't spend $2500+ on turbos
So( I know, I know) I'm looking at chinese turbos.
Td04 for $1033
Ko4 for $600(had these on my audi 10 years ago with no issues)and a good warranty
The ecs stock replacements with upgraded parts for $1300
There is also Mitsubishi stock ones for very cheap on alibaba
My question is to just buy the turbos $1500 or under what is my other options if I'm missing some.
I'm distraught over this. I was hoping for a 6 months without any major work
Good news is, after this I replaced everything but the engine and body panels. Other good news is, I'm getting new turbos!!
BTW I'm not looking for huge power but after new turbos I'd expect to be at the 525-550hp mark
I have done plenty of searching and reading on this. But Alot of threads are really old now.
Thank you for any help

[Petro135]

Franken turbos?

[iminhell1]

Both Rob (RB Turbo) and Tony ( Vargas Turbo Tech) have stock turbos for about $600/pair.


https://vargasturbo.com/product/n54-...t-oem-stage-1/

[Petro135]

Thank you!!!

[Petro135]

I couldn't find anything for $600 a pair but I priced both rb and vargas out. All of them I added inlets, outlets, PVC valve, and install kit to the price
Vargas OEM with upgraded billet- $1870
Vargas stg1 with upgraded billet- $2575
Rb OEM- $1809
Rb one- $2575

So they are about the same, I'm thinking with more searching I can get install kit, inlets and outlets for less than they charge with the kit.
I will probably go with a stg 1 and wait a few more paychecks and do water pump thermostat and U pipe while I'm down there.
But who knows I'm kind of impatient

[Petro135]

Well I guess everyone is bored of turbo threads. Lol.
No matter, I will keep this updated with my progress.
ECS has the best deal for vargas stg1. Doesn't ship until December though, and I will buy vrsf outlets. Since my ebay ic will soon be a 7" vrsf

[iminhell1]

I guess I don't get it.
You say money is tight, but you insist on spending it; on things that make zero performance difference inlets and outlet.
I go and look at ECS, I find the same Vargas turbos I just posted for the same price, starting at $399/pr.
https://www.ecstuning.com/b-vargas-t...-n54-chra-1~v/

So I guess I don't know what you're after and you are the best judge of what you want.


Also, replacing shit without diagnosing why the code is coming up, well you're just going to spend yourself into debt that way. But good luck I guess.

[Petro135]

I thought those were internal parts for the turbos meaning I'd have to actually rebuild the turbos I have? Maybe I misread them. I can take stuff out and put stuff in, I'm not rebuilding turbos. From everything I read ,why take all that stuff out of my car and not do the restrictive inlets and outlets? Also I'm going monday to make sure but my bmw guy is on top of my car, and we both pretty much know that's the only thing left that it could be. I've sent him a couple mhd logs as well already. I will look into the link you put up thanks

[iminhell1]

Inlet/outlet are not restrictive until you're at the top end of the power spectrum. Big hybrids pushing lots of boost. On stock turbos, there's very little to be gained. They can lower the Wastegate Duty Cycle which relates to wheel speeds and can add to longevity of the turbos. But other than that there's no benifit. And if you're only pushing under 20psi you're not going to see any change, other than noise.

I ran the same track times on a stock inlet/outlet as I do with relocated inlets and more boost. Good tune and you can do high 11's all day long on 100% stock parts. Charge Pipe is the big one you'll need to replace because the factory one will fail with more boost.

[Petro135]

Originally Posted by iminhell1

Inlet/outlet are not restrictive until you're at the top end of the power spectrum. Big hybrids pushing lots of boost. On stock turbos, there's very little to be gained. They can lower the Wastegate Duty Cycle which relates to wheel speeds and can add to longevity of the turbos. But other than that there's no benifit. And if you're only pushing under 20psi you're not going to see any change, other than noise.

I ran the same track times on a stock inlet/outlet as I do with relocated inlets and more boost. Good tune and you can do high 11's all day long on 100% stock parts. Charge Pipe is the big one you'll need to replace because the factory one will fail with more boost.

You would not believe the list of things I've done to this car since I bought it in June of this year. That was just to get it running and driving properly. Then I got the upgrade bug, well I had it from the beginning and all that other work was getting in my way. I bought an OFT. Didnt like it, sold it for a big loss and got mhd, and then went FBO , just did the dp's this week. Today my wife told me to suck it up and don't fool with the turbos and to get the ones I will be happy with and to stop looking at chinese turbos.. So I'm going with RB "The Twos".
So I guess the part about me saving money changed to I wont turn them up to over 17psi so I don't have to buy fuel pumps.....yet lol
I'm also doing like 4 smaller auto body jobs in different spots on it. Got rid of anything silver and shiny on it. New Light bulbs, mirrors.
Putting this damn car together seems to be my newest addiction. Which my wife is happy about because my other addictions are high end stereo and guitars, and I spent alot more on those than this car.
Anyway sorry for the ramble , these do need the inlets, rob from RB told me to get them.

[Jeef]

Originally Posted by Petro135

You would not believe the list of things I've done to this car since I bought it in June of this year. That was just to get it running and driving properly. Then I got the upgrade bug, well I had it from the beginning and all that other work was getting in my way. I bought an OFT. Didnt like it, sold it for a big loss and got mhd, and then went FBO , just did the dp's this week. Today my wife told me to suck it up and don't fool with the turbos and to get the ones I will be happy with and to stop looking at chinese turbos.. So I'm going with RB "The Twos".
So I guess the part about me saving money changed to I wont turn them up to over 17psi so I don't have to buy fuel pumps.....yet lol
I'm also doing like 4 smaller auto body jobs in different spots on it. Got rid of anything silver and shiny on it. New Light bulbs, mirrors.
Putting this damn car together seems to be my newest addiction. Which my wife is happy about because my other addictions are high end stereo and guitars, and I spent alot more on those than this car.
Anyway sorry for the ramble , these do need the inlets, rob from RB told me to get them.

smart wife!

[elitesales305]

Hey op.. just went on the mission ur about to embark on.. feel free to dm me for contact details and i can give u a idea of what needs to b done

[Petro135]

Originally Posted by elitesales305

Hey op.. just went on the mission ur about to embark on.. feel free to dm me for contact details and i can give u a idea of what needs to b done

Thank you I will take you up on that.
So this is progressing pretty well. My turbos should be shipped this week, rb "the twos", my inlets, outlets, lower cp, occ, are on the way, the entire thing will be vrsf to go with vrsf cp, fmic and dp's. Except a bms occ.
Got an engine support bracket, upgraded my crappy floor jack so I have an extra around for support and a couple extra jackstands.
Now I need custom tune.
I emailed twisted(twice), wedge and motive. None have emailed me back. It's been a few days and I'm getting worried. I guess they are busy.
I was told to not use my present mhd tune with the new turbos. But I also contacted mhd who I know is getting into the custom tune end and they did get back to me. So I will see how this goes.
I know I can just go and purchase a tune online from one of the above tuners but if they don't have time to answer my couple questions in the emails then how will it be once I'm waiting for revised maps? I just don't like to buy something you can't see without talking to someone first.
Thinking about a stg 2 fuel pump and 3.5 tmap sensor. But I will wait to get logs after turbos are in.
Any help in the tuning department would be appreciated

[ShocknAwe]

Try to get in touch with Justin (V8Bait).

Jake/motiv are great but good luck getting on their roster, they're crazy busy guys. Ken Wedge and Twisted should get back to you.

Do you want to tune flash only? JB4 vs MHD will necessitate different tuners.

[Petro135]

Originally Posted by ShocknAwe

Try to get in touch with Justin (V8Bait).

Jake/motiv are great but good luck getting on their roster, they're crazy busy guys. Ken Wedge and Twisted should get back to you.

Do you want to tune flash only? JB4 vs MHD will necessitate different tuners.

Yes I'd like to flash tune ive never messed with a jb4, and I have secured dyno time if I need it to do it all at one time. But to get a deal I can only dyno on weekends. So it would probably be easier and more fun to just do logs and go back and forth with a tuner . Thank you I will try Justin at v8bait