which bolt-on turbo is better

SyTyJedi

Jedi Council
Re: which bolt-on turbo is better

Looks like they are both the same turbo to me. I got all my V6 stuff from Mike even before he had RPM. He has never let me down. He does a high volume of trucks and knows what works. You have to look at support when you buy stuff like this and Mike definitely knows his stuff.

RPM gets the Jedi stamp of approval.
 

It's just a six

Super Member
Re: which bolt-on turbo is better

It looks like they are only oil cooled centers, maybe you can get them w/water & oil cooled centers?
Ask Mike Ghettosled
 

QUICK STORM

B.A.M.F. BMW Tech
Re: which bolt-on turbo is better

RPM is cheaper, go with them and then talk JS or E-RUE about their 3in.DP that they used on jeremy's truck.
 

MRKING

New Parts for Old Trucks
Re: which bolt-on turbo is better

I've also gone to RPM for all my mods so far .
 

RSpengler

Ghetto Fab Specialist.
Re: which bolt-on turbo is better

Find a TD06 20G and clamp it right into your exhaust housing.
Or send your turbo out to a Turbo Shop like TEC and have it upgraded to a 20G.
If you dont want any down time, buy a used/blown 17C and send them that to upgrade.
Just a few cheap options to explore... :2cents:
-Rob
P.S. Have you seen this? http://www.syty.net/forums/showthread.php?t=33610&page=2&pp=15
 
Last edited:

20psiGMC

Member
Re: which bolt-on turbo is better

gjp said:
out of these two turbos. which one is better. Not just in HP but in quality, spooling...

RPM STAGE 1
http://www.raceprovenmotors.com/car...products_id=416


OR Detroit turbos bolt on.
http://www.detroitturbo.com/cart/pr...products_id=157

Both of the turbos you linked to are based off the BEP (Bullseye Performance) exhaust housing. I believe they are configured (wheel size) the same. They should provide a noticeably better hit than the stock unit, better boost control for sure with the BEP housing/WG, and work well with the stock TC. You may want to e-mail the vendors for specific differences, I know RPM’s comes with a nice drain line. A water-cooled center is possible, but would cost you a little extra…

gjp said:
This is all I can afford right now. or should I keep the stock till I can afford a PTE and DP and converter?? Thank you

That depends on your goals. How fast do you want to go/how fast can you afford ($$) to go?

If you’re just looking for a “step up” from stock, these turbos are a nice option and don’t require any major changes. If that’s what you’re looking for, another option I’d recommend is John Waller’s upgrade to the stock turbo. He’s doing some neat stuff using the Garrett GT30 exhaust wheel and different compressor upgrades. Have him port your stock exhaust housing (wastegate path) at the same time and you’ll have a nice upgrade with good boost control that looks 100% stock for 7 bills or a little less (price form memory; check w/John).

Hard to go wrong with either option…. :thumbsup:
 

gjp

another post whore
Re: which bolt-on turbo is better

Thanks. I just spent 5k on other mods and I want to upgrade just a bit. I am not looking for a truck that can do 11's. I will be happy with mid 12's at this point. My stock turbo feels good and can hold 18lbs of boost but thats it. Plus it has 95k miles on it. I just want a bit more, plus with the a2a and alky i think I can handle a little more boost. My truck loves 16lbs but my IC temps go up as well as KR on 18lbs. I dont mind having my truck down for a few weeks. I just want something I can bolt up and be done with it. I will have my hands full with the other mods to deal with turbo problems too. Thanks again, GP
 

ghettosled

SYTY SUPERSTORE
Re: which bolt-on turbo is better

Without starting a thread war, the turbos are not the same. We originally did all the R&D and adaptor flange fitment for the turbos DT is selling. Since then we only share the same turbine housing and we buy ours semi finished so we can tailor each turbo to the customers truck (not that there is anything specifically wrong with the DT turbos, b/c we used to run them initially as well).

One of the reasons for the switch is now all our turbos are custom spec'd and most of the turbos end up being machined in house (not by another turbo manufactor or shop) for wheel variations not offered with the standard turbine or compressor housings.. This allows us to play around with the turbo specs instead of being limited to a pre assembled unit. We mainly use a Turbonetics CHRA or rotating assembly whereas Detroit Turbo uses a Borg Warner turbo.

Both setups have received good reveiws so if you are in the market dont just look at the price, b/c underneath they are two totally different turbos.
 

ZavzTy547

Senior Member
Re: which bolt-on turbo is better

ghettosled said:
Without starting a thread war, the turbos are not the same. We originally did all the R&D and adaptor flange fitment for the turbos DT is selling. Since then we only share the same turbine housing and we buy ours semi finished so we can tailor each turbo to the customers truck (not that there is anything specifically wrong with the DT turbos, b/c we used to run them initially as well).

One of the reasons for the switch is now all our turbos are custom spec'd and most of the turbos end up being machined in house (not by another turbo manufactor or shop) for wheel variations not offered with the standard turbine or compressor housings.. This allows us to play around with the turbo specs instead of being limited to a pre assembled unit. We mainly use a Turbonetics CHRA or rotating assembly whereas Detroit Turbo uses a Borg Warner turbo.

Both setups have received good reveiws so if you are in the market dont just look at the price, b/c underneath they are two totally different turbos.

Both venders are solid but I can vouch for RPM, since I bought the stage 3 turbo about a year back. Install was a no brainer and the turbo came with the SS oil return line. I was really impressed with the boost control using the internal wastegate. Two thumbs up for his customer support before and after the purchase.
 

#2875

built, not bought
Re: which bolt-on turbo is better

RSpengler said:
Find a TD06 20G and clamp it right into your exhaust housing.
Or send your turbo out to a Turbo Shop like TEC and have it upgraded to a 20G.
If you dont want any down time, buy a used/blown 17C and send them that to upgrade.
Just a few cheap options to explore... :2cents:
-Rob

ditto. if you lack funds there are cheaper alternatives if you get more "do it yourself" and/or wait to have yours upgraded. if you are going to shell out the money for either one of these then what is another 500 to get a much better turbo WITH a DP?

if you go with either one of those i'll bet at the end of the day you will wish you had just waited until you could afford a precision or other large turbo.
 

gmcturbo

Active member
Re: which bolt-on turbo is better

i believe campbell automotive has some bolt--on's as well. thats what i was looing at
 

Tooky

Serious about performance
Re: which bolt-on turbo is better

I think these bolt on turbos sound rather attractive. The PTE's all require a high stall converter which really requires a transmission rebuild to run properly, not to mention the turbo inlet nearly butts up against the radiator, so you have to redo your transmission lines, bend your AC, relocate the battery, and fabricate an air intake.

So you see, it's not quite so simple as it might seem. It really depends on your cash situation and your short time, and long term goals.
 

gjp

another post whore
Re: which bolt-on turbo is better

My transmission just got a rebuilt with a nice 9/11 2300 stall. I was quoted 800$ to change it to a 2800. 300$ if I remove and bring it in. I dont want to drop my trany at this time or untill I need a rebuild. My Goals are to have a truck into the mid/low 12's. I think on a good tune I can get there with one of these turbos. I like the coustomer support from RPM. Mike is a great guy. I think I will go with his turbo and tune from there. Now I have to start ripping into my truck.
 

20psiGMC

Member
Re: which bolt-on turbo is better

TookyCat said:
I think these bolt on turbos sound rather attractive. The PTE's all require a high stall converter which really requires a transmission rebuild to run properly, not to mention the turbo inlet nearly butts up against the radiator, so you have to redo your transmission lines, bend your AC, relocate the battery, and fabricate an air intake.

So you see, it's not quite so simple as it might seem. It really depends on your cash situation and your short time, and long term goals.

Exactly.

The BPE stock replacement turbos and Waller upgrades are a true “bolt in” and can be configured to work with the stock converter/injectors while still offering a considerable performance upgrade and better boost control. Anyone looking for a “20G” size upgrade (or a little better) would do well to look at them. Jumping to the PTE set-up is a substantial increase in cost above a bolt-in turbo that I don’t think everyone realizes:

$800 PTE turbo
$700 Downpipe
$450 to $900 Converter
$350 50# Injectors
$100 to $250 Misc. plumbing & hardware
etc.

Not saying there’s anything wrong with the PTE set-up, I’m just pointing out unless your goals involve mid 11’s or better, it’s probably not *necessary*, so why spend the extra $$?

As far as the stock DP is concerned, Waller put a Ty in the 11’s with one, and Campbell Automotive put up some very impressive numbers on the dyno with one of their bolt-on turbos and the stock DP…
 

ghettosled

SYTY SUPERSTORE
Re: which bolt-on turbo is better

not to mention the PTE downpipes have not been available for almost 1 yr..
 

gjp

another post whore
Re: which bolt-on turbo is better

I went with the RPM stage one turbo. I figure with all the other crap I am doing, my truck should be in the mid 12's at least..(I HOPE). I still have to do a trans cooler and filter setup. Still researching on how to do that and parts I will need. Help :)
 

20psiGMC

Member
Re: which bolt-on turbo is better

gjp said:
I went with the RPM stage one turbo. I figure with all the other crap I am doing, my truck should be in the mid 12's at least..(I HOPE).

You should see that easy, and the truck will still be fun to drive. I think you made an excellent choice for what your goal is :thumbsup:

gjp said:
I still have to do a trans cooler and filter setup. Still researching on how to do that and parts I will need. Help

I’m gonna replace the stock tranny lines on my Syclone and add a cooler. When the time comes, I’m gonna order up these:

RPM Tranny Line Kit
Matching Cooler

Quick, neat, complete, easy… braided stainless to boot. Don’t have to order up a ton of fittings and piece it together yourself. I like it.

I know braided stainless tranny lines are something no one else will probably ever see, but I’ll know they're there :cool:

Just my :2cents:
 

Flyin Ryan

hated cuz he drives fords
Re: which bolt-on turbo is better

20psiGMC said:
I’m gonna replace the stock tranny lines on my Syclone and add a cooler. When the time comes, I’m gonna order up these:

RPM Tranny Line Kit
Matching Cooler

Quick, neat, complete, easy… braided stainless to boot. Don’t have to order up a ton of fittings and piece it together yourself. I like it.

I know braided stainless tranny lines are something no one else will probably ever see, but I’ll know they're there :cool:

Just my :2cents:

Me too when money permits :(

and yeah I agree with the no one will see them thing but I'll like the piece of mine that comes with the stainless braided lines
 
Top