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Hey guys, been rethinking some of my build lately, and at the moment ive got just an ebay spec t3/t4 turbo that i was going to use.
But Ive been considering buying something different, of better quality. As this is going to be half decent build, i wanna do it once and once only.
But in saying that, i dont want to spend an absolute fortune as Im not made of cash.
What are some half decent brands of turbo that are reliable but dont come with several thousand dollar price tag?

Some specific models would be awesome, and I would also like to know what the specific specs of the turbo actually mean, and whats important regaring matching it to my build.

Motor will be 4g54 fresh rebuilt, hyper pistons, low comp, m7 head, stage 3 turbo cam

Cheers
Geoff

Done some searching and ive seen turbonetics and master power, seem to be within my price range.
Other thing to consider is to go journal bearing or ball bearing, obviously ball bearing is better, but is it worth the extra few hundred for my application
Then gotta work out what A/Rs to go for my application. Any help would be greatly appreciated

hey buds im not too sure i can answer all your questions but have a squiz around the forum builds and see what other guys are running?im running a nissan skyline r34 turbo on my car and its been pretty good but cant run alot of boost as its ceramic...13-15psi max..try TUFSIGS,GHUPHILL AND FREINDS..there who i can remember off the top of my head.there running bigger setups and are making good power.
as ive see and maybe you would have aswell alot of people are running garrett to4z in there 4g54's and acheiving very fast and reliable cars..
as for brands,i know of garrett,turbonetics & hks..are the top three turbo's of choice for most people..try jumping on a few of there websites to see if a turbo is right for your setup but also the price.

Yeah Ive been on the websites, theyve got all the info i need which is good. But i just dont know what a/r i want for my setup. As this will be my first turbo build, not sure what will build boost at what range, and whats gonna be too big etc.
From what ive seen the turbonetics T3/T04E looks quite good. I know the exhaust a/r of the standard siggy turbos was 0.63, and some on the websites go up from 0.63 to 0.84. Not sure if thatll be too big for my application or not. I dont want to start building boost at 6000 rpm lol.

depending on the comp that your aiming for: this t04z is good but will come on boost about 3-3500rpm?
Comp 84mm 63T in .70ARR housing .
Turb 74.2mm 76T in .61/.81/1.00 ARR housing
Claimed power is 700 Hp or PS .

anywere between .60 a/r in and under .90 a/r should be a good turbo?imo
my t3 comes on boost at 2500 and it hs a .53 in and a .63 a/r rating..hope that helps buds!

the ebay t3s are good, to a point, they hit boost around 2400 but are a choking hazard to the engine by 5k. a very peaky power range.
and fit a bov or youll chew out the bearings, but the flutter sounds good

that said, its an awsome feeling power delivery round town. 20+ psi around 2700rpm and lights up std sigma rears in 3rd in the dry. traction was a srious issue.
but im going to fit a gt35R to the new engine with a .86 rear and see how that goes

A mate of mine has had good results with a reco Garrett/Air-Research T04E turbo on the FJ20ET in his Bluebird. It's fairly laggy (full boost isn't until 3400rpm, redline's pegged at 7.5k), but when it comes on boost in the lower gears it has a very hard time keeping traction

Thanks for the help guys, ive been doing a lot of reading up last night. At this stage im still liking the T3/T04E, but not sure whether to stick with the 0.63 rear or go with the 0.84. Anyone got a rough idea on when full boost will be with the 0.84?
And really is it worth going to extra 3-400$ for the ball bearing or just stick with the cheaper journal bearing?
Ive read the ball bearings can spool up to 15% quicker, and use a lot less oil, which saves seals in the turbo

Sounds like you've found a good all round turbo for your engine. Don't know where full boost will peek but for a good drivable turbo car with plenty of grunt,that turbo would be good. Both housing sizes will work but it depends on how you like your power curve. Going .63 will be resonsive but restrict a bit at the top end and .84 will be a bit lagier but boost will peek @ higher rpm. My suggestion is go the .63 to see how you like it and worry about the bigger set up later.
The garret GT ball bearings are very good and definately noticable in better spool but they don't really use a lot less oil because the oil runs around the bearing casing as well as in the ball bearings and ends up with about the same volume of oil consumed ending up back in the sump and the seals can where out and can leak just as much as a journal bearing.

Cool, thanks heaps mate
The cam ive got is good for up to about 6000 or 6500 rpm so maybe the 0.84 is a bit better.
Car is purely just a toy as well.