So a while ago I had a thread trying to figure out what was needed to accompany buying a GTRS turbo elim kit. But the overall price of it all ended up being a little more than $2.5k for everything(which I'm willing to spend if I have to). But I was wondering if the T3/T4 turbos were worth a thought? I have read the BT thread like a thousands times now. But I want to see others' opinions. I understand they spool slower. But would it be worth the money savings? Also, for the GT turbos they all have elim kits. Whats the deal with T3/T4 turbos. What would I have to do differently with them?

Thanks,
Chris

 

The concept of an "elim" kit is that it uses the same manifold flange on the turbine housing as the OEM turbo. This feature limits the power output, but you can use them with the stock manifold, allowing you to upgrade one or two pieces at a time if you want to. With a T3/T4 flanged turbo you'd HAVE to buy a new manifold/waste gate setup. Being full framed they spool slower but can produce more power.

 

That is what I really like about the elim kit. I don't want to replace the manifold just yet. In the end, buying the turbo and the housing and the wastegate would end up being about as much as the elim kit wouldn't it? Just trying to piece this together the best way possible.

 

The price would change depending on the manifold, waste gate, turbo choices, etc. You could obviously still buy the stuff one piece at a time, but you'd have to wait until you had all the pieces before you could enjoy them

 

Okay. Would you be able to direct me to which manifold and wastegate I should get? I'm thinking I will go with a 50 trim T3/T4

 

That's all going to depend on how much money you want to spend.

You could go with tubular construction:

This is a T3 flanged tubular manifold from Full Race. That's obviously the high end.

RAI in Baltimore, MD offers a "Red Label" line of tubular manifolds that would be considerably cheaper. You'd have to call them regarding pricing and lead time.

You could also go with a cast mani like this one but I've heard that cast offerings from SPA and ATP are known to crack.

As for waste gates, that's another case of how much you want to spend. However, you need to make sure you buy a turbo, manifold, and waste gate that are designed to work with one another. You can't buy a turbo with a twin scroll turbine housing, a single scroll T3 flanged manifold with a 44mm waste gate flange and then try to use a 38mm waste gate. You're also going to have to fabricate all your own intake plumbing, whereas with an eliminator setup you can find intake setups pretty readily.

 

I'm starting to think it will be worth just going with the GTRS at this point. I'm okay with doing all of that. But I worry about buying the wrong part and also about fabrication.

 

It's really up to you, you just need to PLAN for stuff. Then re-plan. Then plan some more. If you're looking for ease of install and availability of parts, I'd go with the elim. You can re-use a lot of OEM or stock upgrade parts, and intake/exhaust setups will be much easier to come by if you retain the OEM turbo position and orientation.

With a GTRS elim for example, you could install the turbo, then do injectors, then a tune, then FMIC, then maybe exhaust if you wanted to. But all of those bits can be installed in conjuction with stock parts.

With the T3 turbo, you'd need a new manifold which will change the poistion of the turbo and the style of the exhaust housing which means you'd need a new downpipe and a new intake, both of which you may or may not even be able to buy off the shelf someplace depending on what setup you go with.

The GTRS elim will bolt up to the stock exhaust manifold, and retain the downpipe from your cat back and whatever intake you're running. Then later if you decide you want more power you can change the exhaust housing and run a tubular T3 manifold and 4bolt down pipe. It's just easier to deal with.

 

So from what I gleaned with talking with the guy from a shop that does Revo tunes is that I will be doing the turbo, fuel injectors, tune, and the front mount. What would I gain from just installing the turbo alone?

 

Not much. The car would run but that's about it. Without added timing, fuel, and boost to make use of the bigger turbo you're not going to see any benefit. If I were going to do what you're thinking about doing, I would get the tune and the turbo at the same time. Then you could have the guy at that shop tweak the tune for stock fueling to make it run right with the bigger turbo. Then as you add parts like injectors, front mount, fueling, you can go back and have them adjust the tune accordingly.