After reading many forum posts where people claim eBay turbos are unreliable or make false claims about them, I’d like to differ. In my experience, "eBay" turbos especially brands like Maxpeedingrod are actually decently reliable.
Yes, turbos from like Garrett, Precision, Holset, and BorgWarner are known for their high quality. There's no doubt about that. However, after seeing firsthand how these eBay turbos hold up under pressure both on my own car and on cars belonging to friends who have been running them for 3+ years without issues, even at 20 psi—I’ve changed my opinion. I used to think eBay turbos were junk, but I’ve seen them take serious abuse and keep on running.
In fact, I’ve even seen these turbos on cars used in high level drifting events where the engines are running at 6k-7k+ RPM for extended periods of time. If they can go through that for a whole season it shows that these turbos are decently well built compared to how they used to be.
That said, would I recommend using an eBay turbo for a high-end, high-budget build? Probably not. But for cars that will see under 12 psi of boost, I think they’re more than capable of handling it. They're tough and reliable, and I’d recommend them if you're just looking for a fun build without going for high horsepower or extreme power levels.
Sorry for the rant.
Ebay turbos
Re: Ebay turbos
I've read about quite a few people having satisfactory results. I wouldn't touch one though, this is a major component that can cause substantial engine damage in the event that the compressor wheel comes apart or something. If you do end up having to replace it, you may end up having to modify your downpipe and intake plumbing to suit its replacement.
I like the Garrett products. They have a great track record, they provide tons of technical information on their products. Compressor and turbine maps. You know what you're getting. I feel like this is definitely a do it right or don't do it situation. If I don't have full confidence that a turbo or any other major component is a ten year/100k item, I have no interest.
I like the Garrett products. They have a great track record, they provide tons of technical information on their products. Compressor and turbine maps. You know what you're getting. I feel like this is definitely a do it right or don't do it situation. If I don't have full confidence that a turbo or any other major component is a ten year/100k item, I have no interest.
Re: Ebay turbos
I would have agreed with that 10 years ago, but many brands have come a long way since then. For example PSR (Pulsar) they started out selling on eBay, and now they're becoming a mainstream turbo brand, even used in high hp drag cars. A friend of mine has a Civic with a $100 eBay .63 AR turbo from ebay that's seen 60k miles of daily abuse, and it’s still running strong.turbodan wrote: Nov 19, 2024 9:06 PM I've read about quite a few people having satisfactory results. I wouldn't touch one though, this is a major component that can cause substantial engine damage in the event that the compressor wheel comes apart or something. If you do end up having to replace it, you may end up having to modify your downpipe and intake plumbing to suit its replacement.
I like the Garrett products. They have a great track record, they provide tons of technical information on their products. Compressor and turbine maps. You know what you're getting. I feel like this is definitely a do it right or don't do it situation. If I don't have full confidence that a turbo or any other major component is a ten year/100k item, I have no interest.
Re: Ebay turbos
Sometimes they do just fine, for how long is anyone's guess. Sometimes they do this:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Justrolledinto ... bay_turbo/
It's all a matter of what level of risk and uncertainty you find acceptable. I like to minimize that. I have enough on my mind, wondering what the clutch will hold and if the tune is good.
Specs will be a complete mystery until you have the turbo on your bench. You can categorize it pretty well by measuring wheel diameters and eyeballing the turbine A/R, and hopefully it's a good fit. With a Garrett product, I know exactly what I've got and how it compares to their other products. For example, the mighty mouse GT2560R that I've got in the car now. It does very well up to about .8 bar, but the turbine side is restrictive and increasingly problematic at high boost. If I want to step it up, I can look at all of the other interchangeable products they offer and choose something with a suitably large turbine and a compressor capable of a higher pressure ratio. On the original build, when I decided it was time to push the boundaries a bit, I went with one of these with the .86 A/R turbine:
With this information, I can see that it will make up to 1.6 bar safely at my altitude. The turbine side is about 40% larger than the 2560R, which raises the boost threshold but also improves the pressure ratio between the intake and exhaust manifolds. About 20 lbs/min on the turbine side is a good place to be for the M20, going much over 25 lbs/min would only be suitable for high boost, big power projects where you're not worried about making usable boost for daily driving.
If you're not interested in any of that and are happy with whatever it does, then you will only have durability to be concerned about.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Justrolledinto ... bay_turbo/
It's all a matter of what level of risk and uncertainty you find acceptable. I like to minimize that. I have enough on my mind, wondering what the clutch will hold and if the tune is good.
Specs will be a complete mystery until you have the turbo on your bench. You can categorize it pretty well by measuring wheel diameters and eyeballing the turbine A/R, and hopefully it's a good fit. With a Garrett product, I know exactly what I've got and how it compares to their other products. For example, the mighty mouse GT2560R that I've got in the car now. It does very well up to about .8 bar, but the turbine side is restrictive and increasingly problematic at high boost. If I want to step it up, I can look at all of the other interchangeable products they offer and choose something with a suitably large turbine and a compressor capable of a higher pressure ratio. On the original build, when I decided it was time to push the boundaries a bit, I went with one of these with the .86 A/R turbine:
With this information, I can see that it will make up to 1.6 bar safely at my altitude. The turbine side is about 40% larger than the 2560R, which raises the boost threshold but also improves the pressure ratio between the intake and exhaust manifolds. About 20 lbs/min on the turbine side is a good place to be for the M20, going much over 25 lbs/min would only be suitable for high boost, big power projects where you're not worried about making usable boost for daily driving.
If you're not interested in any of that and are happy with whatever it does, then you will only have durability to be concerned about.
Re: Ebay turbos
turbodan wrote: Nov 20, 2024 12:11 PM Sometimes they do just fine, for how long is anyone's guess. Sometimes they do this:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Justrolledinto ... bay_turbo/
It's all a matter of what level of risk and uncertainty you find acceptable. I like to minimize that. I have enough on my mind, wondering what the clutch will hold and if the tune is good.
Specs will be a complete mystery until you have the turbo on your bench. You can categorize it pretty well by measuring wheel diameters and eyeballing the turbine A/R, and hopefully it's a good fit. With a Garrett product, I know exactly what I've got and how it compares to their other products. For example, the mighty mouse GT2560R that I've got in the car now. It does very well up to about .8 bar, but the turbine side is restrictive and increasingly problematic at high boost. If I want to step it up, I can look at all of the other interchangeable products they offer and choose something with a suitably large turbine and a compressor capable of a higher pressure ratio. On the original build, when I decided it was time to push the boundaries a bit, I went with one of these with the .86 A/R turbine:
With this information, I can see that it will make up to 1.6 bar safely at my altitude. The turbine side is about 40% larger than the 2560R, which raises the boost threshold but also improves the pressure ratio between the intake and exhaust manifolds. About 20 lbs/min on the turbine side is a good place to be for the M20, going much over 25 lbs/min would only be suitable for high boost, big power projects where you're not worried about making usable boost for daily driving.
If you're not interested in any of that and are happy with whatever it does, then you will only have durability to be concerned about.
I'm happy with all the info you provide. you and other people on here are my go to to search the forum about knowledge. I'm only 19 years of age and any knowledge is good knowledge to me. but do i find it acceptable for a ebay turbo somewhat. will i upgrade to a garret or precision ofc but for right now at this moment im happy with it.