need help picking the right turbo

[TurboBeagle84]

i will be doing some upgrades soon with my intercooler and turbo, i decided on the intercooler now i have to decide on the turbo. i want something that could possible take me into the 10's but has ok street manners. i have thought about a ta49, pt51, or a 60 series. would the 60 series be too much? i have a 2800 stall converter, but for right now i have the stock cam and unported heads and intake but i do plan to do these mods eventually.

 

[Weazel]

Everything I've read leads me to say that the answer to any "What turbo should I get?" question is "TA49" It's so streetable, cheaper, and does a LOT. I think a 60 would definitely be too much for your convertor. And if replacing that is a mod you can do without, and still achieve your goal of 10s, I'd say go smaller. Just my 2¢, and I'm a slow POS for now. Good luck!

 

[WarpSpeed]

The '60 with a 2800 stall will be only ok on the street. I'd say a '44 is as big as you can go with that convertor. If you decide to go 10" convertor, maybe 3000-3100 stall, a '60 is awesome on the street. If you go to a '60, think pte 52 instead. It's similiar, but has a better exhaust housing.

 

[Mr URL]

I say a TE-61 or TA-61. Few around here and seem to work OK with that type of convertor. 3,100 would pep it up even more on the street though. These guys have gone low 11's/high 10's with it. One with a bone stock motor.

 

[TurboDave]

Gentlemen, you all missed his point
He wants to run 10's

Assuming that the egine, heads, etc are going to be upgraded at some point to get into the 10's safely, and ignoring the torque converter for now (it'll also have to be upagraded to get to the 10's), he asked what turbo will get him there.

IMHO, a TA49, TE44, TE60/61 are not the turbos to get into the 10's (not sane or safe anyway). All of those are good high/mid 11 second turbos.

To my way of thinking (assuming proper head and cam work is in the cards), Some good turbo choices for safe/sane 10 second runs would be closer to PTE54, TE63, TA45. All similar in potential, and will allow 10 second runs without blowing the guts out of the turbo and heating the intake charge to steller values.

 

[Mr URL]

Dave has a point but I think a TE/TA-61 can get you there with a lower stall convertor. Been proven many times. I can name a bunch of people. Stock heads/cam/intake will take pretty high boost but ported heads/intake/cam will lower that level.

I went with a TE-63E to shoot for high 10's.

 

[REDS HOT AIR]

yea if you want to make it to the 10's one day start at a 63 or up

63 is the smallest of the big shaft turbo's and should be much more durable in the hp range your looking to be in

 

[TurboBeagle84]

pt51

thanks for all your responces guys. what about the pt51? reds hot air, i know you had one and had problems with the pt51 but other than the problems how did that turbo perform? i hear they work well with a 2800 stall converter and spool very fast, true?

 

[Two Lane]

After all the posts about the "turbo-grenade" 51's, and all the sound suggestions you've rec'd about turbo selections...you've got to be kidding...right?

Please say you're kidding, please?

 

[TurboDave]

Re: pt51

Originally posted by TurboBeagle84
thanks for all your responces guys. what about the pt51? reds hot air, i know you had one and had problems with the pt51 but other than the problems how did that turbo perform? i hear they work well with a 2800 stall converter and spool very fast, true?

Sorry to butt in, but I didn't mention that turbo because IMHO it's too small for your stated goals. The 51 is only a slight step up from the PTE44, which I would never think of trying to get into the 10's with it. I'm pushing the guts out of it just to run mid 11's

CAUTION: Don't underbuild!! You've stated your goals. Build the combo to meet those goals "safely", without having to run "stupid high" levels of boost or rpm, or whatever.

 

[REDS HOT AIR]

it wont 1 it was 4 of them

oh yea same motor still in car.

i didnt say nothing about it cause its way too small for what you want..

you wouldnt find much spool up difference from a 51 and a 63

but yet the 63 will go 10's the 51 wont...if you want a turbo that size get a te-44...same intake side as a 51 but has an exaust wheel that dont fall apart.

 

[HRpartsNstuff]

We recently started to offer turbo's along with our own products, so I have had a lot of input lately. From that and my personal experiences, here's what I would say:

You are in PA, which is close to the elevation/weather of OH here where I am at. A TE-61 would be a nice choice for a very streetable & fun ride, and with everything working together & right, it should go a high 10 on race gas. I ran one with a stock converter at low 11.0's, so the 2800 stall would be much better for it. If you want a bit faster & look to go closer to mid 10's, it is a lot more money/time/rebuild/etc. to go there. You would want a TE-45A for that. It has a little more than the older 45's, and should support mid 10's. You will have to get more stall to go there too, not to mention your planned mods, suspension & axles, etc... If you get the 45 now & combine it with the 2800 stall, it will be sluggish off the line. You may still get a high 10, but it will be from top end charge, not 60 ft. The 61 is a sweet street/strip turbo IMO. I would agree that the 49/44/51's are too small for easy high 10's.

 

[TurboBeagle84]

thanks for your help guys.