Turbo Recommendation

[Turbo38V6]

So looking to see what folks would recommend these days for the following combo:

- 109 Shortblock, JE pistons, Oliver Rods, stock crank internally balanced
- Fully ported GN1 Aluminum heads
- Cam is a 218 duration @.050 with a .330 lobe lift, 110* lobe separation
- Weldon 2015
- GTQ71 Turbo (today)
- 83 Lbs injectors
- Art Carr 9" NLU, stall maybe 3500?
- ATR Headers, all the good exhaust stuff
- 28" tires

As noted, have a GTQ71 today but am curious what would be the go-to turbo for something like this above TODAY. My turbo was purchased years ago and I haven't kept up with what's the latest and greatest in turbo technology.

Spool is a concern since it's a street car, so ball-bearing, no?

Looking forward to feedback. Thanks!

-Lloyd

 

[jasjamz]

Precision Turbo....6266, 6766, or Te-45a for anti-billet crowd(j/k). These are smaller more street turbos than the Turbo you have. You have the first generation billet wheel unit. They now offer a new and improved billet 71 HPQ Turbo at Precision. They also have a 67mm billet wheel Turbo that shares the same HPQ exhaust wheel as the billet 71. The HPQ exhaust wheel superseded the GTQ wheel you have now. You can add the ball bearing option to any of these but I can't tell you the difference. Matching the converter to the combo and having the car tuned correctly is the best way to get it to spool properly. Kinda boils down to how fast do you want to go.

 

[bison]

I would change the converter, turbo, and cam and in that order. PTC 9.5", any 65 or p trim turbo and a cam with no more than 212@ .050 but keep the intake lift the same

 

[Turbo38V6]

Precision Turbo....6266, 6766, or Te-45a for anti-billet crowd(j/k). These are smaller more street turbos than the Turbo you have. You have the first generation billet wheel unit. They now offer a new and improved billet 71 HPQ Turbo at Precision. They also have a 67mm billet wheel Turbo that shares the same HPQ exhaust wheel as the billet 71. The HPQ exhaust wheel superseded the GTQ wheel you have now. You can add the ball bearing option to any of these but I can't tell you the difference. Matching the converter to the combo and having the car tuned correctly is the best way to get it to spool properly. Kinda boils down to how fast do you want to go.

Much appreciated man, good feedback. Thanks!

-Lloyd

 

[jasjamz]

Much appreciated man, good feedback. Thanks!

-Lloyd

No problem, glad I could help.

 

[marleyskater420]

I would change the converter, turbo, and cam and in that order. PTC 9.5", any 65 or p trim turbo and a cam with no more than 212@ .050 but keep the intake lift the same

listen to this post.

Bison has more experience with real-world tuning than many people on this board, let alone those who are kind enough to post up about their experiences to help others.

except he's kinda funny cause he wears them spandex double-ply suits while pulling them sumo DLs.

 

[John Wilde]

I agree with Brian and Jason.

1. The GTQ/HPQ Turbines are not for 3.8 street/driver type motors.
They are ok at the track when you want maximum performance, but not great for stop light fun.
This is also the easiest item to change.

2. The converter may work, but it will never be optimal. A PTC or another high efficiency converter will make a difference for sure.

3. Although the cam man not be perfect, it is not far enough out, for me to pull it an replace it.
For those need every last tenth it very well could be.
FWIW I have run cams that been much bigger in that in a 109 that went 138 with a junk converter.
My motor was not intended for a lot of street duty though.

 

[Turbo38V6]

Thanks John & all for the responses. So I'm in and out of the TB scene so pardon my question here. I notice folks mention PTC converters quite a bit. Anyone able to comment on PTC vs. Precision Industries these days? Or are most folks these days using PTC or Neal Chance?

 

[jasjamz]

Thanks John & all for the responses. So I'm in and out of the TB scene so pardon my question here. I notice folks mention PTC converters quite a bit. Anyone able to comment on PTC vs. Precision Industries these days? Or are most folks these days using PTC or Neal Chance?

PTC vs. Precision Industries depends on the car. PTC, these are custom converters and are supposed to be built to fit your combo. The Precision Industries must have been rated at 5-6 psi because thats where I see their advertised stall speed in the 4-5 cars I've worked on with them installed. At 0-1 psi the ratings are 400-600 rpm lower. The single disk lock up, they're fine in 12 second cars. The multi disk is good for 11sec cars and high 10's cause you can lock them at the track but have nice street manners. They do tend to rattle at idle. Faster than that, choose a non lock up. I've used PTC, Art Carr, Ultimate Converter Concepts, Precision Industries, Pro Torque, ATI and will be looking to try Huges or Bradco next.
PTC vs. Neal Chance... Results will vary because they are both custom units. You will see that plenty that post here are using PTC. My experience with PTC was a bad one. Others seem to have good results.