Rittmeister
04-04-2009, 12:59 PM
EDIT: SOLD SOLD SOLD
Next, yes, there's a catch. I bought this turbo from SPL last fall. It has a Swain White Lightning coated exhaust housing, which was very attractive to me. It also included a fancy HKS flexible oil drain, an ATP compressor inlet, and a Forge wastegate actuator, for an attractive price. They even warrantied the turbo until March 1 - they're a great shop, no doubt. It came off their time attack Z32 with no real shaft play and in all respects seemed fine when I got it.
I installed the turbo last month with supporting mods, and since I was using a PowerFC I hooked up with a local tuner for dyno time. We did some street tuning during which everything felt great and there were no issues. After he got everything set up to go on the dyno, he did the first pull (to about 14.5 psi, where it made 275hp or so). He saw the mixture go lean, so he let the car idle while he fiddled with electrons. During this time, we both started to see blue smoke out the tailpipe.
The short version is that we couldn't find anything wrong with the engine; a new turbo was ordered, installed, and the car is now tuned and happy. SPL refunded part of my payment, which they didn't have to do, as it was out of their warranty period. I reiterate, they're a great shop and I have nothing but good things to say about them.
HOWEVER, when comparing the used turbo with the brand-new one, I can't feel a difference in the shaft play. My tuner said he could, but it was very small. We found NO oil in the intercooler piping, and we found no oily/gooey residue in the exhaust housing either. The turbo still spins quite freely, and you can hear it spin down after you turn off the car.
So, for $300 plus shipping, you get a turbo that might actually be OK (at least for a while). IF it's not, you get the Swain-coated housing for your turbo. I considered keeping it but I'm sick of taking my car apart for now.
The Forge actuator pictured is not included - actually, no actuator is included. The HKS oil drain and ATP inlet are for sale in another thread; for the right price I'll sell them all together with the turbo.
Please PM if interested. I am somewhat negotiable on the price, and I'm selling it because I could really use the money after buying a second turbo, but if I can't get what I feel is reasonable I'll keep it and use the exhaust housing at a later date.
Pics:
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c88/kwstine1/IMG_1452.jpg
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c88/kwstine1/IMG_1453.jpg
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c88/kwstine1/IMG_1454.jpg
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c88/kwstine1/IMG_1456.jpg
Next, yes, there's a catch. I bought this turbo from SPL last fall. It has a Swain White Lightning coated exhaust housing, which was very attractive to me. It also included a fancy HKS flexible oil drain, an ATP compressor inlet, and a Forge wastegate actuator, for an attractive price. They even warrantied the turbo until March 1 - they're a great shop, no doubt. It came off their time attack Z32 with no real shaft play and in all respects seemed fine when I got it.
I installed the turbo last month with supporting mods, and since I was using a PowerFC I hooked up with a local tuner for dyno time. We did some street tuning during which everything felt great and there were no issues. After he got everything set up to go on the dyno, he did the first pull (to about 14.5 psi, where it made 275hp or so). He saw the mixture go lean, so he let the car idle while he fiddled with electrons. During this time, we both started to see blue smoke out the tailpipe.
The short version is that we couldn't find anything wrong with the engine; a new turbo was ordered, installed, and the car is now tuned and happy. SPL refunded part of my payment, which they didn't have to do, as it was out of their warranty period. I reiterate, they're a great shop and I have nothing but good things to say about them.
HOWEVER, when comparing the used turbo with the brand-new one, I can't feel a difference in the shaft play. My tuner said he could, but it was very small. We found NO oil in the intercooler piping, and we found no oily/gooey residue in the exhaust housing either. The turbo still spins quite freely, and you can hear it spin down after you turn off the car.
So, for $300 plus shipping, you get a turbo that might actually be OK (at least for a while). IF it's not, you get the Swain-coated housing for your turbo. I considered keeping it but I'm sick of taking my car apart for now.
The Forge actuator pictured is not included - actually, no actuator is included. The HKS oil drain and ATP inlet are for sale in another thread; for the right price I'll sell them all together with the turbo.
Please PM if interested. I am somewhat negotiable on the price, and I'm selling it because I could really use the money after buying a second turbo, but if I can't get what I feel is reasonable I'll keep it and use the exhaust housing at a later date.
Pics:
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c88/kwstine1/IMG_1452.jpg
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c88/kwstine1/IMG_1453.jpg
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c88/kwstine1/IMG_1454.jpg
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c88/kwstine1/IMG_1456.jpg