Upgrade my CT26 or switch to a T3 or T4?

[CajunKenny]

Hi guys!

I am rebuilding my MKIII Turbo and want at LEAST 350hp to the ground.

Should I send my CT26 off to TurboNetics and have it hopped up for $450.00 or buy a new T3 or T4 with Exhaust Manifold off ebay for $400.00?

A friend of mine sent his CT26 in for the upgrade. It spools fast and hard; but, for less money I can get a new T3 w/manifold for less money.

What should I do? What would YOU do? What have y'all done and are most happy with?

:naughty:

 

[GrimJack]

Upgrade the CT.

If you're on a budget, it's the absolute best bang for your buck. The T3 or T4 will require a new downpipe and oil fittings, the pair of those will increase the cost substantially.

 

[Poodles]

not to mention the GARBAGE turbos those kits come with that have massive exhaust housings and would take forever to spool...

 

[JesseH]

I would say stick with the CT, as Grim said, when you add in the cost of a custom downpipe, oil lines, etc. thats going to add a good chunk of change to the price. Plus, with getting the CT trim upgraded by a known and trustable source you KNOW its going to work well. With the ebay setup you could get it all fabbed up get a couple hundred miles down the road and it could start smoking like hell...then again, it could last a fair time and boost hard....Your just taking a good chance. If It was me personally, i would choose the CT.

 

[ViR2]

+1 here. Get .57 and that would be the best option
You could also use MDC's service, he's our vendor

 

[2543arvin]

Upgrade the CT! I had driftmotion do my upgrade and it costs $510. Best bang for the buck on my car. And I dynoed 378rwhp with this turbo at 14 psi.

 

[7MGTEsup]

Upgrade the CT! I had driftmotion do my upgrade and it costs $510. Best bang for the buck on my car. And I dynoed 378rwhp with this turbo at 14 psi.

What compressor wheel was used in the rebuild??

 

[starscream5000]

+1 here. Get .57 and that would be the best option
You could also use MDC's service, he's our vendor

MDC no longer rebuilds turbos, he only sells new ones.

If you want long lasting power, a T3/T4 setup would be ideal as you will not be taxing a turbo such as a Garrett GT35R nearly as much for 350RWHP as you would with say, a 57 or 60-1 trim CT26, but the first option will definetly hurt the wallet .

 

[CajunKenny]

Upgrade the CT! I had driftmotion do my upgrade and it costs $510. Best bang for the buck on my car. And I dynoed 378rwhp with this turbo at 14 psi.

Was that in addition to all the other work done to your car?

As with everyone out there, I want a little more spunk than stock without breaking the bank. Reliability is a must also because this is my daily driver.

So what's the best way to get me to putting 350 hp to the ground? Spare no detail. Fuel Pump, Injectors, turbo, whatever.....?

Maybe I'll start a new thread on this one.:naughty:

 

[starscream5000]

Upgraded CT 57 (a little more reliable than anything larger), AFPR, Walbro fuel pump, Wideband, Intake (IC and hardpipes) Exhaust (3" or larger), MBC (EBC would be better), cleaned and blueprinted stock injectors, MHG, ARP hardware (studs or bolts, your choice, studs are better IMO), maybe a fuel triming device, and dyno time.

I personally wouldn't go any higher than that power wise with the stock injectors as that would put them at about 80% duty cycle right there.

 

[zachm611]

as everyone else said the ct26 57trim is your best option if 350whp is your goal, thats what im going to be going with soon.

 

[CajunKenny]

cleaned and blueprinted stock injectors

Where do I have this done and how much does it cost? Is it cheaper than buying 550's?

 

[NewWestSupras]

I personally use the RC 550's, but they're not as cheap as stock...alot of people have used 550's with the Lex AFM. I do, and it works well for me. You'd also need an AFPR, good fuel pump and a wideband among other things...
for injector cleaning, RC among others:


http://www.rceng.com/Fuel-Injector-Cleaning-P43C0.aspx

 

[2543arvin]

What compressor wheel was used in the rebuild??

57 trim

 

[2543arvin]

Was that in addition to all the other work done to your car?

As with everyone out there, I want a little more spunk than stock without breaking the bank. Reliability is a must also because this is my daily driver.

So what's the best way to get me to putting 350 hp to the ground? Spare no detail. Fuel Pump, Injectors, turbo, whatever.....?

Maybe I'll start a new thread on this one.:naughty:

Yeah, it was in addition, but most of my other mods are for support except for the exhaust and Lex AFM.
I love this turbo and will probably be sticking with it for a while. For the money its hard to beat when compared to aftermarket turbos, and its still enough power to make 1st and 2nd gear useless with drag radials.

 

[Dan_Gyoba]

Okay, I'm in the same boat here. I want to upgrade my daily driver, so it needs reliability, but I'd sure like to have some get up and go, more than the stock turbo is going to allow.

I've pretty much dismissed the eBay turbos. Sure they're inexpensive, but it's hard to get much real feedback on these things, and since I just bought a nice shiny new RT downpipe, and the LIPP turbo elbow, it'd be a shame to let those go to waste.

I figure that the BOSS turbo from SupraSport would be viable, as it'll bolt up to what I have, and should give me enough headroom to make 350-400 RWHP fairly reliably off of my 7M-GTE, with the possibility of a "scramble" boost setting allowing something somewhat higher. Upside, It's a newer turbo design than the CT26, it bolts in, and has more ultimate potential, when I want it. Downside, it's nearly $2000 by the time you add in the goodies that you need to install it.

CT26 upgrades don't seem that cheap an option for me. Sure the upgrade itself is in the $500 neighborhood, but add in shipping both ways from here, plus the fact that I'd have my car out of commision for the transit time, and it adds up fast. Buying an already upgraded CT26 eliminates this delay, and is probably what I'd need to do, but that's spendy, too. I've been looking at eBay for cores, but by the time I get one HERE, there's hardly a chance that it'll be under $150 ($50-$75 for shipping alone) and may not be suitable for upgrade. Maybe if I can find one locally, that's something else, but for now...

So I'm looking at the same set of options. I want more power, and I know that I need a turbo upgrade to do it. So far the consensus seems to be that the CT26 upgrade is good "bang for the buck." I'd agree if not for the spendy shipping back and forth over the Canadian border.

 

[7Mboost]

Majority will say 57trim or 60-1 CT upgrade.

 

[The1]

I was asking this in the Turbocharger section but is there a bolt-on charger that will get me 500hp at least once..lol

But just want a reliable 350hp dd.

 

[TheNewRed]

Upgraded CT 57 (a little more reliable than anything larger)

You mention the reliability of the upgraded size...is the 60 trim or 60-1 reliable?

 

[GrimJack]

You mention the reliability of the upgraded size...is the 60 trim or 60-1 reliable?

Mine wasn't. IMO, anything over the 57 trim wheel puts too much stress on the CHRA, leading to failure.