[PS2N54]

sorry for long intro. so u get idea of where iam headed with this car (bankruptcy)

recently got a clean m n54 e90(auto w/ paddleshift, non-DCT) to build over the winter. its main issue is small oilleak in turbo and slight wastegate rattle. iam pulling engine out and doing entire refresh on every gasket/seal/bushing/fluid/bearing and suspension part imaginable with proper shit. (will post pics of entire process here, instagram and probably some youtube vids)

putting on VRSF CP, VRSF DP, HKS BOV, VRSF intercooler, alum. rad, LSD kit, F80 brakes.... it already came with brand new OEM HPFP, waterpump+thermo, boost solenoids, OEM battery and coils+plugs which was nice, probably willl upgrade coils, plugs and injectors regardless.

I am already at around $8k in parts not including tires, exhaust, interior+exterior mods, tune and a couple of specialty tools needed. I was planning to go with a DYNAMIC AUTOWERX turbo kit, but its looking like out of budget for this year, but i still need something in the car for spring/summer/fall until next winter when i can pull car off road again to work on and properly upgrade the turbos.


so... here is what i wanna know; for 10months (aprox. 15k miles), what should i do about my turbo situation.... i was originally thinking to get the VTTO CHRA upgrade for OEM turbos and a wastegate+seal rebuild kit which would be around $900 max. other consideration is cheap/no-brand turbo kits promising 700-900hp.... lol, not going to push them anywhere near that, but at least maybe more fun than what VTTO CHRA might offer if using them for such a short time?


my end goal with the car is stable and reliable 500-550whp on 91-94 octane pump gas without maxing turbos to use as a hard driven daily driver.

any suggestions on what CHRA/Turbo rebuild or cheap replacement turbo to use within $1200 budget that would be reliable for 15k miles of hard use would be highly appreciated.

[iqraceworks]

First thing....you probably aren't ever going to get much over 500hp with just running pump gas. You really need to be running an E40 mix to get into that 550+ range.

What about just adjusting the wastegate rods to get rid of the rattle, and putting new seals in the turbo you have that's leaking?

If you to have them last at least 15k miles of hard use.....you probably want to stay away from the ebay turbos. What about new oem stock turbos from FCP euro? They are around $1400 I think. Then you could always rebuild your stock turbos and they sell them to get some money out of them.

Unfortunately...like with most things, you can have cheap....or you can have good. But you can't have both.

[Torgus]

VTT & DAW are rubbish and should be thrown right in the dumpster. You are just asking for issues. Same with most china cast, it is hit or miss.

For the cost of going FBO + decent aftermarket twins it is about the same price as the bottom mount ST DR kit which will have literally 200whp more headroom than the twins.

I agree with IQ, new turbos from FCP. Beat the shit out of them, when they fail get new ones and resell them and then upgrade. As far as quality twins: RB or Pure are really the only options imo.

If you have no E around I would go ST w/ meth if you want higher hp. Twins will be limited.


You only get to pick two:
Cheap
fast
reliable

[zero2sixtyZ]

If you can hold out for a bit, black friday usually opens up some deals with more reputable turbo brands in the vendor marketplace. I'd suggest a set of Pure600s or a ST kit from Speedtech for the same price + sell the overlapped parts.

[Torgus]

Originally Posted by zero2sixtyZ

If you can hold out for a bit, black friday usually opens up some deals with more reputable turbo brands in the vendor marketplace. I'd suggest a set of Pure600s or a ST kit from Speedtech for the same price + sell the overlapped parts.

Is that your plan?

[PS2N54]

hey guys, thanks for the honest feedback, it kinda set me in right direction. the VTTO CHRA and oem rebuild i wont do, i will stay away from VTTO stuff in general. the china turbos for sure wont put not even if for 15k temporary, thanks.

i started to sell some parts/mods from my previous car that were just laying around and its opening a decent budget, but def not enough yet for ST or to push more than 550hp for this winter's build since its ZF auto trans. i will likely save for doing a proper ST setup for next winter 2022 so that i can redo tranny too, or hopefully find a DCT.

for now iam liking the pure600 turbo option suggested, there is one posted new on classifieds about 4hrs away from me for $2300. (not sure if comes with install kit).

I can hold off till black friday if there are dramatic sales thanks for suggesting! iam not in rush to purchase, i have work for next 1.5months anyways, and the car isnt being used. iam just at stage of collecting every part/piece needed before i start doing the build over the winter.

[PS2N54]

oh and its very hard to find E40/E85 here. i was going to make a separate thread about meth injection once i know narrowed down the turbos, but its likely i will install a meth kit during this winter's build. I have very easy access to VPfuel 94 & 104 gasoline

[iqraceworks]

You can get a set of brand new RB TWO's for around $2k. They are great turbos that are at the same quality level (or maybe above?) Pure. They will make an easy 500hp on 93 and 550+ on an E40 mix.

[PS2N54]

ok nice, i will look into those as well. just curious cuz i saw on RB site saw for their TD04 turbos stating 575-650hp, is that only possible with E40/E85 or can 94+meth or 104+meth hit close to 600 stable with their TD04?

[Torgus]

Originally Posted by nzero

oh and its very hard to find E40/E85 here. i was going to make a separate thread about meth injection once i know narrowed down the turbos, but its likely i will install a meth kit during this winter's build. I have very easy access to VPfuel 94 & 104 gasoline

Any questions about meth I am happy to help with.

[whyzee125]

RB OEM replacements are cheaper than new OEM turbos I think and have upgraded wastegates although new OEM's through FCP is definitely a good option as well.

If/when I upgrade my turbos, I will be going with RB's

[iqraceworks]

Originally Posted by nzero

ok nice, i will look into those as well. just curious cuz i saw on RB site saw for their TD04 turbos stating 575-650hp, is that only possible with E40/E85 or can 94+meth or 104+meth hit close to 600 stable with their TD04?

Look under the TD03 section for the RB TWO's.

[Mustafa.e92]

Originally Posted by Torgus

Any questions about meth I am happy to help with.

What's the most power you think I would be able to run on pump 94 +meth with upgraded twins? No e85 here

[lightmanek]

Originally Posted by Mustafa.e92

What's the most power you think I would be able to run on pump 94 +meth with upgraded twins? No e85 here

I was running 620WHP on Shell VPower Racing 99+ (RON so 94oct) on my old TD04L hybrid twins. Unfortunately these were not the most durable turbos, so they were regularly failing every 4k to 6k miles. Before anyone says it was the power killing turbos, Iran them for 10000miles with 21PSI boost max and car did mostly easy motorway miles, they still failed.

My daily map was around 550WHP, but I was often using the stronger 620WHP or 730HP crank map with tons of torque.
To get there I installed VTT Double Barrel HPFP upgrade and the car had it easier in UK climate with temps in low teens most of the year.

Now I'm ST and very happy with the trade-off of late spool vs top end power and RELIABILITY.

I'm aiming to get 800WHP+ on my stock engine but I'm ready to sacrifice it as it has done more than enough miles with stock internals ... 214500 and counting.


This was daily map V8 from ******** (no longer active on N54) and he was rinign knock sensor quite a bit, but the power was there.

That was dynoed after fitting VTT DBS HPFP and on V9 map. Car would spin tyres in 3rd (Manual) at 60MPH on any tarmac and with any 265 tyre. On some motorways even 4th would loose traction occasionally.
One notable note, this dyno run had 10% of Ethanol in the tank, but the car was not yet mapped for FlexFuel. I would not race on this map as I was concious of overheating engine, but I could drive very aggressively on twisty roads just fine for hours. There is my build thread somewhere on this forum.

When I'm not as busy I will necro it with ST and all the other interesting and uncommon mods I've made, like dual swirlpot for safe fueling, etc.

[PS2N54]

lol love the smile and nod in vid. ST+tranny build for 650-750hp+ would for sure be my next phase for this car after first 8-9months with twins. even if i had the budget now, i wont have the time to finish the build before spring.

for this winter's build, i'd be super happy if the twins made reliable 500-530hp on 94+meth without running an obscene amount of boost.

Thanks to suggestions, iam gonna keep eye out for RB twos or pure600s to grab before xmas.

[lightmanek]

Originally Posted by nzero

lol love the smile and nod in vid. ST+tranny build for 650-750hp+ would for sure be my next phase for this car after first 8-9months with twins. even if i had the budget now, i wont have the time to finish the build before spring.

for this winter's build, i'd be super happy if the twins made reliable 500-530hp on 94+meth without running an obscene amount of boost.

Thanks to suggestions, iam gonna keep eye out for RB twos or pure600s to grab before xmas.

Yeah, the smile was genuine from the shop owner. They never had more powerful car on the dyno till that day. I was low-balling 500+, just didn't say how large the plus was

ST on RHD is super expensive, still, cheaper than trying to run my not so great twins for sure LOL!