I am still trying to figure out this whole turbine housing deal.

Which would be better for all around performance, a 12cm waste gate turbine housing (found one really cheap from a 2nd gen), 14cm nom waste gate housing, or a 16cm non waste gate turbine housing?
The main disadvantage that I can see for the 12 and 14cm turbine housing is that the fact it will move the down pipe about an inch rearword, which may make it hard to have a 4" down pipe.

Or is there another option for turbo upgrades that is less then $200 that I'm missing?

edit: I primarily drive unloaded city/highway is about 50/50. On occasion I plan on pulling a trailer weighing no more than 8-10k. And in the future I will probably trailer my Jeep out through the Rockies, which would be about the only high altitude driving I will see. I also plan on getting PODs, 3200 govenor springs, crank the pump, and atleast 4" exhaust all the way out. The PODS may be several months away still, but the rest will be done within a month more than likely. I do have guages on the way

 

My vote is the 16 only because of the lower back pressure at top end. The spool up time between the 21 you have now and the 16 is insane- trust me I just changed mine 1 1/2 months ago.

While your changing the gov. spring you should grind the foot down

Michael

 

With PODs the 12cm will be too small. For all around performance and price you can't go wrong with the 16cm. For just all around performance the 14cm is where its at, but at $400 or so just for the housing I don't think its worth it.

I have the 12cm on right now, and a 4in down pipe in the shop I am not sure if its going to fit or not. I am thinking about going back to the 16cm. The spoolup of the 12cm sure is nice, but I think that performance on the top end suffers especially with the 3200gsk and especially PODs

 

Kennedy,
With the mods you are planning, I think the 16cm is the best compromise. A 14cm NON wategated is not 400 bucks, but the wategated version is expensive. A non w/g 14 is too restrictive, period. With my old pump that was cranked right up, my 18 spooled nicely. I've got the 12cm now, but my new pump has a lock collar and a bosch warantee , so I need the spooling of the 12 to keep me cool . I may just put my 18 back on when I finally crank the pump up 'cause it worked fine with the extra fuel I once had...

g

 

I'm with them. Run the 16 cm unless you can afford the wastegated 14 cm.

 

So what good does the waste gate really do then? Most of the people with second gens. that I know disconnected the waste gate anyhow?

 

id run 16 that is wat i plan to do

 

'So what good does the waste gate really do then?'

The wastegate allows a smaller housing to 'act' like a bigger housing by being able to bypass exhaust around the turbine wheel at a pre-determined boost level, thus keeping boost under control at higher revs.

Most who render their wastegate permanently closed are doing so for the added volume of air the higher boost provides. I don't believe it's such a good idea because with a small turbine housing and no wastegate, it is possible and likely one will over speed the turbo which will superheat the inlet air at best and damage the turbo/engine at worst. Stock trucks get away with this, but when you add fuel, it becomes all too easy to push the turbo out of it's map and into the danger zone.

g

 

The stock turbo (no matter what housing you use) has an efficiency limit of about 24 - 26psi....after that it starts to create very hot boost air and it get's uglier by the lb. .....
The 16cm is a great comprimise housing...if you tune the truck correctly it will spool up nicely for you and still have "legs" at the high end.....
Even a 16cm will start to give you heat problems if you really go heavy with the fueling though so keep that in mind....
An awesome combo is the 14cm WG ....it is a bit more costly and it does have limitations at the upper end but you can't beat the "off the line" performance and still have "some" legs at the upper end.....all in all the most practical and versitile is the 16cm.....

pb.....

 

the 16 was a real good improvement for me from the stock one but with PODs you might just want to do the wg14 and be ready for the Bomb bug. I still see EGTs in the high side and 38 psi boost with the 16cm so in a while i will send off for the wg14cm . my.02

 

what do you mean by the "Bomb bug"?

 

Modifications are often called "bombs" on diesel sites. It's an acronym for "Better Off Modified, Baby". I think it's a West coast thing.

 

bombs,mods,hacks,tweaks....whatever, IT`S FUN

 

Yeah the bug bit me pretty hard and believe me it’s a long slippery slope. I started with some pump mods and then went to a 16 housing. Now look at my sig. We all have to start somewhere. Some of us just don’t have the will power to stop and I don’t think I will ever will. I hope someday I get my priorities right and stop spending all of my money on my pickup. Well you only live once right. You have been warned!!!!!!!!!!!

Stomp