Terry (soulezoo) was kind enough to let me test drive his new ball bearing twin setup...wow! Can you say insta-spool? And these flow enough air to put him well into the 800hp range! I love my twin setup (62/71/13SS over S474), but I wish my setup spooled quicker so I could have more fun driving them around town (I'm at 4000ft elevation). Don't get me wrong, once spooled up, it's an absolute beast...but after driving Terry's truck, I'm looking for more. It seems like these ball bearing turbos provide the best of both worlds, insanely quick spool-up coupled with tons of airflow for high hp. Thanks again Terry, I'm jealous of your setup!

Jared

 

No problem, Jared.

Happy to help, glad you liked 'em.

 

I am going with a Garrett Stage 3 single (Thanks for the advice Terry!). My Injectors have been Don M'd and will be back in the truck tomorrow. I found a rebuilt Stage 3 locally. My local diesel shop is going to inspect it. If it looks good, it will be in soon. Terry gave me the lowdown on the Garrett, and I am anxious to get this installed!!!

 

Well, report your results when you get it in!

 

man i want my turbos.......sooooooooo baddddddddddd

 

What are the pros/cons of a ball bearing turbo in a single application? Are they perfected yet?

 

Will do! It will be a few weeks before I have time to do the turbo and exhaust manifold. Probably the third week of March.

As far as the pro's and con's of a ball bearing turbo, I'll let Terry do the talking. I know they spool faster!

 

whats the truth about rebuildability for BB turbos. is it possible and really expensive or is someone in for a new turbo if they break?
thanks

 

The truth is they are rebuildable to the same extent a journal bearing turbo can be rebuilt. However, it is more complicated and costs considerably more. Example: a bht3b can be rebuilt for about a hundred bucks... the BB unit will cost about $500 depending on who does it... and that is the other part; I only know of several places that does it. Garrett factory has a turbo trade in program where they will credit you a considrable amount toward a replacement if you suffer a failure. I am not sure how much, I haven't had a failure. Reliability though has been excellent. Just from my admittedly limited experience so far, I find these to be more reliable. I base that on the premise of most journal bearing turbo repairs tend to be because of the thrust bearing going out... Ball Bearing turbos do not have thrust bearings. In terms of "regular use" long term wear they are extremely reliable. Garrett also offers journal bearing versions of these turbos, but they do so for cost reasons. The big downside to the BB turbos is cost. However, it pays to shop before deciding. On the smaller turbos, like say s300 variants from HTT or II, you'll be spending upwards of $2k for a turbo. The Garretts in the same sizes are competitive in price. However, in the larger turbos like s400 variants, the s400 will often be 1/2 to even 1/3 the price of an equivalent Garrett.

 

Where did jarred and you hook up?

 

He was down in Sacramento for some business and after the weekend of trying we managed to get together.

 

I guess that depends on your definition of perfected...

The pros are much faster spool time vs journal bearing turbos for the same airflow/size of turbo.

The cons are relative price, and the customization of the EH to the application.

 

Man, i'm jealous...I'd love to experience those things!

--Eric

 

the big con is the cost better get the wallet out and ready to take a hit but if you are looking for the ult. in spool and power then you have to step up to BB twins. terry twisted my arm into going that route now i have no choice but to drop the cash

 

So you're gonna be the one terrorizing Manteca with that bad set of twins!?!? Terry told me bout them. Can't wait to hear your thoughts on them. We're gonna need dyno results ASAP!

Jared