Whats the deal with these ebay turbos? Whats the catch?

[VadersV6]

For awhile now, Ive been seeing these "T70" as they call them, turbos on ebay, for ridiculous prices, and the feedback is generally really good with these people. I look at the turbine and see signs of balancing and the machining looks good. But, they do require a v-band downpipe and an external wastegate. They're also 4 bolts. But even with the extra hardware you need, this is still ridiculously priced. I figure they could easily pull this off in China and still make a profit, given chinese day laborers make 1-2 dollars a day. I figure that if people were firing their motors up and having impellers shatter the first time they hit 20psi, they wouldnt have a very good feedback record. Only thing thats strange is that the hp ratings are kind of low considering the size of these turbos. Are these things just plastic hood ornaments?
Heres one of the "stores" that sells them.

eBay Store - Speed Racer Performance: Turbochargers: T3 Stage II Hybrid T04E Turbo Turbocharger A R .42

 

[DCVING 6]

I would say too good to be true when compared to what you would get from a proven company like Precision.

Just my .02

 

[1BADTT]

Has happened to some DSM friends...

I think you'd be lucky if it survived 2 hard dyno sessions Two buddies = Two experiences. 1 broke it on the dyno & the other with regular street driving Don't know what seller they were from, but they were Ebay turbos !

 

[Junior Samples]

oooohhhh boy here we go..lol 170 bucks out the door

 

[turbodave231]

Just remember............you get what you pay for!!!

 

[gnxtc2]

More China crap

Billy T.
gnxtc2@aol.com

 

[SGRIM]

I easily found turbo's on line for cheaper than that with these HP ratings etc... from China. Funny part was this line "usually good for one year:

Yeah I think I will stick with Precision:biggrin:

 

[Junior Samples]

Unless its Unusually good weather then it should usually last 3 months?

 

[TURBOPOWERED68]

feedback 4500 and 99.3 positive Kind of hard to have that score selling junk.
but you never know.

i would buy it only after you have good results with it :biggrin:

 

[VadersV6]

I did a bunch of research and found some DSM forums and some other places that had experience with them. It seems like a 50/50 crap shoot, and the ones that usually fail have more to do with running close to 40psi and not breaking the turbo in like they recommend. The people who drove easy under 7psi for a couple weeks, have ebay turbos lasting 80,000+ miles under heavy abuse. It seems you have to check some things before putting it on your car. Make sure the shaft spins freely (although alot of guys had turbos that didnt have free spin, but after soaking in oil the shaft would spin for like 30 seconds after spinning it by hand.) and check shaft play in both directions. The XS Power ones seem to have the best reputation for longevity while the ssautochrome ones tend to fall apart. Supposedly some guys are pushing over 700whp and theyre lasting a long time. But some have volutes that are epoxied together, lol hahaha and they split apart.

 

[87natl]

Yeah, I'm gonna buy a cheap a** turbo that is gonna blow apart and scrap an 8k engine build.....sure.

 

[Chuck Leeper]

Breakin for 2 weeks, and low boost??? Who the hell came up w/ that crap??

 

[VadersV6]

Supposedly they're such a close ripoff of garrett turbos, that garrett parts interchange with no problem. One guy said that the turbines are made with some crap steel that warps under exhaust heat and said most turbine wheels are made from inconel, although Ive never heard of that one. I'd imagine that your typical garrett turbo would have a steel turbine, but the metallurgy would be alot better. If you were to buy some beater to do a junkyard turbo setup, it seems like the way to go, but pretty stupid to do it on a car you actually enjoy.

 

[1BADTT]

the ssautochrome ones tend to fall apart.

Spoke with 1 of my friends & yes, his was from ssautochrome. But still you get what u pay for...

 

[1BADTT]

Yup...

Yeah, I'm gonna buy a cheap a** turbo that is gonna blow apart and scrap an 8k engine build.....sure.

+2

 

[Red C5]

how about supporting our own economy instead of being cheap asses? I go out of my way to not buy made in China. I'll pay significantly more to buy US made products.

 

[mark ace]

:smile: WELL SAID!

 

[BlackMetal]

There might be a few choice parts that I would trust not being a "brand name" or not being made in the USA but there's way too much precision work (no pun intended) involved in a turbo charger. You might be able to get away with a cheap downpipe or intercooler but I would not bother trying one of these turbos. $800-$1000 for a decent turbo is still a bargain considering what goes into them.

 

[Junior Samples]

might need this with purchase

 

[8urV8]

Hey where are the chopsticks!!!:biggrin: