cheap ebay turbos???

what if any experience do you guys have with those real cheap ebay turbos?

like the $99-200 ones?

what if any are other budget options for large frame turbos , holset etc? large wastegated turbos?

I hope you mean used turbos and not the cheap-ass off-brand fleaBay turbo kits...

Hot Rod magazine did a engine test with one of those eBay turbos a month or two ago. http://www.hotrod.com/techarticles/engine/hrdp_1104_594hp_53l_gen_iii_small_block_for_3252/index.html

"Although we managed to make some respectable horsepower numbers with a Chinese-made knockoff turbo, we can neither advocate them nor advise against them. On one hand, our unit performed very well during our test. Conversely, the experts at Fastlane have seen them go kaput with minimal mileage. That said, we can't in good conscience recommend bolting one into a car with expectations that it will last tens of thousands of miles. It just so happens that HOT ROD is in the position to serve as a universal lab rat so you won't have to spend your hard-earned money experimenting with a Chinese turbo on your own. Just like the reliability of offshore cranks and rods was questionable at best in the beginning, but improved substantially in the years that followed, it's possible that Chinese turbos will follow a similar path. Even so, turbos are much more complex devices to reverse-engineer than cranks and rods, and for now, the higher cost of well-established, American, name-brand turbos is well worth it. We'd like to pit our Chinese T76 against a Borg Warner T72 to see who comes out on top."

The names don't truly reference the size.

we put one of the cheapies on the jeep at the 2010 challenge, but it hasnt had more than a mile or so on it. theyre not water cooled so i'm sure they arent as good as any factory option. i'd want a water cooled for any sort of full on street or reliability-based project.

Just don't go looking for a Holset.. I don't want any more people out trying to grab them up... ya'll keep driving up the prices on stuff that used to be really cheap..

But yeah.. spend 300 on a Holset before wasting the same on a crap chi-com turbo...

I bought a t3/t4 turbonectics in very nice shape, cheap off CL the other day...

I bought 2200hp worth of turbo for $150 off of craigslist recently.

MrJoshua wrote: I bought 2200hp worth of turbo for $150 off of craigslist recently.

How long till it comes unglued?

Mine were OE 11 Liter Mack truck turbos, not Chinese!

For what it's worth, BEGI sells "chinachargers" as part of a budget kit.

A lot of them, you can swap in garrett internals for a budget high-quality turbo.

The general concensus I have seen is that like the OBX limited slip differentials, you should inspect them to make sure that everything was assembled correctly in the first place, and that everything is torqued properly and you can usually avoid any major incidents. The main thing is not expecting OEM-level reliability from your $150 turbo and you won't be disappointed.

I've seen some that have accumulated 20,000+ street miles. And heard firsthand accounts of ones that leaked after a month. They're kind of a grab bag, and many of them probably will be unless somebody (such as BEGi) decides they want to do more than a quick buck and build a brand name and reputation with them.