So what a lot of people don't know is that the turbos they buy have intense R&D behind them and any OEM turbo manufacturer (Garrett/Honeywell, Holset, etc) have even tougher tests

The housings you typically receive are tested for what's called burst containment (except precision, they don't do any burst testing, we've seen the results of that) so if the the turbo has a catastrophic failure and the wheels separate that they don't penetrate and leave the housings and that the housings themselves stay attached to the center section

A bursting wheel is a bomb, sending shrapnel at and above the speed of sound in all directions. On a name brand turbo these pieces should be contained within it's respective housing.

Housings that aren't burst rated do little to contain the damage. I've seen holes in hoods, engines, transmissions and even seen pieces of the wheel imbed in the road surface.

Chinese turbos have none of those requirements. Add in the substandard materials and casting ,methods and you have an even worse situation. A wheel that separates at high shaft speeds can cause catastrophic damage to a vehicle as well as cause personal injury or even death, not only to the driver of the car but potentially anyone nearby

Here's a video from Holset they released showing the burst containment testing of both a genuine holset and a china holset copy they got.... the video speaks for itself


Garrett also does the exact test but the results and videos are rarely released to the public, the last (and only) video I saw from Garrett was from 1985

Unfortunately precision doesn't burst test their housings and we've all seen the numerous pictures of what happens. I'm not trying to knock precision in this thread, but you would think given the sudden rise of their products on both street and track cars that safety might need to become a priority.

I've seen china turbos where entire housings, back plate and all blew off the chra during a wheel failure. For comparison one of our drift cars (real 180sx, rb25 with the stock turbo, ceramic turbine wheel, more boost then the wheel could handle) the wheel separated from the shaft and shot out the end of the exhaust... it was actually kind of funny to watch on the video playback... huge ball of fire and then this projectile popping out the exhaust, but due to the burst rated housing no damage was done to any components of the vehicle, nor was their any personal injury.

I'm pretty sure Mac will chime in as well

I know we are all trying to build our cars on a budget but at some point you need to consider personal safety as well as public safety. Buy a reputable brand, support our dwindling us economy as opposed to sending money to China hand over fist, and have a part that you know will perform properly and last, not to mention prevent untold damage should the unit fail

 

Sticky this ****!

 

nice post

its just unfortunate that the china turbos and other china parts are so affordable

YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR EVERYONE!!

stick with name brand parts that are PROVEN and keep the tuner market thriving for the quality and R&D that we deserve !!

 

 

Example of an explosion...

 

Schooled me on that one peeps, appreciate the knowledge.

 

Everyone buying eBay turbos and kits SHOULD already know this info... I did.

 

Thanks Neva, saw those videos as well but forgot to link them

You can see from the 1985 Garrett video to the Holset video that's circa 2006-2007 just how much housing and wheel technology has improved... the Garrett did have some shrapnel and the compressor inlet blew off but nowadays the housings tend to stay in one piece.

That supra video is a perfect real world example of what a catastrophic failure does... I bet after the turbo was removed that there was damage to the manifold, motor as well as the chassis... now imagine I'd the hood were closed or he was in heavy traffic when it happened, that could easy damage other vehicles in close proximity or even cause injury.

Also imagine if he were travelling at highway speeds, that would no doubt have the potential to cause a bad traffic accident.

I'm just trying to educate people on why name brand units cost what they do, vs a china copy that has had no r&d nor testing.

Hopefully this has opened the eyes of those that swear by or run china turbos and the potential damage they can cause, not to mention the cost of repairing all of the damage to your vehicle should such an event happen

Buy brand name from a reputable dealer or buy a custom unit from a reputable builder like TheShodan and have confidence that such a failure would be rare

 

Sadly most don't, all they look at is the cheap price tag. They think oh its just 200 bucks and if it breaks its cheap to replace, not taking into account that a failure could mean more than simply swapping turbls

Hell most china copies of certain models don't even use the same kind of wheel sizes, etc... I saw an eBay 2871 with a t04b compressor wheel in it. They just slap something together just for the sake of ,making a dollar.

 

You've done good making this thread. It puts it in simple black and white . Hopefully it makes a difference and helps remove the crap from the market. You get what you pay for. Cheap Chinese **** will never be nothing other than cheap Chinese ****. Quality isn't produced cluelessly and carelessly...

 

It probably won't make any difference. Hell, I'm probably still going to get one.

 

Why are all these videos from the 80's-90's??

 

The holset video isn't, the turbo they test is clearly an he351ve which wasn't released until 2006

Not to mention they test a china hx35.... china copies of holset units have only started popping up over the last few years. The video style and narration makes it feel like the 90s lol

 

This is a old post but im wondering is it still all the same or is there something better out there?

 

You are calling a thread made about a week ago, old? I can assure you an entire industry did not change in a week, let alone over night.

For those saying they will still buy them, clearly you are clueless.

 

since china is known for making knock offs, i often ask people if theyre willing to buy a knock off turbo then i guess theyre willing to buy this as well

(china made)



(german engineer)

 

Clueless about what?

 

about **** quality.

 

No, just not really concerned about it.

 

That's because nothing has happened to you yet. That's like that with most people willing to get these products. A sense of "I'm different, it won't happen to me," kind of thing.

It's a amazing how entire threads are discussed at length about companies like skunk2 and their practices, QC, where materials are made, etc.. But when it comes to these turbos that are a functioning part of the car, people turn a blind eye and "aren't concerned" when it can cause true injury.. I'm telling ya, H-Ters are looking more and more like hypocrites every day.

 

No, it's because in my specific application it's going into a car I bought for $100 and a junkyard engine I bought for $400 complete from oil pan to manifold. By the time the turbo does fail, I should have the next engine built which will not be naturally aspirated. If not, another shortblock is less than $200.

I realize you can't have cheap, fast, and reliable all together but I have enough acquaintances running these turbos to know they'll last long enough to get my $350 worth until I finish the more permanent combo. The "true injury" BS fearmongering I don't buy though.

 

Co-sign!

That's why I put that copy of a BMW x5

 

Are those BMW's definitely copies though? I.e. They aren't made in the same factory. There are a lot of manufactures that use the same "base ". They just slap their own badged on.

 

As long as this mode of thinking and rationalization exists the majority will continue to subscribe to this practice. But I guess if you reach a few through spreading info by means of threads like this then I guess it's worth it.

As far as it being fearmongering? Hardly. You admitted yourself these things are mediocre at best. A stopgap until you get something better. As far as your acquaintances? That doesn't carry much weight with me. Birds of a feather. It's similar to the saying "If your friends jumped off a bridge..."

 

Hypocrite is not the word I would have used. I would have probably chosen something from Neva's vocabulary, but I see where you are coming from Mac. That is why I am glad I currently have a good old Garrett piece on my junk right now. And probably why I would not go with a Precision later on. I can't imagine my turbo exploding way out in front of the car on a forward facing setup. Havoc.