ok, i have searched and read a bunch of threads about this, and people seem split pretty evenly on whether an oil restrictor should be run or not. i have a older turbonetics t3/t4 turbo (that's been recently rebuilt) on a 99 gsr. this will be my dd, with 20-30k put on a year. it doesn't have one right now, but i haven't driven it very much since the install, because i'm waiting for tuning. why or why not should i run a restrictor?

 

usually people only use an oil restritor when to much oil is being fed like my car use to smoke when i got on the car because to much oil was being fed so i put a restritor on and the smoking went away so after you tune it drive around and get on it and let it sit and idle and if it smokes then i would throw one on

 

it doesn't seem to be smoking now, but i don't want the seals to wear out quickly and start smoking. i'm running mobil 1 synthetic, 5w-30. the oil pressure at idle with the engine fully warmed is about 20 psi. at cruising in 5th gear around 3-4k rpm the pressure's around 50 psi.

 

i would just throw a oil restritor on then... i picked up a -3 for $5 bucks a while back

 

i'm not worried about the cost of the restrictor. i don't want to push too much oil through the turbo and blow out the seals, and at the same time i don't want too little oil and fry the turbo. i want people with some technical knowledge about this to chime in and tell me whether they're a good idea or not.

 

Unless the turbo doesnt have one built in then yes use one.

 

yes use one. A fitting with a small (1/32", ~1mm) hole works best imo. The turbo doesn't need near the oil pressure that the engine sees.

 

You should install an inline oil pressure gauge to determine whether a restrictor is necessary or not. The bearing housing should see around 50-60 psi max (according to Corky Bell).

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by civicdxtyper &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">the oil pressure at idle with the engine fully warmed is about 20 psi. at cruising in 5th gear around 3-4k rpm the pressure's around 50 psi.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Apparently you already know what your oil pressure is. I've been reading up on these restrictors lately too, and most of the figures I've heard are 60-65 psi max. I'm way over that while cruising at 3500 rpm on the interstate. I've driven over 200 interstate miles on a used turbo I just installed, and sure enough, I have a substantial amount of oil in my IC piping. I'm not expecting a restrictor to save my turbo now, but when I get a new one (or rebuild this one), I'll definately be running a restrictor.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by SpeedwaySlick &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Apparently you already know what your oil pressure is. I've been reading up on these restrictors lately too, and most of the figures I've heard are 60-65 psi max. I'm way over that while cruising at 3500 rpm on the interstate. I've driven over 200 interstate miles on a used turbo I just installed, and sure enough, I have a substantial amount of oil in my IC piping. I'm not expecting a restrictor to save my turbo now, but when I get a new one (or rebuild this one), I'll definately be running a restrictor.</TD></TR></TABLE>

damn, why is your pressure so high? i haven't redlined my car with the turbo yet so i have no idea what the pressure will be at higher rpm. what's your source for the 60-65 psi?

 

60-65 is not high, its normal... alot of us see 80+

 

if you use -3AN line, you dont need a restrictor, -4AN you do.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 20yrsToMidnight &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">60-65 is not high, its normal... alot of us see 80+</TD></TR></TABLE>

SpeedwaySlick mentioned that 60-65 psi is the max pressure the turbo should see. i'm wondering what his source is for info.

i haven't revved up my car yet but i will today, so i can see what the pressure's at.

 

That's why i like turbonetic's turbo built in restrictor and a nice warrenty, and I've never had a problem with!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by civicdxtyper &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

damn, why is your pressure so high? i haven't redlined my car with the turbo yet so i have no idea what the pressure will be at higher rpm. what's your source for the 60-65 psi?</TD></TR></TABLE>

My oil pressure is probably so high because I either have a healthy oil pump or a faulty gauge. Research it yourself, but I believe I read that turbos really only need 10-20 psi under boost, enough to stay lubed. Most of what I read about oil restrictors was in threads about SSAC turbos. The combination of high oil pressure and a cheap turbo is not good. To put things into perspective, I went to earl's (right down the street from the indianapolis motorspeedway) to try to find an oil restrictor. The guy kind of chuckled at the term, as if it is almost unheard of in racing. On the other hand, most of the teams around here have virtually unlimited budgets, and they're probably only trying to get 2-3 races out of a turbo, not 15K miles. Also, I've always heard good things about turbonetics, and if they are putting built-in restrictors on their stuff, then it's probably not a bad idea. If you're only running 50 psi max, and you have a good quality turbo, you'd probably be alright for quite a while. I doubt a restrictor would shorten the life of the turbo though.

 

ive used a cheapy ssac turbo for 7 months now but fitted an oil restrictor and use a -3an feed line, no problems so far. i made the restrictor by tappin the brass fitting to the turbo on the inside and putting bolt down the middle and drilling a 1/16" hole. i can then remove the restrictor from the fitting if i need to. ive seen my buddies integra R see 85 + psi and i dont think my cheap o' turbo would like that. honda's run alot more oil pressure than most.

 

so where can i get a restrictor? it sounds like a good idea to have one. i have a pretty small oil feed line, but i'm not too sure exactly what size it is.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by flangemastermike &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i made the restrictor by tappin the brass fitting to the turbo on the inside and putting bolt down the middle and drilling a 1/16" hole. </TD></TR></TABLE>

That's exactly what the guy at earl's suggested doing.

I just ordered one on ebay here: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...wItem

The swivel design is supposed to make it easy to install.

He also sells other useful misc. stuff (like vacuum manifolds and wg blockoff plates), and gives a pretty good deal on combined shipping.