b16a t3/t04e ceramic ball bearing turbonetics turbo. compression is good from the last time i checked it. no leaks (other than the return oil line). smokes at cold start then goes away. no loss of power. any ideas?

 

check your wastegate to see if there's exhaust gas coming out of it during idle

 

i've checked it. no leaks.

 

Do you have any pics of your oil return?

 

if everything okay, and theres no loss of power, why does it matter?

 

Is it when you first start the car up cold? Or after the oil is hot it doesnt spin?

 

some dont spin at idle but id figure a BB turbo would... weird...

are you running a restrictor? how old is it?

 

Does it spin freely by hand? If you up the rpms a little does it start to spin?

There's not alot of exhaust pressure at idle, many turbos won't spin at idle.

 

i have a holset on mine and it spins fairly fast at idle to fast for me to touch it!!

 

i wouldn't worry about it. my tubro doesnt spin at idle

 

How big of a turbo is it? If its a 57 or 60trim size it should be spinning at idle specially if its ball bearing. If you can spin it by hand freely take the downpipe off to see if the exhaust wheel is also spinning. I've seen turbos break the shaft and so the compressor wheel does not spin anymore.

 

My turbo doesnt spin at idle, unless I spin it with my hand then the exhuast will normally keep it going....All depends on oil pressure and turbo type I think

 

damn, thats odd. that isn't a very large turbo so it should spin freely at idle. Mine is spinning like crazy at idle but I only have a GT3076 with a .82ar exhaust housing on a stock K20z1 motor & a peakboost kit.