So update on my eBay Hybrid turbo build.

I got all of my parts in yesterday, basically the T04B25 tractor turbo($164.99 shipped) and the TA34 Trubine Wheel and Shaft($155.99 shipped).

Here's a quick pic of the size comparison for the compressor housings, stock S4 vs U-Trim .60 AR T04B Housing:



Here's a quick pic of the main basic components I'm doing away with:



And a shot comparing the stock S4 Turbine wheel to the TA34 one, you can see there is a small difference in height and the curvature of the blades:



And more pics:

 

Here you can see the difference in size of the compressor wheels:



Old parts on the left, new parts on the right:



Another comparison shot:



Here are some pics of the holes that need to be widened or drilled out because the bolt pattern on the T04B backing plate is a tad smaller than what's on our CHRA's, still a square but a bit larger:



Used a Dremel since it would be easiest


All assembled:


Overall, it was very straight forward. I would've liked to have used a V-Trim compressor side but meh, can't complain. I did the work myself, got what should be a bad *** turbine wheel(which added almost unnecessary cost) and was able to use all of the bushings off the eBay turbo.

People might hate on overseas turbo parts but the bushings were actually about .0005" tighter on the turbine shaft than the ones that were already on my rebuilt turbo, so I used those instead.

I guess I also found that when turbos get rebuilt without replacing the turbine, shaft play is inevitable. The brand new TA34 I got was about .001" bigger at the bearing surface than my original one, everything else checked out identical though. The eBay turbo on the other hand, had all new components and yet the shaft on the turbine was .0005" smaller than my old worn out one.

Oh and one last thing, luckily the eBay turbo came with a left hand thread nut, so I was able to use that on the TA34 turbine. Is there anything else I'm leaving unanswered??? I think that's it!

 

Looks great! Thanks!

You did have it balanced correct? Who'd you use?

I want to do this exact build to my stock s4 turbo.

 

I haven't had it balanced yet, I'm trying to get in contact with a local company, Apex, to see how much they charge.

 

has anyone had a chance to look over some of these cheaper ceramic BB turbo CHRA/turbine wheels yet to see if something can be adapted to fit the stock snail?

it's time to move into the next century..

it's not the same as buying a complete turbo + manifold but still would be good to figure out yet more options available and fight the lag issue that comes with the hybrids.

 

Haha, Ben you must be reading my mind. I was looking into that all day today and found a few CHRA's, ball bearing of course, that might work. But I'm not down to throw some $900 down and find that it doesn't fit or won't work.

Maybe I can hit up ATP Turbo and pick their brains, the company I work at is thinking of supporting their parts so might as well ask them if they can help with this.

 

well i have seen some as small as T04E sized(i don't recall if it was actually a T04E though) with BB center but i haven't actually gotten to measure the exhaust wheels to see if the snail could be machined to fit it. the owner said he paid like $350 for it, just a simple chinese knockoff which are being produced with ceramic BB centers now.

he was running it on the turbo 9.4:1 REPU and it spooled rediculously fast for what it was(blowthrough carb with MSD ignition) and was peaking around 2900ish, but it also had no intercooler to fill and the smaller/shorter early port runners on a full bridged engine with a T3 flanged tubular manifold...

not like i wanted to argue, it was a turbo he provided and i didn't care to measure it at the time.

perhaps i will see if he will let me borrow it for a few days since he replaced it with another when he cooked the bearings on it with too small of a restrictor. but i don't recall any sort of distinguishable markings to identify it, but he got it locally so i should be able to find more if it does work.

i'm focusing on the cheap stuff because that is probably the most reasonable route. most people won't want to dump $1.5k+ into a hybrid turbo.

 

Soooo, I tried the CHRA from the eBay T04B25 on my S4 turbine housing and it pretty much fits:




However, I was unable to find a T04B that was a full ceramic ball bearing CHRA, all the ones I saw say "Ceramic Ball Bearing Compressor Side".

I'm not sure if that's how all ceramic ball bearing CHRA's come or if these are just a cheap excuse for a ball bearing center(still new to this stuff)

 

Anyone know if a stock cover can be machined to fit a 60-1 wheel?

 

It cannot :]

 

i spent a few minutes the other week looking into some of the newer machined compressor wheels, and here are the crib notes. more research is needed.

1. if the billet wheel is just machined out to the same profile as a cast wheel it performs the same as the cast wheel, so a billet 60-1 and a cast 60-1 will perform the same, but the billet wheel is 10x the money. http://www.turbobygarrett.com/turbob...s#.Ul1knxbvyNE

2. you need a billet wheel that is designed to be better, like a garrett GTX, however they don't appear to be available separately from the turbo at this time. Billet Aluminum Compressor Wheel, TD04HL, 19T

3. the ebay units come with no compressor map or specs, it looks like they might be copies of cast wheels? IE a ripoff.

4. the Garrett GT wheels look like they could fit too, they are sized a little differently, and i'm not sure what our limitations are in that area, IE how big can we go?

 

DId anyone ever pull #'s out of this setup?
T04B25 tractor turbo and the TA34 Trubine Wheel

Interested to see what the franken-hybrid does.

 

3. I think some eBay units you can find maps on, but its not necessary in my mind for a hybrid build. We're basically piecing together a turbo that has been proven to produce good power so why bother going through all the numbers.

4. By GT wheels I'm guessing your talking about the turbine wheel size? BNR goes up to a P-trim which I think is big enough for a bolt on set up. There are P-trim Ball Bearing CHRA's out there with 60-1 compressor wheels which in theory should work great on our cars. At that point though might as well invest in a full upgrade with manifold and external wastegate, or do a v mount on the cheap if you want response.

 

Bumpstart is the first guy who built that set up and I don't think he has posted numbers yet. I'm trying to get funds together to get my car out for a tune, just need to get off my lazy bumm and make money.

As soon as I do get numbers ill post up my results here.

 

3. eBay sellers will say what is needed to make the sale. Vornado, ecu chips, magnetic fuel discombobulators, etc... Turbo components should be better due to modern manufacturing and design, so why not try to use them instead of the old stuff?

4. That's a nice big turbo, but it doesn't suit every application. Just like BNR doesn't only offer one stage. I'm interested to see what you get out of it, though.
But I agree, it's a lot of work just to keep the stock manifold and exhaust housing. Might as well go T4 manifold/turbo unless there other reasons to keep it looking stockish.

 

I'm having trouble tracking down a suitable T04B for a hybrid swap (really trying to find the H compressor wheel for that little extra bit of flow)

 

no compressor, the newer Garrett GT wheels are better, and then the GTX wheels are better than that.

the GTX wheels flow more air per wheel size, so if we sized one to flow like an H it would spool quicker too.

notice there are wheels like this for more popular platforms like the 850 volvo....

 

What I was getting at was that there may be better components we can use out there, but for the price, if you stick to the standards set by BNR or other hybrids then you can't go wrong. And in my experience, I've never had an eBay seller push a product on me, but I will agree that you are purchasing a part that will have probably no tech support which is fine with my wallet.


I found it really difficult to find a T04B H3 or 60-1 combo. I think the only way to do it really is get a donor T04B turbo(probably new so you can potentially use the new journal bearings and what not) and buy the wheel separate. Wheels normally run for $55-150 depending on the size, quality, etc.. After that you just need to find a shop that'll machine your comp housing to match the bigger wheel.

I went to Apex Performance in Oxnard to get my hybrid balanced and they also do machining there to match wheels.

Apex Performance in conjunction with Hardline Turbo


Damn, that'd be pretty sweet. If anyone is up for it, it seems like a billet wheel could be the way to go, but then it goes back to being to much time and money invested in a set up where you can pretty much afford a whole B.B. turbo set-up.

 

I have a t04e 57 trim (56.5 / 75mm) in a machined cover atm so how much bigger wheel can you go?

 

Is there such a thing as a T04B anti surge housing? I want that jet engine sound when my baby turbo spools to gazillion RPM. In all seriousness I'd like to find one if they exist

 

i talked a little with the shop next door that sells chinese turbos.

he doesn't seem knowledgeable on turbos at all but said if i can get measurements on the wheels he can ask the suppliers if they have anything that may work.

 

One last thing to note for the hybrid turbo set up. With the T04B housing, I was able to use the stock wastegate actuator off the FC. All I had to to was slot the hole that is closest to the camera here.

I didn't see it noted in previous posts and others have mentioned that they bought a universal bracket and actuator.


If you slot the lower hole further away from the camera, it should work fine also but the way I mounted it it gave it a bit of preload so why not.

Quick shot of it mounted up to my rebuild.(kinda blurry but meh)

 

Will the T04s cover and backing plate fit the stock chra?

 

I think it should. I've been trying to see if anyone has done it in the past but nothing comes up. People talk about it but no pics. Seems like it'd be a good housing to match with a big wheel and turbine and get a hybrid to make some 400+HP, just a matter of making it fit.

 

Aside from ebay, has anyone found a donor turbo in a junkyard or something of the sort? May be a cheaper option assuming it's still on the vehicle & good for donor purposes