The Trust T78 is a widely known Turbo that is very popular due to its boost capabilities and extremely large compressor flow. Designed by Trust / Greddy and Built buy Mitsubishi it is one of most sought after journal bearing turbo’s in the 700hp range.

With well over 20 years of performance & turbocharger experience the T78-33d is from Greddy / Trust’s large hybrid T-power series of turbos that feature an extra large free floating journal bushing with a large diameter center shaft for robust performance, testing has revealed that some of these Trust / Mitsubishi turbos have better response than similar sized ball bearing competitors in certain applications. three different turbine housings are available for the T78 all with a T4 flange and the option 80mm or 94mm V-band or 4 bolt flange outlet with various A/R meaning choosing properly sized housings can mean all the difference in usable power. The T78 uses an oil only CHRA (center cartridge) which does make a easy installation.

Very popular on bolt on kits for the RB26, 1JZ and 2JZ engines it is not to hard to source one, you will have to consider that due to the size of the turbo the T78 will not hit 20psi until about 4500rpm, depending on the A/R of your housing, but it will hold it right up to red line. They have even been seen bolted up to engines as small as the CA18, the only other turbo that would compare closest tot eh T78-33d would be the GT37, being rated at 720hp and down side being a bit laggy I would recommend the T78 for drag / track applications, for drifting and low down torque I would be going down the GT30 / AX75 path.

RRP $2500

Tech Specs

Rated HP: 710

Apexi’s AX75 is one of the most sought after turbochargers in the jap market and is especially popular amongst the rotary’s. the AX75F82 is a ball bearing turbo that is designed for high power output with a rating of 550-650HP. It spools up very fast and it Keeps on pulling until redline. The AX75F82 is Engineered by Apexi and Built by IHI and from the examples people have seen and the specs of the turbo the compressor and turbine are well matched to suit 2.0L up to 3.8L engines. Some people have pulled as much as 480 rwhp on a mildly modified RB25. On a RB25 it will hit full boost at 4,000rpm so there is a bit of delay compared to the twin setup or a Blitz K3 but keep in mind they are designed for mid-range to top end power.

The AX 75 features the “AIRICK system” which is a patented material that is inserted between the compressor housing and the compressor wheel. The insertion of this material allows near 0 clearance between the blade and housing improving compressor efficiency by almost 5-6% all across the board. AIRICK also lowers compressor outlet temperatures under high load by 50-68 degrees F. not only will it improve the overall efficiency of the turbo but also enhances boost response. The inlet flange is a T4 and has a 3 inch turbine outlet, it will only run an external wastegate (recommended size is 50mm), the working pressure is 18 – 26psi with a max boost of 30psi, it really is a fantastic baller for anyone looking for 600hp on a single turbo setup. They are no longer being manifactured but can be found if you search hard enough.

RRP $1600

Tech Specs

Out of every Turbo I have ever seen the Borg Warner EFR-6758 would have to be the Best, the most reliable and Fast spooling Turbo in the 275-450HP range, I mean it has to be the biggest breakthrough in turbocharger technology sine the GT28RS.

BorgWarner EFR (Engineered For Racing) series of turbochargers are a truly remarkable piece of automotive technology, with just about as much engineering as Toyota’s 1UZFE it really is well built. First off by looking at the comp cover we can tell it’s no ordinary Turbocharger, It features a Boost Control Solenoid , and also a Blow Off Valve (BOV) built into the comp cover, all of Borg Warners AFR’s series have this feature. Like most entry level racing turbo’s it has a high flow internal wastegate and there are two options for the exhaust housing, a T25 inlet flange along side a 3″ V-band downpipe discharge with .64 A/R or Twin scroll housing with a divided T4 Inlet flange with the 3″ V-band downpipe discharge but with .92 A/R.

Inside the CHRA we have Dual Row Ceramic Ball Bearing’s which are the most durable and fastest spooling bearing technology every manufactured to this day, and on the compressor side there is a funky looking wheel that is Forged & Milled for strength and lightweight, the whole turbo has a temperature resistance up to 1,050°C, even durability is excellent with twin deals on the compressor and turbine ends of the CHRA to less oil seepage. Although the center is water-cooled it is not mandatory but recommended by BorgWarner, another first I have ever seen it features a built in oil restrictor.

The EFR-6758 is supposed to be equivalent to Garrett’s GT30r but I see for the price the EFR turbo’s are more advanced, there have been reports of these turbochargers bolted on 2.0L engines and have spooled to 25PSI by 2000rpm !! Rated at 275hp-450hp for small engines or up to 1000hp in twin turbo setups it really is a great all rounder and with a working pressure of 10-25 psi and a max boost of 27.8psi it really does kick ass. For a ball bearing turbo it really does have a competitive price and funky look.

RRP $1600

Tech Specs

BLITZ and Triple K or KKK from Germany joined Turbo forces to create some of the greatest turbochargers on the market.

The Blitz K3-450R is a journal bearing externally gated turbo that is rated at 450hp, the comp cover has a 3 inch inlet and 2 inch outlet and on the turbine side we have a T28 flange with a 3 inch four bolt outlet, there is no option of a V-band either. This kick ass turbo has a working pressure of 17-22psi, which is a stunning efficiency range for a turbo of its size. On a 2L engine it begins spooling at 1500rpm and will pump out 1.4bar by 3000 ~ 3500rpm.

Being German engineered by KKK ( the turbo company that designs turbochargers for Porsche) it has a astonishing life span of 10 – 15 years if properly maintained, its one of the strongest journal bearing turbochargers that I have ever come across within its power range. The K3-450R comes in very popular bolt on kits for the Nissan SR20 and Subaru EJ20 engines, there is also rare 3SGTE kit. The Turbine house has two options the 8.11 or 6.11 which is .63 or .73 A/R. Even though the K3-450R come in a bolt on kit, to get close to that 450hp mark then you may want to consider supporting mods like fuel and ignition system upgrades.

To sum it up it is a great upgrade for anyone with a 1.8L to 3.0L engine looking for the 400 – 450hp mark, and if you are willing to spend the $3000 price for a bolt on kit or $1800 for the bare turbo.

RRP $1800

Tech Specs

The CT20b is ceramic twin entry turbocharger that is one of the most sought after upgrades for the 3S-GTE engines in MR2’s and Celica’s, it came standard on all GEN III 3S-GTE motors and can usually be found from wreckers for around $800 used. The CT20b is designed by Toyota and manufactured by Hitachi which limits the amount of people who are able to work on them, If you are looking to rebuild a CT20b there is not much point unless you are doing a high flow as the re-builder will generally replace the ceramic wheel and shaft with steel ones, and by removing the lighter components you taking away what makes it spool faster.

The CT20b has a working pressure of 11.9 – 16.7psi which is very similar to the CT26 but still higher, the main advantage of using a CT20b over the CT26 is that the CT26 has a steel shaft and wheel where are the CT20b uses ceramic. Due to a revised and more efficient compressor wheel the CT20B will spool slightly slower but has more top end gains and although the ceramic is lighter and spools faster it is severely weaker than steel. The CT20b will hold boost right through to red line where as the CT26 starts to drop off at about 5500rpm, Max boost on a CT20b is 18-19psi but that is well outside of the efficiency range of the turbo and being over its limits it increases the chance of breaking the wheel and snapping the shaft. The Fensport website actually publish that the series one of the CT20b all have the common problem that the turbine shaft is prone to cracking.

The CT20b is rated at 400hp which is close to 280-300 rwhp so all in all it’s a excellent bolt on upgrade as 15-16 psi is approximately a 37 percent power increase over stock which is perfect for those who prefer a mildly worked street-able car. But if you are planning on doing some extensive upgrades like ECU and cams then I would not recommend it due to the fact that the CT20b technology is 15 – 20 years old now and if your going to pay near $800 you might as well get something a bit bigger.

RRP $800

Tech Specs

The Garrett GT30R is a entry level ball bearing turbo for pro-street, being ideal for small to medium engines 1.8L to 3.0L looking to produce up to 500hp. Inlet flange is standard fitment with a T3 flange on the entry and V-band of 4 bolt 2.5″ compressor outlet, oil and water cooled center, it also features a open T3 turbine flange for Internal or External wast gate depending on which exhuast housing you choose, depending on your engine size and desired spool there are three different compressor wheel variations available with 0.63, 0.82 and 1.06 A/R.

Some people have fitted these to SR20’s that have produced 400rwhp and nailed 11seconds down the quarter and producing up to 26psi of boost. Garrett ‘s ball bearing technology is incorporated into the GT30r and has been proven to make this turbo spool 15% faster than the journal bearing equivalent.

It is basically a smaller variation of the GT35r and  very similar in design and price, the two choice between the GT35R and GT30 should purely come down your goals of power.

RRP $1600

Tech Specs

For those of you who are not aware, HKS Turbos are re-branded Garrett Turbochargers which is also obvious as you can usually see “Garrett” stamped on the housing. The GT2530 are a direct fit bolt on up upgrade for the RB26DETT that are usually priced around $2000 ~ $2500 for the pair, so there not the cheapest upgrade options either.

Build quality and the turbo design in general are amazing for the size of the turbo, we can tell that all HKS & Garrett has in mind when designing these was the RB26 as they will hit full boost by 4000rpm and hold nicely until redline, max boost for these is around 23psi and they have been knock to crack 550rwhp which even then is the max they will punch out. A tear down of a GT2530 will reveal the CHRA or Center is a Garrett GT2860 with HKS housing that are designed for better flow and the RB26, hence the quicker spool. The peace of mind you will get from a 2530 upgrade is knowing you will retain your stock reliability as they are manufactured better than OEM spec, depending on future mods this may or may not be the turbo for you, if you looking at retaining stock ecu and engine and planning on bolt on upgrades such as Inter cooler, Dump pipe and Exhaust then the GT2530 are the turbos for you, on the other hand if your planning on extensive upgrades like stroking, oversize valves and bump-sticks (camshafts) then you will be better off going down the T67 or GT40 path.

RRP $2000

Tech Specs

So many times I have seen on Ebay “OBX” popping up every time I do a search that relates to the work “Turbo” so I decided to look into them.

To start off with OBX us a USA racing company, all there Turbochargers are designed and balanced in the USA, the rest is pretty much done in ASIA. The turbo we are looking at today is called the OBX TB25G right after hearing the name we assume it would be similar to the T67 25G and guess what your right. Very similar in spec to the with a 60trim compressor and the unit is rated at 550HP. The reliability of these unit have been questioned in a number of automotive forums but by no means as dangerous as one of KKR’s exploding compressor wheels.

It appears that from factory the housing, wheels, shaft is all great quality and will hold nicely up to its rated threshold but from factory balancing is not 100% but for a turbo that is not a Garrett or Turbonetics  it is very similar. This of course leads to prematurely worn bearings and leaky seals, the best work around for this is to send it off to a reputable turbo specialist like Roto Master in Melbourne and have them do a rebuild and balance which would include Garrett / Greddy grade bearings and seals along with a good balance.

To sum it it up I rate this hair dryer at 7.0/10 because at the end of the day for the $500-600 that you will pay for an OBX T3 plus the $150 – $300 for the rebuild and balance your getting a Greddy T67 25g Grade Turbo for $700 ~$900 that is good for up to 550hp, beats spending the $2000+ if you ask me.
RRP $550

Tech Specs

The Garrett GT35r Turbocharger is by far one of the most reliable turbochargers rated at 700hp it is not for grandmas corolla, is it ball bearing turbocharger similar to the GT28rs, the compressor is a High Performance BCI-18 and it has UHP Turbine sounds like jargon to most people but plain and simple if mean this turbocharger will pack a punch and boost up to 30psi like a hot knife going though butter.

It is and Exellent turbocharger for highly modified large 4 and 6 cylinder engines, and you can purchase them stand alone and in high end turbocharger kits, they are even seen to be used as twin turbocharger setups on V8 engines, Fitting is pretty standard once again with a T3 turbine inlet flange and 4-bolt turbine outlet flange (also known as the dump pipe) for standard housings other wise there are differnet options turbine housing options. With the 740902-10, 740902-11, and 740902-12 variations of turbine housings have a 90mm V-band outlet.

Heat soak is an issue in all cars that why we use the turbo beanie but when you go to the extreme and have the heat, its certainly not a problem because the turbine housing on the GT35r is cast from high-nickel “Ni-Resist” material which is one of the most heat tolerant materials available, and staying cool isn’t an issue as this ball bearing turbocharger runs a oil & water-cooled bearing system.

RRP $1,600

Tech Specs

The Garrett GT2860rs is the cousin of the GT28r, being one of the most sought after ball bearing turbochargers for its price and reliability it was dubbed the “The Disco Potato”.

Recommended to be used on 1.8L to 3.0L engines it is a common upgrade on most SR20, CA18, 4AGE and 3SGTE engines, It is great for smaller displacement engines making up to 360hp, has a max boost of 24psi and for the price of one of these baby’s in a Turbocharger Kit you couldn’t ask for more.

Being a ball bearing and water cooled turbo you can look only expect reliability on a the GT28RS, Fitting is fairly common with its T25 Flange that is available on almost all aftermarket manifolds, Quick spool and high boost like all Garrett’s wonderful creations of course is easily found in the small turbo that is internally gated at 14.7psi and surprisingly has a maximum efficiency of 72% at 22psi, being small its is great size for applications with spacing constraints.

RRP $1,600

Tech Specs