50 trims... SBR vs PTE vs Bullseye

Hey guys, so I have been monkeying with the idea of not going with my stock appearing turbo idea. I realized that I was going to have to boost/tune the nuts off of it to get anywhere, plus they arent exactly cheap and dont come around used very often. I'm seriously considering going a 50 trim route instead, mostly for the cost issue but also because smaller turbos like that run out of steam quick after peak volumetric efficiency, especially with 272's. Oh, one other thing is I HATE fucking around with the water lines on my 16g. Its such a pain in the ass, particularly because I dont have a big enough combination wrench. I guess I'd like the cheaper and/or easier to find aspect a lot but I'd also like something that will pull hard in the upper RPMs and I can get rid of the water lines without any worry.

So anyway, I've been scoping cheap 50 trims and have come up with three ideas: the SBR G50, PTE SCM50, and Bullseye V-trim. I know the PTE is proven, but its also the most expensive. I remember reading bad things about the SBR G50 (not enough R&D put into it), but I'm not too worried. What I am wondering about is the Bullseye V-trim. I've heard they arent the best go with, but that was quite a few years ago now. I was looking on SBR's site, the V-trim put down 329whp on "a moderately well tuned car" at 15 psi with timing kept low. How the hell can you argue with that? Thats good as hell for 15 pounds of boost in my opinion, just imagine what happens when I throw in the E85 and ramp 'er up to 35 ;). No, but seriously if I can get "moderately" good at tuning by SBR's standards with a bit more aggressive timing and like 25ish pounds of boost, I should be sitting pretty good. Plus I've seen V-trims go for $650-$750 new and as low as $400 used.

So what do you guys think? Is the V-trim a solid turbo, or should I wait around for a SBR or PTE 50 trim to roll around?

Side note: After tomorrow I will have over $300 in my DSMlink fund! Go me! Now I just have to get rid of a couple more parts and link will be mine! :D

EDIT: I dont think the V-trim is a 50 trim, but I read on dsmtalk that it flows about 48 lbs/min. For comparison, my big 16g flows around 39 lbs/min, the Evo III 16g flows 42 lbs/min, I think the bastard 20g, FP sleeper 16g, and FP 18g all flow in the neighborhood of 45-46lbs/min and IIRC the 20g also flows 48 lbs/min. That should max out around what, 450 hp? I'd be satisfied over 375, thats about what I figured I could get out of any stock appearing turbo but this will be easier to get and I should be able to push it a bit farther if I'm feeling dangerous. ;) Also the post said it spools around 3800 which is perfect IMO, this 3100 nonsense on my 16g gets annoying when trying to drive nice.

well i did buy a pte 50 trim but the guy scammed me so I was favouring them.
I think really you can't go wrong.
And ya water lines are gay
brings me to the thread im about to make

According to extremepsi, Bullseye turbos use Borg Warner center sections, which makes me feel a lot better. The internal gate is a 38mm and though I know I should probably use an external, I think for the higher boost I am going to be running the internal gate should be fine. Also, extremepsi claims 300-450whp supported by the turbo. Does that mean Thor has a shot at over 400whp?? Well, lets hope I can get enough money to round out the rest of my modlist, get good at tuning, and I dont blow a motor or tranny before the North meet. :D

They claim 380 on the e316g. I am at about 300 thats about 78%.
So 450 would put you more in 350 range. Thats what I would be guessing. Unless you really venture away from your stock appearing stuff with a SMIM and all that other good stuff like a huge FMIC.

You're on pump though too, I'll be on E85. Intercooling doesnt matter quite so much on ethanol, plus you can run race gas caliber tunes and boost levels on E85. Matter of fact, I guy I know of switched from C-16 to E85 for his race gas because he made more power plus its cheaper and more readily available. No doubt my car is less setup than the SBR car, but their car made 330 awhp on 15 lbs of boost and no ignition adjustments. So basically, I am more optimistic than you :p. Either way though, its damn near twice what I'm at now! I'm done bench racing now, I would have been shaking my head at myself if I were a noobie by now. :D

Anyone have any first hand experience either themselves or from a friend?

Hey Thor I've been reading about a bunch of people switching over to E85 what does it entail to do this swap I might be interested. 85% ethanol 15% gas I know that but anything else? New gaskets? Seals? Fuel components etc?

It seems the general consensus from a while ago is that ethanol eats aluminum and rubber so you need to replace all the stock aluminum fuel lines and such with SS line and all rubber O-rings with teflon ones. After reading more about it and asking people that are actually running E85 I found that a lot of people just do it on completely stock shit and have been doing so for years. I'm not going to be worried about it, but I'm for sure going to check the O-rings from time to time just to be sure. I'm pretty sure all MN gas has 15% ethanol in it anyway, I cant imagine they would put shit in the gas that would potentiall eat away injector O-rings and cause a fire hazzard.

Oh, you'll need a 255 though. The 190 just plain doesnt flow enough. a 12:1 gasoline AFR is equal to a 8.05:1 E85 AFR, so the E85 takes right about a third more fuel than gas.

haha awesome I already ordered a wally 255hp and some other things from extremepsi should be here next week.
Where do you get E85?

.... a gas station.... :loser:

;) Just kidding ya man. Only a few carry it, I think theres only one back home. Thats the beauty of DSMlink, you can revert back to a pump gas tune whenever you want as long as your tank is empty or pretty close to.

Just thought I'd update you on the E-85 stuff Stevie, I was cruising vendors looking at parts today and I went to [htt://www.maperformance.com]MAP[/url] and saw they have a new tab up on the right side for "E-Fuel conversion kits." They dont have anything up in there yet, but it will be up eventually... until then you might want to shoot them a call or email. Though I'll be rocking stock stuff right out of the gate, eventually I will put the money down for a full SS line setup and what not.

Also, I think I've decided on the V-Trim. I think its the most cost effective turbo for me, and I am all about that. I should be able to get one of those used at the same price as any of the big stock appearing turbos, plus it'll flow a little bit more air and hopefully take the upper RPM's a bit better.

No outside money is going into this project for a while, its all going to be side jobs and selling parts. I still have a TON of parts to sell and I might get like $500 for helping a buddy paint this one guy's house. After paying off my cell phone bill and getting new running shoes, the rest is going into the Talon fund. You hoes best be ready for the north meet because I am taking you all down on that dyno! ;)

I checked online only 3 E85 vendors in all of Ontario...
Except one is located right near my university hmm.
Time for some 1150's I think and I might switch and see how she goes.

Of those I've only ever used the PTE which I thought was a pretty decent turbo.