ball bearing turbos vs. nonbb

[3kvr4]

I have a question, with ball bearing turbos, when your turbos spool up, you can hear a whistle. With non ball bearing turbos, all you hear is air going inside a tube. Am i correct. And 1 more thing, Do stock vr4s have bb turbos? I dont think so? please correct me.

[Linebckr49]

a whistle vs. air going inside a tube? i bet you won't be able to deliniate between the two of those sounds when riding in the car. actually, regular non bb turbos give out a whistle when spooling. i really don't know how ball bearing turbos sound, but i'll bet they sound exactly the same. its not the bearing/journal spinning that makes the sound. its the highly pressurized air passing through the turbo and piping that makes the whistle.

and you are correct, stock vr4's do NOT have bb turbos.

honestly, i don't know of any vr4s running bb turbos. they're just way too expensive and not that much better than regular turbos to merit buying the bb. basically, all the ball bearing does is prolong the life of the turbo. and even if a regular turbo gets old/needs rebuilding, it is VERY simple to do yourself; the rebuild kits are only $150-$200. here is a write-up with pics on a turbo rebuild http://www.vfaq.com/mods/Turbo-rebuild.html

[Igovert500]

Originally Posted by Linebckr49

honestly, i don't know of any vr4s running bb turbos.

These are the only ones I can think of:

http://www.dynamicracing.com/custome...cat=190&page=1

Matt's Record Stealth

[Linebckr49]

Originally Posted by Igovert500

Matt's Record Stealth

ahh. the 9.78 run? very secsy.

Let me correct myself. after reading about DR's ball bearing turbo from the above posted link, it states that ball bearings help the turbo to spool faster. so there is another performance advantage (other than longer life). a problem with big turbos is that there is quite a bit of lag until you hit 4500-5000 rpms. so the ball bearing turbos would decrease that lag, given the turbos spool faster.

i've heard of some top supras running ball bearing turbos. but those are 10s, and 9s cars. most likely not daily drivers.

[3kvr4]

Those turbos are on my wish list. ill probaly buy them after im done building my engine (like in less than 2 years from now)

[Igovert500]

Those are seriously huge turbos...not for everyone.

[3kvr4]

just check them out

[liquidPunk]

Holy Hell!

[Igovert500]

Well I hope your wishlist is backed by a high credit limit

[Mikelb]

shit... yeah, when u get done with urs... send some money my way, I'm gonna need it to build up my little Eclipse (less you wanna help me get another 3000GT.... if so, WE'll buy a VR4...u'll be my bestest friend in the world)

lol