Turbo comparison. BR500, Kriss144BB, T3/T4, Big 16, beat to death? Lets name the pros/cons Options

[akamiami]

for fucks sake. MY NAME IS KRIS. NOT KRISS. KRIS!

I like my turbo because it's the only thing I can hear after I shut the car off. It just keeps spinning and spinning and spinning. Screw all the hp numbers and technical crap, BB turbos have mad crazy street cred. Respect.

Really though, I wouldn't go with anything that isn't water cooled. Longevity.

[MidwestDSM]

Duel ball-bearing turbos should spool faster and respond better to higher boost. They should also be more reliable. That is all I know about them (and all my info on them is from 300zx guys, so take my advice with a grain of salt).

[KOU In3]

A lot of the Garretts out there are oil cooled only. My BB T3/T4 has the water blocked off actually to run oil cooled only. Personally I look at it aa being analogous to the oil cooler located in the oil filter housing on the '91+ cars.

As to power, you have to realize a few things here. The comparison isn't exactly a direct one. The BR500 is a specific turbo. The T3/T4 is a whole family of turboes making anywhere from 300-650hp. It definately depends which one you choose.

Same for the BB turboes. Look at it as a $400 or so option to add to your turbo. With the price comes better spool, increased durability to some abuse and a decreased durability to to others.

As to price. Sure the BR500 is expensive but don't forget about the external wastegate you'll need to run most other turbos that big.

Overall, it comes back to what's becoming my mantra. What's your end goal and what's your budget to get there?

[natedogg]

What Travis said. Plus the BR500 comes with a turbine housing that matches the DSM manifold. A T3/T4 will require a special manifold to bolt up plus, like Travis said, an external wastegate. The external wastegate also applies to Kris's BB turbo. This and the initial price difference is why I ended up going with the BR turbo.

BB turbo vs. standard bearing turbo pros and cons from the BB point of view:

Pros:
--Spools faster.
--Almost instant transient response between shifts.
--Same hp capabilities as a standard bearing turbo of equal trims.
--Water cooled. (it does makes a difference if you run dino oil. With synthetic oil...not so much esp. if you let the turbo cool down at idle after driving.)

Cons:
--Expensive.
--Much more sensitive to oil contaminations. (why inline micron filters are recommended for these turbos)
--More sensitive to changes in oil pressure esp. overly high oil pressure.