What turbo are most people running?

paint94979 said:
x2, A5k is a turbo of the past... a GT42 or an S400 is the best setup hands down.
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I know the ATS Aurora 5000 is of the past but that is the turbo I've been wanting for quite some time now and I don't know why I'm getting steered clear of it with all the other brands. I appreciate the opinions I'm getting but it just seems like everybody is running the garretts or s400's and I'm just not a big fan of them no offence to the guys running them though. I have always wanted a 5000 and one day I'll put one on each truck in my sig. I just firgured I ask some opinons of what maybe better out there in the aftermarket that I don't know about thats all guys. Sorry if I sound like a butthole guys and I'm stuck on the 5000 but you like what you like I guess.
 
What you are saying is like saying that you would not buy a dmax because you always wanted a 6.5 the dmax is a better engine and that is why every one has went to it. So saying that you want a k31 rather than an s400 or one of the garretts because you always wanted one and does not make much sense. Also did you ever think that everyone is running the other chargers because they work better but you already knew what you wanted so why not start a thread that asked what are your opinions of the a5k? They have told you what works and a k31 is not different it is just out dated.
 
You know why I didn't start a thread on "whats your opinion of the ATS Aurora 5000". Because nobody would have replied and I would have been wasting my time just like I am now. I'm sorry for posting this thread and taking up space on the thread page. If ya'll want a moderator to delete it so be it like I said I'm sorry for posting the thread.
 
How about we put things in perspective.

The A5k is a fine charger. Multiple championships have been won with it, people have won the DPC with it, etc. Yes it is not a spring chicken but technology always moves on.

I had one for several years and had zero issues with it. It was fun to drive on the street with a mild tune, and it did great sledpulling.

What it is not, is a charger that will get you to 800 HP. It is fine for somewhere in the midrange - 500-600 rwhp. The turbine housing was a bit small when they started making them with the 0.76 A/R T3 flange. Then they moved it up to 0.85 A/R and it did a lot better. It has a billet wheel that will take some overspeeding. Later it was offered with a 1.0 A/R turbine housing that helped with the backpressure issues on the only moderate-flowing turbine wheel.

Yes you can get an S400 or Gt42 and those will work fine too. But anyone who is saying they are some kind of magic, and the A5k is crap, is out and out lying to you. All it takes is one look at the compressor maps and you can see that these are all in the same general class. Today's Garrett and BW units do have a lot more turbine housing selections because they were always made that way. The A5k was not, it was a modded deal from the start when we all thought that a T-3 flanged turbo would be plenty enough. Now it isn't.

And FWIW, I've been running an S400 variant and I can tell you that I didn't exactly chit my pants when I drove it and had it on the dyno. Yeah, I've got some data logs that tell me it's a step in the right direction, but it wasn't like "OMG this is SOOO much better!"

So it totally depends on what your goals are. These are all good turbos depending on how you want to use them. With all turbos, they're only a POS if you're trying to do something it wasn't intended to do!

I have to chuckle sometimes when I see posts from people who don't know anything more than how to bolt stuff on, running some XYZ tune from some clown, trying to tell someone else what works and what doesn't. There is a ton of BS and misinformation on the interwebby these days. And usually the loudest idiot wins even if he doesn't own a shred of data that proves why something was doing what it was doing.

Rule #1, take advice from people who have actually done something.

Sheesh.
 
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Yes you can get an S400 or Gt42 and those will work fine too. But anyone who is saying they are some kind of magic, and the A5k is crap, is out and out lying to you.

Ok, well if you will look at it like this the a5k has a much greater cost than a s400. I'm not sure on a Garrett but i would assume that the journal bearing units are not much more than the s400's and you said it best yourself "Yeah, I've got some data logs that tell me it's a step in the right direction". So, why would one want to spend the extra money on a a5k when for less money you get a better charger?
 
Yellow Jacket said:
Sorry to burst your bubble......but all Aurora turbos are Borg Warner based turbos, an Aurora 5000 is a S400/S300 hybrid i believe.
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Thats my understanding also, only difference is you can get a very nice custom S400 series for 1/3 the price of an A5K. NO contest for me.
 
92fordcummins said:
Yes you can get an S400 or Gt42 and those will work fine too. But anyone who is saying they are some kind of magic, and the A5k is crap, is out and out lying to you.

Ok, well if you will look at it like this the a5k has a much greater cost than a s400. I'm not sure on a Garrett but i would assume that the journal bearing units are not much more than the s400's and you said it best yourself "Yeah, I've got some data logs that tell me it's a step in the right direction". So, why would one want to spend the extra money on a a5k when for less money you get a better charger?
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We were talking about performance, not cost. That being said:

Point 1) Used A5ks can be had on the cheap. Mine was used.
Point 2) ATS warrantees new A5ks (and their others) better than anyone.

If you're not the fix-it kinda guy, having the warranty is reassuring. If you trash your cheap S400, the warranty is "so ya want another one?"

Plus, for the Dmax S400 you will need to purchase and assemble all your other stuff (intake, downpipe, pedestal, drain tube, etc). If you can fab and machine, it isn't a problem and you can do it somewhat inexpensively, at the expense of time. You can screw around quite a bit making everything fit in there and adapting whatcha have to whatcha got. I did it, I know. But I have a lathe and mill, raw material, access to a waterjet, and a good friend who does a nice job with a TIG welder.

But if you can't do this stuff then you have someone else do it ($) or just buy a complete kit that comes with support.

On the Cummins it's quite a bit simpler. But the OP has a Dmax.

So again it's a horses for courses deal.
 
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carcrafter22 said:
Thats my understanding also, only difference is you can get a very nice custom S400 series for 1/3 the price of an A5K. NO contest for me.
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I thought a5k's were basically k31's with different turbine housings on them. Now maybe they are using s400 and s300 turbine housings, but the k31 is kind of its own animal.
 
nwpadmax said:
We were talking about performance, not cost. That being said:
And you said that the s400 was a step in the right direction compared to a A5k
Point 1) Used A5ks can be had on the cheap. Mine was used.
Point 2) ATS warrantees new A5ks (and their others) better than anyone.

If you're not the fix-it kinda guy, having the warranty is reassuring. If you trash your cheap S400, the warranty is "so ya want another one?"
You have got a point there but how many have trashed their cheap s400's and even then what did it cost to have them fixed?

Plus, for the Dmax S400 you will need to purchase and assemble all your other stuff (intake, downpipe, pedestal, drain tube, etc). You can still purchase a ppe kit and the s400 to put it on cheaper than the a5k If you can fab and machine, it isn't a problem and you can do it somewhat inexpensively, at the expense of time. You can screw around quite a bit making everything fit in there and adapting whatcha have to whatcha got. I did it, I know. But I have a lathe and mill, raw material, access to a waterjet, and a good friend who does a nice job with a TIG welder.

But if you can't do this stuff then you have someone else do it ($) or just buy a complete kit that comes with support.

On the Cummins it's quite a bit simpler. But the OP has a Dmax.
Huh I must have ventured out of the dodge section I will make sure to get back there asap or should that be the ford section? I'm sure that you have experience with other brands so how about giving me a little credit I would not have come here giving my opinion unless I had some form of experience with a gm product. Also I have put an s400 on a dmax so I understand that it is simpler to install it on a cummins.
So again it's a horses for courses deal.
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The a5k may be a great charger now but like so many of us have figured out there is never enough power and what upgrades are available for the A5k? The s400's are easily enough modified to fit most peoples needs. You have your opinion about turbos and so does everyone else it doesn't matter to me what the other people choose we all are trying to have fun with it and that is what matters. :Cheer:
 
If you had deeper experience with the Dmax, you would have known the following:

The quality of the PPE kit, specifically the pedestal, is far less than what I would like. For example, I had to remachine the pedestal to get the flanges flat. This is complicated by the fact that it's so flimsy that it's a pain to hold securely in the mill.

The quality of the ATS pedestal is MUCH better. It also perches the turbo up higher so that it's a lot easier to work on. Anyone who has a PPE pedestal can tell you that the turbo sits too damn low and it makes the intake routing a pain. So if you want to make it easy to pop the cover for tech inspection, for example, you'll need to fab up a 1.5"-2" spacer block (and make sure the ports match up reasonably well). Now the PPE downpipe won't work anymore without some fab work.

I used a Bullseye pedestal and I like more than the PPE, but again, too low. And they also moved the lateral position a bit from the ATS pedestal so I ended up having to change the downpipe just a bit.

S400s are good chargers and I have nothing against them. But you're coming from a rather narrow perspective and I am trying to give the OP a wider angle view. When you can buy an entire A5k kit used for $1500 it doesn't exactly allow the S400 to be a "bargain" any more.

Also, when I said "a step in the right direction" I meant a decrease in drive pressure by a fair amount, but I am nowhere near 1:1 yet. Boost about the same and efficiency not great on either one. Noticeably laggier, however.

So for all that I got a drop in drive pressure. I have not had it on the dyno with equivalent setups but the seat-of-the-pants is similar.

So you can rave on and on about the S400 but how about you publish some data demonstrating which parameters you improved with your S400 over your A5k? I'd be real interested in hearing about actual experience and not just your opinion. Show me!
 
nwpadmax said:
If you had deeper experience with the Dmax, you would have known the following:

The quality of the PPE kit, specifically the pedestal, is far less than what I would like. For example, I had to remachine the pedestal to get the flanges flat. This is complicated by the fact that it's so flimsy that it's a pain to hold securely in the mill.

I agree that the ppe kit is of sub par quality compared to a cast piece but, is there a truely good option other than making one yourself to fit your quality standards?

The quality of the ATS pedestal is MUCH better. It also perches the turbo up higher so that it's a lot easier to work on. Anyone who has a PPE pedestal can tell you that the turbo sits too damn low and it makes the intake routing a pain. So if you want to make it easy to pop the cover for tech inspection, for example, you'll need to fab up a 1.5"-2" spacer block (and make sure the ports match up reasonably well). Now the PPE downpipe won't work anymore without some fab work.

Ya, it is a pain but when my friend ordered it nick at duramax tuner got him the spacer and the ports matched just fine and the only thing that had to be done to the down pipe was that the s400 flange had to be welded to it. I dont care much for the idea of having a t3 mount and a t4 turbine housing I was unaware of the fact that bullseye had a pedestal out. Is it a cast piece or just of higher quality than the ppe?

I used a Bullseye pedestal and I like more than the PPE, but again, too low. And they also moved the lateral position a bit from the ATS pedestal so I ended up having to change the downpipe just a bit.

S400s are good chargers and I have nothing against them. But you're coming from a rather narrow perspective and I am trying to give the OP a wider angle view. When you can buy an entire A5k kit used for $1500 it doesn't exactly allow the S400 to be a "bargain" any more.

That is fine like I said we all have opinions and I have am not stuck on the s400 the different variants of garrett chargers are just as good of an option but, when you through the used factor in who knows what is going to happen. What would you rather have a used turbo that you do not have the history of or a new charger especially when a new A5k turbo from ats cost $2095? That seems like a big gamble to me especially when you can put together a new s400 kit for ~500 more

Also, when I said "a step in the right direction" I meant a decrease in drive pressure by a fair amount, but I am nowhere near 1:1 yet. Boost about the same and efficiency not great on either one. Noticeably laggier, however.

Is this the same compressor and turbine wheel size and what about the turbine housing? Is it the tightest housing that you could get. is it wastegated? If the setup was the same then I am sorry.

So for all that I got a drop in drive pressure. I have not had it on the dyno with equivalent setups but the seat-of-the-pants is similar.

So you can rave on and on about the S400 but how about you publish some data demonstrating which parameters you improved with your S400 over your A5k? I'd be real interested in hearing about actual experience and not just your opinion. Show me!
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The truck has never had a A5k on it it went straight from the factory lbz charger to the s400. It is my opinion but if the a5k is the best charger out there then why is it that some such as yourself have chose to leave it and go to a different charger and why are they not demanding a much higher reselling price than 1500?
 
Well, used turbos are always half to 2/3 the price of new.

The Bullseye pedestal is cast like the ATS pedestals, but is machined to be T3 or T4 depending on what you want. It is much better than the fabbed PPE.

Look, I don't disagree that the A5k isn't the best thing since sliced bread. But it isn't trash either. What I am saying is, very few people have data saying the S400s or GT42s are making a whole lot more power. I hear lots of yadda yadda yadda but zero data.

If the data exists I would love to see it.

There are faddy turbos out there. Like for example the whoopdeedoo Silver Bullet.
 
why is everyone picking on an old charger that is still getting the job done even with all these other fancy turbos out there? some make it sound like its the end all solution. from what i seen this summer, you guys and mess with the cheap turbos!
 
Every one here wants to get away from the VVT Turbo. Why? Garrett has pulled back there production of a big VVT but check out Danville Performance. They build some kickn turbos that make huge power and spool up at the drop of a hat. Fleece is also building turbos that are VVT, and even with a stock turbo with the right tunning and fuel it is very likley to get in the 500-600 hp range. Unless you would like to be moved up in a class where you have to fight the P-Pumped dodges with turbos big enough to park your ride in,
 
Just talkin here the top 2.8 d-maxs around are runnin the a5k or a5500, Ric,Tony,Tomac I know that these have won alot of pulls and are good reliable street or comp. turbos trust me I help Ric with yhis truck you really cant go wrong with the ATS turbos:st:
 
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