Ball bearing turbos - Zilvia.net Forums | Nissan 240SX (Silvia) and Z (Fairlady) Car Forum

ledzepp4l · 01-22-2003, 05:24 PM

Just wondering if anyone has had any trouble with their turbo since they are ball bearing turbos. I heard somewhere that they don't last as long and if they mess up you just have to get a new on, as opposed to fixing the old one. holla back

BRB240 · 01-22-2003, 07:15 PM

You heard wrong.
Ball Bearing Turbos are incredibly reliable compared to the old cartridge turbos. Bearing Turbos have way less friction so they can withstand a "little" oil starvation that would normally seize up a cartridge turbo in an instant. Also bb turbos have better harmonics and can withstand minor imperfections with balance. Cartridge turbos have to be balanced with extremly small tolerances because their design cannot withstand more than a slight unbalance or they will fly apart due to the vibration from harmonics caused by an unbalance.

If you did hear that bb turbos are unreliable it was probably from ppl who had no idea why you would need a turbo timer or what it was. Or they had an older car that had a cartridge turbo that seized or blew up but they didn't even know what a cartridge turbo was because F&F only metioned bb turbos.

Hope this helps clear thing up.
CYA

01-22-2003, 05:24 PM	#1
ledzepp4l Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Boone, NC Age: 41 Posts: 1 Trader Rating: (0) Feedback Score: 0 reviews	Ball bearing turbos Just wondering if anyone has had any trouble with their turbo since they are ball bearing turbos. I heard somewhere that they don't last as long and if they mess up you just have to get a new on, as opposed to fixing the old one. holla back

01-22-2003, 07:15 PM	#2
BRB240 Leaky Injector Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Sector 775 Age: 40 Posts: 126 Trader Rating: (0) Feedback Score: 0 reviews	You heard wrong. Ball Bearing Turbos are incredibly reliable compared to the old cartridge turbos. Bearing Turbos have way less friction so they can withstand a "little" oil starvation that would normally seize up a cartridge turbo in an instant. Also bb turbos have better harmonics and can withstand minor imperfections with balance. Cartridge turbos have to be balanced with extremly small tolerances because their design cannot withstand more than a slight unbalance or they will fly apart due to the vibration from harmonics caused by an unbalance. If you did hear that bb turbos are unreliable it was probably from ppl who had no idea why you would need a turbo timer or what it was. Or they had an older car that had a cartridge turbo that seized or blew up but they didn't even know what a cartridge turbo was because F&F only metioned bb turbos. Hope this helps clear thing up. CYA __________________