Cheap ebay turbo lasting over two years now???

That or he sells them

it seems to be a crap shoot with the ebay turbos.

Thats kinda what I thought too… :fear

I've seen a few cars around here with ebay turbos and they have been going for a couple of years.

I've heard its hit or miss. Some run really well and go for thousands of miles. Others like a trip around the block and its first time in boost and go kaboom. It probably has to do with poor quality control, which is why the costs are low.

So, the article doesnt surprise me, but neither do the ones about them grenading on their first trip down the street.

prolly runs like 2lbs of boost.....or never drives the car

There's someone I know that has a "china housing" on a garret center section pushing 15psi on an RB25 with no issues thus far.

I think if I were to buy a dirt-cheap china-bay turbo, I would at least have it inspected by someone with a good reputation. Regardless of whether they tell you that it's "ok" or "fairly good", you can ask them to put certain parts from a similar turbo (and they should know what will fit, or how to make it fit), like step-gap shaft sealing rings and full-face 360* thrust plates and good journal bearings and compressor seals at a fair price.

Also inspecting the compressor wheels and shafts for dimples and integrity of the metal would be a good idea. Or you could even get a wheel from another turbo that comes on a factory car that is the same size and have it lightly blasted with delicate media and installed for factory reliability of those parts.

I would only buy one of those turbos as a good base to start if I had someone I trusted with access to uprated parts to make it similar to it's interchanged or claimed turbo type. And only if it came within the half-price mark.

But lets face it, on an all out build, I wouldn't chance that anyway. half price on turbo, or full price on engine when something gets ingested.

This looks to be a "Master Power" turbo which is a big name brand in Puerto Rico.

A side note: The south american drag/horsepower monster scene is bigger than Canada and 2nd only to the US in the western hemisphere. The do have some crazy cars there… probably many using these Master Power kits. But they are not as cheap as the china bay ones. Still cheaper than the big name brands though.

Master Power turbos aren't bad. I think they're made or assembled in Brazil

currently looking at this one in their lineup

http://www.partsexpressonline.com/cart/ … -Trim.html

Mine must be going close to 2 years now.Monsta Performance To4E running on 14psi, used to be driven daily but no so much now. Probly done about 25,000k's now. Had it wound out to 20psi at one stage and it didn't seem bothered by it.

SPA and Master power are actually a step above XSpower and SSautochrome china ones.

Even the T67 from CXracing is way better then some of those $299 turbos.

I know of a local civic that ran an ebay "70 trim" special, made 46X hp and ran that way for almost 2 years. Guy decided to part it out, so who knows.

There are tons of similar stories, just too spotty for anyone with real interest in making power to take the risk. Why gamble 300+ away when saving for another 2 weeks or so can get you a reliable nice used turbo, or even less popular but new turbo such as a BW or a holset.