what is the differance between a ball bearing turbo and a normal one. is there a hp difference and if so how much?

 

A non-ball bearing turbo is very old school technology. A ball-bearing turbo is much longer lasting, spools up much faster, is much more efiecient, and will generally make better power with less lag and less heat, which is the enemy of all boosted cars.

For example........
Imagine a roller skate, skate board, or virtually anything you can think of that has bearings in it...... Now amagine the same item with just a metal to metal bushing instead. Now take the advantages that the ball-bearing items have over the bushing items and multiply the advantages of those items by ten, or even a hundred (due to the turbo's 100 times more rpm). As you could see, the ball bearing items are much more eficient, longer lasting, and way more practical than they are with bushings. The biggest breakthrough in the whole history of turbo / turbine technology IMO, is the addition of ball bearing to the turbo's.

 

x2

 

Very good description. And yes, heat is the #1 enemy of turbos. Ball-bearing turbos significantly reduce heat compared to non-ball-bearing ones.

 

while we are discusing turbos, what is the benefit of a "twin-scroll" turbo that i was reading about in this months car and driver?

 

I agree 100% with the mentioned benefits of the ball bearing turbo. But to give a little back to the conventional journal bearing, the coefficient of friction for oil will be pretty adequate. In other words, the two bearing surfaces in a standard turbo are seperated by a nice thin layer of oil that theoretically should never touch. This is why oil plays such a huge roll in the life of turbos or any mechanical devise.

 

so i got to know which turbo come with a ball bearing ....zpi.....greddy or dezod....
cuz i think dezod is opitional

 

Of the only ones you mentioned, only Dezod. And you're right, it is optional so make sure you specify. Turbonetics also comes stardard with a ball bearing turbo. It all depends what you want. Guys on here are making a lot of hp with "standard" turbos so don't over look them. Either way, I highly recommend Dezod and their signature kits.

 

I was thinking about this, and it woudl seem that a bushing turbo would have less friction since it's just two surfaces seperated by oil, while a ball bearing turbo would have the inner and outer, plus all the bearings, and then the oil, which would add up to alot more surfaces to cause friction and heat and slow things down.

 

really only the user is going to notice is less lag compared from a BB and a non-BB. power wise there pretty much the same and the heat is not really going to be a concern.

the reason BB run a tad cooler in the CHRA is due to it being a wet housing. ( coolant cooling the BB)

whether it be a BB or non a properly mantained turbo should last forever or a very long time.. ____ poor maintence and not doing proper cool downs is the enemy. i've had both BB and non BB turbo and while i save 500rpms on the spool i felt the 800$ could have been better spent. to each his own

 

You can upgrade ur dezod s1 kit to have the gt3076r or the innovative ball bearing turbo. Very good kit!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

We have a TON of BB option turbos and now that I'm running it on my tC I wouldn't want it any other way. You get all the top end of a big ___ turbo but with the low end spool characteristics of a smaller turbo. As said earlier, it's also more reliable.

Hope that helps. Let me know if you have any more specific questions.

 

Hey Joe, did you ever dyno the Innovative F2 54 turbo setup you have? I have had one sitting in my room for two weeks now waiting on the manifold, Jet-Hot really takes their time with things.

 

Ball-bearing turbos cost MUCH more to rebuild than non-bb.

Theres another thing to consider.