big single turbo vs twins
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Here is a quote that addresses the OP's thread. This guy, a sponsor, won't get the rolleyes comments that I get even though what I'm saying is true. I'll dig a little deeper where he made the same comment that I have about boost pulling away from a stop light. I do a lot of reading.
First off, the same with anything, a turbo LS needs to be looked at as an entire, matched combination. Set your goals first and then decide on components that will allow you to reach those goals.
That being said, big compressor wheels and tiny turbines seem to be all the rage these days. Guess it makes for an affordable turbo. It also makes for sub-par performance.
If you've decided that you absolutely must use a 76mm compressor and a 12mm turbine
, really don't even bother with a "what cam should I use" thread because if you have money for a cam that will do absolutely nothing for you, it should be spent towards a turbo that is actually capable of efficiently making power. Why does your car nose over at 5k? Chances are your turbo belongs in the dumpster or you have way too big of an engine for your current turbo. Want to make 950rwhp and 7000rpm with a PT7675? Run a 5.3. Want to spend more money on a 408 and max out the same turbo at 775rwhp and 5200rpm? Probably not, but people do it.
Not sure why but it seems many people shy away from twin setups. Twins absolutely cannot be beat in terms of a fun street car. Even an undersized pair of twins that make nearly instant boost will still outshine most similarly capable singles up top. I don't like lag so I always run twins. And I'm not talking logged boost VS wot, I'm talking about having driven countless amount of turbo cars and knowing the difference in feel when you roll on the gas of a single or a small set of similarly capable twins. Transient response is what you feel in normal every day driving and you get it in spades with a good twin setup.
Rear mount? Sure they can be fast at the strip as you have time to get the things online while you're bumping it in. As for a fun driving combination on the street? None that I've driven accomplish that. Wouldn't use it if it was given to me. (refer to, I don't like lag so I run twins/etc/etc)
Back to the cam thing. I'll use the cams we have available as examples because well, why not. I designed them and tuned them over the years so at least I can speak about them with experience.
TUO-216/216 114lsa. I would plan on bigger if I planned on over 700rwhp.
TU1-225/225 113lsa. I may consider a bigger cam if 950rwhp wasn't enough.
TU2-236/236 112.5lsa. If you have a combo capable of 1200rwhp and 7800rpm than this cam will work great.
Guess the point I'm trying to make on cams is that I think 90% of people cheap out on their turbo then over-cam the hell out of it thinking it will somehow compensate when in reality all you did was soften up the bottom end and midrange for no gains up top.
So, in closing, if you're building or planning a build on a turbo LS and your goal is to not be disappointed, THE most important thing to buy is a good turbocharger or turbochargers. Second is valvesprings. If you cheaped out on the turbo so you could buy more cubes, a different intake manifold, a different cam, a set of heads, a throttle body, an electric water pump, or even a torque converter, you've made a poor decision.
Rant over, let the flames begin

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As you can see in my pic my car leaves pretty damn hard and I cannot build any boost crossing an intersection. lol
First on the list is going to be what I think is the ultimate street/strip setup. The almighty Garrett/Tial GT35R in twin configuration. These things have amazing response. Even on a 346 and a manual trans you can practically be into boost before the clutch is fully engaged while pulling away from a stop light at 1/3 throttle. Cruising along in 2nd or 3rd and roll onto the gas as you watch 2 black tracks in your rear view. Along with all of this transient response awesomeness they are still capable of 1000 at the tires. I recommend using the Tial stainless v-band housing. Say, .63 a/r for 346ci and .82 for 400ci, 1.06 for 427. Not cheap but usually parts that are ******* awesome don't fall under the ultra-budget category.
As you can see in my pic my car leaves pretty damn hard and I cannot build any boost crossing an intersection. lol
On a different subject I read all the problems you had with the Precision turbos. It's funny because I needed restrictors on mine and when I talked with T-netics they told me a -4 feed to each turbos was too much. And you have precision telling you that you don't have enough oil.
Crazy your On3's are still hanging in there. Precision should hang their head in shame.
I'd really like to ask you about the compounds on your Cummins. I have spoke with Phil at Anarchy Diesel about them and what he can do in EFI live for me. But you are such a hater you would probably tell me I can't do compounds on MY Cummins only you can right?
GT35R is 62mm compressor/ 68mm turbine and ball bearing. Even at the same compression ratio the difference in response between these two sets of turbo's isn't even comparable.
I didn't save any part throttle data logs from these combos but twin 35R's with the right exhaust a/r (depending on displacement) have almost no perceptible lag and easily make boost at part throttle.
I'd really like to ask you about the compounds on your Cummins. I have spoke with Phil at Anarchy Diesel about them and what he can do in EFI live for me. But you are such a hater you would probably tell me I can't do compounds on MY Cummins only you can right?
I have never changed engine combos or cam but have changed turbines vastly. Tc78/78gts/pt88/hp8811(111mm turbine)
I can tell you just like ITDMD8 says, matching that turbine to the compressor is huge for spool. You need enough turbine to drive the compressor
The gts spooled better for me than the baby 68mm turbine tc. That was instant boost even though the gts and tc shared the same compressor but the gts was a 75mm turbine
Just like comparing the pt88 to the current turbo. The pt88 turbine is a mismatch to the big compressor
I agree the beauty of the twins is that turbine capacity is easy to accomplish. But if you take a pair of twins and put it up against a single of similar turbine and compressor capacity there will not be a huge difference between them
The twins on the cummins are very small for towing. I can make 15 psi of boost in neutral at 3000 rpm lol
Sold my 12 valve this Summer and moved up to the common rail.
99% of people want the biggest comp wheel that they can buy for that turbo.
It takes energy to turn that larger wheel and if you are only going to use 75% or less of it's potential then your trading response for "bench racing stats".
Most could get by with the old tried and true 57 trim good for about 425 each or the 60-1 good for about 550 hp each.
But No, I gotta have turbos with the mathematical potential of 1500hp but most do good to make 650 hp to the tires for one reason or another.
Last edited by Chris@CBR; Jan 13, 2014 at 08:38 PM.





