how long do Journal Bearing turbo's last ?

[jracer]

i was wondering whats the life span of a Journal Bearing turbo over a ball bearing ??
starting to look at turbos for my build i am starting in a few weeks.
maybe looking at a precision turbo..what size would be best for a 400hp goal ?
thanks !

[essejkcamraw]

journals last just fine so long as your tuned and take car of your car. go 5557 .63ar like i told you man. perfect.

[kmac]

It really depends on how much boost u run and how well u maintain the car. They Do last a long time and they can be rebuilt where bb center sections can not u have to buy a whole chra. Plus bb only helps on respool not spool also with the displacement of our engines I don't think respool will be a problem unless u go with a monster turbo.

[jracer]

just looking at 20 ish psi .. my goal is close to 400 awhp
looking to use my cobb sri and i do have a cobb inlet but i think i will need a adapter or something to make it work with the bigger inlet on the turbo
you think the ARP main studs are needed ?? i am gunna get the head studs for sure...

[bmylez]

It's less than $200 for the main studs, right? Shouldn't even be considering otherwise. If you're going to push your motor hard, do you really want your mains letting go and completely destroying the motor?

400awhp out of a 5557 at 20 pounds...not experienced with the MS6, but you might need to push a little more boost. Someone else can chime in on that one, though.

[phate]

Originally Posted by bmylez It's less than $200 for the main studs, right? Shouldn't even be considering otherwise. If you're going to push your motor hard, do you really want your mains letting go and completely destroying the motor?

Mains typically let go due to RPM, not power. I'm not saying its a bad idea, but there are other things I would get first.

[kmac]

I would go with one of those new garrett billet or bw extended tip turbos for the money.

[Lex]

There are 3 things that affect the life or any turbo:

1. Lubrication. Use a proper oil, have it get enough of it.
2. Heat. Goes hand in hand with lubrication. If you run it too hot, you will damage it prematurely
3. Rotational speed, efficiency. If you are overworking a little turbo, it will have a much shorter life.

A well maintained journal turbo suitable for the application that is water cooled as well should have no issues for 100+k miles. Best of all, they are much cheaper to rebuild.

[jracer]

Originally Posted by Lex There are 3 things that affect the life or any turbo: 1. Lubrication. Use a proper oil, have it get enough of it. 2. Heat. Goes hand in hand with lubrication. If you run it too hot, you will damage it prematurely 3. Rotational speed, efficiency. If you are overworking a little turbo, it will have a much shorter life. A well maintained journal turbo suitable for the application that is water cooled as well should have no issues for 100+k miles. Best of all, they are much cheaper to rebuild.

thats what i wanted to hear....lol
new precision turbos are pretty good priced...

[SRTie4k]

Originally Posted by Lex There are 3 things that affect the life or any turbo: 1. Lubrication. Use a proper oil, have it get enough of it. 2. Heat. Goes hand in hand with lubrication. If you run it too hot, you will damage it prematurely 3. Rotational speed, efficiency. If you are overworking a little turbo, it will have a much shorter life. A well maintained journal turbo suitable for the application that is water cooled as well should have no issues for 100+k miles. Best of all, they are much cheaper to rebuild.

As an addendum, build quality highly effects the life of a turbo, more so than any of the items that Lex listed.

Buying an ebay turbo that was made in China, you have a much greater chance of a catastrophic failure than buying a turbo that was hand-built and balanced by professionals.

That said, I ran 2 different journal bearing turbos in my SRT-4, both built by AGP Turbochargers, and they both lasted well over the 10-15k miles I ran them for, with little to no extra shaft play from the time I bought them to the time I sold them. I'm a big fan of oil-only lubrication simply for the fact that they are much easier to install.

[Lex]

^ Oil only is simpler but heat is a bigger issue and they require more cool down period. As always, quality is a big factor - say no to cheap turbos.

[bmylez]

Originally Posted by Lex say no to cheap turbos.

Unless you are cageyvet

He hasn't reported on the status of his Godspeed turbo in a little while, but it was making crazy power.

[Lex]

Originally Posted by bmylez Unless you are cageyvet He hasn't reported on the status of his Godspeed turbo in a little while, but it was making crazy power.

Depends how much your time is worth to you and if you want to take that gamble.

[turd burglar]

cummins uses jb turbos and those things last 5xxxxxxxxxxx miles before rebuilds if you take care of zem

[kmac]

I'm running a precision 6262 and I would recommend a precision but considering mine fail with 2k on it and they pretty much told me to blow it out my ass I can't stand behind their product. I took it to my builder and I thought it was something that failed on my car like collapsed oil line or something , but he told me they looked fine as far as lubrication went . He said the bearing probably was defective and I was an unlucky consumer. So even though they perform well they don't stand behind their product so neither can I.

[madvillain]

Journal bearing turbos have always been used in many industrial and hauling applications for a long time, since long before BB turbos were even invented.

Some say - durability wise - that journal bearing turbos are superior, but who knows. There are too many variables.

As everyone else has said, build quality is key. I personally really stand by the quality and service that Precision has provided me.. Especially for the price.

[rigor]

mine is also working great!! .5557 pte