TBO3(T-III) turbo

[black86glhs]

Has anyone thought of using it or used it on an 8 valve engine? I don't know if it would be any kind of an improvement or not(I don't know turbos like some on here). A friend of mine was asking me about it and got me thinking.

[85boostbox]

I believe it is the same dimensions as a 89 garrett just different flanges.

[iTurbo]

The only 'real' difference is the compressor trim. I haven't measured but according to my fabulous internet research it is a 55-trim whereas the Turbo II got a 50-trim compressor wheel. Hardly worth writing home about and honestly you'll probably never know the difference.

The compressor housing is different as well. While they are both T3 frame turbos, the TII comes with a .42 A/R comp housing and the TIII comes with .52 A/R housing. They are slightly different in their design as well; the housing on the TIII is more compact and actually looks smaller externally than the TII.

FWIW, I installed a TII turbo on my Spirit R/T by swapping the turbine housings which is possible because both turbos share the same turbine wheel (stock aka stage I). I put the TIII turbine housing on the TII turbo and reclocked as needed. The compressor housing didn't work out all that great because of the angled discharge of the TII comp housing and it ended up blowing the hose off a few times. Spooled up fast though.

[6daytonas]

Has a standard T3 flange, so you'd need to drill and tap the 8v exhaust manifold to mount it. Would have a 2.5" SV, so that's good. Has a .48 A/R hotside - same as a TI or TII. Compressor housing and wheel are larger than a T03 with a .52 A/R vs .42 A/R for the T03 units. So it will make boost more efficiently than a T03.

Unless you come across one on the cheap, when you consider the fact that the manifold has to come off for modification and the performance gains are relatively modest, you're probably better off with some of the other options out there.

[6daytonas]

Ha - I was typing the same thing but was slow on the draw.

[black86glhs]

I didn't think it would be a big difference, either. The fab work isn't a big deal, but unless one fell from the sky, I wasn't planning on it. Thanks for the info guys.

[iTurbo]

Must be the only Spirit R/T out there with a smaller than stock turbo! If you look close you can see I had to shim out the TIII wastegate can to work with the TII housing. Also had to notch the WG bracket to make room for the coolant line and use a 45' brass fitting on the center section. TU's TIII oil/coolant line set worked just fine. Might be a cheap replacement turbo for an R/T owner out there at least. Worked for me in a pinch since an OEM TIII turbo is a little harder to come by.

[black86glhs]

It would be interesting to swap the T-III center section and compressor housing and see what it does. Would be cool to see if it makes more power at a lower PSI.

[tsiconquest88]

What kind of power loss did you find?

[tsiconquest88]

I bet the t3 turbo would do wonders on the 2.5!!

[iTurbo]

It would be interesting to swap the T-III center section and compressor housing and see what it does. Would be cool to see if it makes more power at a lower PSI.

It could only help considering the slightly larger wheel and more efficient housing you would probably be heating the air less too. But would those results even be measureable? Probably but a Super 60 upgrade would beat the TIII hands down IMO.

[black86glhs]

Besides,there should be a whole bunch of TB03's out there. Seems like everyone is swapping holsets for them....lol.

[black86glhs]

It could only help considering the slightly larger wheel and more efficient housing you would probably be heating the air less too. But would those results even be measureable? Probably but a Super 60 upgrade would beat the TIII hands down IMO.

That is exactly what i was talking about. I do agree it might not show any difference. If I can get a hold of one cheap(read that as damn near free...lol), I might try it.

[iTurbo]

What kind of power loss did you find?

Honestly I can't give a comparison to the stock turbo. When I bought the Spirit R/T I did this to, it had a blown Super 70 turbo (specifically a GN center section). I replaced it with the TII unit I had laying around. I noticed it spooled up very quickly, but it was the first time I actually drove the car with boost. Since the engine could make more load with a good turbo, I could then hear that the engine was knocking under load probably because of a bad rod bearing and I never really got to drive the car more than a few miles.

[Ondonti]

Well I would just avoid using the dodge T3 turbine housing because it just has an absolutely terrible design. Thats why it gets such a huge gain from a big exhaust.
I did some porting on one years ago and bleck to that thing. Not worth it.

[tsiconquest88]

Is it really that bad?. Poor little tb03 cant get any love here lol.

[Ondonti]

Is it really that bad?. Poor little tb03 cant get any love here lol.

I don't really feel like looking for pics, but the exhaust instantly is forced to go towards the wastegate flapper, which not only is a bad design for flow, but the wastegate flapper opens up and clogs up the flow of exhaust. Did I mention this is the opposite direction of the turn it needs to take in the swinvalve?

When I ported the housing, some of that included modifying the flapper so it didnt stick out so badly...basically cutting down some of the shaft material.

Imagine bolting an 8 valve swingvalve backwards, then turning around back towards the back of the car. The turbine housing is really weird and I have no idea why they did that. I think they used some POS turbine housing that they picked up on the cheap and was not meant for the R/T cars.

[Ondonti]

Best I can find, Bansheenuts oem picture of the outside, then some pictures on imageshack. Most of them are missing because imageshack sucks.
This was the first thing I ever worked on like this but it was terrible to begin with. Its obvious why people make crap power on stock housings. Anyone with a stock turbo t3, do this!

[turbovanman²]

Been there, got the badge,

I didn't have a back to back test but it got me 236.5whp on my van at 29 psi thru a crappy RX turbo II IC, one piece intake, stock cal, auto,

Was a blast on the street,

[tsiconquest88]

29 psi on a tii turbo? or did you mean 19 lol?

BTW i see what you mean odonti, i had never seen the t3 turbo or any of the dodge turbo for that matter, other than the outside looking at it while on the engine to be honest haha.