railroader
Autocross Newbie
- Location
- Yuma Arizona
7
EQT Vortex - MQB Turbo
- Thread starter jybyrd
- Start date
SugarMouth
Drag Race Newbie
- Location
- Nevada
I would recommend anyone thinking IS38 to just skip it and go hybrid at the very least for the reliability of it.
Hoon
Autocross Champion
- Location
- Rhode Island
Depends on the goals IMO.
If you're looking for mid 300s on pump gas with about the same torque, the IS38 can do it with a decent degree of reliability and a significantly lower cost. Keep the peak around 23-24, taper it down to 21or so, enjoy for a long time.
If you're going to shoot for 400+ you're on borrowed time. The last few guys to pop IS38s were Ramon, BronxBomber, and Railroader...all protuned and cranked up.
SugarMouth
Drag Race Newbie
- Location
- Nevada
Except it's a roll of the dice if you get one that stays together. I feel much more comfortable knowing the unit is properly balanced and the bearing issue is resolved.
I have seen stock IS38s up here in altitude last a block.
roystr
Ready to race!
- Location
- California
The K04 was a solid turbo and was the goto (Golf R) turbo for the MK6 GTI. Mine pushed 28+ psi of boost for 50k miles and never missed a beat. Never really of people blowing them up like these IS38s. VW has revised it what...5 times now? Friggin ridiculous that they can't figure it out.
At least we have other good options.
At least we have other good options.
Diggs24
Autocross Champion
- Location
- de plains! de plains!
- Car(s)
- 2015 GTI
This is what happens when you go to the lowest bidder to save a buck.
Diggs24
Autocross Champion
- Location
- de plains! de plains!
- Car(s)
- 2015 GTI
If planes were as unreliable as ihi turbos no one would ever set foot on one.
Travis9935
Ready to race!
- Location
- Usa
Well we really don't have as many people running these newer hybrid style turbos as we do is38's. So is there enough units out there with many miles to verify this statement?
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Hoon
Autocross Champion
- Location
- Rhode Island
I think that's a big thing people miss...there are thousands of IS38s running around and a handful of hybrids.
If the IS38 is more reliable than the hybrids (not saying that it is, as I do believe the opposite) you'll still hear about far more IS38 failures.
I've said for a long time that I don't think IS38s are great turbos, but I also don't think they fail left and right when kept at reasonable levels. Try to take one to the moon and yeah, you're going to blow it up sooner or later.
SugarMouth
Drag Race Newbie
- Location
- Nevada
The sample size will never be what a stock IS38 is. In your opinion, how many miles is needed to verify? How many turbos do you feel need to be out there to verify their reliability?
I've seen stock turbos go in literally a block after install. At our elevation, for us to make 27-28psi the turbo is really spinning closer to 30.
These guys have been testing different variations of IS hybrids builds for years now. They run them in testing levels beyond what we will run them at. They also use knowledge from prior generations of turbo builds and apply them to the current turbos.
Take a stock IS38 with inferior bearings and at times shotty balancing or a turbo that has improved bearing design and balancing. Easy decision.
The stock IS38 was designed with stock boost pressure, stock turbine speeds and cost in mind. I'll stick to hybrids built by guys who have been at it for years.
BronxBomber
Ready to race!
- Location
- Orlando,FL
Travis9935
Ready to race!
- Location
- Usa
And I've also seen a few vendors posting up other vendors blown hybrids on fb!
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Really? Cause people say this but I have seen VERY few blown turbos posted on this board or the mk7 facebook group. The most i can remember is a DOA EQT and a few of the BOSS V1's shitting the bed because of poor sealing. Good part too is most of those were reconciled by the turbo maker quickly (except CTS
)