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Ok, looks like the stock turbo replacement for the price and the 53039880163 part number is the stock borg warner. 5303 988 0146 https://www.ecstuning.com/Search/Sit...h/53039880146/ is the part number for the airweks upgrade. So don't know, its a little confusing.
That is confusing. Besides part number is there any way to confirm an origional. I kno they have the plate on front with part numbers but are there anything u cant just duplicate and forge?
I'm interested in where reliability, usable power and size intersect.
Why not talk to GPopshop about doing a hybrid K03/k04 setup? Be the cheapest route imo. You dont lose the quick spool but the larger internals will definitely be an upgrade. That's what i've set my sights on after doing my research and being in the same boat as you in terms of desire to tune and get a new turbo.
Ultimately I decided to stick with Mario Palza. We went with the 43/56 and some ARP connecting rod bolts as insurance. I'm pretty stoked and loving the turbo. I was hitting 26 PSI initially and as fun as that is, I like my pistons in the cylinder, not on the sidewalk. I removed 2mm from the wastegate preload and got it dialed in at 23 PSI. I may reduce it further to 21. Mario's 43/56 spools fast and continues to flow all the way to redline. Beyond 5k my stock turbo felt like it was falling on its face; the 43/56 eliminated this problem. I'm sending my DME out to go from Manic stage 2 to RPM Power stage 3. Looking to get some laps in at Road Atlanta in early June.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, Mario Palza is amazing. His customer service is unreal. He will call, text or email anytime and make himself available to answer questions or provide guidance. I was hesitant to break the seal and do the connecting rod bolts, but Mario was there (via text) to give me the push I needed. If you need tuning, parts or MINI mentorship, @MarioKart is your man.
Last edited by scotty_r56s; 05-01-2019 at 05:44 AM.
Wish I did those rod bolts. Currently waiting on a built engine with my old engine sitting on a stand and only 3 pistons in it.
Agreed, Mario is great with customer service. By far my favorite dealer in the community for the big ticket items.
Man, that is rough. Have you settled on a motor yet? @4mikebruns recently put a built motor in his R55 and he's probably a really good source for lessons learned on that.
Good luck, I'm looking forward to seeing how Alice turns out.
Man, that is rough. Have you settled on a motor yet? @4mikebruns recently put a built motor in his R55 and he's probably a really good source for lessons learned on that.
Good luck, I'm looking forward to seeing how Alice turns out.
I ordered a built short block from Sneed with Supertech pistons and Sneed rods, ARP rod bolts. Should be here next week or the week after. I have everything else either pulled off the old motor or ordered from ECS to put it all back together.
Time to follow up on this:
As you can see in the photos above, Mario's 43mm turbo was obviously used or rebuilt. I paid for a new one and was a little surprised that I received a rebuilt one, but at the time I let it go. That turbo eventually suffered a wastegate failure. The turbo needed constant adjustments of the wastegate and only reliably made 22 psi for the first month or so. Mario replaced the turbo free of charge when the wastegate failed. The replacement turbo was new but was very obviously not a Borg Warner. I received what appeared to be a turbo from eBay or Amazon. This turbo worked for about a month. The very first track weekend, just like the first turbo, it stopped making 22psi and stopped spooling quickly. I've adjusted the wastegate, I've searched for boost leaks. I'm still in the same boat. Clearly, there is an issue with the turbo. In retrospect, I should have listened to Jan and bought the Airwerks turbo. However, at the time, I was led to believe I was getting something equally reliable. Which makes sense seeing as the price was nearly the same.
So now I'm back in the market. I want to wash my hands of mQubed and RPM and move on to something reliable.
Last edited by scotty_r56s; 04-05-2021 at 07:41 AM.
While FCP has a different MINI Part number, their BW part number is correct. FCP says that the -0146 is indeed the upgraded turbo, so I think it is safe to say these are the same turbo.
I've not seen many turbos list them up to 30 PSI, the most is 25 PSI.
Sometimes I think vendors just make stuff up because they know they can get away with it.
For example, there's a guy selling a direct port WMI kit right now with totally made-up numbers and no real testing or R&D. He basically ctrl-c ctrl-v a parts list, read a bunch of threads here, and "invented" a kit. Even if you call it out, point out the flaws of the system, the installation errors, and a host of other problems, there will still be an army of people that will buy it becuase business ownership somehow equals validity.
But yeah, back on course, where the hell did M7 get those numbers lol.
Any reason you’re not looking at the JMTC turbos? They seem to be pretty well liked around here with some people making good power on them.
@scotty_r56s already went through two JMTC turbos, I believe. Their products seem OK for a stock tune, but I've seen too many complaints about their turbos on tuned engines.
Bottom line is, Mario's (mQubed, Mariokart, whatever) turbo and JMTC are of inferior quality to OEM. JMTC failure rates are a lot higher than you think, I can count six people I either personally know or know through social media and have real conversations about it with, that have had JMTC issues. I've had two of Mario's turbos fail. The turbine housings fail. The wastegates fail. The bearings fail. I spent a lot of time and threw a lot of parts at my car chasing boost leaks related to these issues. The "tuner's" response is always the same "check the diverter valve." JMTC is notorious for going out of their way to deny the replacement of a failed turbo. Not everyone comes back to NAM or Facebook to talk about it but, if you dig around you'll find threads and comments about it. Some people don't like to admit that they made a mistake or spent too much on a trash product. The JMTC will work initially. How long it will work is the question.
Personally, I have moved back to OEM. A JCW turbo with a proper tune will not make quite as much power, but it will surely outperform a failing turbo. And if it does eventually fail, FCP Euro will replace it.
Oh wow I haven’t seen that sort of stuff before, kind of disappointing that there’s basically no options then for hybrids accept for the Owens stuff. Glad I didn’t go down that path of the JMTC turbo then, I almost bought the GTD 47mm, but I figured it was a waste to build my motor just to slap a hybrid on it. If you were willing to by/build a manifold it would open up a lot of options for turbos big and small.
Oh wow I haven’t seen that sort of stuff before, kind of disappointing that there’s basically no options then for hybrids accept for the Owens stuff. Glad I didn’t go down that path of the JMTC turbo then, I almost bought the GTD 47mm, but I figured it was a waste to build my motor just to slap a hybrid on it. If you were willing to by/build a manifold it would open up a lot of options for turbos big and small.
There are more options than you think if you search.
03-27-2019, 10:13 AM
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