How many have gone from radix to turbo?
01-15-2009, 02:22 PM
#71
It all comes down to a few points I think.
1) Max power at the end. Lots say they want 1000hp but do not undestand what it takes to make or MAINTAIN that type of setup. Nor the coin to get there from scratch.
2) Do you want; what everyone else has or something different. Some kits and parts are proven performance time and time again. ARe reliable as the day is long. But if you want to be different then that usually comes at a price, "money and time".
3) mentioned earlier. Skill level and tolerance for hot rodding. What this means is sometimes you will be playing "tweeking" things for awhile dialing in the combo. Or do you just want to close the hood and not touch it. This also ties into the #1 statement about power.
Twin set ups are cool, but cost big $$$. single kits can give you good power with little lag. And lag sometimes is a good thing. You hear lots of poeple talking about lag sucks and is bad. But lets face it you can only go as fast as you have traction for.
So a little lag can be a good thing.
1) Max power at the end. Lots say they want 1000hp but do not undestand what it takes to make or MAINTAIN that type of setup. Nor the coin to get there from scratch.
2) Do you want; what everyone else has or something different. Some kits and parts are proven performance time and time again. ARe reliable as the day is long. But if you want to be different then that usually comes at a price, "money and time".
3) mentioned earlier. Skill level and tolerance for hot rodding. What this means is sometimes you will be playing "tweeking" things for awhile dialing in the combo. Or do you just want to close the hood and not touch it. This also ties into the #1 statement about power.
Twin set ups are cool, but cost big $$$. single kits can give you good power with little lag. And lag sometimes is a good thing. You hear lots of poeple talking about lag sucks and is bad. But lets face it you can only go as fast as you have traction for.
So a little lag can be a good thing.
01-15-2009, 02:44 PM
#72
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I bought my Radix because it's my daily driver, I don't want to have to d*ck with _anything_ on it. I have a GTO and a TBSS that are for go fast toys. I seriously considered a front mount turbo kit, but the "incomplete-ness" of the kit ended up being the decision making factor.
Last edited by XLR8NSS; 01-15-2009 at 03:44 PM. Reason: Unnecessary comment removed.
01-15-2009, 04:00 PM
#74
Really just schedule type stuff. Here is what I would recommend for some maintance plans.
1)you have to keep the oil changed on a regular bases. I recommend only fully synthetic oil.
2) you cannot jump in and take off aggressivly until the truck has reached full operating temp. You donot want to spin the turbo hard until the oil and turbo have had a chance to warm up.
3) You can not just turn the truck off after heavy boosting, you must wait a few mins until the things have cooled down a little. This keeps the oil from burning on the shaft and stops the shaft from galding up. We use water cooled turbos to help with this issue. Usually not an issue on street driving.
4) Tune is killer. The set up has to be tuned for what you are planning to do. You can not have a race/street tune, and hook up to a 15k trailer and start pulling hills. Get your tune for what you are planning to use the truck for. BTW if pulling is it, then I recommend an EGT probe to make sure things are not getting over heated in the pipe.
5) Check all clamps, retaining bolts everytime you do an oil change. Nothing worse then a hose flying off at 15psi, scare the bagzy out of you.
We beed roll all of our cold pipes just to make sure this does not happen. 6) if you have a blown exhaust gasket change it asap. It will get worse with boost.
Just simple things nothing to out of the ordinary.
01-15-2009, 04:05 PM
#75
TECH Veteran
nothing over the top or out of the ordinary with any HP vehicle.
Really just schedule type stuff. Here is what I would recommend for some maintance plans.
1)you have to keep the oil changed on a regular bases. I recommend only fully synthetic oil.
2) you cannot jump in and take off aggressivly until the truck has reached full operating temp. You donot want to spin the turbo hard until the oil and turbo have had a chance to warm up.
3) You can not just turn the truck off after heavy boosting, you must wait a few mins until the things have cooled down a little. This keeps the oil from burning on the shaft and stops the shaft from galding up. We use water cooled turbos to help with this issue. Usually not an issue on street driving.
4) Tune is killer. The set up has to be tuned for what you are planning to do. You can not have a race/street tune, and hook up to a 15k trailer and start pulling hills. Get your tune for what you are planning to use the truck for. BTW if pulling is it, then I recommend an EGT probe to make sure things are not getting over heated in the pipe.
5) Check all clamps, retaining bolts everytime you do an oil change. Nothing worse then a hose flying off at 15psi, scare the bagzy out of you. We beed roll all of our cold pipes just to make sure this does not happen.
6) if you have a blown exhaust gasket change it asap. It will get worse with boost.
Just simple things nothing to out of the ordinary.
Really just schedule type stuff. Here is what I would recommend for some maintance plans.
1)you have to keep the oil changed on a regular bases. I recommend only fully synthetic oil.
2) you cannot jump in and take off aggressivly until the truck has reached full operating temp. You donot want to spin the turbo hard until the oil and turbo have had a chance to warm up.
3) You can not just turn the truck off after heavy boosting, you must wait a few mins until the things have cooled down a little. This keeps the oil from burning on the shaft and stops the shaft from galding up. We use water cooled turbos to help with this issue. Usually not an issue on street driving.
4) Tune is killer. The set up has to be tuned for what you are planning to do. You can not have a race/street tune, and hook up to a 15k trailer and start pulling hills. Get your tune for what you are planning to use the truck for. BTW if pulling is it, then I recommend an EGT probe to make sure things are not getting over heated in the pipe.
5) Check all clamps, retaining bolts everytime you do an oil change. Nothing worse then a hose flying off at 15psi, scare the bagzy out of you.
We beed roll all of our cold pipes just to make sure this does not happen. 6) if you have a blown exhaust gasket change it asap. It will get worse with boost.
Just simple things nothing to out of the ordinary.
Not slamming turbos, just making sure all of the facts are out there.
01-15-2009, 04:44 PM
#77
TECH Junkie
Changing oil regularly is a given on any vehicle. Letting your engine warm up on any engine, especially a high performance one is certainly advised as well. The clamps can be a pita at times on mine when running higher boost (over 10-11lbs), but I know there are better clamps out there than what I've got. For this much performance though, thats the price you have to pay.
01-15-2009, 04:51 PM
#78
na that is what warranty is for.
Not really out of the ordinary for turbos
just simple things to check for.
All things have their own check list to confirm its all working and maintaining the power you are at.
For blowers I would be checking
Belt wearing
is the belt slipping
Intercooler hoses
balancer has not spun on the crank
old school blower checking oil level
bolts are tight on all the blower stuff
All these things I would not have be check on a turbo set up.
01-15-2009, 05:40 PM
#79
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Maintanence is not the deciding factor.With a properly installed Radix or Turbo kit they will have the same schedule.
My truck had the trick kit which was very complete minus fuel.I added the intercooler which they did not offer then.
I drove it for a year and 20k miles while never putting a wrench to it and the oil got changed every 7000 miles.Never a problem,still at 7lbs all the time and still was perfect when I pulled it.
So either setup is good as long as it is properly installed and tuned.
As for me pulling the kit,I just want to go back to NA for personal reasons.
My truck had the trick kit which was very complete minus fuel.I added the intercooler which they did not offer then.
I drove it for a year and 20k miles while never putting a wrench to it and the oil got changed every 7000 miles.Never a problem,still at 7lbs all the time and still was perfect when I pulled it.
So either setup is good as long as it is properly installed and tuned.
As for me pulling the kit,I just want to go back to NA for personal reasons.
01-15-2009, 05:56 PM
#80
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Anyone trying to make real power is gonna have a good tune. Ive heard the warrantied radix tunes are missing quite a bit of timing.
Ive never checked the clamps on my trick kit. I do change my oil every 3-4K miles with mobil one, as I did before the turbo. Anybody with more aggresive valve springs should let the motor warm up a bit anyway.