Uprated Turbos - what are the current options?

[AlexRS2782]

As per the thread title - what's the current situation with regards to uprated turbos for the Mk1 FRS - spec / power wise, suppliers, etc?

Back when i converted my car in '07 / '08 it was pretty much a choice between 1 or 2 specs of a 25 hybrid or a 28. Mine ended up running circa 420 with a 28 to SCC spec paired to Autronic management, forged engine, Blitz boost controller, etc. Obviously 10+ years on there are now more options out there than before (Sabre, etc) so i was wondering what people are currently running, supplier, etc.

I know some will question why i'm considering going back from the 28 to a hybrid 25, but one reason is the ability to return the car to a direct fitment sports cat (rather than have to ***** around with a custom weld in jobby in the exhaust). Also on a recent run i've noticed a couple of signs of possible turbo issues (blue smoke / intermittent boost - most likely due to it sitting for a decade not being used, seals have dried out, actuator sticking, etc) so if it needs replacing i might as well see what else is available.

I guess the main aim would be to find a suitable balance of decent power / torque whilst making the car a bit more "usable" power wise on the road (rather than chasing a peak bhp figure on max boost).

Cheers

[DanT404]

Your reasoning is the exact reason why i stuck with a 25 hybrid. Mine is quite a basic spec and i run 345bhp/348ftlbs @20psi, which it drives really well on and i love the power level and delivery to be honest, but i know that Sabre offer a few different variants of the 25 which are capable of a lot more if you are still after a bit more than that.
If my turbo needed replacing i would probably go for one of their 400r turbos.

[Nirach]

I reached out to Sabre some time ago, and they suggested rebuilding mine with different bearings - I'm also not chasing any particular power figure, just reliability and keeping the 'fun' feel it's always had to me. I've not yet got around to doing it as I'm now even further away and it's not road legal here yet, so turbo mods have fallen to the bottom of the list.

I dropped a message to them on Facebook and got a pretty quick response, but I'm given to understand a phonecall is also possible!

[Nemo]

I pm'd shepRS on here and haven't had a response yet. 2+ weeks ago. I don't do Facebook.

[DanT404]

I pm'd shepRS on here and haven't had a response yet. 2+ weeks ago. I don't do Facebook.

Dont know how active he used to be but i havent seen him post on here all that much really, might be worth giving them a call.

[Westy]

Definately just call them.. I have a Sabre turbo on mine (25) and once it was mapped, big difference.

It's a simple straight swap and less hassle like you say.

[AlexRS2782]

Easier to bump this thread than start a new one.

Really wishing i'd got on with sorting this during 20-21 now as it seems like things have changed now i'm looking into it again. Spent the time sorting all the other bits needed like oil / water feeds, sports cat, etc, only to find that it's probably now the turbo that will be the issue.

Spent the last week looking at the usual turbo companies (Turbo Technics, Dynamics, Performance, CR, etc) sites and have noticed all of them no longer seem to offer outright sales on anything GT25 hybrid related and the relevant links are gone from their sites. They still seem to offer mild internal rebuilds of the original turbos but it seems anything involving supply of brand new / oversized / modified housings (spun / standard), etc are no longer on the table and by the looks of it this seems like it's related to no more / limited stock & castings which is a bugger - also might be due to Garrett launching their G25 ranges in previous years hence the older stuff gets filtered out. Loads of stuff still available easily for the 28 though.

Going to try speaking to Sabre to see if anything is available seeing as they're still advertising their own tuning packages inc turbos (although i assume they were supplied by one of the companies above) and try a couple of the companies to see if they can still supply (incase they're no longer advertising via their shop sites). Otherwise i guess the only other option will be trying to source an original GT25 or variant thereof and get it checked over / rebuilt.

I know TurboTechnics offer a T36 setup (which has a housing designed to utilise the GT25 manifold / sports cat / decat), but sadly no longer offer the spun housing only o.e setup - plus the spool / rpm setup seems on a par with what i had on the GT28 which isn't ideal as that's what i'm aiming to move away from.

Balls.