I've been reading a lot lately about unscrupulous sellers passing off counterfeit, or fake turbos (like the 38R) as the real thing.

How can you tell if you are looking at a fake or the real thing?

I know that Clay is a trusted source, and I'm sure there are other very respectable sellers and/or sponsors, so is the general rule of thumb just to buy from someone you would trust and would not want their reputation soiled here or on other forums, and avoid ebay, etc?

Surely a reputable and established seller used by this or other forums would not try to pass off a fake, would you think?

I'm definitely not calling anyone or any business out, not even eBayers- just trying to get to the bottom of this counterfeit turbo thing-

 

That would be what I would do. Buy from someone that will back there product. There are lots of clone turbos out there. Not to say that they are junk but most are priced accordingly for a clone. A 38r new for 800 dollars would be a huge red flag. But some hx series and garret clones can do pretty good and are cheap for fabbing, building, and playing with on toys you don't wanna drop tons into.

 

Fake turbo or Real turbo. Im going out on a limb here and thinking you really mean "how do you tell the difference between a cheap quality turbo and a Quality turbo". Because a fake turbo wouldn't really be hooked up to anything and a real turbo would.

 

the last time i said anything bout turbos, i got harassed...

so without getting too technical, all turbos are the same. they all do the same thing: force air down a hole.

half the companies out there who make them, make parts or replacement parts for the others.

the good ones vs the bad ones. use your best judgement.

the important things are the a/r numbers.

various kinds but 2 basic types: wet cases (coolant and oil) or dry cases
: ball bearing (ceramic or steel) or journal
: variable or non.

yes the "super whirly bird eleventy billion" will spool faster make a 1,000 psi
and is made from comet dust.

but those are all on race cars.

all im saying is they all work the same, and half the time, they all fail the same.

my .02

 

My question is, if there are less than trustworthy sellers in this world who are trying to sell a turbo that is marketed as 'new', 'genuine', and 'from the manufacturer', whether that be Garrett or otherwise, how do you separate the wheat from the chaff and be able to know if an aftermarket turbo is actually a genuine new part or a 'counterfeit' that someone is trying to pass off as a genuine, or 'real' part.

It's not hard to find comments here, or elsewhere online, where people state things like 'cheap knock-offs', or 'counterfiets' are 'everywhere' in the world of aftermarket turbos.

So, short of the method that bad12jr noted- specifically, if someone is trying to pass off a 'new' 38R (or otherwise) turbo for $800 or so- meaning that if the deal looks too good to be true, it probably is- are there any reliable ways to tell if someone is trying to sell you a load of garbage or not.

 

the answer is unless it is blatantly obvious it will be hard to tell the difference....did you buy a fake turbo? dont buy one off of ebay unless you know what youre looking at....most of the ebay auctions with real turbos are really close to the normal price.....just buy a turbo from a vendor and avoid the rest....

 

my bad, i get it.

hows this then, buy one you can return or has a warranty.

i've never seen a fake holset or kkk turbo. not to say they don't exsist.

it's just turbos are such simple little critters and parts are everywhere. a business would get a bad name pretty quick if they were unreliable.

real or fake- check the all the numbers on the housing


my .02

 

wait, my wife is helping me remember stuff...

an example: i removed a "race clutch kit" for a customers audi a4 a few months ago. (it was slipping bad as he hit boost in 4-5gear.) with 15k on the clutch. he told me it was a "something or other" name brand highpo unit.
it turned out to be a sachs dual friction race disc. on a new stock pressure plate. the pressure plate didn't have enough poop to hold it together. hence slippage.

fake clutch kit? he sent it back to the 3rd party shop that sold it to him, and got his money back.

we replaced it with sachs race kit. no further issues.

back to turbos. a kkk turbo is german made. yet you can get internals from garrett/ honeywell or kk&k in germany. only so many places can actually make turbos. tooling is $$$

rebuilding them is just a matter of turning wrenches. you might need a lathe for balancing shafts if you get that deep into them.

sorry for rambling on, im full of coffee this morning

 

Thanks for the replies folks.

I won't buy from an unreliable source- I'd just as soon support one of our vendors here on FTE.

If there are so many turbos out there that might be 'questionable', it makes me wonder what the 'cut-off' is, between what people were comfortable with, and when people would start to become uncomfortable (in terms of where/who to buy a turbo from).

 

NEW HOLSET TURBOCHARGER HX55 2841617 | eBay

VOLVO HX55 TURBO CUMMINS Turbocharger 4037344-D brand new 1 year warranty | eBay

Other then the name plate if I took the holset casting off they look very similar. But most knock offs wont have the casting.

When I build my t4 kit the second one is going on my truck until I come across a good deal on an s471 or gt4202. And if it last 2 years I'll still have less in it then the stocker will last. All really depends on your plans. At the moment my trucks a DD so I wouldnt want to run it everyday. But in the next couple years it'll be a fun street/strip truck so a 300 dollar turbo will be sufficient.

 

without looking past the pictures they seem to be the same turbos. the casting is something that does get changed from "brand to brand" but the manufacturer is the same.