You guys know how it goes, the pedestal orings are leaking so while the turbo is out, might as well do the bellow up pipes, EBPV delete, turbo rebuild or replace etc etc

So here is the deal, I have 120K on the truck(auto trans), turbo is stock plus an ATS ported housing (no fitment issues) and Banks Big Head.

I am trying to decide the following:

1. Stay with the ported housing and add Riff Raff's billet wheel for the ported housing (single plane 11 blade) and high flow outlet and 360 bearing
2. Replace ported housing with a stock housing and go with the 4/4 dual plane billet wheel and high flow outlet and 360 bearing
3. Jump to KC38R (no plans to ever go with bigger sticks)
4. Van turbo?

My goal is lower EGTs and reliability for towing. As it stands today, I have zero surging while towing and have no problems making 30 pounds of boost with tuning.

What are your thoughts and suggestions?

 

Following!

 

My vote is for a wheel in that set-up.

 

If I were you I would either leave it as it is (never said what your EGT's were), option 1 and then option 3.

If you are looking at option 3, then you can sell the current setup and recoop some of the money spent on the KC38R. This is what I plan to do when I upgrade to 160/80 injectors. I rebuilt my stock turbo, installed the RR 4/4 wheel, high flow outlet, Diesel Site wastegate actuator and a 360 bearing kit. I can hit 28 PSI in 4th gear going up a grade towing and the EGT's stay below 1000 max 90% of the time when towing. Everyone once in a while if I bog it down a bit the EGT's will climb toward 1100, but that rarely happens.

The KC38R is a whole different ball game though compared to a stock turbo. If you decide on the KC, get the .84 housing for sure.

 

When you say throw a wheel in it, you are talking about the single plane 11 blade wheel for the ported housing that RR offers?

Stock programming with the current turbo setup, I saw 1200 degree on pretty much every grade I pulled. and was limited to 17-20 lbs of boost etc. Haven't tried towing the 5'er with the Hydra yet so I have no idea what revised tunes will do for EGT's.

I would imagine a Billet Wheel with upgrade internals, High Flow Outlet and Custom Tuning will greatly improve the EGTs. Like you Sous, I dont need 100 MPH up hills, I need reliable safe power up the hills and IF a simple rebuild will get me there then that is what I want to do!

 

I hear ya, and 1200 is a dangerous zone to be messing with. Tuning does play a role in how the truck pulls and how high EGT's are. If I were to use my daily drive tune when pulling our camper, I would melt the engine in no time flat. Although, if I change the tune to heavy tow I can literally put the pedal on the floor and the fuel management (along with me shifting for the appropriate speed) will not go over 1050 degrees. Even on very steep grades in TN that last for a few miles.

I did travel cross country with truck and trailer, but that was before the tuning and turbo upgrades.

I have several hundred dollars into the stock turbo that I rebuilt. I am confident I can get that back and then some if/when I upgrade to a KC38R. So, going by the same reasoning you could get a KC38R, then sell yours and you would be paying about $1K for the new, bigger, better turbo that will last the life of the truck and provide much better performance and drive-ability.

Alternatively, you could spend $200-$500 and upgrade your current set up which will probably get the job done well enough to your standards. My turbo does just that. It is a great turbo, runs great, performs great, but the KC38R would make the pulling of our 12K lbs 5th wheel just that much easier. The 38R and KC38R both run well on 99.5-03 stock injectors, so no need to hit big fuel numbers.

I simply plan to upgrade to 160/80 injectors because the OEM ones are at 250K miles and 160/80 injectors can be tuned to run like stock, but with room for much more fuel when times like climbing a grade are in front of the truck. If you go much bigger than that (or 175cc) then you really need to re-evaluate your goals for the truck.

This is all my opinion, I hope I have helped you out at least a little.

 

I would speak with either Clay at RiffRaff or SPTurboost about options.

 

I have...Clay says the ported housing wheel, everyone else says dual plane and ported housing. I feel like it is a crap shoot with the vendors as far as their opinions on which wheel for a ported housing to use. Thus why I have toyed with going to the stock housing.

 

SPT uses your stock housing and ports it to accommodate for a 66mm wheel.

 

If you never plan on bigger sticks stay the way you are. Sounds like it is working very well. You mitt be disappointed when you switch. If you want more air, go with the KC38R or the 38R. That mitt help with EGt's but with stock sticks tuning would do more.

 

I'm pretty sure porting and machining a stock housing to accept a 66mm wheel are two different things. In fact, I have a stock housing machined to accept a D66 wheel....sourced the wheel and housing from Diesel Site....and I have them for sale.

 

At this point, Im going to stick with the stock turbo, do a rebuild and billet wheel. Should I keep the Big Head or go to the Turbomaster TM73?

 

I bought the TM73 when I rebuilt/upgraded my turbo. It is pricey, but was a quality piece that allows me to dial in the boost level I desire very quickly. Also, when I upgrade to the KC38R I will install it on that turbo.

I recommend it.

 

If there's nothing wrong with the big head why change it?

 

I like the idea of manually controlling the wastegate and taking the computer out of the question. Of course my assumptions on the whole deal could be wrong