CT26 compressor wheel upgrade worthwhile?

knowitalls

New member
I have been doing a ton of research lately about the CT26 and its upgrade potential but have yet to come across someone who has done it themselves. Its always "a friend of a friend said it was awesome!", or theory.

Have any of you upgraded your CT26 with a bigger compressor wheel (i.e. 16g, t04e, 60-1) and/or done the 10-12 degree exhaust wheel clip? What were the results? Anyone have dyno sheets of before and after?

Is it better just to replace the CT26 with an entirely different, larger turbocharger now that they are coming down in price?

Thankyou
 

brutekiller787

New member
Pretty much not worth it when gt28rs's can be had for about what a ct26 upgrade cost. Dual ball bearing vs journal bearing? Not much to be though about there. If you are shooting for over 300whp, which most of us do, then a ct26 upgrade is out of the question
 

knowitalls

New member
Thank you for the response. Now the question is, GT28r or GT30r? What amount of HP is fun for the street? I guess I have some more research to do on what people are running and how they feel about their particular setup.
 

warracer

New member
just pointing out one little detail, if you're on a budget, the CT26 upgrade could be the solution but honestly, I would just go with a CT20B if you're considering that option .

Because if you upgrade you're turbo to a completly different housing, lots of custom fab and work will be needed, oil line , coolant line, intake, downpipe , exhaust , injectors, Standalone or something else etc etc etc

If you want the most cost effective turbo upgrade, ct20b is probably the easiest way to do it, it is bolt on without any sort of modification...

I installed a VF28 which is a Ver.5 STI turbo ball bearing etc etc... And let me tell you that the suprise cost are considerable when fitting a custom turbo setup...
 

zero06

New member
advice from my personal experience... if you mess with any oem turbo, pushing it past what it was engineered to do, an aftermarket wastegate actuator is a must. Also port the internal wastegate for good measure. There is no downside, and you will save a lot of time and frustation. all that aside I had a ct27 and was quite happy with it, more so than the ct20b. boost came on faster pulled harder and lasted till redline.
 

lumbercis

Moderator
I think the only worthwhile CT26 upgrade is an ATS CT27 or replacing the turbo with a CT20B. Most of the random wheel upgrades for CT26's are untested hackjobs.
 

celica_gtx

New member
I went thro these guys. Paid 200 for it all plus a ceramic coating. And I'm happy w it


http://turbocharged.com/main.htm
larger t04e compressor wheel of your choice (we recommend t04e 50 trim)Upgrades also include machining the compressor housing and bearing housing to accept the larger compressor wheel.We install larger 360 thrust bearing and stagger gap turbine side seal." said by tje shop


Pics r in my build. Havent turn the boost up on it yet tho
viewtopic.php?f=44&t=45039
 

Chuck.hudson

New member
So what exactly did this company for 200 bucks cause that seems way to good to be true have you ran the turbo yet? I looked at the website now I'm no web designer but it looks like something you would make in a high school computer class
 

celica_gtx

New member
Sry forgot to mention I gave em a spare core I had that was toast yea the site is weak but the shop is turbo heaven!!!! Had a chubby the whole time! :smokes: Lol give em a call
Also cash deals usually help too..

Turbo is on my car as we speak set a stock psi waitin to get my apexi avcr fixed
 

celica_gtx

New member
Rick89GTS":uiausk13 said:
Chuck.hudson":uiausk13 said:
So what exactly did this company for 200 bucks cause that seems way to good to be true....
I'd like to know too :)

Read above ur post...a burnt ct26 n cash.. its a mah n pah shop call em up see what the quote u.
I'm just tellin u what I got. I said the same thing when he said the price n I wasnt gunna say no charge me more..lol
 

gt4gordon

New member
I had a ct26 rebuilt to stage 2 from turbo force a few years ago. made a massive difference. cost me £900 uk. I had a st185 with st205 engine. front mount , walbro fuel pump, custom ic piping, low mount air filter, turbo back tte exhaust system exedy twin plate clutch and light weight flywheel. it was rolling roaded at 326bhp and 299lb/ft at 0.9 bar.
 

Chuck.hudson

New member
Well I checked the website ago in two days ago and it was down and I also called but they didn't answer so let us know if you get through and what they say
 

1337computing

New member
celica_gtx":2h60nc7y said:
I went thro these guys. Paid 200 for it all plus a ceramic coating. And I'm happy w it


http://turbocharged.com/main.htm
larger t04e compressor wheel of your choice (we recommend t04e 50 trim)Upgrades also include machining the compressor housing and bearing housing to accept the larger compressor wheel.We install larger 360 thrust bearing and stagger gap turbine side seal." said by tje shop


Pics r in my build. Havent turn the boost up on it yet tho
viewtopic.php?f=44&t=45039

Any updates on this yet? Got her up and running?
 

Chuck.hudson

New member
I just talked to a guy from that gpopshop and he says they can do a 50 trim upgrade for the ct26 that can handle atleast 300 all wheel horsepower its 630 for the rebuild and wheel upgrade. Its no 200 bucks out the door but 630 isnt too bad i think i might give it a try at the begining of next year when i got the money and if i can get my car up and reliably running by then
 

jwgt41

New member
The CT26 is a viable option up to about 325hp. There's an inherent design flaw in that the turbo is inverted, forcing the oil to flow upwards, opposite of gravity. That's the prime reason for it's limitations.

Having said that, I upgraded one of mine at Turbonetics in CA, way back when they did "hybrid" upgrades. They don't do them anymore. They installed a Garrett T-04 H3 compressor wheel, 360 degree bearing and machined the compressor housing for about $300. There was increased boost pressure with drastically less turbo lag. Response time was cut in half, making the car a blast to drive! The CEL ended the fun when it sensed the overboost situation and sent the car into "limp home" mode. Simple fix with the resistor in the ECU. Overall, it was an economy upgrade with very pleasant results! But again, the design of the turbo limits maximum performance.

I have a picture around here somewhere if I can find it.

Jeremy
 
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