Thoughts on upgrading my HKS turbo

[ducttapeguy]

Hey all. I sent my HKS turbo to FP the other day to get info on the turbo and see what upgrades are possible. I got an email from them today and this is what it says:
Complaint/Concern:Identify
Model or PN:T3/T4 HKS
SERIAL:
Date of MFG:
Axial Play:.001"
Radial Play:.020"
CW:TO4E 40 trim OK
TW:O trim OK
TH:T4 undiv .48 a/r OK
BHry OK
TB:
JB:
CH:TO4E OK
ACT:none
Oil Brand/Grade:
Other:
0.00 0.00
everything, would consider updating the CW to
something a littler larger $550 for 60-1

Is that a good price for a rebuild/upgrade to 60-1? Is it worth it? What kind of power can I make with that wheel?

Ill be running 9.5:1 compression built head with +1mm valves, hks 264/272 cams, cyclone intake, the rest of the HKS turbo kit(exhaust mani, o2 housing, 50mm wastegate) 750+ injectors, big FMIC, and link v3. Planning on around 25psi. Id like to be able to hit 450+ whp. Is that feasible?

Tyler

 

[Nate]

I think that would be a great turbo on that manifold. My mirage made 430 at 24psi on a t3 60-1, so I think you're being very realistic with the power expectation.

 

[cheekychimp]

Tyler,

Given what Mike Franke said about the turbo I would think that was probably a realistic expectation with a good tune. Did I ever send you the replies he gave me? IIRC he said the HKS unit produced about 400 hp when it came out so I would think with your better than stock mods and a larger wheel you should be able to manage that fairly easily. I think Mike said that the HKS housing will accept up to a 37R wheel but unless you wanted to have some serious machining done you can only run it as a journal turbo since HKS didn't produce any BB cartridges in that size.

If I didn't send you the information he gave me, drop me a PM with your email and I'll forward it to you. Might be worth comparing prices. My personal opinion is to stick with something like this in terms of a build. The HKS unit is incredibly cool and a wonderful piece of nostalgia and history to run on a car, but in terms of performance it has been superseded by modern technology. Consequently it makes no sense to me to spend upwards of 1000 bucks on having it machined to fit a BB cartridge when the limitations in the design of the older technology mean it will never make the same power as a modern unit. It makes far more sense to do what you are doing. Stick with a journal bearing, put in a slightly bigger wheel at a cost comparable to that of a basic rebuild and then go for a realistic streetable power goal.

Paul