Garrett Turbocharger families, Choosing a turbo for Honda, Mitsubishi, and Toyota 4 cylinder cars ect.

Garrett makes alot of turbos , but when choosing a turbo you should know the BASIC characteristics. This won't make you an expert but you will outsmart that Honda punk with the TO4E ! Don't be dazzled by the biggest turbo you can find or it will be " just for looks".

Turbocharger familiesThe T25 family = super fast spooling "small" turbo that makes good low rpm torque, but lacks top end power. This turbocharger is commonly used where throttle response and low rpm torque are desired without much regard to high rpm power.

The T3 family = "intermediate turbo" that spools slower than a T25, but has the ability to make substantially more power than the T25 family. The T3 family is the most common series found on factory performance vehicles. When a OEM turbo car wants better perfomance they can simply Upgrade turbines or compressor type. They can make impressive power, but were known to be laggy. If you choose a T3 turbo get the SMALLEST one that meets your horsepower expectations to maintain the best drivability, torque and economy! The smallest are .42 AR but the most likely one to use on a car between 300-350HP is a .48AR

The T3/T4 Family= They are the common turbo for the single turbo 400-550 HP 4 cylinder and rotary applications. The boost does not start till 3000+ RPM and reach full boost around 3800+ RPM. This turbos efficiency is good in the 300+ Horse power range and Ideal for Road warriors like Honda, Mazda, Ford, Toyota scion ect. Take in mind that the engine must be reved high before there is boost so that means 60 foot times may be slow. Also this turbo is not ideal for anyone who is not going to run over 10psi Boost daily. You simply would not use it to its potential. I use a turbonetice T3/T4 now and it does not have boost until around 3500. Because the turbo is larger it also exerts drag ( like stuffing a potato in your muffler) until the compressor spools fast enough to overcome the power loss of the drag. The most use is found on 350-500 HP imports and that is when they have the oportunity to stomp the gas. The reaction on this family is slow 2-3 seconds depending on what RPM you are at.

The T04 family = "big turbo" that makes huge power, but is very very laggy. Without the beauty of being able to make a hybrid turbo, a T04 would probably not even be an option.The 3 main components that have the biggest impact on performance are the a/r of the turbine housing, the size (aka trim) of the tubine wheel, and the size (aka trim) of the compressor housing.

Common turbine housing a/r "sizes"T25: .64 a/r, .86 a/rT3: .36 a/r, .48 a/r, .63 a/r, .82 a/rT4: not listed...see why later(CivicRyda2K's addition)

Common compressor housing a/r "sizes"T3: .42 a/r, .50 a/r, .60 a/r, .82 a/rT4: .50 a/r, .60 a/r, .70 a/rIn a nutshell, the larger the a/r, the later the power comes. A small a/r gives you a fast spooling turbo but limits top-end power. A large a/r gives you a laggy turbo with big top-end power.

Common T25 turbines:DSM trim (?? not sure how big it is, but it's quite small)60 trim (small)76 trim (medium)Common T3 turbines:Stage 1 (small -- most common turbine on junkyard turbos)

Stage 2 (med)

Stage 3 (large -- most common turbine on new T3/T04 hybrids)

Stage 5 (very large)Common T04 turbines:I'm not gonna list any because I don't have info on them and the T4 turbines require so much exhaust energy to spin that they are practically unusable in our application unless you want insane lag and have got a motor that will spin to 10k every day.

Common T25 compressors:I'm not gonna list any. I do have some info on them, but for the most part, a T25 compressor will struggle to stay in its efficiency range on a boosted Honda.Common T3 compressors:40 trim (20lb/min -- haha...don't even think about it)45 trim (21lb/min)50 trim (30lb/min -- probably one of the most common on junkyard turbos, works well for SOHC and LS engines)60 trim (34lb/min -- biggest "production" T3 compressor, excellent power on D series/LS) <=== my old turbo "Super 60" (36lb/min -- note: this is NOT the "60-1" compressor)

Common T04B compressors:

S trim (37 lb/min)

V trim (48 lb/min)

H trim (49 lb/min)

Common T04E compressors:

40 trim (36 lbs/min)

46 trim (41 lbs/min) <=== my new turbo

50 trim (47 lbs/min)

54 trim (45 lbs/min -- note that the 54 trim flows less than the 50 trim)57 trim (49 lbs/min)60 trim (50 lbs/min)

Common T04S compressors:60-1 62-1 (bigger yet -- I believe this is a T04S compressor...correct this if it is wrong)

Performance (listed in order of increasing performance):

• A T25 is a straight T25 turbo --> T25 turbine + T25 compressorA




• T28 is a hybrid T25/T3 turbo --> T25 turbine + T3 compressorA




• T3 is a straight T3 turbo --> T3 turbine + T3 compressorA




• T3/T04B is a T3/T04B hybrid turbo --> T3 turbine + T04B compressor (used in Drag kits)




• T3/T04E is a T3/T04E hybrid turbo --> T3 turbine + T04E compressor ( This is the Turbonetics Turbo currently on the Talon)




• T3/60-1 is a T3/T04S hybrid turbo --> T3 turbine + T04S (60-1) compressor