I was at the track yesterday and the car felt very down on power compared to what I am used to, there was a sense of hesitation in the throttle and my top speed on the straights was miles below what I normally get to.
At first I thought I just needed a re tune, my car has been blowing a lot more smoke than normal lately so I put it down to that.
Then it started doing this:
There were times when it was blowing considerably more smoke but I didn't catch that on camera. I've done nearly 60000km's and dozens of track days so it's not really all that surprising but I would have thought I would get more out of the original turbo.
Now this leaves me with a dilemma, provided I can have the smokey turbo diagnosis confirmed, I will then need to look at options to repair/refurbish/replace it.
I don't want a big turbo. I want something that is as responsive as the KO4 if not more, if that means getting another KO4 then so be it.
While i'm at it I might start looking at prices for HPFP and a new TMIC because if I get a turbo that flows any better than the KO4 then those things will start becoming serious limitations.
If I get another KO4 then I might as well look into the smokey turbo fix that has been applied to some warranty jobs as well where the rocker cover and PCV re route are done in the hope that the replacement will last a little longer than the original!
So, who can tell me what turbos are direct bolt ons, what refurbishment options are there for a smoking turbo? I want something that bolts straight up to the stock manifold and DP. From the looks of it BNR stage 1 is probably the best bet, but if there's something else out there that is basically a ball bearing KO4 for a reasonable price then I damn well want to hear about it!
A qyucj search on ebay finds this: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/NEW-POWER...p2054897.l4275
Will @LittleredMPS and @MPS2NV be interested in a weekend turbo swap? Especially once your dream shed is fully fitted out Mitch? I will start talking to Tunehouse about repair options but I've got a feeling they will price themselves out of contention for parts + labour.