Category: Twin turbo

This is an interesting test on a 4G63, as a twin turbo setup, undermanifold on an RB26 has a relatively small tube diameter, and is fairly short.  Most single turbo setup manifolds have a lot of volume to fill before they start to push on the exhaust wheel. This effects response and power production, up to a point. 

Twin scroll vs single scroll.  Not every exhaust manifold, not every exhaust housing is setup for twin scroll.  The advantage of a twin scroll is that it takes advantage of exhaust pulses to add time between exhaust events. Dsport Magazine has a great explanation here.   A twin turbo exhaust manifold on an inline 6 cylinder engine, like an RB26, does this naturally. 

OEM RB26 vs N1 Exhaust manifolds  Thanks Brook

All this talk about exhaust manifolds and no talk about turbos yet.   The OEM R32, R33, and R34 GT-R turbos, on the “normal, and Vspec” cars are all ceramic exhaust wheels. There are some cars that have metal turbine wheels, the Nismos, the later N1 cars, a few others, but generally they are ceramic. Being ceramic is awesome for weight.  The lighter the wheel, the easier it is for the exhaust energy to act on the exhaust wheel. The exhaust wheel is mechanically coupled to the compressor wheel, so the easier it is to push that, the sooner that the compressor wheel, starts compressing, the sooner the magic happens. However, ceramic wheels are somewhat fragile. Or, really just not as durable as a metal wheel would be a better statement.  

Lots more turbo information and charts over here –  https://www.gtrusablog.com/2010/05/nissan-gt-r-turbos-r32-r33-r34-r35_06.html

Nissan Skyline GT-R Turbocharger Part Numbers

Part	Part Number	Designed Output
BNR32 Stock Ceramic (1989-1991)	14411-05U20
BNR32 Stock Ceramic (1991-1993)	14411-05U21
BNR32 Stock Ceramic (1991-1993)	14411-05U22
BNR32 NISMO OEM	14411-06U00	300PS
BCNR33 N1	14411-24U10	280 PS
NISMO GT LeMans	14411-RS581	320 PS

Turbo inlet gasket T28 Nissan – 14465-54C00

Twin Turbo gasket kit – 14401-05U25

Exhaust manifold turbo locking tab 14495-17F00

On the exhaust side, you can 100% have too small an exhaust housing. There is a point, when no matter what you do, you have so much backpressure across the turbo, turning it up anymore, doesn’t gain anywhere near the amount you think you should.  It is something that isn’t talked about a lot in the turbo world.  Some people assume the smallest exhaust housing will give them the best spool, minimize lag, and still be able to make power. However once you get above the 1:1 ratio of boost to backpressure, you are done.  In the video below, Gale Banks explains boost to backpressure ratio. He knows his way around turbochargers, you should listen to what he has to say. You will probably learn something. 

Billet wheels vs cast compressor wheels. 

•  A Billet Compressor Wheel compared to a Cast Compressor Wheel offers NO GAIN in performance by its material alone. Some have argued that they can be made lighter for better spool, or that they can be made with more aggressive fin designed due to there better sheer strength. While that MIGHT be true, we have seen no conclusive evidence or study that has proven this so we have to rule it out for now and say it’s NOT FACTUAL even though it MIGHT be true.

Billet wheels CAN, again that is CAN, perform better. Because they can be a low production run of wheels, there flow and performance can be tailored to running a specific pressure ratio (PR) or to have a certain amount of peak flow, or surge line capability, or be able to jump on new blade design technology faster since there is no need to delay the technology getting to market because of setting up machining and tooling.

So that all is just some notes about why and what may or may not work. You need to have knowledge of that in order to make some good choices for your twin turbocharger setup.

ATP Turbo sells a number of bolt on Garrett choices for the RB26dett.  The horsepower ratings are at the engine, and in the best most perfect world that unicorns live in.  In the real world, on 91 octane fuel, and 1 bar of boost, your output will vary greatly.   As a general idea, the Nismos will do about 400 wheel in a pair, the N1 about 425 wheel in a pair, 2530 about 500 wheel in a pair, and -10 about 550 wheel in a pair. E85, wound up, magic dyno correction will all vary your numbers. 

The first, most basic, and cheapest starts off with a Nismo turbo equivalent. They come in at $800 each, have a 0.64 exhaust housing, and in theory will do about 300 hp per turbo.  It has a 60 mm compressor wheel, and a 53 mm exhaust wheel.  It has a journal bearing, aka not ball bearing center section.  We have used these turbos. 

The next turbo worth talking about in a twin turbo setup, would be a -7 or N1. They are just over $1000 each, have a 0.64 exhaust housing, and in theory will do up to 310 hp per turbo.  60mm compressor wheel, and a 53.85 mm exhaust wheel. It is a ball bearing center section.  We have used these turbos.

The next turbo you have heard of. You must have heard of. It’s the 2530, at least when HKS was selling it.  The turbos that Mines ran on their R34.  The 2860-5. They are under $1000 each, probably because of popularity. They have a .64 exhaust housing, and will do up to 350 hp per turbo in theory. 60mm compressor wheel, and a 53.85 mm exhaust wheel. It has a ball bearing center section. We have used these turbos. 

The next turbos we have not used, but have seen results from testing.  $3200 for a pair of Gen2 GTX2860R. They have a .64 exhaust housing, and they say they will do 450 hp per turbo. 60mm compressor wheel, and a 54mm exhaust wheel. They have a ball bearing center section. 

Next up in the Gen2 lineup, are the GTX2867. Also $3200 for a pair. They have a .64 exhaust housing, and say they will do 500 hp per turbo. 67mm compressor wheel, and a 54 mm exhaust wheel. They have a ball bearing center section. 

After those turbos, we have posted about some other turbo options for Big Bird 2. That information is below. 

To make the kind of power we want, the minimum sized turbo we would be looking at is something like the HKS GT-RS or the 2871-R.  AKA a 2871-10  707160-10.  We have done over 600 wheel horsepower on a 2.8 with these turbos. Response was good, when cam timing was tuned correctly.  These are bolt on RB26 turbos.  53 mm inducer, 71 mm exducer on the compressor side, 54 mm inducer and 47 mm on the turbine side. 76 trim, with a 0.64 A/R. In the meat of the efficiency they flow about 35 lb/min airflow at 2.5 pressure ratio on the compressor. Exhaust side with the 0.64 trim maxes out at about 17 lb/min at 2.5 pressure ratio.  These are older turbos, but they work, are proven, and easy.

GTX2971R turbocharger from Garrett and ATP

Garrett GTX2971R dual ball bearing turbo for the Nissan Skyline RB26DETT platform. Direct drop-in upgrade turbo for the stock Nissan Skyline RB26DETT twin turbochargers.
The GTX2971R features an ultra high flow compressor wheel and Garrett 11-Blade technology. 560HP potential flow.

These are pretty huge. 54.1 mm inducer. 71.4 exducer on the compressor side.  56.5 mm inducer and 53.6 mm exducer on the turbine side. In the meat of the efficiency they flow about 40 lb/min airflow at 2.5 pressure ratio on the compressor. Exhaust side with the 0.64 trim maxes out at about 19 lb/min at 2.5 pressure ratio. In theory these should do about 100 horsepower over the GT-RS at the same boost levels.  But wait, there is more.  The next step up in the GTX bolt on RB26 lineup.

GTX2976R turbocharger from Garrett and ATP

Garrett GTX2976R dual ball bearing turbo for the Nissan Skyline RB26DETT platform. Direct drop-in upgrade turbo for the stock Nissan Skyline RB26DETT twin turbochargers.The GTX2976R features an ultra high flow compressor wheel and Garrett 11-Blade technology. +600HP potential flow.

If the last ones were big, well these are more bigger. 58 mm inducer, 76.6 mm exducer. However the exhaust side is the same.  We have run into issues in the past when, even stepping up the compressor side, we saw no more power as the turbine was just tapped out.  We think this could be a possibility here with this turbo. In the meat of the efficiency they flow about 45 lb/min airflow at 2.5 pressure ratio on the compressor. Exhaust side with the 0.64 trim maxes out at about 19 lb/min at 2.5 pressure ratio. Again in theory another 100 horsepower over the GTX2971, 200 horsepower over the GT-RS turbos.

Gen II GX 2876R bolt on RB26dett turbos

One other potential option is the Gen II GTX 2867R

Garrett GEN2 GTX2867R dual ball bearing Twin Turbochargers for the Nissan Skyline GT-R RB26DETT. Supports 1,000HP+ in twin turbo configuration.

50mm inducer, 67 mm exducer on the compressor side. 54 mm inducer and 47 mm exducer on the turbine side. Right around 35 lbs/min on the compressor, and about 17 lbs/min on the exhaust side.  Even if the compressor side is better, if the exhaust won’t let the flow, it will not make any more horsepower.  They say the new GenII wheel can produce up to 20% more than the previous version.

Where theories and realities meet are on the dyno. When working on another vehicle, we did several hotswaps of a single turbo setup with different turbocharger setups. The exhaust housing stayed the same, and even with three different turbos, we saw almost the same amount of power. Until we swapped exhaust housings did we see more power. Everything shifted right about 300 rpm, but we gained the power we were expecting.  We were not logging exhaust backpressure pre turbo, but it is something you should think of logging if you are serious.

Then there are some other options now, that this car has the JGTC manifolds. Those include the new G series turbos.  Those will not be exact bolt on, and they won’t work for most, so using them may not really gather much real data.  

The G25-550 – 48 mm inducer, 60 mm exducer compressor side, 54 mm inducer 49 mm exducer on the turbine side. Compressor flows about 32 lbs/min at 2.5 pressure ratio. The T25 flanged exhaust side is a 0.49 trim, and flows about 15 lbs/min at 2.5 pressure ratio.

G25-660.  54 mm inducer 67 mm exducer on the compressor side. 54 mm inducer and 49 mm exducer on the turbine side. That turbine side, could be an issue with making power on a T25 footprint.  Compressor flows about 42 lbs/min at 2.5 pressure ratio, the exhaust is still about 15 lbs/min at 2.5 pressure ratio.

Buy USA Legal R32 and R33 Skylines at Importavehicle.com!
Index and Start Page

This is an interesting test on a 4G63, as a twin turbo setup, undermanifold on an RB26 has a relatively small tube diameter, and is fairly short.  Most single turbo setup manifolds have a lot of volume to fill before they start to push on the exhaust wheel. This effects response and power production, up to a point. 

Twin scroll vs single scroll.  Not every exhaust manifold, not every exhaust housing is setup for twin scroll.  The advantage of a twin scroll is that it takes advantage of exhaust pulses to add time between exhaust events. Dsport Magazine has a great explanation here.   A twin turbo exhaust manifold on an inline 6 cylinder engine, like an RB26, does this naturally. 

OEM RB26 vs N1 Exhaust manifolds  Thanks Brook

All this talk about exhaust manifolds and no talk about turbos yet.   The OEM R32, R33, and R34 GT-R turbos, on the “normal, and Vspec” cars are all ceramic exhaust wheels. There are some cars that have metal turbine wheels, the Nismos, the later N1 cars, a few others, but generally they are ceramic. Being ceramic is awesome for weight.  The lighter the wheel, the easier it is for the exhaust energy to act on the exhaust wheel. The exhaust wheel is mechanically coupled to the compressor wheel, so the easier it is to push that, the sooner that the compressor wheel, starts compressing, the sooner the magic happens. However, ceramic wheels are somewhat fragile. Or, really just not as durable as a metal wheel would be a better statement.  

Lots more turbo information and charts over here –  https://www.gtrusablog.com/2010/05/nissan-gt-r-turbos-r32-r33-r34-r35_06.html

Nissan Skyline GT-R Turbocharger Part Numbers

Part	Part Number	Designed Output
BNR32 Stock Ceramic (1989-1991)	14411-05U20
BNR32 Stock Ceramic (1991-1993)	14411-05U21
BNR32 Stock Ceramic (1991-1993)	14411-05U22
BNR32 NISMO OEM	14411-06U00	300PS
BCNR33 N1	14411-24U10	280 PS
NISMO GT LeMans	14411-RS581	320 PS

Turbo inlet gasket T28 Nissan – 14465-54C00

Twin Turbo gasket kit – 14401-05U25

Exhaust manifold turbo locking tab 14495-17F00

On the exhaust side, you can 100% have too small an exhaust housing. There is a point, when no matter what you do, you have so much backpressure across the turbo, turning it up anymore, doesn’t gain anywhere near the amount you think you should.  It is something that isn’t talked about a lot in the turbo world.  Some people assume the smallest exhaust housing will give them the best spool, minimize lag, and still be able to make power. However once you get above the 1:1 ratio of boost to backpressure, you are done.  In the video below, Gale Banks explains boost to backpressure ratio. He knows his way around turbochargers, you should listen to what he has to say. You will probably learn something. 

Billet wheels vs cast compressor wheels. 

•  A Billet Compressor Wheel compared to a Cast Compressor Wheel offers NO GAIN in performance by its material alone. Some have argued that they can be made lighter for better spool, or that they can be made with more aggressive fin designed due to there better sheer strength. While that MIGHT be true, we have seen no conclusive evidence or study that has proven this so we have to rule it out for now and say it’s NOT FACTUAL even though it MIGHT be true.

Billet wheels CAN, again that is CAN, perform better. Because they can be a low production run of wheels, there flow and performance can be tailored to running a specific pressure ratio (PR) or to have a certain amount of peak flow, or surge line capability, or be able to jump on new blade design technology faster since there is no need to delay the technology getting to market because of setting up machining and tooling.

So that all is just some notes about why and what may or may not work. You need to have knowledge of that in order to make some good choices for your twin turbocharger setup.

ATP Turbo sells a number of bolt on Garrett choices for the RB26dett.  The horsepower ratings are at the engine, and in the best most perfect world that unicorns live in.  In the real world, on 91 octane fuel, and 1 bar of boost, your output will vary greatly.   As a general idea, the Nismos will do about 400 wheel in a pair, the N1 about 425 wheel in a pair, 2530 about 500 wheel in a pair, and -10 about 550 wheel in a pair. E85, wound up, magic dyno correction will all vary your numbers. 

The first, most basic, and cheapest starts off with a Nismo turbo equivalent. They come in at $800 each, have a 0.64 exhaust housing, and in theory will do about 300 hp per turbo.  It has a 60 mm compressor wheel, and a 53 mm exhaust wheel.  It has a journal bearing, aka not ball bearing center section.  We have used these turbos. 

The next turbo worth talking about in a twin turbo setup, would be a -7 or N1. They are just over $1000 each, have a 0.64 exhaust housing, and in theory will do up to 310 hp per turbo.  60mm compressor wheel, and a 53.85 mm exhaust wheel. It is a ball bearing center section.  We have used these turbos.

The next turbo you have heard of. You must have heard of. It’s the 2530, at least when HKS was selling it.  The turbos that Mines ran on their R34.  The 2860-5. They are under $1000 each, probably because of popularity. They have a .64 exhaust housing, and will do up to 350 hp per turbo in theory. 60mm compressor wheel, and a 53.85 mm exhaust wheel. It has a ball bearing center section. We have used these turbos. 

The next turbos we have not used, but have seen results from testing.  $3200 for a pair of Gen2 GTX2860R. They have a .64 exhaust housing, and they say they will do 450 hp per turbo. 60mm compressor wheel, and a 54mm exhaust wheel. They have a ball bearing center section. 

Next up in the Gen2 lineup, are the GTX2867. Also $3200 for a pair. They have a .64 exhaust housing, and say they will do 500 hp per turbo. 67mm compressor wheel, and a 54 mm exhaust wheel. They have a ball bearing center section. 

After those turbos, we have posted about some other turbo options for Big Bird 2. That information is below. 

To make the kind of power we want, the minimum sized turbo we would be looking at is something like the HKS GT-RS or the 2871-R.  AKA a 2871-10  707160-10.  We have done over 600 wheel horsepower on a 2.8 with these turbos. Response was good, when cam timing was tuned correctly.  These are bolt on RB26 turbos.  53 mm inducer, 71 mm exducer on the compressor side, 54 mm inducer and 47 mm on the turbine side. 76 trim, with a 0.64 A/R. In the meat of the efficiency they flow about 35 lb/min airflow at 2.5 pressure ratio on the compressor. Exhaust side with the 0.64 trim maxes out at about 17 lb/min at 2.5 pressure ratio.  These are older turbos, but they work, are proven, and easy.

GTX2971R turbocharger from Garrett and ATP

Garrett GTX2971R dual ball bearing turbo for the Nissan Skyline RB26DETT platform. Direct drop-in upgrade turbo for the stock Nissan Skyline RB26DETT twin turbochargers.
The GTX2971R features an ultra high flow compressor wheel and Garrett 11-Blade technology. 560HP potential flow.

These are pretty huge. 54.1 mm inducer. 71.4 exducer on the compressor side.  56.5 mm inducer and 53.6 mm exducer on the turbine side. In the meat of the efficiency they flow about 40 lb/min airflow at 2.5 pressure ratio on the compressor. Exhaust side with the 0.64 trim maxes out at about 19 lb/min at 2.5 pressure ratio. In theory these should do about 100 horsepower over the GT-RS at the same boost levels.  But wait, there is more.  The next step up in the GTX bolt on RB26 lineup.

GTX2976R turbocharger from Garrett and ATP

Garrett GTX2976R dual ball bearing turbo for the Nissan Skyline RB26DETT platform. Direct drop-in upgrade turbo for the stock Nissan Skyline RB26DETT twin turbochargers.The GTX2976R features an ultra high flow compressor wheel and Garrett 11-Blade technology. +600HP potential flow.

If the last ones were big, well these are more bigger. 58 mm inducer, 76.6 mm exducer. However the exhaust side is the same.  We have run into issues in the past when, even stepping up the compressor side, we saw no more power as the turbine was just tapped out.  We think this could be a possibility here with this turbo. In the meat of the efficiency they flow about 45 lb/min airflow at 2.5 pressure ratio on the compressor. Exhaust side with the 0.64 trim maxes out at about 19 lb/min at 2.5 pressure ratio. Again in theory another 100 horsepower over the GTX2971, 200 horsepower over the GT-RS turbos.

Gen II GX 2876R bolt on RB26dett turbos

One other potential option is the Gen II GTX 2867R

Garrett GEN2 GTX2867R dual ball bearing Twin Turbochargers for the Nissan Skyline GT-R RB26DETT. Supports 1,000HP+ in twin turbo configuration.

50mm inducer, 67 mm exducer on the compressor side. 54 mm inducer and 47 mm exducer on the turbine side. Right around 35 lbs/min on the compressor, and about 17 lbs/min on the exhaust side.  Even if the compressor side is better, if the exhaust won’t let the flow, it will not make any more horsepower.  They say the new GenII wheel can produce up to 20% more than the previous version.

Where theories and realities meet are on the dyno. When working on another vehicle, we did several hotswaps of a single turbo setup with different turbocharger setups. The exhaust housing stayed the same, and even with three different turbos, we saw almost the same amount of power. Until we swapped exhaust housings did we see more power. Everything shifted right about 300 rpm, but we gained the power we were expecting.  We were not logging exhaust backpressure pre turbo, but it is something you should think of logging if you are serious.

Then there are some other options now, that this car has the JGTC manifolds. Those include the new G series turbos.  Those will not be exact bolt on, and they won’t work for most, so using them may not really gather much real data.  

The G25-550 – 48 mm inducer, 60 mm exducer compressor side, 54 mm inducer 49 mm exducer on the turbine side. Compressor flows about 32 lbs/min at 2.5 pressure ratio. The T25 flanged exhaust side is a 0.49 trim, and flows about 15 lbs/min at 2.5 pressure ratio.

G25-660.  54 mm inducer 67 mm exducer on the compressor side. 54 mm inducer and 49 mm exducer on the turbine side. That turbine side, could be an issue with making power on a T25 footprint.  Compressor flows about 42 lbs/min at 2.5 pressure ratio, the exhaust is still about 15 lbs/min at 2.5 pressure ratio.

Buy USA Legal R32 and R33 Skylines at Importavehicle.com!
Index and Start Page