To BB or not to BB?

[Danny_GTS]

I decided to go with a PTE 5857 turbo. Now, I don't know if to get it Ball bearing or journal bearing? I would prefer ball bearing, but not sure if the $550 extra make up for the spool up time. How much faster should it spool than the journal bearing cousin? Also, is it prone to break down easier? I know they are more expensive to repair... Opinions welcome!

[evilthorne]

Do it right the first time.

[smart_rocket]

it's not only about spool up time also reliability....

show us the math you did with your mods and this turbo...

[Smaay]

get the standard, at those power levels, you wont notice the 400RPM spool difference.

[chameleon]

I recently had to make this same decision. I just went with a journal bearing and saved the money.

At first I was pretty much set on getting a ball bearing turbo because of the epic fast spool times but I started to have doubts after looking at charts comparing the two types. The ball bearing turbo’s are only fractions of a second faster than a normal journal bearing turbo. This would be a big deal if you used the car for competitive purposes but for a guy like me who just wants a quick car to drive around on the street, a half second longer spool time is really not going to be all that noticeable to me.

So once the faster spool time was no longer a factor for my decision, I started to look at the reliability issue. Its true that a ball bearing turbo has less friction and copes better with shutdown but that doesn’t mean that a ball bearing turbo is reliable and a journal bearing turbo is not. Journal bearing turbos have been around for a long time and are used as OE by automakers for years and years; the bottom line is that if properly maintained, you can expect a long life from a journal bearing turbo. If your turbo does wear out, it’s much cheaper to rebuild the journal bearing.

So the only thing left to compare is the cost, and we all know that a ball bearing turbo is way more expensive than a journal bearing turbo. So for me, the spooling and reliability advantages of a ball bearing were not nearly great enough to justify spending the additional money to upgrade to that style of bearing.

[Danny_GTS]

I was leaning towards the journal bearing at first, but thought the spool up would be at least 800-1000 rpms earlier with the ball bearing one... Given that is not the case, I guess the journal bearing has more pros, being "more affordable" and easier to rebuild. Also, like smaay states, I guess I won't notice the difference at these power levels.

[smart_rocket]

I'd get a GTXR Turbo... and who said BB doesn't spool quicker?

[Danny_GTS]

and who said BB doesn't spool quicker?

No one said it doesn't spool quicker, just that at those power levels $550 for 500-700 rpms earlier isn't game for me...

[evilthorne]

I want full spool at idle...

haha

[Danny_GTS]

^
LOL, that'd be somehing!

[Boosted2.0]

I want full spool at idle...

haha

No problem - turn on launch control ;)

[Boosted2.0]

I decided to go with a PTE 5857 turbo. Now, I don't know if to get it Ball bearing or journal bearing? I would prefer ball bearing, but not sure if the $550 extra make up for the spool up time. How much faster should it spool than the journal bearing cousin? Also, is it prone to break down easier? I know they are more expensive to repair... Opinions welcome!

If you can afford it, it is nice to have.

Durability is the same. Repair is more expensive. As for whether its worth it? Thats something only you can answer. Unless you are road racing or autocrossing with it you probably won't notice much difference.

[marc]

driving feel/transient throttle reponse is a world of difference with a bb turbo vs. a traditional turbo.