So I am in the market for a turbo on my EVO 8. I have searched and searched and found some small comparisons but nothing to what I am looking for.
In my sig you will see my mods. I am torn between a JB Map Ef3 turbo ($1800) and the BB Fp Red ($2500)
This car is just a street car with a quarter mile run here and there just to see what I can do with it. Where I am from e85 is way to spread apart so it is not really an option yet. So 93 pump gas is my fuel. My goal is to hit the 450-475whp mark. The price difference is where I dont know what I should do. I have the $ for the BB red so I should prolly go with it right?
Just dont know if I could save the $700 and go with the ef3. Lately I have been hearing alot of bad things about the ef3 and its Journal bearings. does this have any merit?

I am about a week away from pulling the trigger on a turbo so any advice would be great. And I have already made my decision with the red, not the green or black altho I might, I might go with the black. Just not the green.

Any help would be great

 

I have heard nothing negative about MAP's turbos. However, I do personally know of some FP failures.

http://turbos.maperformance.com/evo-turbos.html

On the very top of MAP's website they say "customer satisfaction is our highest priority." Also, if you are not satisfied with the turbo you can send it back within 30 days for full purchase price.

What about spending that extra $700 on another upgrade? Perhaps a MAP ported and coated intake manifold?

Even if the spool rate of the EF3 is a couple hundred rpms slower than the BB Red, it might not be a bad idea since you are on the stock block. Any plans of building it?

Also, check out CBRD's turbo line!!

 

If your looking for 450-475whp and to run e85 I would say go for the red! But for 93 oct Just go for the black. Also BB over the JB any day and it will spool faster and be more reliable.

 

If you look at my SIG I have the ported and coated Mani already.

 

I said intake manifold, not exhaust. Maybe look into a throttle body too. Good luck

 

Sorry man my bad. Ya I have heard some issues with the Ef3 and blowing up quick.
But everyone hears different stuff and has different experiences. I am just looking into what is the better and longer lasting turbo, which tho I know is a loaded question.

 

My current CBRD JB BBK Full has about 65k miles on it and has run 30psi its whole life..

 

The main push from the BB vs JB thing is that you really need a BB to RELIABLY push over 30 PSI. MAP, FP, and CBRD have always been good to me, but I have found that MAP and CBRD have better customer service and faster turn around on things.

At any rate, if you are just street driving and some light drag racing, you can't go wrong with either one. I guarantee that you will NOT notice the spool difference. I mean hell, you'd have to be shifting UNDER 4k rpm to notice the difference, and who the hell does that when you are actually driving the car? Then for DD purposes, the extra lag will be beneficial to keep you out of boost and get better gas mileage.

All-in-all, it's up to you. I have a BBK Full with all the supporting mods. Pump gas gets 400hp and just under 400 tq. Turn on the meth injection and I get about an extra 60 of each.

That's good enough for me until I build the motor and then I'll go with a BBK C or something similar.

The bottom line is, neither of these things are bad turbos. My suggestion would be to try and drive one of each and make your decision that way... Or at least drive one and decide if you can live with 200 rpm less spool and save your money for other mods.

 

I guess I had a guy who really knows his Evos and he is going to be installing alot of my mods tell me that he has alot of problems with the JB ef3 and that is what kind of made me think about throwing out the extra $700 for an FP. He said the BB will last a long long time at that power level as long as my TQ is around 420. I think I am just gonna bite the $ bullet and get the BB fp. Ive heard alot of guys say the BB red is a great turbo and to take that above the EF3.

 

No one has had "a lot of problems with the EF3" outside of some isolated wastegate issues with Evo X variations only (which has been rectified here), in fact I can't think of a bearing failure on an EF3 off the top of my head, but to each their own I guess.

 

I will comment based on your desired goals of 450whp on 93-octane.

The EF3 will be the better choice as it is slightly larger than the FP Red and can achieve those goals easier.

Good luck!

 

For the relatively minimal cost difference I would go with the BB option. I run a journal bearing BBK-Full, but for a larger turbo there is a reason that FP has gone to BB on the larger options, and CBRD has as well. The larger turbos from the other manufacturers were causing a lot of turbo failures and required very specific oiling requirements etc. BB is more reliable, and spools faster anyway, so given the option its a no brainer to me.

 

^^this is why I am thinking about going with the BB red. No offense to MAP tho as they are a great company and their customer service is 2nd to none and if there EF3 was a BB I would probably go with them. I order all my parts through them and use alot of their other product. But in this case I am gonna go with a BB turbo.

 

Everyone is knockin jb turbos anymore. I have been in an evo with an old school jb red and a new bb red and couldnt tell a difference. Pulled the same, same power, no noticeable spool difference. U could see the difference on the dyno but not on the road. I would go with a map ef3. Im personally thinkin bout gettin an ef3 as well. I was in the same boat as u.

 

Nothing wrong with journal bearing, they just dont handle momentary oil starvation very well. That is one of the factors that prompted the switch to BB center sections. There is however a definite difference in transient response between the 2 that I have seen.