I was at my friends restoration shop called amazing z's in houston and I saw a turbo on his bench. I remember thinking damn that thing is little. How much boost can you push out of them? Looks like a max at 10psi I mean how could you really get much more frome such small compressor turbine? with the smallness of them you don't have such a turbo lag problem do you?

 

If you're talking about the T3, yeah, you can get more than 10psi out of them. Lag isn't really an issue on a turbo this small either. Some of the newer turbos based on the T3 are even quicker at spooling due to their design though. But the T3 is definitely not the smallest turbo either.

 

Any turbo can crank out a high pressure... just let it fly w/o opening the wastegate. The issue to be looked at, is VOLUME: How much air it can flow. The T3 Nissan used in the 280ZXT & Z31T was a good stock turbo, but yes, there are always better parts out there.

 

yea I saw a video were a guy stuck a turkey caller in his wast gate line so when he let off the throttle, all you heard was this long turkey call.

 

http://64.225.76.178/main.htm

 

It's true, you can get at least 14 pounds of boost from the T3 that I know of for sure. I had a blue 88 Ford Ranger that had an 85 Turbo Coupe Thunderbird engine in it. It was built in Jacksonville Florida and if anybody in here is from there you may have seen it a few years back. When I got it, about 5 pounds of boost was all it would make so I replaced the ripped vaccume line on the waste gate and built my own manual boost controller and got 14 out of it. I tried 15 but as soon as it hit 15 it fell on its own face. I think it has alot to do with compression on the engine as to just how much boost the turbo will make. I had almost the identical problem on a 1987 Shelby Charger GLHS back in 1999 but as soon as I replaced the wastegate vaccume line on that and it made its full factory boost the passenger side CV axle shot out of the car...F#*K!!!! That was one evil car! Also a T3 turbo I belive, I would not shy away from this turbo just because it looks small.

 

The static compression of the motor doesn't determine how much boost the turbo will make, only how much boost the engine can take without significant and PRECISE fuel management.