ok guys so im sure the title makes you think im hard on my car but actually im very good to it and dont understand why ive blown two turbos in a years time? it seems to be an exhaust temp issue because if im rolling 60 down the highway and boost it to 120mph and pull over (leave the car running) and raise the hood the exhaust side is already so hot that it is glowing almost orange? ive gotta zzp tune thats suppose to be 22psi but according to the stock boost gauge im spiking 26 sometimes 27 and then it stays at a constant 24-25ish all the way to the red line.....not that this is the problem though cuz theres all kinds of people running 25 psi on the stock turbo right?

 

I run my turbo out of its efficiency range and then it breaks. I wonder why.

 

if you are pushing them they will break, point case period, don't want them to blow at 25psi, either upgrade it or turn the boost down

 

That.

Either get a new tune with lower boost, or get an upgraded turbo with a new tune. Either way, your tune needs to be adjusted or you're having some kind of issue that's causing the boost spikes. Maybe one of the tuners can chime in with some ideas on what would cause that. Anytime you're running into higher boost than your waste gate duty cycle and desired torque are requiring, something is wrong.

 

Downshift, pull, upshift. Stop lugging the thing.

 

I've seen a lot of turbo manifolds glow after some abuse. Seems pretty normal from my experience.

 

who says im lugging it? just cuz i said a 60 pull to 120 didnt mean oh hey lets try it in 4th or 5th....if your gonna be a smart ass then just go lay down cuz no one pulled your chain

 

yea this is what i figured but i wanted to make sure since there are a few on here pushing the stock turbo to this point but what sucks is i bought the canned 22psi tune and its clearly not in spec of whats advertised (nothing against zzp)

 

oh thanks man just looking for some friends with knowledge to share about this turbo like oh for instances the safe range for it? but thats too much to ask without a smart ass answer?

 

pretty sure 22-23 is safe range

 

thank you.

 

i think ill get ahold of zzp tomorrow and see if i can send my computer in to retune it or at leave investigate maybe something just isnt set up right

 

It's a mid 30 lb/ min turbo what do you expect? If you knew anything about it you wouldn't have to ask. Usually people research mods before they do them. Have you ever looked at a flow chart for one?

 

If you're not going to give complete information expect incomplete answer, fair enough?

 

Be sure to read ZZP's thread on "does it need a retune?" They go over some stuff in that thread for you to look out for.

 

yea the only reason i didnt send it back was cuz when i installed it i talked to matt and explained it and he said 24 or 25ish psi was ok and that this tune varies from car to car but im calling them tomorrow to see about a re tune

 

yea your right it was incomplete i just thought since your so smart that you would realize i dont lug it since i stated before hand that ive been very good to my car

 

Some people have no idea that lugging it (running at lower RPMS) ISN"T good?

How am I supposed to know what you think being nice is?

Again, complete info gets complete answers.

 

ok my bad i took you all wrong at first man......but yea ive never bogged the car ive never ran it hard and shut it off before cooling it down, ive never boosted and the car not be at operating temp and ive never let someone drive it without me in the car to make sure they dont abuse my car. but with all this said everything ive learned about turbos and cobalts has came from this very forum and im eager to learn more. that was the main reason I posted a thread on this. i dont want it to happen again and i love this car and want it to run smooth

 

Wasn't Cobe running the zzp canned tune as well? He was also supposed to be at 22 psi but his was running 24-25 psi and would spike up to 27 psi. That's two cars who are running the zzp canned tune at "22" psi who have blown their turbos lately. Coincidence? Idk.

 

haha everyone said dont go with a canned tune but i did it anyway lol so ive found a couple turbos both used and new but when i get a new one ill either be stock or retuned or even better dyno tuned lol

 

:flamesuit:

 

I think the "canned" tune is the issue, for a matter of fact it's been an issue for years on modded cars. It's not dialed in for the mods so for all you know your fuel trims could be out in ****, you could be running lean and that's why your exhaust is glowing due to all the heat you're creating, I'm sure the cat is crying for help as well. Get a real tune if you want to push the car, I also don't suggest doing 60-120 pulls and then pulling over right away to look at your stuff without driving a bit to let things cool down. Ever watch nascar? it's kind of similar why they do a cool down lap at the end after finish lap to avoid heat soaking issues.

 

Well here's a fix. Dont be cheap and use a "canned" tune... As it's most certainly not setup for your car and where you live IE altitude and weather! I hope you get it figured out but now atleast you know the right PSI range for the stock turbo. Good luck happy modding!

 

According to Dave at Performance Autowerks: "The K04 becomes inefficient above ~23 psi."

I assume it's because air gets HOT when you compress it, and the intercooling system probably can't cool it well enough by the time it gets back into the intake manifold.

Also, I would NEVER go with a non-dyno tune. Not bashing those who do, but here's an example of why I would never do it.

- When I went to PWerks to get my first tune, Dave thought I had 3 Bar MAP sensors at that time. He tried to spike 26psi and the fuel trims got REALLY F*cked up and the car spit smoke and didn't go above 4k rpm.

Imagine if someone did that same accident, but you were 1,000 miles away. It's not a big deal if you're right there and you're like "oh crap that was a silly mistake" and correct it. But if you start pushing the car to try and figure out whats happening.... bye bye cobalt.