Instead of settling for a 10 year old turbo, maybe you should look into getting a GTD1752VRK or a GTD1756VRK that will spool faster and have just as much power, if not more.
Good luck with figuring out what turbo to go with. I'm going to be upgrading my turbo sometime in the future and will be following along to see which turbo you go with.
Newer is fine, this is all early paper research for a future build anyway. I budget out future upgrades for a vehicle on paper and plan before I even buy the car it's for.
I'm aware that turbo upgrades (according to the FAQ) are not considered a good 'value' for just the raw power but part of the economics is meant to be improved towing durability at the same time.
My turbo buying is at least a year off though assuming I try to get the car next summer.
And another thing, I've driven my car hard its entire life. The 1756 didnt take long before it started pushing oil.
I don't mind going bigger IF it's actually stronger, i'm just afraid of going too big and losing low end torque. What made me say 1756 to begin with was several people advising that as a good compromise size based on what I was saying about towing.
If I can go to a bigger turbo, push more air, have cooler EGT, and it still tows heavy weights fine getting it started and all that, then that's an option too. It just sounds like I shouldn't go smaller. But at some point too big is too big. Like i'm wondering if I tuned for 125-145hp of fuel at the beginning would a 1756 be too much turbo? If so I better plan to do it all as a package at the same time instead of an early upgrade.
Plus I might buy used from someone else's upgrade project so I was trying to figure out a range of possible turbo options to contemplate.
Whatever frame size you choose - 17/20/22 - it mostly boils down to an exercise of the compromise between low-end torque and transient response.
Regardless, go with the latest possible generation turbo you can get at your chosen frame size. There are stepwise improvements to be had GTD > GTC > GTB > GTA > GT.
And avoid "Frankenstein" or DIY/vendor-cobbled hybrids and go with a full OEM solution if you want the turbo to last.
Thanks for the suggestion. Mostly I was trying to figure out for instance what is the minimum horsepower that a 1756 turbo still works at without falling off a cliff, ie how early in a power upgrade should I add it. If I can do it all at once (injectors, turbo, etc) that's easier, if I cant I was wondering if I can progressively upgrade starting with the turbo to get cooler EGT's.