How can I visually identify a VNT-17/22?

I have an opportunity to buy a turbo that was bought by somebody for a project that they abandoned. The turbo is brand new and never installed.


I'm told it is a VNT17/22, but there's no receipts to go with it as it was purchased a few years ago and they got lost along the way.
What concerns me is it's stamped Garrett "GT1749VA."


I know the "good" VNT17 is the "GT1749VB" version... But I do know that a 17/22 is a customized turbo, maybe the builders just used a different compressor housing ? How can I be sure before I buy as I can't exactly disassemble the turbo and measure the compressor diameter before purchasing.

This might help....

The 17/22 hybrid adds a larger 52mm compressor wheel and housing to the VNT17 (1749VB) hot side. Getting hard to find and when you do they are expensive! Lots of movement towards the newer GTB and GTD series like 1756 purchased from EU sources.


http://pics.tdiclub.com/showphoto.php?photo=129593&title=f17-22-turbo&cat=7017

kiwibru said:

This might help....

The 17/22 hybrid adds a larger 52mm compressor wheel and housing to the VNT17 (1749VB) hot side. Getting hard to find and when you do they are expensive! Lots of movement towards the newer GTB and GTD series like 1756 purchased from EU sources.


http://pics.tdiclub.com/showphoto.php?photo=129593&title=f17-22-turbo&cat=7017

Click to expand...

Hey thanks for the reply. I noticed right away the compressor housing in your photo looks like the VNT15 style. Here's a photo of the one I'm looking at:

That's not what Garrett would assemble as a 17/22. The compressor housing looks like it's from a VNT-17. Perhaps internals are modified, but the point of the 17/22 is the larger compressor housing to help airflow and spooling. And if it's labeled a VA it may be limited to 22 PSI boost instead of the 24 that a 17 VB can do, or the 28 that's a reasonable limit with a 17/22.

Is the hot side of this turbo one piece including the manifold? Can't see it in the photo. If not, it's probably a VNT-17 from a B5.5 Passat or similar. There a many better options for your car.

IndigoBlueWagon said:

That's not what Garrett would assemble as a 17/22. The compressor housing looks like it's from a VNT-17. Perhaps internals are modified, but the point of the 17/22 is the larger compressor housing to help airflow and spooling. And if it's labeled a VA it may be limited to 22 PSI boost instead of the 24 that a 17 VB can do, or the 28 that's a reasonable limit with a 17/22.

Is the hot side of this turbo one piece including the manifold? Can't see it in the photo. If not, it's probably a VNT-17 from a B5.5 Passat or similar. There a many better options for your car.

Click to expand...

Interesting. Here's the other two pictures I have of the exhaust side:

Turbo body looks like a normal VNT-17, not a 17/22. But that exhaust wheel looks different from stock, at least to me. So maybe it's modified.

diesel micah,


May I suggest before you spend more money on a turbo, go for a PD150 intake. That'll deliver a LOT more air. You've clearly got the mods, what are you trying to achieve? You racing the car?


After my recent install of the above, I'm in need of a remap of the fuelling side of things for my daily driver. I had to shift my IQ 5pts
to accommadate the extra flow.



I love my 17/22 and current setup with .230 Wuzetem nozzles. I could easily get more out of the engine, but at the cost of longevity
& reliability if I pursued the quest for MORE.



Got a 3bar map? Suspension? How much do your wheels weigh?


My $ .02 FWIW.

Rrusse11 said:

diesel micah,


May I suggest before you spend more money on a turbo, go for a PD150 intake. That'll deliver a LOT more air. You've clearly got the mods, what are you trying to achieve? You racing the car?


After my recent install of the above, I'm in need of a remap of the fuelling side of things for my daily driver. I had to shift my IQ 5pts
to accommadate the extra flow.



I love my 17/22 and current setup with .230 Wuzetem nozzles. I could easily get more out of the engine, but at the cost of longevity
& reliability if I pursued the quest for MORE.



Got a 3bar map? Suspension? How much do your wheels weigh?


My $ .02 FWIW.

Click to expand...

Hey, thanks for the reply. I'm actually running a PD150 intake and 3bar. I've got a great setup now running 20psi at the intake. Happy with the power for sure! However I was thinking if this turbo actually is what the seller claims it is, it would be a solid deal for the price. I have another ALH motor I'd like to build once my beater TDI rusts out completely (LOL)

diesel_micah said:

Hey, thanks for the reply. I'm actually running a PD150 intake and 3bar. I've got a great setup now running 20psi at the intake. Happy with the power for sure! However I was thinking if this turbo actually is what the seller claims it is, it would be a solid deal for the price. I have another ALH motor I'd like to build once my beater TDI rusts out completely (LOL)

Click to expand...

If your going to build an ALH why even use a 17/22?

Yourbuddysatin said:

If your going to build an ALH why even use a 17/22?

Click to expand...

Only because of the money I could save on this one. But it doesn’t seem to actually be a 17/22 anyway.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yourbuddysatin said:

If your going to build an ALH why even use a 17/22?

Click to expand...

Satin,

So what turbo would you recommend and why? Like Micah, I got
a deal on an unused 17/22 for $800. With a $15 inlet hose I was good
to go. The biggest hassle with the installation was stretching the hose over the bigger inlet. Push it hard with the IQ at 9, I can still hit limp mode, and the turbo will spike to ~ 30psi. The addition of a boost gauge has given me a much better sense of what the turbo is doing.

Hence my need for a tweak on the fuelling map.
I'm going with TDI_Meister's approach of big nozzles dialed back.
Hopefully sacrificing ultimate performance potential for longevity.

If you are going to actually build an ALH. Using a 17/22 seems futile. Any gtb set up would be more efficient and durable. Cost might be a little more with a tubular manifold but will probably outlast a 17/22 ten fold and take way more boost. Whatever you want to do is always up to you. I just don’t see the use of such a small turbo for a build.

Agree with YBS on this. The turned out outlet pipe on the photo sure makes it a 17 body. Go GTB or GTD, newer generation, spin like mad with those ball bearing shafts!