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New turbo setup review (it's about time)

2K views 13 replies 4 participants last post by  Austen 
#1 ·
About time is right. I've owned this truck for three years now and hadn't done any obligatory turbo upgrades yet.
It was a big year for my truck getting repainted recently and now the new turbo setup and supporting accessories.

That said, I thought I would post a review of the recent upgrades I did to my truck. If you see the length of this and you know you don't have the time or interest to read it, no problem, and feel free to exit from here. I just enjoy doing these things and maybe it will help some of those who are researching this in the future.

As you can see below, it includes the following:
E99 - L99 setup (pre-owned setup I purchased from a forum member. The parts had 6K miles on them.)[/I]
-38R turbo
-Deleted EPBV pedestal
-Bellowed up-pipes
-FRX
-HPX

Of course we all like pics so here's a couple for reference.







(...apparently I need to wash the underside of my hood.... yikes!)


Goal:
I've owned my truck for a while now and have been happy with the TW tunes however, it used to get hot EGT wise partly due to the leaking factory up-pipes. Whenever I'd tow, especially, I'd have to monitor my EGT gauge like a hawk looking for its next kill. In the higher tunes it would also get fairly smoky too when you're weren't in boost and stabbed the throttle. Even without being tuned, I've always been content with the power towing on the highway. Where I wished the 7.3 made more power is down low in the powerband like for driving around town but I've ultimately come to realize and accept that it's not its realm there. I'll say the 7.3 is fast and not "quick." That's OK. What I wanted was for much lower EGTs and a little boost- (pun intended) in performance. I would say that I achieved that goal with the new setup. It really works quite well.

Driving it:
The first thing I noticed driving it for the first time as I pulled out into traffic after giving it a little stick was the absence of smoke in the rearview. I then pulled onto the freeway which consisted of a fairly steep hill with a sharp corner at the top. As I shifted through the gears, guess what, NO SMOKE again!! I was in disbelief. None. I then round the corner and really get on it in 4-6 gears. It felt like a sports car, and felt sooo wrong because of it at the same, lol. Before I knew it, I was actually redlining it in 6th gear!! I looked down and holy crap.... I'm turning 3600 RPMS in overdrive! Never done that before. The engine just runs soooo smooth and content now all the way through and feels so much more FREE. The speed is deceiving now simply because it revs so much more freely up top that it seems to secretly accelerate on you because of it.

The truck just has power. Pulling hills and grades is absolutely nothing. You pass people left and right like they are standing still without having to press the pedal down further. Here comes this diesel truck at only a quarter throttle passing you up steep hill. Stupid really. As I said, it feels so wrong in a truck of this girth. Going from 50mph to 85mph is nothing.
Getting into boost: One thing you will learn in this review is that I have always despised the stock turbo. I've pretty much hated the performance of it. It seemed to always have a mind of its own when it was going to light and was not predicable. You always had to drive around that thing and when you wanted it to boost, you really had to work hard at it to get it to. Anyway, I digress it was apparent the 38R seems to be more "alive" requiring less effort from you to "ask" it to work. It seems to run more linear and pull a lot smooth throughout the entire powerband too. The lag time down low with the old turbo was absolutely pathetic; I hated it. This new one, you stab the throttle down low and it actually feels like it's building up to something whereas the old one there was nothing.... just all motor. Zilch. Notta. The other point I might add about the stock turbo was that it was like it would only boost for a second then it was all over with. It was like "whoosh" and then you'd be all out of boost. The new one seems to carry it's boost a lot further and is now "whooooshhhh." It seems more usable, if you will, and actually carries itself vs. the other one that only seemed to work like a light switch. I also needed to run, for the first time, an OCR. Yet another thing I disliked so much about the factory turbo was the little boost that it created. Now the boost gauge is actually alive in active, lol. There was no way the stock turbo would get anywhere near throwing an overboost code but the leaking up-pipes were probably doing it a big disfavor there.

EGTs?
The EGTs, depending on the scenario of course, are a solid 200 degrees cooler all around. Substantial difference. I'm very happy about that lower EGTs. For example, while going up a certain hill in 4th gear at 35-40MPH it would always read ~800 degrees. Now it is reading ~600 and it's almost erie driving around and seeing the needle read much lower on the gauge; it really is. I can actually drive and take my eyes off the EGT gauge and not see it acting like a second tachometer.

The sound:
Ohh, the sound. Things have changed quite a bit. Basically like I'm standing behind a jet airliner. I've read the threads, watched several YouTube videos, and went into this with a preconceived consumption of what to expect. No doubt this turbo sounds like a 737, it does, but not unless you listen for it when you're driving normally. Even with the radio on a low setting, you're not really going to hear it when just driving around. The sound of the engine still out muffles the sound, for sure. When you get on it though, the sound comes alive for sure and sounds like a big rig but it's what you want to hear and not a bad sound. The intake has a completely new growl too that was never there before. My truck has never really had the famous "7.3 growl" (as I call it) but it has it now it does like never before. It was missing. It really sounds like two completely different trucks when you get on it now. The note from the straight pipe exhaust is actually louder than it was before which I'm sure is due to the EBPV delete. It sounds like BURB BURB BURB BURB along with somebody blowing a high pitched whistle through the exhaust when it's on high idle in the morning. I was expecting in cab noise of this turbo to be overwelming, crazy, while just cruising around in stop and go traffic but it's not the case at all. About the only thing I liked about the stock turbo was that it had a nice sound through the exhaust. The 38R has a higher pitched sing in comparison through the exhaust vs. that is more pronounced.

FRX & HPX kits:
While I did both the FRX and the HPX, I can't say which made the more noticeable difference or if it was a combination of the two. When I first fired it up, I could tell the engine was a little quieter at idle. Anything but idle I would say is just about the same though in terms of sound however. I will say though the noticeable tick from the #8 injector is completely gone. Like, all the way gone which is really awesome. In terms of starting faster like some have reported with the FRX and HRX? I don't think so. The chip is what cut the start time in half the time compared to when it was un-tuned. The throttle response down low is a little crisper/sharper right off the bat and is more response I'd definitely say. The fuel pressure is reading about 4-5 lbs higher than before. It was about ~63 PSI before and now is reading ~67-68 PSI.

Basically now the truck feels a lot more "airy" vs. before it felt like it almost got too much fuel down low in the higher HP tunes and got hot. I like how I can now stab the pedal going up a hill and look in my rear view mirror and see blue sky and not a black cloud like before while in a hot tune. The truck really runs great and seems very happy with the new setup. I can't wait to get a trailer behind it. Overall, a success. :)
 
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#2 ·
Good deal, all you need now is some injectors and you'll be set.
 
#3 ·
Down the road! :wink:
 
#4 ·
I'm curious what boost you are seeing on a race tune. Low 30's?

Did you tighten the wastegate down?

The 38r is notorious for a weak wastegate from the factory.
 
#5 ·
Yeah, right around 30 or so but I haven't pushed it too too hard yet. I think with a trailer attached to it and a proper load that it will pull more.

The guy I bought the turbo from said that he tightened the wastegate down 6 threads. I haven't touched it. I know some have tightened theirs all the way down. It seems to run pretty good though.
 
#6 ·
What rpm does it start to spool at?
 
#9 · (Edited)
Ya I'm curious when it spools with stock injectors.
It spools between 1750 -1800; pretty much right at about where the stock one did. At 2000K it's screaming. The difference is that if I get on it down low in the revs, you still feel and hear it working- it's hard to describe. The stock turbo, there was nothing at all until all of sudden it came out of nowhere and spooled up. I guess another way to describe it is the transition. The 38R makes a very smooth transition once it gets into boost while the stock one did not. People have described the 38R as being "always ready to go" and while there's still going to be lag down low any way you look at it, it seems to always be pushing a little bit of boost whereas, again, the stock one didn't seem function unless you really tried. My boost gauge confirms that too as it actually functions now for normal driving vs. before, it pretty much stayed on the peg unless I really hammered on it or was towing.
 
#8 ·
Ya I'm curious when it spools with stock injectors.

Have you installed the blanket yet? I have mine on and it works great!
 
#10 ·
I would say you had a leak somewhere. My stock turbo with a billet wheel spools at 1500 rpm and I can be a 15-20 psi by 2000 rpm. I plan on getting bigger injectors and a kc38r in the future, I hope I don't loose my low rpm boost.
 
#11 ·
Ya same here. My stock turbo would spool at 1500.

I'm surprised my boost comes on at 1700rpm with the van turbo.
 
#13 ·
I would say you had a leak somewhere. My stock turbo with a billet wheel spools at 1500 rpm and I can be a 15-20 psi by 2000 rpm. I plan on getting bigger injectors and a kc38r in the future, I hope I don't loose my low rpm boost.
Ya same here. My stock turbo would spool at 1500.
Yeah, my old (factory) up pipes were leaking and I also noticed the old turbo was oily on the bottom indicating the seal had been leaking.
 
#14 · (Edited)
Little update.

I've been towing a little bit lately and man, night and day difference! This thing now feels like it's got nothing behind it. Don't get me wrong, I've always liked the way the 7.3 tows on the highway or pulling grade, however, around town was a different story. We go back to that thing I spoke about before with the lack of low end with the stock turbo. Before when I'd pull out into traffic and shift into third gear, it would bog down I'd see small smoke clouds bouncing off the front off the trailer with just about zero PSI registering on the boost gauge. When I would approach hills- (again, while driving around town) I'd usually have to downshift to find just a little boost. Now when I approach a hill, I simply press the pedal a very slight amount, get an immediate small surge in the seat, boost gauge rises, don't need to downshift, and the truck absolutely eats the hill gaining speed; bye bye car behind me too. It's a beautiful thing. You would have had to drive the truck before and after to see what I mean but this is absolutely huge when it comes to drive-ability. The turbo is actually always working now whereas before, I'll say it again, the stock turbo was basically an off/switch and only worked the little amount when it wanted to-(and that was only when you were pushing it hard) despite the beautiful noise it always made. Otherwise, you were just driving all motor. It could be that I am seeing a bigger difference due to the larger intake plenums as well; it is pushing through a lot more air overall and seems to be running much more efficient.
 
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