[andromida2]

Can you share your goals for replacing?

Eg is it:

More power?
Best reliability?
Cost savings?
Do your current turbos have problems?

With any turbo advertising power gains you will need a custom tune to realize them.

As for if or how they work on a stock tune… ask me again in a couple weeks.
They are supposed to as advertised. Not sure yet.

Current turbos seem to be working well, I have only had the truck for a couple months now, and haven't had a chance to really push it either. I do tow some and live at a higher altitude with a fair amount of mountains. I am trying to balance more power with fuel efficiency. I don't need to spin the tires every time, but want to be able to tow a couple thousand pounds, or cruise up mountains.

I figure once everything is installed it would be smart to get a specific tune for my truck, but want to make sure I don't need to do anything else to make everything work properly.

 

[andromida2]

Ps - where are you located ?

I'm leaning towards the Garrett ones and then getting it tuned. I am located in Reno, NV

 

[andromida2]

Have BW GT’s in my 2011, stock tune runs great with them. I was in a similar situation and couldn’t pass up the opportunity to refresh the turbos at 220k while doing manifold and timing job. There is a little more audible turbo whistle as compared to stock. Not sure any appreciable power gain w/stock tune but she runs strong.

towing in the hills, your challenge will not be enough power, stock or modified. Instead you will find heat is the limiting factor for performance… more boost and power from a tune and/or turbos will likely exacerbate this

Fortunately I am heading into cooler months, and will do these upgrades in the fall. What would you recommend for a better cooling solution??

 

[andromida2]

the borgwarner is plug and play direct replacement to the latest version of OEM gen 1 . If you are planning to keep stock tune it’s a great option

the Garrett is a little bit larger and essentially makes similar power to the gen2 raptor turbos if you have it tuned

we have a coolant line solution releasing in a week or so that may be what you need

Also, it would be cool to see what the coolant line solution you are releasing is. I am looking at Dorman lines right now, but would love to compare them

 

[andromida2]

Lots of debate on this topic. Unfortunately, no magic bullet out there.

I am running the Full Race radiator and FoMoCo Sauidi spec trans cooler. You can run a lower temp thermostat, upgrade the intercooler as well to get ahead of heat soak.

most important for me uas been being able to monitor boost level and coolant temp with my edge display. Get yourself a programmer or obd2 dongle so you can view PID on your phone

I will look into those, thank you

I have a SCT X4, where I can see readouts

 

[andromida2]

Something I’ve found from running many different upgraded turbo setups on these ecoboosts is, a larger turbo will increase fuel efficiency due to slightly slower spool than the stock turbos.
Now that is contingent on the turbine being larger or the if the turbine is stock size but the compressor wheel is quite a bit bigger. The stock turbine spools quickly, larger ones spool slower. But elevation causes slower spool too from what I’ve found. I live at 7000’ and my new stage 4 turbos on my 2022 3.5 spool a bit slower than stock. Staying in vacuum (no boost) while cruising on the highway will let you gain mpg even though you may have increased the horsepower and torque capability in a tune with the bigger turbos. My old 2.7 got 19mpg on the stock turbos and when I upgraded I got 21 mpg even though I got a 120hp gain by adding the turbos and a custom tune.

I'm sorry I didn't see your reply earlier, but that's good to know and makes sense if it's spooling slower it's not telling the computer to add more fuel because it's boosting

Thank you for clarifying that

 

[andromida2]

I like to keep my X4 out of sight and out of mind if someone steals it. There goes my stock tune....

I usually keep it out of the truck, but for testing or curiosity then I will plug it in. Plus to me, in everyday use, it's just one more screen and something else distracting from crazy traffic these days, so I like to keep it tucked away

 

[andromida2]

Dorman is a stock replacement style that retains the failure prone jiffy tite fittings. Full Race deletes the jiffy tite altogether and integrates some features for reliability and ease of install/service



Reno isn't too close, but if you're ever in phoenix let me know. Id be happy to show you the setup in person. We're getting a number of requests to document a back-to-back stock vs formline kit on a gen1 ecoboost and will be on the lookout over the next few weeks for a vehicle that can be used in exchange for free install/dyno time

Do you have a better solution or kit avaliable you could reccomend?

Unfortunately I won't be in Phoenix anytime soon, but hopefully someone else can bring their truck by. It's important that there are high quality guides

 

[andromida2]

Dorman is a stock replacement style that retains the failure prone jiffy tite fittings. Full Race deletes the jiffy tite altogether and integrates some features for reliability and ease of install/service



Reno isn't too close, but if you're ever in phoenix let me know. Id be happy to show you the setup in person. We're getting a number of requests to document a back-to-back stock vs formline kit on a gen1 ecoboost and will be on the lookout over the next few weeks for a vehicle that can be used in exchange for free install/dyno time

@full-race geoff do you have an AN kit for the turbo cooling lines?? Or is this something that I need to try to piece together??

 

[andromida2]

I vote Precision > Garrett or BW.

Interesting, please explain why you prefer Precision over Garrett or BW

 

[andromida2]

Picking Precision over Garrett is kind of like picking a Whipple over an Eaton. When you compare similarly sized turbo's from all your main players like Garrett, Mitsubishi, etc, Precision is general considered to be your most efficient turbo.

Can you validate those claims??

 

[andromida2]

I can't argue with any of that thought process at all.

If one has no intention of getting too wild with tuning and chasing horsepower, the stock turbos are just fine.

Also the stock turbos are fully capable of delivering a nice reward with tuning alone, if ever that ambition does bubble up the to do list.

I do have ambitions to get a little crazy, but those ambitions lie in wait, for now. So for me, it's nice to know the equipment is ready once I am.

Even now after having installed the Garrett Powermax turbos, a stock tune worked just fine with them. 5* tuning had a black Friday sale going on, so I got a couple tunes for cheap, and have been running it on 87 and so far so good. I upgraded the coolant lines at the same time to prevent that from being another problem in the future. Either way I think BW or Garrett are good choices, and it comes down to what you are comfortable with and want to get out of your engine.

 

[andromida2]

I went down this rabbit hole recently. This is not advice, but merely my thought pattern. If anyone has anything to add or correct, please do.

External oil and coolant leaks on driver side turbo. Turbo oil flange completely rusted out exposing the gasket and created a slow leak at the oil return line. Unfortunately, this is a big thumbs up to get a 5.0 coyote or other non-turbo engine from the f-series if living in the rust belt. We apparently spray spent beer products on our roads, its tasty, but eats vehicles like a rabid pacman... Hopefully its still getting enough oil feed to not self destruct. I ended up purchasing OEM BW from Full-race for a 2016 f150 3.5l ecoboost. Also purchased upgraded coolant lines, turbo adapters, and manifolds. Installed a larger 3in freakoboost exhaust from fullrace as well. I have 34in Ko3, add-a-leaf, eibach rear shocks. 115k miles with neurotic maintenance scheduling. Complete stock engine with repairs done as needed. Have not installed the turbos or manifolds as it is -6c atm here in VT and I spend all my free time skiing.

After researching, it seems there are other variables that can occur with upgrading turbo size and power. This increases the price point. For effective use I found one would be looking at upgraded programming, intercooler, BOV, MAP sensor to 3 bar, catch can install, and exhaust. Are they all needed, some needed, none needed? Not sure, but for reliability and longevity I would want all of these upgrades with the Garret upgrade. Any upgrade with OEM BW is now going to be an added bonus, but not an absolute need.

Even though it says the Garret can be run with stock tune and OEM system, I was still on edge trusting my PCM brain to do the work and keep everything at check. By keeping OEM sized turbos its not going to be a racecar or tow monster, it is going to still run hot, but I will be maintaining factory conditions and staying within engine parameters for longevity, ease of maintenance, and decreasing variability in system. I now have back-up parts in case the new turbos malfunction and if I decide to do some upgrades it will help with heat soak, but not overpower or cause any damage to other engine parts. Some will continue to claim that a larger turbo will increase gas mileage and decrease boost psi for same air volume, I agree this is true, from theory and researching turbo design online. However, I do not know how this engine and all its components will continue to work with changes and age, and if there is a hiccup with the OEM setup, will it over spool and blow up the turbine, cause a seal/gasket malfunction, leak in another area?... I am not a turbo expert or a mechanic, just a dude with a wrench.

If I had $$$ and didn't spend so much time throwing my body off cliffs, through trees, and down snow covered chutes I would have probably upgraded to Garret with additional peripheral parts to better support the system. The future awaits, but by the look of it investing in a sturdy cart, a good stallion, and a team of good natured mules may be around the bend...

From everything I have read, short of an insane tune and lots of tweaking it, the engine and transmission will be able to handle the little bit bigger turbos just fine. It's a great idea to upgrade everything you are upgrading, especially the intercooler for countering heat soak. I purchased an XCT4 (I think that's what it is) for tuning, and it works well. I didn't want the screen version, just the plug and tune one. Although it does have a gauge mode, which is helpful, but for the most part it's not really needed. When the weather warms up hopefully the install goes well for you, I found it worked really well to soak the exhaust and manifold bolts in WD40 everyday for a week leading up to it. Most everything spun off with minimal knuckle bashing 🤘