OK, I'm seeing $130 turbos on the bay. Are there compressor maps for this stuff?
It would be quite funny to take a far east intercooler and turbo and be competitive in our elitist circles.
No, they are known-unknowns - but you can estimate the performance based upon known-knowns of like turbos. I'd argue that a bit too much thought is put into things sometimes... just accepting that it works in an acceptable range is good enough. It isn't an F1 motor.
I have a Chineseium (bottom mounted and scooped) intercooler on my TBSS and it is making 650+hp and has incredibly low IATs (at 12psi). I had a modified FMIC from an International semi on my Buick and it worked great at 30psi (it had better hold given the original application) and always had great IATs too. Cost effective options work.
The quality gap has closed and many of our speed parts are coming from off-shore locations... I'd like to continue to build fun cars AND put my girls through baseball, soccer, swimming, horseback riding, university, marriage too; and if it means a few "corners" are cut so be it.
I cannot wait to pull the compressor housing off and paint it lavender like the valve covers... and maybe put some My Little Pony stickers under the clearcoat too. Just to further fuck with people's egos.