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16g vs 18g

38K views 27 replies 12 participants last post by  Strider327 
#1 ·
Alright.....i'm in the market for a turbo. Not looking for too much turbo for the car. I found a tdo5h-evoIII big 16g. It seems really good. Thats my main choice. But what do you guys think of the 18g. I know the 18g is a good platform for 400+ capable hp. Questions im looking for is:

Which one spools faster.
Is an upgraded actuator worth the money.
Can i get a 16g above 425-450.

Both are within my price range.
 
#3 ·
wrxman is right. Anywhere near 400hp from those turbos is pretty hopefull (unless you're talking about horse at the crank). even with meth you won't be pushing more than 350-360. I live at 6000ft elevation and my tuner said to expect around 230 for the 16g and 250-260 for the 18g. that's what he sees on his dyno.

the 16g will spool a couple hundred rpm faster, 18g should reach full boost by 4k rpm. and you'll gain 20-30 horse by going 18g. neither turbo is too big for the ej20. my tuner said go straight to the 18g because why do it twice when you get used to the 16g power and crave more. i was planning on the E316g but have changed my mind and will be getting the 18g.
 
#7 ·
I live at 6000ft elevation and my tuner said to expect around 230 for the 16g and 250-260 for the 18g. that's what he sees on his dyno.
Those numbers for the 16g seem low to me. Unless your tuner was talking the smaller 16g not the EVOIII 16G. I'm at about the same elevation and at stage 2 with not a very agressive tune am hitting 200 WHP on a Dyno Dynamics dyno. So seems not worth the trouble to do all that for an extra 30 horses.

Maybe my expectations are way off??? Because I was assuming that with an EVOIII I could be around 270 WHP.
 
#4 ·
Depends on what you're looking for. Both the 16g and the 18g are realistic streetable turbos. The trade-off is more hp from the 18g, and sooner turbo-spool with the 16g. I persoanlly favor the quicker boost, just depends on what your preference is.
 
#5 ·
there is a huge difference between a "16G" and an "E3-16G"... a regular 16G is pretty small it's true but the "Evolution 3" is considerably bigger. Not all 16Gs are the same.

Mitsu turbos are pretty easy to mix and match housings, compressors, inlets, etc so you get a lot of variety from turbo makers even when they share the same generic name like "16G".
 
#6 ·
Yeah, the EVO III "Big" 16G is more like the 18g... Just not the 18g. It's got more power-potential than the "normal" 16g, but slightly lost some sooner spooling, but even the EVO III 16g still spools sooner than the 18g i beleive. It's just that the normal 16g spools even sooner than the EVO3 16g. (i've been resisting the temptation to type faster spool instead of sooner because it's supposedly not faster, just spools up sooner in the rpms)
 
#10 ·
And that confused him even more, that took me three times just to understand what you meant.ROFL Tom just go with what suits you the best. Do you want street or do you want track? Are you looking for a daily driver or are you looking for a weekend monster? Also do you have money saved up for the parts you are going to break? Just a rule of thumb the bigger you go the less dependable your going to make your car. 18g or vf22 is as big as I would recommend for daily driving. And those are fairly big for daily driving. Good luck and keep us posted!
 
#11 ·
Glad they helped.
Talk to your tuner about your goals for the car, he should be able to help you with this. Don't just buy a turbo for the price. You will also need to talk to him about the other mods needed to run the larger turbo. My tuner says the 18G is better than the Evo 16G, but he has done many 18G cars and has a good working knowledge of the turbo on the 2.0s.
All the power will be made in the tune.
 
#14 ·
humanpie---yeah i'm wondering if maybe my tuner just sucks (revolutions tuning). he said he typically sees 190-200 on stage 2, 230 on E3 16g and 250-260 on 18g. my stg 2 tune netted me 175whp. he claimed my K&N typhoon held me back 10 horses. i recently rode with another stage 2 guy, he had headers though and was also tuned at 6000ft. he said he got 250whp....not sure what dyno he was on.
 
#18 ·
Well I used Super Rupair in Boulder, when Harvey was still doing the dyno tunes. He was real good. Ryan has taken over now for them, not too sure on his experience but I haven't heard anything bad. Bit more of a drive for you though.

In Aurora there is a shop called Speedy Roopair that I have heard good things about as well.
 
#20 ·
thanks for the input guys. i'm willing to drive an hour and a half to get a good tune. what kind of prices am i looking at? i'll try to get ahold of those shops.....i have heard good things about my tuner among friends around town but i wonder if they just don't know any better.
 
#22 ·
wow, well my tune probably took an hour. my tuner charges a flat rate of $300 for a dyno tune. i'd be really intereted to go up against another similar stg 2 around here to see what's up. i know my numbers are ridiculously low, but i also know that numbers don't mean shit. it sure does feel fast.
 
#24 ·
i'm glad you agree. there are so many many many posts on this site and others where people are asking "what numbers should i be getting" or "what should my times" be or others talking shit on peoples numbers or being super impressed with them. i say take it to the track and prove those numbers. bench racing, tisk tisk.
 
#26 ·
If you are still looking for the higher of the HP, you will want the 20G, Im sure you now that. It will be a more laggy with it being the TD06 housing and you also having the 2.0. If you dont mind the lag and want the kick and higher end that 20G doesnt seem bad then.
 
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