So Im looking at a 68mm from both Barder and KC Turbos. I know their obvious differences but since I dont know actual theory and application differences, this one has me wondering. Barder uses an OEM Powermax and does his magic, we know it works. KC Turbos uses a few different things from this and that and does what he does.
Now on the covers... Barder as we know uses the stock Powermax cover, but KC has two options ( though I think one is standard, and the other only upon request )
KC Turbos offers the .72ar cover... It flows more CFM than the .52 cover. Is there enough difference power wise worth going to the KC over the Barder? Has anyone seen a side by side on the same truck with them both? ( assuming no, but worth a shot... )
Any input here?
I hope this does not turn into some sort of stupid bashing thread. Comparing two turbos side by side like that is hard to do... and some people are very biased. Either way I think you will be happy. I have dealt with shops that had trucks with very similar setups one running our KC68 and the other running Barders 68. There was not enough difference between the two for any real bragging rights or to narrow any of the attributes down to just the turbo. Everybody puts their own teaks on their turbos and has a few trade secrets. I cannot tell you exact how Barder builds his turbos. But I can tell you all about our KC68mm turbo.
We offer both brand new and reman options. I will focus on our new version because it has all 100% brand new parts and a couple of updates that the reman version does not get (upgraded vanes and unison ring).
Our .72ar compressor covers are custom made. They are a hybrid between the gt4094 cover and a similar precision cover. I had them made myself (not just some cover I found to work). We went through a couple different styles and then settled on our latest .72ar race cover will drilled hole surge ring. This gave the best results when it came to style and performance. A cover change will not make or break a turbo. The main reason we have our own covers made is that we like to have our compressor cover radius cut on a CNC machine... not by hand on a lathe. We have seen that you can get better/tighter clearances which leads to better performance.
We build our turbos mostly from 2004 turbo parts. Not pmax and not 2003 turbos. The reason for this is we found more positive results when using the 2004 vanes and we see no point in buying a turbo just to throw half of it away, and machine the other half to accept bigger parts.
We use billet 2004 vanes and stainless steel unison ring to limit any future problems of having sticky vanes. Also these billet vanes have shown a slight increase in power on the dyno over the traditional cast 2004 vanes.
We use an 11 blade GTX style single plane wheel. It did the best in our dyno and street testing. It is 67.8x94 with extend tips to 98mm.
We use a custom 10 blade 73x70 turbine wheel. It is a high flow inconel wheel and does whistle... but not as loud as the pmax or 2003 turbo.
All our turbos use the upgraded 360 degree thrust bearing and are 100% assembly balanced.
We recommend using our KC68 with 190/75s. Anything bigger and you don't have enough air to fully clean them up. Anything smaller and you are not taking full advantage of the turbo. This is a RACE oriented turbo. It drives great on the streets but can haze a little under light throttle and your cruising egts will run a little hot depending on supporting mods and tire/lift (750-900 egts). Although many people have successfully towed with this combo... TOWING IS NOT RECOMMENDED.
We have had customers participate in many track/dyno events and always do really well. Track time and dyno numbers usually run around 600-670hp (unless lifted on big tires). Most trucks see around 35-40psi of boost... while others see around 40-45psi.
Here is my honest opinion about this turbo option...
If you plan on having a DD that you take to track/dyno events and you REALLY want to break the 600hp mark then this is the turbo for you. Just don't plan on towing, realize egts will run a little hot, and you might experience a little hazing at light throttle at low rpms. (I try to be honest with people and point out the pluses and minuses).
If you just want a quick clean running DD and you never plan on hitting the dyno/track to back up your power number... then go with a stage 2 turbo. It will spool faster and run cleaner down low and have the same power from stoplight to stoplight. You should also still be able to tow pretty easy.
If you are planning on breaking records, dedicated race truck, running larger than 190-205s, or looking for 700-800hp... then go with a bigger non-vgt turbo or compounds.
