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      10-26-2018, 02:27 PM   #1
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Exclamation SteamSpeed STX 78R Ball Bearing (Stage 2.5) Turbo

Does anyone have any experience with Steam turbos? I'm trying to figure out which direction to take my turbo upgrade and am considering all contenders including this Steam STX 78R, Pure Stg 2, and G-Power. I like the idea of a ball bearing CHRA for faster spool up. Can you get a ball bearing center housing upgrade on a PS2 or G-Power?

http://steamturbochargers.com/index....r-bmw-n55.html

From their website:

Quote:
One of our long-time BMW customers has been rolling with our STX 67 N55 (stage 1) turbo for a while putting down 400+ whp with pump gas + meth. He has been asking us to make a N55 turbo capable of over 550whp, so we did. We call it the STX 78R which has a ceramic ball bearing center section (hence the "R" designation), and large compressor wheel with a 78mm exducer (hence the 78). It has a an estimated flow over 70 lbs/min, which should be good for over 550 whp on a N55 engine.

Why did we invest the money to have a BB CHRA when a compressor wheel will flow what if flows even using a cheaper JB CHRA and hypothetically make similar peak power?

The BB CHRA in this application will be way more efficient than using JB turbos of similar size. In practice, the BB CHRA will come in sooner, and give you a lot more response all over the power curve. It will be very noticeable daily driving, but will also improve lap times in sections where you are on and off of the boost. Also because the CHRA is more efficient, it will make more power everywhere where a JB turbo is less efficient like high back pressure situations for example. The added BB efficiency will have a lower heat load vs JB which also makes it easier to make power and tune.

Here are the core specs on the SteamSpeed N55 STX78R (aka stage 2.5) turbo:
  • Bearing System: custom ceramic BB
  • Custom Compressor wheel In:59 / Ex:78 (the size is between GTX3076 and GT3582)
  • Custom Turbine wheel In:60 / Ex:57 (The size slightly bigger than GT3076 - In:60 / Ex:55).
  • Flow capacity: 70 lbs/min (est.)
  • Estimated WHP: ~550+ whp
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      10-26-2018, 03:02 PM   #2
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Info from Steam turbo blog post: https://blog.steamspeed.com/2018/03/...w-n55-install/

Quote:
Here are some action shots of the new SteamSpeed STX 78R Turbocharger being installed into a N55 equipped BMW 335i. This car has successfully been running our STX 67 (aka stage 1) turbo for about a year now. The owner was able to put down 400 whp with the 67 on pump gas + meth.

We’ll see what he can do with the STX 78R. As you can see it is quite a bit larger than the STX 67, about +11mm on the exducer side. Based strictly on the comp wheel, this turbo should be able to make between 500-600 whp, but the OEM turbine housing should limit that to some degree. Initial dyno testing will show to what degree.

Base purely on inductive reasoning, this turbo should perform somewhat better than the currently popular Pure Stage 2 turbo: their turbo has wheels somewhat larger than a GTX3076R, our 78R is somewhat larger than a GTX3076R, they remachine the OEM housings, so do we, but the main difference is that our turbo has a BB center section, and Pure reuses the OEM JB CHRA. Given that the only main difference that impacts performance is that our has a BB CHRA, what does that impact?

BB CHRAs have some standard advantages over JB: it is more responsive especially with transient boost, it is more efficient, it is more durable, etc. In this case, the biggest difference, I think, will be the fact that BB CHRAs can be stay efficient in spite of backpressure much better that a JB CHRA. Normally JB is fine up to 2:1, but BB can still be efficient at much higher ratios. This matters a lot in this case, because the OEM manifold/turbine housing is going to generate a lot of backpressure when you try to make over 500 whp.
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      10-26-2018, 03:02 PM   #3
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Here are a couple of videos detailing the difference in a ball bearing versus journal bearing turbo for the uninitiated:




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      11-02-2018, 12:05 AM   #4
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Wink stock turbo upgrade

https://www.revolutionturbo.com/

I talked to revolution turbo they quoted me at $1500 for a large turbine and compressor wheels.. 550whp. Close to PS2 with out porting the manifold.

$3500 for a ball bearing turbo capable or 600 whp.

Steam seems like a great deal

from what i understand though its only a 500 RPM difference in spool.

Last edited by Bombermon3; 11-02-2018 at 12:18 AM..
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      11-02-2018, 02:41 AM   #5
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A pwg turbo on a M2. Am I missing something...
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      11-04-2018, 02:00 PM   #6
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Hey, we just wanted to update this thread.

We finally got some dyno time for the N55 STX 78R (aka stage 2.5) on the 335i at CarbConn in Kirkland WA! This car has baselines going from FBO -> SteamSpeed Stage 1 -> SteamSpeed Stage 2.5



The tune still isn’t done, but, it is the current state of where we are at. There is still a problem with the knock pulling timing, so the timing and boost are set low for now.

TL,DR: 456 WHP, and 518 ft*lbs with just 21 psi & 9 degrees of timing!

Stage 2.5 Setup:
– FBO 2011 BMW 335i manual
SteamSpeed STX 78R BB Turbo
– Single port meth
– Only 21 psi, 9 degrees of timing
Result:
– 456 whp, 518 ft*lbs torque

Here is stage 2.5 vs SteamSpeed STX 67 (aka stage 1)

VS Stage 1 Setup:
– Stage 1 SteamSpeed STX 67 Turbo
– Single port meth
– 21 psi, 14 degrees of timing


VS FBO:


Stage 2.5 vs Stage 1 vs FBO:


Stage 1 vs 2.5 turbos:


EWG Version:
We can do all versions of the N55 turbo. Here is one we did for a customer in the UK recently.



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      11-06-2018, 09:24 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SteamSpeed View Post
Hey, we just wanted to update this thread.

We finally got some dyno time for the N55 STX 78R (aka stage 2.5) on the 335i at CarbConn in Kirkland WA! This car has baselines going from FBO -> SteamSpeed Stage 1 -> SteamSpeed Stage 2.5



The tune still isn’t done, but, it is the current state of where we are at. There is still a problem with the knock pulling timing, so the timing and boost are set low for now.

TL,DR: 456 WHP, and 518 ft*lbs with just 21 psi & 9 degrees of timing!

Stage 2.5 Setup:
– FBO 2011 BMW 335i manual
SteamSpeed STX 78R BB Turbo
– Single port meth
– Only 21 psi, 9 degrees of timing
Result:
– 456 whp, 518 ft*lbs torque
Keep me posted on the tune and result. Could it be fuel related? I really like the idea of a BB turbo for my upgrade.
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      10-20-2019, 07:33 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 1nityrider View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by SteamSpeed View Post
Hey, we just wanted to update this thread.

We finally got some dyno time for the N55 STX 78R (aka stage 2.5) on the 335i at CarbConn in Kirkland WA! This car has baselines going from FBO -> SteamSpeed Stage 1 -> SteamSpeed Stage 2.5



The tune still isn’t done, but, it is the current state of where we are at. There is still a problem with the knock pulling timing, so the timing and boost are set low for now.

TL,DR: 456 WHP, and 518 ft*lbs with just 21 psi & 9 degrees of timing!

Stage 2.5 Setup:
– FBO 2011 BMW 335i manual
SteamSpeed STX 78R BB Turbo
– Single port meth
– Only 21 psi, 9 degrees of timing
Result:
– 456 whp, 518 ft*lbs torque
Keep me posted on the tune and result. Could it be fuel related? I really like the idea of a BB turbo for my upgrade.
Just a general question. Wouldn't your turbo run better with a custom manifold/exhaust housing.. i'm no engineer just wondering.
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      10-25-2019, 02:48 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ramon89 View Post
Just a general question. Wouldn't your turbo run better with a custom manifold/exhaust housing.. i'm no engineer just wondering.
I would believe so, the stock turbofold is quite restrictive a 500whp of air flow as it was designed for spool and not for flowing tons and tons of air.
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      10-25-2019, 07:55 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bombermon3 View Post

$3500 for a ball bearing turbo capable or 600 whp.

Turbos with ballbearing does not give power, it only helps spools and nothing else.
Most of the turbers what I see is huge compressors wheels very beautiful and without any sense.
I have tried different options in n55 and it is not necessary to put compressor wheels of truck...
The last upgrade in my f87 full boost at 2600rpm 600nm
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      10-27-2019, 11:12 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Prodrive_X View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bombermon3 View Post

$3500 for a ball bearing turbo capable or 600 whp.

Turbos with ballbearing does not give power, it only helps spools and nothing else.
Most of the turbers what I see is huge compressors wheels very beautiful and without any sense.
I have tried different options in n55 and it is not necessary to put compressor wheels of truck...
The last upgrade in my f87 full boost at 2600rpm 600nm
Ok what turbo did you use?
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      10-28-2019, 03:22 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ramon89 View Post
Ok what turbo did you use?
Stage2 of TurboTech.
Cw 54mm inducer
Tw 54mm exducer
OEM wheels of audi rs3 400hp,
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      10-28-2019, 09:29 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Prodrive_X View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ramon89 View Post
Ok what turbo did you use?
Stage2 of TurboTech.
Cw 54mm inducer
Tw 54mm exducer
OEM wheels of audi rs3 400hp,
Thanks
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      01-03-2020, 09:53 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SteamSpeed View Post
Hey, we just wanted to update this thread.
Any updates?
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      04-30-2020, 02:16 PM   #15
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Even though these 2.5 turbos work great, 3D printing steel is expensive, so we couldn't find a viable pricepoint for these turbos. We pushed ahead and developed new turbine housings for the N55 instead. They are a little smaller, similar in size to a GTX3076R, but in our testing, I think most everyone will be pleased with the result. Using ethanol, it was hitting in the neighborhood of 550whp on 25 psi, while hitting peak boost in the mid 3K range.
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