Vargas GC Turbos Reliability

[SE7EN335]

Not sure what the bad rep is about VTT GC's. There are definite reported failures of these but Pure Turbos also have reported failures with high psi use and track abuse. But everyone talks up about how Pure Turbos are infinitely reliable when in reality they are definitely not. Every company has its strengths and weaknesses. Each to their own I guess

[AlpineF80]

Very interested in hearing more long term feedback on the Vargas GC reliability. Some info that would help too would be how much boost they're running and how the car is used.

Looking forward to hearing more feedback on the intakes paired with any upgraded turbo. In theory, it no doubt makes sense. We have some high horsepower local cars all running stock intakes, so would be interesting to see more empirical data.

Originally Posted by SE7EN335

Not sure what the bad rep is about VTT GC's. There are definite reported failures of these but Pure Turbos also have reported failures with high psi use and track abuse. But everyone talks up about how Pure Turbos are infinitely reliable when in reality they are definitely not. Every company has its strengths and weaknesses. Each to their own I guess

Very well said! No company is perfect, but ultimately, what matters the most is the support in the end.

[landonvan]

I have the GC. I drive my car everyday. Just passed 4K miles. Tuned by F80paul and currently running 30psi. And making 620/640.
I wonder what is considered pushing the turbo to hard. Is 30psi to on the edge. Or is it like 35+.

[Maxf80M3]

Originally Posted by SE7EN335

Not sure what the bad rep is about VTT GC's. There are definite reported failures of these but Pure Turbos also have reported failures with high psi use and track abuse. But everyone talks up about how Pure Turbos are infinitely reliable when in reality they are definitely not. Every company has its strengths and weaknesses. Each to their own I guess

So true , I know of first hand of many other companies having failures. Then I researched the other companies failures I realized it's more complicated . I'm not pointing fingers but some groups on this Forum has become cultic and ridiculous . So many factors , elevation, setup , tuning , spool speed, and so many theories. . I spent months researching, I dug further ( cause I'm a big boy forging my own opinions ) and msged people who ran them and those who had issues . Also those impartial that have had success . The Consensus was all these turbo companies have failures. Especially the ones with higher volume in sales .

Could Vargas have been more eloquent in some of their responses?? Sure !!!
Is the fit and finish 100% ? No but it's within reason and usability. We seem to be expecting perfection at a fraction of the competition $$. My turbos are outperforming most pure's on pump . I'm happy! My install wasn't seamless , we had hiccups, there were times I was frustrated and pissed off . Yes Tony can be short with people and probably better at building turbos then relationships , but Chris was there on the phone working through it. Tony is responsibly for making turbos for less money which made my car fast AF . End of story !!

The final result was excellent. Spool is phenomenal. My overall build saved me thousand. It's a freaking joke , we are spending less then 10k to build a 10's car . Wtf ? Even less if you resource used parts.

I had play in one of my stock turbo when I removed it!! So Little mileage too . I guess bmw turbos are like eBay !! Lol

We've become a society condemning expecting perfections with little to no grace .

My advice to the Op buy within your budget , expect failure and success it's a part of process . Enjoy the process . Budget a % for unforeseen items , plugs , engine mounts etc . And go in knowing you can BLOW your engine, or a turbo , and if that happens it's the price to play at these numbers .

Also kindness understanding and patience goes a long way .

[Chris@VargasTurboTech]

Originally Posted by Maxf80M3

So true , I know of first hand of many other companies having failures. The I researched the other companies failures I realized it's more complicated . I'm not pointing fingers but some groups on this Forum has become cultic and ridiculous . So many factors , elevation, setup , tuning , spool speed, and so many theories. . I spent months researching, I dug further ( cause I'm a big boy forging my own opinions ) and msged people who ran them and those who had issues . Also those impartial that have had success . The Consensus was all these turbo companies have failures. Especially the ones with higher volume in sales .

Could Vargas have been more eloquent in some of their responses?? Sure !!!
Is the fit and finish 100% ? No but it's within reason and usability. We seem to be expecting perfection at a fraction of the competition $$. My turbos are outperforming most pure's on pump . I'm happy! My install wasn't seamless , we had hiccups, there were times I was frustrated and pissed off . Yes Tony can be short with people and probably better at building turbos then relationships , but Chris was there on the phone working through it. Tony is responsibly for making turbos for less money which made my car fast AF . End of story !!

The final result was excellent. Spool is phenomenal. My overall build saved me thousand. It's a freaking joke , we are spending less then 10k to build a 10's car . Wtf ? Even less if you resource used parts.

I had play in one of my stock turbo when I removed it!! So Little mileage too . I guess bmw turbos are like eBay !! Lol

We've become a society condemning expecting perfections with little to no grace .

My advice to the Op buy within your budget , expect failure and success it's a part of process . Enjoy the process . Budget a % for unforeseen items , plugs , engine mounts etc . And go in knowing you can BLOW your engine, or a turbo , and if that happens it's the price to play at these numbers .

Also kindness understanding and patience goes a long way .

Well said across the board. Glad you're happy with your rocketship!

Chris

[jpy1980]

Originally Posted by Maxf80M3

So true , I know of first hand of many other companies having failures. Then I researched the other companies failures I realized it's more complicated . I'm not pointing fingers but some groups on this Forum has become cultic and ridiculous . So many factors , elevation, setup , tuning , spool speed, and so many theories. . I spent months researching, I dug further ( cause I'm a big boy forging my own opinions ) and msged people who ran them and those who had issues . Also those impartial that have had success . The Consensus was all these turbo companies have failures. Especially the ones with higher volume in sales .

Could Vargas have been more eloquent in some of their responses?? Sure !!!
Is the fit and finish 100% ? No but it's within reason and usability. We seem to be expecting perfection at a fraction of the competition $$. My turbos are outperforming most pure's on pump . I'm happy! My install wasn't seamless , we had hiccups, there were times I was frustrated and pissed off . Yes Tony can be short with people and probably better at building turbos then relationships , but Chris was there on the phone working through it. Tony is responsibly for making turbos for less money which made my car fast AF . End of story !!

The final result was excellent. Spool is phenomenal. My overall build saved me thousand. It's a freaking joke , we are spending less then 10k to build a 10's car . Wtf ? Even less if you resource used parts.

I had play in one of my stock turbo when I removed it!! So Little mileage too . I guess bmw turbos are like eBay !! Lol

We've become a society condemning expecting perfections with little to no grace .

My advice to the Op buy within your budget , expect failure and success it's a part of process . Enjoy the process . Budget a % for unforeseen items , plugs , engine mounts etc . And go in knowing you can BLOW your engine, or a turbo , and if that happens it's the price to play at these numbers .

Also kindness understanding and patience goes a long way .

Great, mature response. We are a society that demands perfection and I also fall into that categories at times, but I am sympathetic when the company really tries to solve their wrongs. I always see Chris come out and professionally defuse any situation and bring up solutions. That is appreciated, even to someone like me, who doesn't even have their bigger products ( just have their CBC installed, for now and looking into their full CH solution). Yet, what really can go miles with their company and possibly help their credibility and lessen future posts like this, is maybe step up QC and make some sort of press release or YouTube video discussing past inconsistencies and highlight future, positive changes. I don't know Tony, but I always hear stuff about him, so I get it, he is the boss and he can do whatever he wants to do, but his brand can really use some sort of revamped QC and image change. It's a known fact that Vargas brings out awesome, affordable power producing products, but I have a sneaking suspicion that people equate the weakness of the products by comparing it to past fails and an owner's personality.

[S55freak]

Originally Posted by landonvan

I have the GC. I drive my car everyday. Just passed 4K miles. Tuned by F80paul and currently running 30psi. And making 620/640.
I wonder what is considered pushing the turbo to hard. Is 30psi to on the edge. Or is it like 35+.

Tf... 30psi and only 620whp..? That seems really low. What mods exactly

[landonvan]

The usual with upgraded turbos. That’s on pump 93. And these are just the GC. Not the GC+. And I asked Paul for a non kill tune. And that’s what they advertise you can make more with meth.

[Maxf80M3]

Originally Posted by landonvan

The usual with upgraded turbos. That’s on pump 93. And these are just the GC. Not the GC+. And I asked Paul for a non kill tune. And that’s what they advertise you can make more with meth.

I'm running the gc with stock air boxes and stock exhaust . I'm hoping to squeeze a bit more with intakes , exhaust and meth . I still ran a 5.77 100-200km on just pump 93.

[FAmotorsport]

Originally Posted by Chris@VargasTurboTech

Well said across the board. Glad you're happy with your rocketship!

Chris

Running them for over 3 months of hard weekend driving. So far so good, or loving them! Currently at 31, but crank it up to 33?? Need just a little more power. Running lpfp along with pi kit.

[Chris@VargasTurboTech]

Originally Posted by S55freak

Tf... 30psi and only 620whp..? That seems really low. What mods exactly

It's an oversimplification but you can make power with more boost or more timing as allowed by your mods, fueling capability, and octane. It's common on lower octane fuels to run a higher ratio of boost to timing targets, it's a little hotter on everything but still makes some pretty good power. A little meth injection would go a very long way in reducing boost targets for a given horsepower target, or increasing power output. Keep HP the same, add some methanol injection and turbo shaft speed drops (good) timing capability increases (good) and EGT's will drop (good). All a tradeoff. This is why I recommend the pump gas guys who want a touch more and/or are afraid of meth kits on the car... get an aggressive pump gas tune timing wise and use water/meth to make it conservative. 'course then we have the guys running E98 spraying meth and with a 200 shot on top of it all lol.

[Mahmoud samir]

have to say it has been problem after problem with my GC turbos,
i don't want to start a debate here as i don't really want to make any trouble whatsoever.
they failed on me(whining and smoking) (the housing itself broke and rotates like crazy) after 1.5k KM and i sent them back to VTT (keep in mind i live on the other side of the world lol), they came back and after just 500 kms they started whining again.
emailed Tony and he said that the whining is caused by other things other than the turbos lol.

i asked for a new set to be sent to me instead of this broken set and they declined so i guess you live and learn.

[StockM4]

Originally Posted by Mahmoud samir

have to say it has been problem after problem with my GC turbos,
i don't want to start a debate here as i don't really want to make any trouble whatsoever.
they failed on me(whining and smoking) (the housing itself broke and rotates like crazy) after 1.5k KM and i sent them back to VTT (keep in mind i live on the other side of the world lol), they came back and after just 500 kms they started whining again.
emailed Tony and he said that the whining is caused by other things other than the turbos lol.

i asked for a new set to be sent to me instead of this broken set and they declined so i guess you live and learn.

Thats crazy my GC were solid put like 10k miles on them before i blew my motor lol

[Mahmoud samir]

Originally Posted by StockM4

Thats crazy my GC were solid put like 10k miles on them before i blew my motor lol

Yeah i know they are reliable, i have couple of friends who are running the GC with no issues, but for me it has been a nightmare honestly and i am very disappointed in any sort of customer service or customer satisfaction on VTT's side. 🤷*♂️🤦🏻*♂️

[Chris@VargasTurboTech]

Originally Posted by Mahmoud samir

have to say it has been problem after problem with my GC turbos,
i don't want to start a debate here as i don't really want to make any trouble whatsoever.
they failed on me(whining and smoking) (the housing itself broke and rotates like crazy) after 1.5k KM and i sent them back to VTT (keep in mind i live on the other side of the world lol), they came back and after just 500 kms they started whining again.
emailed Tony and he said that the whining is caused by other things other than the turbos lol.

i asked for a new set to be sent to me instead of this broken set and they declined so i guess you live and learn.

Sorry your expectations were not met. Per our warranty policy we repaired the turbos no questions asked. They are not broken, they are fully rebuilt and fully functional. We have suggested that you perform some more complex troubleshooting in order to help resolve the issues you're dealing with. We're always happy to help guide troubleshooting approaches, if you need more help with that please simply email me directly; chris@vargasturbo.com.

[Mahmoud samir]

Originally Posted by Chris@VargasTurboTech

Sorry your expectations were not met. Per our warranty policy we repaired the turbos no questions asked. They are not broken, they are fully rebuilt and fully functional. We have suggested that you perform some more complex troubleshooting in order to help resolve the issues you're dealing with. We're always happy to help guide troubleshooting approaches, if you need more help with that please simply email me directly; chris@vargasturbo.com.

Hello chris
The turbos started whining on the same day i got them back from you, i talked to tony and he said to troubleshoot some more and i did, everything on the car is fine so the whine is coming from the turbos AGAIN and he simply ignored my issue.
It doesn't take much to know that the turbos are dead even after paying lots of money to send them back to you for repairs they broke again after 100 kms.
I am not looking to start a debate im just stating what happened.
I run my own company and when the customer is not satisfied with the product i change it no questions asked, that's where i am disappointed by your method handling the situation and have to send the turbos back for repairs instead of a new set, and even after doing all that they break again 🤦🏻*♂️

I will send you a mail showing you the turbos and how the housing rotates freely causing many problems one of which is the whine

[Chris@VargasTurboTech]

Got your email, will look into it and see what we find, will update the thread too with what happens.

[Chris@VargasTurboTech]

Ok, got the facts.

• Customer purchased turbos in 2018
• Took care of customer out of warranty in 2020 (we accepted out of warranty as covid delays were described as reason for slow return, and we all know that has been a pain world wide).
• Customer installed, or had turbos installed, and after some period of time had issues. We attempted to help resolve with troubleshooting steps.
• Customer was unable to resolve issues, removed turbos and reinstalled stock turbos with no issues. We communicated this does not necessarily mean the GC's were defective; install issues are not uncommon and troubleshooting is required.
• Issues reported by the customer were side to side compressor motion when turbos are off car, housing rotation and picture of leaking water line.
  
  Real quick:
• Side to side motion is normal on journal bearing turbos off the car. There are limits to that but requires calibrated equipment to determine, unless motion is gross. Provided vid did not indicate excessive motion, but this would be measured in-house to validate.
• Housing clocking rotation movement capability will not cause issues with clearance. Wiggling housing will. Cannot diagnose from provided vid, would be accomplished in-house.
• Water line leaks are resolved on o-ring line side unless visible defect in sealing area present. Again, requires inspection of turbo in person to determine if mating bore is damaged. This is a pretty rare issue, normally it's just "replace the oring" and the leak goes away.

Nevertheless we offered to take a look at them to diagnose, sent the link for repair/warranty inquiry.

Customer declined citing expensive cost of shipping turbos back to us, and stated that what he had wanted was a new set shipped to him. We are unable to do that.

It's always unfortunate when these things happen, but generally speaking we need to see the product in hand to address mechanical issues, particularly on something complex like a turbo. They were purchased in 2018, it's now most of the way through 2021 and we're still willing to work with the customer, and can offer a discount on a rebuild should they require it (we cannot tell from a couple of pics... this requires bench top disassembly and diagnosis).

That's it in a nutshell. We acknowledge that the customer is frustrated, and that is unfortunate, but the way we would resolve this is to look at the product and diagnose with our specialized equipment.

Chris