journal bearings or ceramic bearings
 

Didnt see much talk about journal bearings vs ceramic bearings. I want to know from the turbo experts that use them from racing to daily drivers. What is the big advantage? Is it worth the upgrade? Is ceramics just for racing? Does journal bearings have a more durable life? Basically is it worth the money.

By "ceramic" I'm assuming you are referring to ball bearing turbos - not all BB turbos have ceramic balls. also if you want to compare your stock turbo to say a Garrett ball bearing turbo, it's not really apples to apples. The turbine wheel, compressor wheel, housings, wastegate etc will be different. Journal bearing turbos will last just as long on a proper setup. Overall, between comparable turbos, the ball bearing turbo will require less oil and will spool up sooner. Whether that is worth the cost is entirely up to you.

BB compared to journal is like day to night. I have used both and now use a BB turbo due to its faster spool time and lower oiling requirement. I had a T04b .63a/r T3 turbo with journal bearing and the compressor wheel would not spin until throttle was applied, now my Garrett BB GT30R .63a/r will spin at idle and for about 20sec after the engine is shut off...20sec of spinning just from idling.



Blows the journal bearing turbo right out of the water.

The above posts covered some of the basics. Ball bearing turbos have less "Transient Boost Lag" i.e. they spool up faster when you go from off to on throttle. I don't have enough personal experience driving cars with standard journal turbos to make a comparison, but I have looked at the graphs, and from the data presented by Garrett, if the turbo is properly sized to the motor, the difference isn't all that big.



One other important thing is the BB turbos can handle surge/backspin without being destroyed. This is really only relevant in race cars, or if you're employing a true anti-lag system.



It all comes down to the application you are building for, and what your budget and goals are. If you're drag racing, then it doesn't really matter, so long as you program your ECU well.



If you're road racing, it may be VERY important to get a BB turbo. If it's mostly a street car, then you probably don't need to buy the $1300 snail.



I have way more experience with Forced Induction than anything else, so on this, you can trust me.