Yesterday, in 101 degree heat, as I was trying to "win" my first DE by driving Flat Out (just kidding) I was accelerating onto the long straightaway at about 100mph, when I felt what seemed to be a misfire.........Oh, if it were only that simple.

Looking in my mirrors, there was a large cloud of white smoke so I got off the racing line, put it in neutral and coasted to a safe stop. The fire crew was there in a heartbeat and took control. No fluids on the track, car idled fine but there was this problem of the smoke.........oh, yes. and the 5 foot flame from the exhaust that the onlookers said was really impressive!!

Call the flatbed and take it to Denver. Diagnosis this AM is a blown (disintegrated) turbo with the other not far behind, munched intercooler, shot exhaust system, etc. etc. $10,000 ++ repair bill.

Good news, if you can call it that, is I'll end up with bigger turbos, better intercoolers and a fabspeed exhaust - none of which were in the plan but are now. The slippery slope now owns me!!

So what part of racing Porsche's...........

 

Ouch indeed!
Good thing there's a silver lining!

 

Aw crap! Any of these aftermarket bits or OEM? Any idea what caused it?

 

All oem......nothing definitive re: cause. Probably a combination of temps, modified boost, and race conditions. I'm working with Evoms for replacement parts and consideration and will try to put an "integrated system" that matches the tune (or allows it to grow) from what I now have. Do you have any insights or thoughts I should be aware of? I'm thinking of the 70mm Sport Exhaust w/ HF Cats, Clubsport Intercoolers, and the EVG Billet VTG Turbos. Thanks, appreciate your advice. Best,

 

Ew that's bad news, sorry man. Is ur car warranty in play here or are u writing that off due to tune and DE event?

Ken

 

Wow sorry to hear that, but luckily it wasn't the engine so that's a save. PM me when you decide to do the Exhaust on it and I will help you with any questions you have and hopefully get you into a nice setup for the new Turbo's and Intercooler. I will also make a nice member discount on the setup when you are ready.
thanks,

 

Would love to find out exactly what went wrong. Im wondering if you ran a high flow exhaust vs. the stock exhaust if it would have helped? With being flashed and all which would add some stress to the stock converters especially.

 

I think it is very important for us as a community to figure out what led to this failure. From your post and sig line I would gather:

1) you are at high altitude - less density for the intake charge
2) in the Colorado area you get 91 octane max
3) you have a 997.1 GT1 motor
4) you have an ECU flash
5) you were running a stock exhaust
6) this happened under high load - accelerating and high atmospheric temps

My guess would be heat related failure of the turbo - flashing the ECU without reducing exhaust backpressure is a risk I did not want to take. The flashed ECU's allow more boost and thus will generate more heat and higher EGT's. The VTG turbos are fragile when it comes to high EGT's and the stock ECU is designed to pull boost when the EGT's get too high. A modded ECU may not be so stingy with the boost when the EGT's climb. Reduced backpressure from an aftermarket exhaust has been shown to reduce EGT considerably.

Things I'd like to find out:

1)how many miles on your turbo?
2)what kind of oil you were running?
3)what kind of fuel and any additives (octane boost)?
4)did you notice any higher temps on your oil or water gauges?
5)was the car running any different prior to failure?
6)what elevation were you at?

 

Good questions. As a new 07 turbo owner I found OP's experience to be very scary. 10k + in repairs wouldn't ruin me, but it wouldn't be pleasant.

I was toying with the idea of a flash, but now I'm extra scared 0_0;

 

Dont be too concerned with the flash + exhaust, there are probably more Turbos running around with this setup than stock ones.

 

This is an excellent review and you are asking questions that I would also be asking before spending significant $$$ in aftermarket parts. Turbo failure is not very common, and it's probably important finding out why this problem happened.

A "blown" turbocharger isn't really a diagnosis...it is a symptom. Was the turbo mechanically faulty or were there factors that lead to its failure.

Did you have any datalogs of EGT, lambda, IAT and timing after flashing your ECU? Often times we (as consumers) purchase a flash for our car, impressed with the overall improvement on the street and the incredible dyno curve that the tuner publishes...but what happens to the ECU management lap after lap in high temperatures is another question. Were safety measures turned off on your tune? Was your ECU pulling timing or changing AFR to compensate for higher temperatures?

 

I think I'm SOL but don't have a final resolution as of now. Thanks,

 

Eclou, Your first 6 points are all correct. To answer your questions; 1) 18,500 miles, 2. Mobil 1 0w-40w, 3. Pump gas, 91 octane, no additives, 4. Oil temp was 250-260, 5. Car was running very strong prior to incident although in a 2nd to 3rd gear uphill right hand sweeper I intermittently noticed a momentary miss which I attributed to low fuel starvation. The incident occurred mid way through the third, 30 minute session of the day. 6. Elevation ~ 5,500 ft. Hope that helps. Best,

 

hate when that happens

 

BBYWU, I'm going to have to plead ignorance......I'm not familiar with most of those acronyms and don't know how the flash may have affected them. Also, I don't know if safety measures were turned off although assurances were given that the flash was compatible with oem parts and knowing that it would see track time. Best,