a quick update here....2 china turbos gone in 6 months (well, 1 lasted 6 months, the other lasted one week), but I have not decided to ditch them yet. I am getting the turbo core modified to run a larger thrust washer (same failure both times) and see if that works. almost went for a cheap 3040 but I just want to get it back on the road quickly, moving house atm.
also switching to gtr injectors (440cc) instead of the standard gtst ones because I've seen over 98% duty cycle a couple of times, that is too close for my comfort. the good thing about the china intake is that it has mountings for either side mount or top mount fuel rails.