Shuenk’s IS38+ turbocharger is described as being an OEM+ turbo that will deliver better reliability than the stock Golf R IS38 turbocharger with a modest increase in performance and at a value price.
The stock IS38 turbocharger has the power delivery and dynamic performance that I think is well suited to my daily driver Mk7 GTI, but concerns about reliability haunt the IHI IS38. A turbo that is similar to the IS38 but with a design goal of better reliability fits with my goals.
Another performance related design goal of this IS38+ turbocharger is to reduce the chance of encountering turbocharger compressor surge, a situation that apparently is common on IS38 turbochargers that are pushed beyond stock boost levels. The compressor wheel in this IS38+ is a re-design that is intended to address the compressor surge.
With a goal to improve the reliability over the stock IS38 turbo this Shuenk IS38+ uses a rotating assembly that is built to the specifications of the IHI RHF55 series of turbos. It contains an upgraded thrust bearing assembly, over-sized rotor shaft, and upgraded journal bearings.
When I contacted Shuenk about this IS38+ turbo I was informed that they are currently in the last phase of development and running trials on the product, which means that the turbo has not been released yet. (Update: The product is now available for sale)
I proposed gathering some in use data to provide back to them and they agreed to send a product to me so that I could test and evaluate it using my Mk7 GTI.
Next up I need to purchase an IS38 turbocharger installation kit so I can get this turbo mounted on my GTI. Because the Shuenk IS38+ turbo is similar to the stock IS38 I’ve been told that it will operate on IS38 tunes which will help me with getting on the road quicker.
Link to Dyno Progress Check
Link to Boost Onset Check
Link to One Year Report
Link to Bearing Check
Link to Two-Year Report
Link to Three-Year Report
I’m interested in seeing how this turns out! Great site! -Scott
Thanks for the feedback about the site. I’ve got an IS38 turbo install kit on order and once that arrives I’ll just need to find some time to get the IS38+ installed.
The Littco L380X seems to be a good choice as well because it is safer than the oem drive and Dan claims to do more 10-15HP, would this be the same exact power level of the IS38 oem?
The Littco seems similar which makes sense since they are both targeted to be replacements for the IS38. I don’t know what power level I’ll make with Shuenk. It has an additional pair of compressor blades, a more aggressive blade pitch, and extended tips versus the stock IS38. I don’t know if that will make a difference though and given the variability I’ve seen from IS38s with different tunes it would be hard to say if the design of the turbo drives a performance difference or the tune. I’ll be trying to log some other data aside from power to see if this turbo exhibits any significant differences from the IHI IS38.
Thanks for testing our prototype OEM+ IS38 turbo, Jeff. I’m looking forward to your data.
I’m anticipating working on the turbo swap this weekend. Just about there.