F150 Aftermarket Turbos - Garrett Powermax Turbos on 2012 1st Gen F150 3.5 Ecoboost

There wasn’t much info out there on these when I bought them. I just finished my build last week, and here’s the result!
Big thanks to Torrie at ‪@UnleashedTuning‬ for being immediately
Responsive to my needs and for tuning this thing!
Parts installed:
Garrett Powermax turbos
AMS Hi-Flow Turbine Housing
Adapters
Big Daddy’s Garage “mini-cat” O2 sensor mounts
CVF catted 3” downpipes
CVF Atlas intercooler CAC
CVF Hot side charge pipes
CVF Cold side charge pipes
AFE Stage 2 intake
CVF Conical dry air filters
MBRP stainless 3” cat back
UPR mega catch can
SCT Livewire TS+ tuner
2” lift
Raptor Pinnacle grill
Solid copper core stubby antenna
All exterior LED
Husky mats
Sub-stuffing hack/mod
Tailgate soft-open assist
Amsoil lubed every 3k miles
Previously ran 5-star custom 93 octane race tune (and 4 other more mild tunes) on stock parts.
BCB (Brew City Boost) was initially paid to tune this truck, but shit their doors 9/2022, kept my money, and left me hanging.
Currently run Unleashed Tuning custom 93 octane Big Turbo tune
www.cvfab.com/collections/11-...
‪@AMSPerformance‬
‪@MBRPexhaust-TV‬
‪@GarrettTurbos‬ ‪@GarrettMotion‬
‪@UnleashedTuning‬
‪@SCTPerformanceTuning‬

[@chakradjuzeus9275]

I love the sound…. It’s my thing 🧌 🤣

[@chakradjuzeus9275]

Thank you for this video…

[@FHBoost]

I’m in a 2011 about to do the same thing. “We” 2011-2012 folks are rare. Unleashed sounds like the way to go for the in depth tuning they do. I also considered boostking, zfg and gear head. Make more videos!

[@jimmydiamond75]

Torrie, the guy who owns Unleashed, is a perfectionist. He’s responsive and highly skilled.

[@backcountryboneheads]

Sounds great, I can’t wait my Garrett power max turbos are getting put on next week on my 15 3.5 Ecoboost

[@jimmydiamond75]

Make sure you have a good tuner! Stay away from “pre packed “ tunes like 5 star. I use Unleashed, the guys name is Torrie. Best I’ve seen yet and been doing it a long time. At first I used 5 star, it was ok. Then I hired Brew City Boost, which went out of business after sending me a base tune. Just be careful. You’re also gonna need a better CAC, downpipes and exhaust help a lot, a catch can, an intake, and colder plugs. Trust me, you’ll be glad you did. The thing has to breath better than it did w stock!

[@juan_f150]

How are they ? I just ordered a set for my 2015

[@backcountryboneheads]

@@juan_f150 not sure yet, should be getting put in this weekend

[@jimmydiamond75]

@@backcountryboneheads you get em on yet? SOAK SOAK SOAK those old exhaust header studs for a few days, several times during those days. You may as well do them with some BD diesel headers if you’re already pulling the turbos….trust, you won’t wanna go back and do it again lol

[@backcountryboneheads]

@@jimmydiamond75 they are in, I had a shop do it and he actually recommend the bd diesel manifolds so that’s what I did. So far so good, got about 900 miles on them

[@CarterBusby]

I put these turbos on my 2012 ecoboost when they first came out and they actually produce less boost than factory. They sound better though!

[@jimmydiamond75]

The boost comes on in a flash, kinda like a late 80’s 944 turbo or a 930. It’s sudden but it kicks!

[@juan_f150]

Is it worth the upgrade ? I just ordered a set for my 2015

[@jimmydiamond75]

@@juan_f150 Yes,

[@gagebenson1791]

Can you give us an idea of the performance difference with the upgraded turbos? And did you have a tune before you put these turbos on?😊

[@papaarmo5028]

No there is not no one does anything really with these but maybe I will as well soon. I have a 3.5 with the Garrett turbos as well.

[@jimmydiamond75]

What differences have you noticed with the Garrett turbos? Did you also do any other mods or tuning? Just curious bc it seems like we’re a rarity 😂

[@lsvtec86]

Do you notice a significant difference over stock turbos? Also how far are you pushing them and the stock turbos before you upgraded? I want to say mine builds 23psi on a 93 tune with stock turbos. No idea what kind of power it makes but she’s no race truck. Yeah, definitely a lack of info on the power max stage 1 turbos. Can’t find what size the inducer, exducer,..etc are. All I can find is “22% more flow”.

[@jimmydiamond75]

I believe the only time I was able to find measurement info it was like 62mm and 78mm, but don’t quote me on that. All I can say for sure is the inducer/exducer are quite a bit larger, which is why I moved up to 3” stainless downpipes from CVF. AMS turbo adapters match up perfectly, and they’re the biggest around.

[@GTkyle]

I checked your channel. Did you record any flat out runs and highway entrances yet? I have to replace my coolant lines on my stock turbos, thinking about upgrading while theyre out

[@jimmydiamond75]

I’ll do one soon, and thanks for reminding me. I accidentally ran over my laptop (🤦🏻‍♂️) so all my tunes and logs were lost, but I just got a new one this week, so I’ll be back into tuning it. I did make a 750 mile round trip and averaged 17.5mpg which is a good jump from what it used to get.

[@jimmydiamond75]

By ALL MEANS replace every single thing while you’ve got it apart. They’re not easy to access in the least, you’re better off doing preventative maintenance than waiting til something fails.

[@GTkyle]

@@jimmydiamond75 that's the plan. I was going to replace manifold hardware. Which then had me considering the BD diesel manifolds as well. And of course the upgraded stainless coolant lines. Did you ever get farther into the tuning process?

[@jeffwinn9439]

I just bought them for my 2012 3.5l. Mine came with built in blow off valves and a blue hose. I have no clue where the blue hose goes and if it bypasses the oem recirculating blowoff valves. Any help would be appreciated.

[@jimmydiamond75]

The 2012’s didn’t have BOV’s. They had a recirculating BOV system where the extra pressure that would usually VTA was instead rerouted to give the impeller a little help winding/spinning up, in an attempt to decrease turbo lag. The blue hoses that came with your turbos are for connecting the “turbocharger bypass valve”, Ford P/N BL3Z9K378A. There’s one on each turbo, wrapped in heat shielding silver fabric. There is also one on top of the engine where the vacuum lines from each turbo meet and make a “T” with a 3rd running off. I would replace these at install bc the wheel well liners are a bitch to get out and you can put them on before install…but if it goes bad after install, you’re spending a few hours unnecessarily. Lastly, the coolant lines will drive you mad. Instead of removing the E clip from the jiffy tite fitting, just get all new jiffy tites, and unscrew them with a thin 19mm from the back of the block with the coolant line still installed, and replace the lines and fittings with the new install. I have pics I can send you that will help immensely. I’ll try to figure how to send them to you.

[@jimmydiamond75]

If you send me an email address here I’ll send you photos of the blue lines and where they go. I can’t figure out how to PM you 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@juan_f150]

What happends if you dont install them ? Mine didnt come with a blue hose , mines a 2015 ​@jimmydiamond75

[@larryrobinson527]

I don't know if you're giving it anything but if I were to push on my truck with the stock turbos like you did I'd be burning the tires off

[@jimmydiamond75]

This was the first base tune on a new build, and Unleashed is very, VERY incremental in how they tune. I’m currently on the 10th tune, small adjustments made each tune. Anybody can build a tune that’ll shoot fire out your pipes and get huge WHP numbers, but my build is for not only performance, but also reliability and longevity. So, to get that perfect combo it takes time, patience, a lot of communication, and most of all a highly skilled tuner. Hell, I’ve heard of guys going through 50+ tune adjustments before they had it dialed in just right and exactly how they want it. I had a 93 “race tune” lol from 5* on my stock turbos for about 40,000 miles. It was fun, but this is capable of so much more.

[@larryrobinson527]

@jimmydiamond75 I use MPT and they build tunes and have you data log and they'll fine tune it for you. Pretty much the same lol I have the same turbos just haven't put them on yet so wondering what they'll do.

[@jimmydiamond75]

Sadly, Torrie at Unleashed informed me that my wastegates aren’t sealing 100%, so the Garrett’s aren’t “factory adjusted” every time. Now I gotta get in there and adjust the armatures, which really sucks. I wish I would’ve checked this before installing them. I recommend doing so. I can say that I know 3 other guys running this setup, and it’s mid 13 sec 1/4 without pushing them to full extent.

[@jimmydiamond75]

I agree, but my stocks had a canned 93 tune from 5* and it was faster……but this tune isn’t completed yet. Unleashed likes to do adjustments in small increments .

[@larryrobinson527]

@jimmydiamond75 thanks for the info. I hope they do better than that my truck on stock turbos and 33s (tires) ran a 12. 2 in the 1/4

[@trentonknepp9014]

Hey what exhaust manifolds are you using

[@jimmydiamond75]

It’s the only company that utilizes ALL the exhaust manifold studs, 11 instead of 8. it’s called BD Diesel. Even thought they’re primarily known for high performance diesel parts, they made this for the Ecoboost gas engine with high silicone content, and made to resist the heat and weakness that destroys the factory ones, or manifolds based on factory like CRP, which I’ve seen warp at 10k miles. I also built for longevity, and don’t want to put on a new set next year lol. Here’s a link: us.bddiesel.com/products/exhaust-manifold-driver-side-ford-f-150-3-5l-ecoboost-2011-2016

[@TheLawlessGang]

would u beleive me if i said i still have factory manifolds studs still intact i have a 10/2015 f150 just turned 150k

[@jimmydiamond75]

@@TheLawlessGang Sure! mine didn't blow until 158k! And thats with running a 93 race tune for 100k of those miles!