Repair 7

About Turbo Chargers

The turbocharger is an exhaust-driven supercharger. It has been used to increase power in combustion-type engines for cars, trucks and marine vessels. The turbocharger, or "turbo" for short, is one of the most cost-effective ways to raise power and combustion efficiency. In recent history, the turbo has grown to be a favorite aftermarket addition for car enthusiasts.

History

In 1925, Alfred Bchi was the first to develop an effective and functional exhaust gas turbocharger; he was able to achieve a power increase of around 40 percent. The turbos to follow in his design would mostly be used in large engine applications such as those found in marine vessels. 1938 marked the year of the first turbocharged truck, and it would take nearly half a century more for the turbo to really catch on with the automotive industry. In the 1970s, the turbo started to find its way into commercial diesel engines, race applications and aftermarket additions for cars.

How It Works

A turbocharger has two main parts: the compressor housing and the exhaust housing. These two housings contain small fans connected by a shaft. The exhaust fan housing is connected to the exhaust manifold; as exhaust gas passes through the housing, it spins the fan. The exhaust fan, in turn, drives the compressor fan attached to the intake side of the engine. The compressor fan does exactly that; it compresses the intake air into the engine cylinders for a greater combustion, creating to more power.

Orientations

Turbo kits come in a couple different orientations: single turbo, sequential twin turbo and twin turbo. The single turbo is the most common because it is easily fabricated to fit most applications. On larger engines with six cylinders or more, some opt for a sequential twin turbo setup. This orientation will usually be set up to run in two different stages using only one turbo at a time. V-type engines will sometimes utilize a turbo for each cylinder bank; this is similar to the sequential twin turbo setup, but these turbos will spin simultaneously.

Size

"Bigger is better" is not always a true statement. Small gasoline engines do not emit large enough amounts of exhaust gas to turn large turbochargers; smaller turbo units can be used to achieve higher power. This can even be true for larger gasoline engines, which is why the twin-turbo setup was introduced, as it is easier for an engine to drive two small turbochargers than one large one. Diesel engines are the exception to the rule and can drive almost any size turbo fan.

Benefits

When you are using a turbo application, you can adjust the amount of boost the turbo will generate. Boost is the pressure at which air is compressed into the combustion chambers; when you run higher boost, you achiever higher amounts of power at the turn of a dial. Running high boost can be hazardous to your engine, but if you find a safe boost level, your engine will be running at top efficiency.

Warnings

Overboost is when a turbo is allowed to compress too much air into the combustion chamber and can damage the engine. It is easy to overboost an engine to a dangerous level. It is important to seek guidance when making these adjustments and making any further engine modifications necessary.